The 10 high school football games you need to know: East, Northwest score big wins
Varsity Kansas has you covered with a full list of scores from Kansas high school football Week 8 games on Friday, plus playoff brackets.
Need a quick run-down of the important wins and performances from Friday’s games? Varsity Kansas has picked 10 games and statistical outputs that fans in the Wichita area need to know about.
1. East stuns Bishop Carroll for upset of the night
Maybe some people wrote Wichita East off this season after a 1-3 start.
It’s too hard to ignore the Blue Aces after they delivered the upset of the state with a 26-19 victory over Class 5A’s No. 1-ranked Bishop Carroll.
The result had significant ramifications for both teams:
- Instead of making a four-hour bus ride to Garden City for the first-round of the playoffs, Wichita East will host the Buffaloes instead on Friday in the 8-vs-9 matchup in the Class 6A West playoffs. And now East is riding high on a four-game winning streak.
- A win would have propelled Carroll to the No. 1 seed in the 5A West playoffs. Instead, the loss knocked the Golden Eagles (6-2) to the No. 6 seed and they will host Hutchinson (4-4) on Friday and could meet up with Maize (6-2) in the second round.
- The loss also prevented Carroll from claiming an outright City League championship, which will now be shared with Kapaun Mt. Carmel despite Carroll’s head-to-head win.
It was a dominant performance by the Blue Aces in the first three quarters, as they built a 20-5 lead on the road. DaeOnte’ Mitchell led the way with 204 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns, as Caquoy Patterson finished with six catches for 68 yards and a touchdown and Justin Bell added 147 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Carroll rallied around backup quarterback Jackson King, who entered the game after halftime and finished the game with 100 rushing yards and 101 passing yards with two touchdowns. But King’s final charge down the field came up short, as East intercepted a pass near its end zone in the final seconds to secure the upset win.
2. Northwest pulls away from Hays late for marquee win
After three straight seasons of running through the regular season unbeaten, Northwest finally faced some adversity before the month of November this season with a 1-2 start.
Even though both losses came to top-5 teams in Class 5A, they were still losses — something the Grizzlies haven’t had to deal with this early in a season since 2016.
“We battled through a lot of injuries, but the thing is we need to be able to have road bumps and have cones thrown out while we’re running,” Northwest coach Steve Martin said. “We needed to be able to fight through and just battle. Just see what you’ve got in your insides and our guys have done a great job of that.”
Northwest has climbed back to No. 5 in the Class 5A rankings thanks to five straight wins, none more impressive than a 61-40 shootout victory over No. 7 Hays at home.
“It was definitely tough losing those games early, but I’m proud of my boys for fighting back,” Northwest senior linebacker Darius Diaz said. “I can’t wait for the playoffs. It’s going to be something special.”
The road back to the state title game begins for Northwest as the No. 4 seed in the Class 5A West bracket where it will host No. 13 Valley Center (2-6) on Friday. A potential rematch with its last loss, Kapaun Mount Carmel, could be in store for the quarterfinals.
“We just had to go back to work,” Martin said. “We haven’t done anything differently than what we’ve done the past four years. The only difference was we lost two games. We just needed to work and focus on ourselves.”
Northwest jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the opening 10 minutes against Hays, but the Indians would fight back behind its four-star recruit Jaren Kanak, a Clemson commit, who would give Hays a 33-27 lead just before halftime.
But Kanak injured his foot on the touchdown run and didn’t record a carry in the second half, which drastically altered the game. Even with Hays capitalizing on an early Northwest turnover to extend its lead to 40-27 early in the third quarter, the Grizzlies were able to score on five of their final six possessions to run away with the victory.
“I think those losses early on brought us together and made us even closer as a team,” said Northwest quarterback Geremiah Moore, who scored many of those touchdowns for the Grizzlies. “We learned that we couldn’t take anything for granted. We had to get back to work.”
For Hays, the loss proved to be a dramatic swing for its playoff seeding. A win would have given the Indians (6-2) the No. 2 seed in the Class 5A West playoffs. Instead, Hays dropped to the No. 7 seed and will host Goddard Eisenhower (5-3) on Friday.
Despite not entering this postseason as the heavy favorite to reach the state title game like it has been the last three seasons, Northwest is eager to try to make it four straight trips over the next month.
