Each week throughout the regular season, The Pick List will feature a few of the best match-ups across the state, and make our predictions on a handful of other games.
Feature Games of the Week:
5A No. 1 Kapaun Mt. Carmel (5-0) at 5A No. 5 Bishop Carroll (5-0)
Top-ranked Kapaun Mt. Carmel and fifth-ranked Bishop Carroll will renew another chapter in their Holy War this week. The Crusaders are the top-ranked team in Class 5A after winning the Class 4A state championship last season. Meanwhile, Bishop Carroll is building momentum under second-year head coach Chris Jaax.
Kapaun has rolled through the first five weeks of the season having outscored its opponents 261 to 43 or an average of 52.2 to 8.6 points per game.
Kapaun running back Ken Huff has rushed for 801 yards and ten touchdowns on only 99 carries this season. Huff is coming off of a junior season in which he rushed for 1,618 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Huff isn’t the only option on offense for Coach Weston Schartz. Quarterback Cole Rapp directs the Crusader offense for a second straight season. Pete Keller and Preston Burgess are also threats in the backfield. When Rapp looks to throw, Axel Pondei has been his primary deep target, while Ethan Burr provides another capable option.
On the other sidelines, Bishop Carroll will be trying to make a statement that they are back. The Golden Eagles are 5-0 this season with wins over Wichita Northwest (14-10), Wichita Southeast (49-16), and Washburn Rural (34-23). Carroll has posted lopsided shutouts of Wichita South and Wichita West the last two weeks.
The Eagles are 11-4 since former Carroll linebacker Chris Jaax took over as head coach at the beginning of the 2025 season.
Jonah Mull has led the Carroll offense to an average of 41.4 points per game. Mull and Cooper Herrman have led the Carroll ground game, while Aedyn Acosta has also been effective with his opportunities.
Mull has primarily looked towards Marcus Musa, Harrison King, and Acosta in the passing game.
Bishop Carroll’s win streak in this series has been well documented. The Golden Eagles won 26 consecutive meetings between the two rivals from 2000 to 2022. Since then, Kapaun has won three straight meetings.
Our Pick: Kapaun 38, Carroll 20 (Gilmore)
4A No. 1 Bishop Miege (5-0) at 5A No. 2 St. James Academy (4-1)
First place in the Eastern Kansas League will be on the line when Bishop Miege travels to Marian Stadium to take on the host St. James Academy Thunder. These two rival schools played in the 2025 season opener in the inaugural game in St. James Academy’s new stadium. Prior to 2025, the Thunder hosted their homes games at Bishop Miege’s Dixon Doll Stadium.
St. James went on to celebrate a 24-0 shutout of Miege in last year’s meeting. It was costly for both teams as the Thunder lost quarterback Frankie Menghini to an injury allowing for the junior John Hornback to take over the position.
It was also early in that game that Bishop Miege starting quarterback Landon Cole went out with an injury. Cole would miss the remainder of the regular season, returning for the playoffs to lead the Stags to the Class 4A state championship game. This season, Cole has been exceptional in completing 64 percent of his passes for 1,307 yards and 10 touchdowns. He’s also added 246 rushing yards and four more scores.
Cole directs an experienced offense that has averaged 38.4 points per game against quality opponents. Miege has wins over No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas (34-7), Blue Valley (48-19), and Rockhurst (28-25).
Michael Blount leads the group of receivers with 25 catches for 424 yards and five touchdowns. Blount (6-3, 215) has also rushed for a pair of touchdowns. At 6-foot-7, Wesley Walsh also provides a big target at receiver. Walsh has 17 receptions for 330 yards and two scores. Jayden McDaniel and freshman Brody Lynn each have double-digit receptions.
Senior Vinny George leads the Stag ground game with 398 yards and five touchdowns. John Watskey has added 231 yards and three scores, while Nick Nabazas has 185 yards on the ground.
Defensively, Miege is led by sophomore linebacker Lincoln Leonard’s 52 tackles. Jace Poirier has been disruptive up front with 24 tackles, six for loss and four sacks.
