Kansas high school football: Derby, Maize, Andover Central, Andale to title games
For a little more than a month now, Maize quarterback Avery Johnson couldn’t shake the feeling.
He wanted another chance after leading Maize on a last-minute touchdown drive at Derby before throwing an interception on the two-point conversion attempt against the No. 1 team in Kansas.
“If we get that chance again, I want to go for two again,” Johnson told The Eagle then. “That’s how I’m always going to be. I’m aggressive. I want the ball in my hands in clutch situations. I wouldn’t change a thing about that.”
That second chance finally rolled around on Friday night. Johnson again diced up a defense in the final minute for a touchdown drive, and Maize again opted to go for two and the win in a Class 5A semifinal game against Kapaun Mt. Carmel.
With Kapaun’s defense expecting Johnson to make a play with a trip to the state title game on the line, Maize stunned the Crusaders: The highly rated class of 2023 recruit handed off to Landon Helm on a jet sweep and the senior receiver darted around left end and into the end zone for the go-ahead points with 29 seconds left.
Kapaun’s last-ditch effort reached the Maize 46-yard line, but no further. Maize won 22-21 and will play two-time defending champion Mill Valley (11-1) in the 5A championship game next Saturday at Pittsburg State.
Kapaun ran its game plan to perfection, more than doubling up Maize in both time of possession (33 minutes to 15) and plays (72 to 35). The Crusaders were on the brink of their first state title berth since 1987 when Maize reeled off a four-minute scoring drive — all on the ground. Omari Elias’ 2-yard plunge made it 21-14 with just 1:36 remaining.
But that would prove to be too much time for Johnson and the Eagles.
All Johnson needed was three completions and a seven-yard scramble to lead Maize to the must-have touchdown, which came on a 27-yard pass that required perfect precision over a Kapaun defensive back. It hit Jaeden Martin in stride.
Johnson threw just 12 times for 89 yards, but he made them count: 64 of those yards came on the final drive. He also led Maize in rushing with 105 yards and two touchdowns, while Daeshaun Carter rushed for 50 yards and Justin Stephens caught three passes for 41.
Kapaun outgained Maize in total yardage, 399-246, and had a pair of 100-yard rushers in Elias (118 yards, three touchdowns) and Will Doolittle (100 yards). Quarterback Dylan Hamilton added 116 yards through the air, while Isaac Schmitz led Kapaun with five catches for 54 yards.
Derby looking for a four-peat in 6A
Derby’s undefeated march to a fourth straight Class 6A state championship continued on Friday with a 62-28 rout of Lawrence.
When the Panthers (11-0) meet Blue Valley Northwest (11-1) in Emporia, they will be making their seventh straight title game appearance. They’ll have a chance to add to their decade of dominance with a seventh state title in nine seasons.
The final score suggests a comfortable blowout, which it was in the end, but there were some anxious moments early on — like when Lawrence scored on back-to-back drives to take a 14-7 lead in the first quarter.
Derby responded like a No. 1-ranked team should, scoring five straight touchdowns to take a 41-14 lead by halftime. Quarterback Mercer Thatcher threw touchdown passes to Nathan Keener and Drake Thatcher and scored a TD with his legs. Then star running back Dylan Edwards broke a 79-yard scoring run and added another touchdown just before halftime.
Edwards continued his postseason assault on opposing defenses with 302 yards and four touchdowns on 27 carries. Mercer Thatcher had one of his best games of the season, completing six passes for 140 yards and a touchdown and adding 82 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
Andover Central rolls into third championship game
In a rematch from a game decided in the final minute during Week 2 of the regular season, Andover Central made sure there were no such dramatics in its second meeting with Buhler.
With a trip to the Class 4A championship game on the line, the Jaguars scored 21 points in the first quarter of a 42-21 win over Buhler. Andover Central (11-1) will play defending 4A champion St. James Academy, a team that started 0-4 but has won eight straight, for the 4A title at Topeka’s Hummer Sports Park next Saturday.
It will be the third appearance for the Jaguars in a state title game, marking their return to the final weekend of the season following losses to Bishop Miege in the 4A title game in 2015 and 2019.
Andover Central was led by the familiar one-two punch of running back Ashton Barkdull, who rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns, and quarterback Kai Kunz, who completed six passes for 109 yards and a touchdown and added 127 yards on just eight carries for three touchdowns.
Buhler, which had won nine straight since that 21-19 loss to Andover Central on Sept. 10, again had success through the air. Quarterback Bradley Neill finished with 287 passing yards and three touchdowns. Star running back Sam Elliott finished with 116 rushing yards and 141 receiving yards, while Tanner Tustian caught two TD passes. Bo Van Bruggen also hauled in a score.
Andale rides 37-game winning streak into another title game
Andale continued to dominate, riding a 37-16 victory over Southeast-Saline to its third straight state championship game.
The two-time defending champion Indians (12-0) will carry a 37-game winning streak into next weekend’s Class 3A state championship game against Frontenac (10-2) at Hutchinson’s Gowans Stadium.
After going on the road and knocking off Cheney last week, Southeast-Saline figured to be one of the stiffest challenges of the season for Andale. While a late touchdown did allow Southeast-Saline to score a season-high 16 points against Andale’s defense, it quickly became apparent it would be another rout for the Indians.
Sedgwick, Kingman both come up just short of title berths
After losing in the game-to-go in 2012 and 2013, Sedgwick looked poised to finally break through with a 21-6 lead in the third quarter of its Class 1A semifinal against undefeated Inman.
Instead, it was another chapter of heartbreak, as Inman scored three unanswered touchdowns, the final one with just 2:53 remaining, to rally for a 26-21 win over Sedgwick. Inman (12-0) will face Olpe (12-0) in the Class 1A state championship game at Fort Hays State next weekend.
Sedgwick quarterback Lance Hoffsommer threw for 333 yards and two touchdowns, while Inman quarterback Jace Doerksen had 207 passing yards and three total touchdowns.
After falling behind 22-7 in the Class 2A semifinals against Beloit, Kingman rallied for two straight touchdowns in the fourth quarter. But the Eagles failed on a two-point conversion and then had an extra-point kick blocked to fall short in a 22-19 loss. Kingman finished with a 10-2 record, its best season in more than two decades.
This story was originally published November 20, 2021 at 2:41 PM.
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