“If they forgot about us, they’ll know sooner or later,” Moore said.
3. Andale grinds out the win in a 1-vs-2 showdown with Collegiate
The final test of the regular season was supposed to be the stiffest challenge Andale would face in Class 3A this season.
Instead, Friday’s showdown with Wichita Collegiate in a battle of the two top-ranked teams in Class 3A turned into another Andale showcase in a 29-6, grind-it-out victory to extend its winning streak to 33 games and capture another AV-CTL Division IV crown.
The Indians whittled away more than eight minutes off the clock on their opening drive ending in a touchdown and methodically pulled away from the Spartans.
Cody Parthemer led Andale with 121 rushing yards and a touchdown, while Riley Marx finished with 113 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Wyatt Spexarth completed a 35-yard pass to Marx and also scored a rushing touchdown for the Indians.
Collegiate was led by 56 rushing yards and the team’s lone touchdown by quarterback Wesley Fair, who completed 3 of 6 passes for 41 yards.
Andale (8-0) will host District 8’s No. 4 seed Hugoton (4-4) in the first round of the playoffs on Friday, while Collegiate (7-1) will face a significantly harder route starting with Friday’s playoff opener against Pratt (6-2) with a potential second-round matchup against undefeated Cheney (8-0).
4. Dylan Edwards goes off in Derby’s win over Maize South
Derby’s star junior running back Dylan Edwards turned his first three carries of the game into touchdowns, scoring on runs of 80, 61 and 81 to start what would become a 52-14 rout of Maize South.
Edwards finished the game with 276 rushing yards on just 11 carries (25.1 yards per carry) and six touchdowns, as top-ranked Derby finished the regular season 7-0 and secured another undefeated AV-CTL Division I title and the top seed in the Class 6A West playoffs where it will host Wichita Southeast on Friday.
Derby led 52-0 at halftime before pulling its starters, as Maize South rallied for a pair of second-half touchdowns. Sammy Dresie caught seven passes for 66 yards, while Jeron Askren grabbed a touchdown catch.
After a 5-0 start, the Mavericks have lost three straight games — all to ranked opponents — to close out the regular season. Maize South (5-3) will look to start a fresh season as the No. 8 seed in the 5A West playoffs, where it will host No. 9 Wichita Heights (5-3) on Friday.
5. Kapaun snags share of City League title, top 5A playoff seed
It’s hard to not feel like it was not the best-case scenario for Kapaun Mount Carmel following the final night of the regular season.
Not only did the Crusaders wrap up the No. 1 seed in the Class 5A playoffs with a 35-7 victory over Wichita Heights, but they also received a pleasant surprise when East upset Bishop Carroll, which gave Kapaun a share of the City League championship this season.
Kapaun (7-1) will host No. 16 seed Goddard (0-8) on Friday, then could play the winner of No. 8 Maize South (5-3)-No. 9 Wichita Heights (5-3) in the second round.
It was the same formula for Kapaun against the Falcons: use running back Omari Elias early and often. The sophomore workhorse finished the game with 281 rushing yards and 38 carries and two touchdowns to lead Kapaun, while Will Doolittle added 82 rushing yards and another two scores. Will Anciaux chipped in two catches for 43 yards and a receiving touchdown.
Heights was led by quarterback D.J. Dingle, who threw for 107 yards and a touchdown to Chase Harris, while running back John Randle finished with 22 yards on nine carries.
6. Maize pulls away from Hutchinson to secure No. 3 playoff seed
Maize broke open a tied game in the second quarter by scoring the game’s final four touchdowns in a 42-14 victory over Hutchinson.
It was an important bounce-back win for the Eagles (6-2) after suffering a heartbreaking, one-point loss at Derby the previous week.
The victory also helped secure Maize the No. 3 seed in the Class 5A West playoffs, where it will host No. 14 Newton (2-6) on Friday with a potential second-round matchup against No. 6 Bishop Carroll (6-2) looming.
It was another monster game for Maize junior quarterback Avery Johnson, who accounted for five of Maize’s six touchdowns. He completed 9 of 11 passes for 137 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for 99 yards and two more scores. Daeshaun Carter led Maize with 104 rushing yards and a touchdown, while Justin Stephens, Landon Helm and Bryce Cohoon all caught touchdown passes.