St. James Academy remains ranked No. 2 in Class 5A behind Kapaun Mt. Carmel. The Thunder opened the season with a 28-21 win over Aquinas before dominating Blue Valley Southwest, 51-7. A week later, the Thunder needed a 52-yard field goal by Brayden Stoker on the game’s final play to defeat Blue Valley North, 31-29. The Saints were then handed their lone loss, 37-14, to a loaded St. Pius X (Mo.) team.
Last week the Thunder shut out Blue Valley West, 26-0.
Hornback is the catalyst for the Thunder offense. The senior quarterback has passed for 901 yards and eight touchdowns and added a team-high 321 rushing yards with four scores.
Junior Will Buser is the primary ball carrier for St. James with 97 attempts for 302 yards and four touchdowns. Buser is equally effective in the passing game having caught 14 passes for 229 yards and three scores.
Hornback has the luxury of a talented receiver room that includes Luke Niesen, Cory Kirchner, Matt Wurtenberger, and Cooper Most. That group has combined for 43 receptions for 567 yards and four touchdowns.
Brinton Banker, Boden Bell, and Case Spencer lead the Thunder defense as the units’ leading tacklers. Bell and Spencer each have four tackles for loss, while Bell also has registered three sacks.
Both Miege and St. James Academy have excellent kickers. Miege’s John Jaksa is 22 of 23 kicking PATs and 8 of 10 on field goals with a long of 46 yards. Stoker of St. James Academy has the leg to connect on long field goals, while James Ewing has been perfect on PATs.
Turnovers and field position could play a huge role in this game. The Thunder have committed eight turnovers in their first five games. St. James Academy is also going to need to have success in the run game in order to sustain drives and keep Miege’s offense off the field.
Our Pick: Miege 34, St. James 27 (Gilmore)
2A No. 3 Council Grove (5-0) at Southeast of Saline (4-1)
This is another huge matchup in Class 2A, District 5 where four teams are in contention for the title: Council Grove (5-0, 2-0), Riley County (4-1, 1-0), Marysville (3-2, 1-1) and Southeast of Saline (4-1, 0-1). Last week, Council Grove defeated Marysville, 46-41, in a wild contest. SE Saline, which won the state championship two years ago and was the state runner-up last year, fell 28-14 to Marysville two weeks ago and won at Wichita Collegiate, 22-14, in a non-district game last week.
Chase Ptacek, a longtime SE Saline assistant and defensive coordinator, took over as head coach this year. Senior quarterback Tiernan Ptacek has completed 67 of 128 passes for 933 yards with 10 scores against six interceptions. He has rushed 82 times for 420 yards and seven scores, all team-bests.
Senior Casson Klover has 18 catches for 390 yards and six TDs. A major issue has been turnovers, which could be the key to the game. SE Saline has turned the ball over 12 times and is minus-3 in turnover margin.
Council Grove continues to set a bevy of school records and enjoy success with head coach Derron Reddick, an alumnus. Council Grove has just two turnovers this season and is plus-9 in turnover margin.
The Braves' offensive front has been excellent all year. Senior Luke Stewart has continued his great success with 67 of 92 passing for 1,130 yards with 16 scores against no interceptions. Senior Mason Samuels, the top receiver in school history, has collected 24 catches for 470 yards and seven TDs. Stewart has 1,255 total yards in five yards and is the second player in school history to clear 5,000 total yards. Bradley Doornbos is a versatile threat in all three phases, and Maddox Ziegler has anchored the offensive line. Reid Buttrey has cleared 200 career tackles.
This should be a great game, but few teams in Kansas are riding the steady improvement over the last several years like Council Grove.
Our Pick: Council Grove 42, SE Saline 30 (Nicholl)
Dighton (4-1) at Sharon Springs-Wallace Co. (4-0)
This is a very critical game in District 8 where Quinter (5-0, 2-0), Wallace County (4-0, 2-0) and Dighton (4-1, 2-0) have separated themselves from the pack. Dighton defeated Oberlin-Decatur Community, 30-20, in Week 1. Oberlin has been a top-5 team in Division I most of the fall. The Hornets’ only loss came in Week 3, 64-44 to Wichita County, currently third ranked in Division I.
Wallace County, under new coach Chance Rains, had an impressive 38-22 road victory at Hill City in Week 2. Since then, Wallace County has defeated Atwood (58-8) and has back-to-back shutouts versus St. Francis and Greeley County.
