Where do we even begin?
Week 4 was loaded with big games, and several of them lived up to their billing.
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In Class 3A, Garden Plain upset Conway Springs 19-13 in overtime.
The Owls scored late to take a 13-7 lead, but missed the extra point. Conway Springs then drove the length of the field and scored with just over a minute to go.
Garden Plain’s Joey Capul blocked the Cardinals PAT attempt to send the game to overtime where the Owns pulled out the road win.
Conway Springs played the overtime without star running back Brian Doffing who left the game late in the fourth quarter with an injury. Doffing was well over 100 yards rushing at the time of his departure.
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Silver Lake coach C.J. Hamilton will have to wait at least another week before he can become the state’s all-time winningest coach with 336 victories.
Defending Class 4A state champion Louisburg edged the defending 3A champion Eagles 14-13 at Louisburg after Silver Lake senior kicker Jesse Barnes missed a 25-yard field goal with 18 seconds remaining.
In a game riddled with penalties (19) and turnovers (6)¸Barnes also missed an extra point, a 31-yard field goal with five minutes left in the fourth, and a 33-yard attempt in the third quarter.
While it was a disappointing loss for 3A’s third-ranked Silver Lake (3-1), the win was huge for a Louisburg team that improved to 2-2. The Wildcats showed perseverance with their bend but don't break defense in the second half.
“It’s a big win for our kids,” Louisburg coach Gary Griffin said. “If we lost that game, we would have had to pick up our britches. Because it doesn’t get any easier. We have De Soto next week.”
Hamilton will try again for the record-breaking victory next week at Rock Creek. The legendary Silver Lake coach is tied at 335 wins with former Clifton-Clyde coach Ed Buller.
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In Class 5A, top-ranked Blue Valley – Stilwell held off a fourth-quarter Bishop Miege rally to beat the third-ranked Stags, 24-21.
Quarterback Kyle Zimmerman threw two touchdown passes to Sean Skaggs in the third quarter, and the Tigers returned a fumble for a third score to build a 24-7 lead.
Miege quarterback Montel Cozart threw two touchdown passes in the game’s final period to pull the Stags within three. Cozart threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns on the night.
Justin Fulks rushed for 261 yards on 31 carries for the Tigers.
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The main 8-man attraction involved #2 Thunder Ridge playing host to #3 Otis-Bison.
Otis-Bison held a narrow 18-16 halftime lead before the Longhorns took over in the second half. Joel Struckhoff rushed for four touchdowns as Thunder Ridge outscored the Cougars 28-0 in the second half and ran away with a 44-18 victory.
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Plainville proved they are worthy of their #4 ranking in Class 2-1A with a come-from-behind 30-23 win at Smith Center.
After leading 6-0 early, the Cardinals trailed by margins of 7-6, 9-6, 15-6, 15-14, 23-14, and 23-22 before scoring the winning touchdown and two-point conversion with under three minutes in the game.
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Pittsburg High celebrated homecoming with second-half rally and a 32-28 win over SEK League rival Chanute.
Chanute built an early 14-0 lead before the Purple Dragons responded with three consecutive scores to lead 19-14 at the end of the first quarter.
Chanute would then score twice in the second quarter on a 30-yard touchdown pass and a 7-yard run by junior quarterback Brock Gilmore.
But the Dragons would grind out the game on the ground in the second half and Marcus Striplin put Pittsburg ahead for good with a 52-yard touchdown to begin the fourth quarter.
The Blue Comets would drive deep into Pittsburg territory twice more, but both ended in turnovers.
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Another surprising score came in from the Frontier League where Spring Hill doubled-up St. James Academy 28-14.
The win was the first on the season for Spring Hill, while St. James entered the game unbeaten with quality wins over Eudora and Louisburg.
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In a good 6A/5A match-up, Blue Valley Northwest escaped with an 18-14 win over St. Thomas Aquinas. Northwest quarterback Garret Fugate threw two touchdown passes and rushed for another score –all in the second half – as the Huskies overcame a 14-0 halftime deficit.
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Top-ranked Topeka Hayden escaped 6A Washburn Rural in overtime by stuffing the Junior Blues at the 1-yard line on third and fourth down to secure a 21-14 win.
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Finally in a shootout in 8-Man Division 1, Sedan outscored Chetopa 72-46 to improve to 4-0.
The two traded touchdowns early before Sedan built a 42-20 lead late in the second quarter. The Green Hornets would fight back, eventually pulling within 42-38 late in the third quarter.
From that point on, Sedan’s running game took over as the Blue Devils widened the lead to 72-38 before Chetopa tacked on a late score.
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