Week 8 of the Kansas high school football season turned into upset Friday.
Top ranked teams in Class 5A and Class 3A went down, while the two top teams in 4A battled it out in a close game.
In other action, a 6A game between two ranked teams ended with a game-winning field goal as time expired. Plus, another coach was added to the 300-win club.
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In the upset of the night, Pittsburg traveled up 69 Highway to suburban Kansas City and shocked the top-ranked Blue Valley - Stilwell Tigers, 45-35. The Purple Dragons built an early 14-0 lead and led 24-14 after three quarters. Both teams exploded for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter as each benefitted from kickoff returns for touchdowns. Pittsburg can now secure a playoff spot with a win over St. Thomas Aquinas next week. The Saints fell 27-18 to Gardner-Edgerton in the other half of District 4.
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In Class 3A, top-ranked Garden Plain suffered its first loss 28-21 to unbeaten Sedgwick. Quarterback Trent Stucky threw for 215 yards and rushed for 60 more to lead the Cardinals. Sedgwick built a 28-14 lead in the second half held on for the huge district win.
Garden Plain must now beat Halstead – a team that upset the Owls in district play last season – to secure a playoff spot. Halstead rolled past Hutchinson Trinity 48-13 on Friday night.
Joey Capul returned to the Garden Plain lineup and rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown.
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Class 4A’s two top-ranked teams clashed as No. 1 Topeka Hayden edged No. 2 Holton in the final seconds. Hayden’s Zack Weekley scored on a 3-yard TD run with 15 seconds left. The touchdown was set up a few plays earlier as Hayden quarterback Grant Arnold hit Alex Schmidtberger on a 37-yard pass.
In a defensive battle, Holton’s rushing attack was limited to less than 100 yards. Holton entered averaging more than 400 yards.
Hayden improved to 7-1 overall and 2-0 in the district, while Holton drops to 7-1 overall and 1-1 in the district.
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Keaton Barragar made a 35-yard field goal as time expired to give 6A’s No. 2 Manhattan a 24-21 victory against No. 4 Washburn Rural. The Junior Blues fought back from a 21-7 deficit to tie the game with about five minutes left. However, Mahattan received the ball at Rural’s 48-yard-line and worked its way into position for Barragar’s field goal.
Manhattan’s Ty Suggs ran for 160 yards and two TDs. Washburn Rural running back Jeff Belaire ran for 184 yards and one TD. He also caught a 13-yard TD pass from quarterback Skylar Curtis.
Manhattan improved to 8-0 overall and 2-0 in the district, while Rural dropped to 6-2 overall and 1-1 in the district.
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In a battle of Class 2-1A unbeatens, the St. Mary’s-Colgan Panthers prevailed 38-13 Friday night against the Lyndon Tigers.
The victory made Colgan’s Chuck Smith the sixth coach in Kansas history to reach 300 wins for his career. Smith joins Silver Lake’s C.J. Hamilton, Clifton-Clyde’s Ed Buller, McPherson’s Tom Young, Sedan’s Les Davis and Smith Center’s Roger Barta as the only coaches to reach the milestone.
“It’s good to have it over with,” Smith said. “But it is very special. I was blessed to take over for a great man in Frank Crespino. And a special thanks goes to (defensive coordinator) Wayne Cichon, who has coached with me for 29 of my 32 years.”
After a scoreless first quarter, Colgan built a 17-0 halftime lead after Christian and Zach Smith each rushed for touchdowns and Austin Barone hit a 37-yard field goal as the half expired.
Lyndon would get as close as 17-7 on a Nick Walsh touchdown run before Colgan answered with a 63-yard touchdown pass from Sam Gilbert to Zach Smith.
The Panthers racked up 477 yards of total offense led by Christian Smith’s 244-yard, three-touchdown performance. Nick Walsh led the Tigers with 185 yards rushing and a touchdown.
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The Olathe North Eagles are on a free fall having lost three consecutive games after a 5-0 start and being ranked near the top of Class 6A. The Eagles fell 19-14 to Lawrence Free State on Friday, and are now 0-2 in 6A District 4.
For Olathe North to make the playoffs they must beat Olathe Northwest next week, and hope that Free State can beat arch-rival Lawrence. That scenario would create a three-way tie for the runner-up spot with Olathe Northwest, Lawrence, and Olathe North all at 1-2; and the district points system would come into play.
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The Kpreps.com Game of the Week as voted on by the fans turned into a rout as Rossville widened out a 16-0 halftime lead into a 43-6 win over previously unbeaten McLouth.
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Emporia edged McPherson 66-63 in a score that looks more like a final from mid February. McPherson led 21-20 after the first quarter; and 42-34 at halftime. The Spartans then outscored the Bullpups 26-7 in the third quarter to take a 60-49 lead heading into the fourth. Trailing 66-63 late in the game, McPherson mounted a final drive which fell a yard short of the end zone as time expired.
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Eudora’s Chris Pyle had a night worth mentioning. He rushed 42 times for 416 yards and two touchdowns as the Cardinals improved to 7-1 with a 37-14 win over Ottawa.
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