Rains has served as interim coach after veteran coach Kyle Gfeller – a former WCHS standout – suffered an unexpected illness. Wallace County is 14-1 in the last two years and has not lost a regular season game since 2024.
Wallace County brought back six starters, notably Braylon Rains, who rushed for 11 scores and delivered 106 tackles, 17.5 for loss. Quarterback Gage Cox rushed for 705 yards and had 91 stops. Cox, Rains, and Trell Larsons are the primary ball carriers for the Wildcats this season.
Gage Cox and Rains lead a stout defense from their linebacker position. The line up front on both sides has size, but sophomore Carter Cox is quick and disruptive in opponents’ backfields.
Last year, Wallace County defeated Dighton, 24-12, in Week 4. In 2024, Dighton won the matchup, 60-14. Overall, Dighton is 9-5 all-time against Wallace County and has won five of the last six.
Veteran Dighton coach Ken Simon has done an excellent job quickly turning around the Hornets after a down season. That is the case again this year as Dighton was a preseason KPreps Potential Breakout Team after a 3-7 season in 2025.
Junior Rangler Price has enjoyed a nice season with 64 of 101 passing for 729 yards with nine scores against three interceptions. Dighton has passed the ball on 41.2 percent of snaps, one of the highest marks in Division II. The Hornets threw the ball 45.3 percent of the time last year, though Price had 866 yards with 13 scores against nine interceptions. Senior Charlie Vogel has posted another strong season with 19 catches for 239 yards and two scores.
Senior Shawn Redburn has 15 catches for 159 yards and three TDs. Junior Westin Johnson has posted 12 receptions for 133 yards and two TDs. Johnson has added 244 rushing yards with seven scores.
Wallace County has a veteran offensive line, however the Wildcats will face a formidable attack with Dighton’s passing game.
Our Pick: Dighton 36, Wallace County 32 (Nicholl)
The Pick List:
Blue Valley Northwest (3-2) at 4A No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas (3-2) – Aquinas
Olathe Northwest (3-2) at Lawrence (4-1) – Lawrence
Shawnee Mission North (4-1) at 6A No. 1 Mill Valley (5-0) – Mill Valley
Shawnee Mission Northwest (3-2) at Olathe West (3-2) – SM Northwest
Liberal (3-2) at 4A No. 3 Great Bend (6-0) – Great Bend
Buhler (3-2) at Wellington (4-1) – Wellington
Eudora (4-1) at 4A No. 4 Louisburg (5-0) – Louisburg
4A No. 5 McPherson (4-1) at Mulvane (3-2) – McPherson
Paola (3-2) at Rock Creek (3-2) – Rock Creek
Girard (4-1) at Columbus (4-1) – Girard
Lyons (4-1) at Hoisington (3-2) – Hoisington
Santa Fe Trail (4-1) at Baldwin (3-2) – Baldwin
Centralia (3-2) at Riverside (4-1) – Centralia
Humboldt (4-1) at Neodesha (4-1) – Neodesha
Riley County (4-1) at Marysville (3-2) – Marysville
Olpe (4-1) at McLouth (5-0) – Olpe
Central Plains (4-1) at 8M-I No. 2 South Central (3-1) – South Central
Erie (3-2) at 8M-I No. 4 Oswego (5-0) – Oswego
8M-I No. 1 Lincoln (5-0) at Oxford (4-1) – Lincoln
8M-I No. 5 Oberlin-Decatur Co. (4-1) at Hoxie (3-2) – Oberlin
Dighton (4-1) at Sharon Springs-Wallace Co. (4-0) – Wallace County
8M-II No. 1 Hanover (5-0) at Troy (4-1) – Hanover
Madison (4-1) at Marmaton Valley (4-1) – Marmaton Valley
Bucklin (3-2) at 6M No. 3 Ingalls (5-0) – Ingalls
Chetopa (4-1) at Centre-Lost Springs (3-2) – Centre
Cheylin (4-1) at Wheatland-Grinnell (4-1) – Wheatland-Grinnell
Peabody-Burns (4-1) at Marais des Cygnes Valley (3-2) – Peabody
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