7. Buhler makes statement victory in earning top 4A seed
In a showdown with a share of the AV-CTL Division III title on the line, No. 3-ranked Buhler made a statement with a 76-0 pounding of No. 9 Circle.
The win also helped Buhler improve to 7-1 this season and secure the top overall seed in the Class 4A West playoffs, where it will host winless Abilene (0-8) on Friday.
Buhler scored four touchdowns in the opening quarter, then topped that with five touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 62-0 lead into halftime.
Quarterback Bradley Neill had his most efficient game throwing of the season, completing 5 of 6 passes for 172 yards and four touchdowns, while Sam Elliott turned 16 carries into 225 rushing yards and four more touchdowns. Tanner Tusian, Matthew Eddy, Brock McCurdy and Cameron Campbell all caught touchdown passes in the rout.
The loss dropped Circle (5-3) to the No. 6 seed in the 4A West playoffs, where it will host No. 11 Rose Hill (3-5) on Friday.
8. Sedgwick beats Conway Springs for first time to capture 1A district title
After losing to Conway Springs in the final week of the regular season last year, Sedgwick has been on a mission for vengeance.
Sedgwick got exactly what it was looking for on Friday with a 28-14 victory over Conway Springs, its first win in the series’ brief four-meeting history.
It was a monumental win for Sedgwick to lock up the Class 1A District 4 championship and earn the first-round bye in the playoffs, as the Cardinals will take the week off before facing the winner of Stanton County (3-4) and Ell-Saline (3-5) in the second round.
Sedgwick scored on the game’s second play less than a minute into the game, as Lance Hoffsommer found Ryan Stuckey for a 59-yard touchdown.
But Conway Springs responded with a 23-play drive that lasted nearly a full 12 minutes that ended with an Izic Billups’ 1-yard plunge into the end zone.
After the teams once again traded scores, Sedgwick went up 21-14 just before halftime when Hoffsommer ran in for a 5-yard score.
The only points of the second half came when Christian Brown scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown for Sedgwick early in the fourth quarter to provide the two-score final margin.
Hoffsommer finished with 222 passing yards on 9-of-11 passing with two touchdowns, while Stucky hauled in three passes for 123 yards and two scores. Conway Springs was led by Brayden Kunz (94 rushing yards) and Billups (60 rushing yards), who each scored a touchdown.
9. Inman completes unbeaten regular season in 1A with best win yet
The final-week showdown against Smith Center was always going to be the top challenge for Inman, which had outscored opponents 414-3 in the first seven weeks.
No. 2-ranked Inman passed this test as well, leaving no doubt in a 38-15 win at No. 3-ranked Smith Center to capture the Class 1A District 3 championship.
After Smith Center scored the first touchdown this season against Inman’s defense to tie the game, 8-8, Inman responded with a touchdown pass from Jace Duerksen to Kendyn Blank for the 16-8 halftime lead. Duerksen helped break the game open with three straight touchdowns in the fourth quarter to turn a one-score game into a blowout.
Duerksen finished with 240 passing yards and two touchdowns, while Tanner Heckel added 57 rushing yards and a score on the ground. Harrison Brunk added 87 receiving yards and a score to lead the way for Inman, which will receive a first-round bye in the 1A playoffs and face the winner between Oakley (2-5) and Elkhart (4-4) in the second round.
10. Kingman blanks Chaparral to earn 2A district title
In a showdown for the District 6 championship between two top-10 teams in Class 2A, No. 6 Kingman came away with a 41-0 statement victory over No. 5 Chaparral.
Kingman’s defense forced four turnovers, highlighted by a Cole Watkins interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter to help break the game open. The Eagles led 31-0 by halftime and cruised to the victory.
Kingman quarterback Nolan Freund completed 16 of 25 passes for 277 yards, while Watkins led the team in receiving with six catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. Geoff Holloway also added two rushing scores.
It was the first loss of the season for Chaparral (7-1), which had to settle for the No. 2 seed in the district and will host Division 5’s No. 3 seed, Marion (5-3), on Thursday. Kingman (7-1) will host Division 5’s No. 4 seed, Hutchinson Trinity (4-4), on Friday.
This story was originally published October 23, 2021 at 5:15 AM.
.jpg)