Class 6A
Senior quarterback Raymond Solis kept Topeka High’s playoff hopes alive as the Trojans topped Junction City 39-25. Solis rushed for 146 yards and a touchdown, passed for 133 yards, and caught a 31 yard pass. Eli Weinbrecht added 122 yards and two touchdowns rushing for Topeka. Junction City was once again led by Jovan Toles who rushed for 148 yards and three touchdowns.
Haysville Campus scored in each quarter to earn their first win of the season, 27-16 over Wichita South. Senior J.T. Harlamon threw for 98 yards and a touchdown, and added 100 yards rushing and two scores as the Colts kept their playoff hopes alive. Campus can earn a postseason berth by beating Wichita North in Week 9.
Defending champion Olathe South outscored Olathe Northwest 22-10 in the second half to rally for a 34-31 win. Russell White rushed for more than 200 yards and three touchdowns as the Falcons stayed alive in District 4. South will host Olathe North in Week 9.
Gardner-Edgerton clinched the District 4 championship with a 59-28 victory over Olathe North. Traevohn Wrench rushed for 362 yards and five touchdowns on 34 carries. Wrench now has 1,640 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns this season.
Wichita Northwest scored 49 points in the first half in blasting Wichita North 70-7. Deron Thompson rushed for 255 yards and five touchdowns in the win for the Grizzlies. Chris Hughes added 130 yards on the ground and three scores.
Class 5A
Skyler Windmiller completed 14 of 20 passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns as Mill Valley outscored KC Washington 63-40. Kendall Short rushed for more than 100 yards and two scores, while freshman Logan Koch added 182 yards rushing and three scores.
Kapaun Mt. Carmel built a 24-6 halftime lead en route to a 31-12 win over Arkansas City. The Crusaders were led by Nick Heiland who rushed for 112 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Freshman quarterback Brock Monty completed 7 of 9 passes for 51 yards and rushed for a pair of touchdowns for Kapaun. Ark City’s Riley Dowler threw for 153 yards and rushed for 53 yards and a score.
Coleman Kinsley rushed for a pair of touchdowns and contributed 151 yards of total offense as Newton slipped past Valley Center 23-12. Kinsley threw for 90 yards in the game, rushed for 30 yards, and had a 31-yard catch. Keaton Canaday rushed for 140 yards and two scores for Valley Center.
Salina Central edged Great Bend 20-13 to keep their playoff hopes alive. Mustang running back Malik Veal scored all three touchdowns as part of his 125-yard rushing night. Salina Central will host Hays in Week 9 with the winner claiming the district runner-up playoff spot.
Shawnee Heights evened its record at 4-4 after shutting out Topeka West 34-0. Michael Moten II rushed for 93 yards and two touchdowns for Heights. Antwan Barksdale Jr. returned the opening kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown for the T-Birds.
Class 4A
Freshman running back Ian Rudzik rushed for 164 yards and four touchdowns as Ulysses beat Pratt 36-14. Rudzik scored four consecutive touchdowns in the second quarter as the Tigers pulled away. The freshman now has rushed for 949 yards and 13 touchdowns this season in just six games. He did not play in the Tigers’ Week 4 loss to Scott City.
Wichita Trinity sophomore Tyler Burns rushed for 224 yards and four touchdowns as the Knights doubled-up Augusta 42-21. Burns also returned an interception 55 yards for another score. He now has rushed for 1,389 yards and 22 touchdowns this season.
Spring Hill is the surprising champion of 4A District 3 as the Broncos scored late to knockoff De Soto 17-13. Trailing 13-10, Trevor Cluck hit Lake Johnson on a 12-yard touchdown pass with under a minute remaining to propel Spring Hill to the four-point win and the district title. Spring Hill had entered district play just 2-4 before upsetting then unbeaten St. James Academy and De Soto.
Girard junior Taylor Lewis rushed for 199 yards and three touchdowns as the Trojans rolled past Parsons 68-13. Lewis has developed into a strong compliment to standout back Anthony Scholes this season. Lewis has rushed for nearly 750 yards and five touchdowns, while Scholes leads the team with 1,343 yards and 19 touchdowns. Scholes added 163 yards on the ground against Parsons.
Tonganoxie slipped by Jefferson West 9-7 thanks to a strong defensive performance. The Chieftains built a 9-0 halftime lead thanks to a Eric Tate field goal and a Tyler Ford touchdown run. Jefferson West pulled within 9-7 in the third quarter and drove into Tonganoxie territory with under three minutes remaining in the game. On fourth down, James Grizzle sacked Tiger quarterback Ian Mullins to preserve the victory for the Chieftains and force a four-way tie at 1-1 in the district.
Class 3A
Haven made a seven-point halftime lead stand up as the Wildcats matched Kingman’s 20 second-half points and escaped with a 34-27 win. Trae Regier rushed for 72 yards and two touchdowns for Haven. Austin Fritzemeier added 77 yards and two scores. Zach Andersen rushed for 206 yards and two scores for Kingman.
Cherryvale built a 21-0 halftime lead and blasted Erie 35-6 to improve to 1-1 in district play. Tristan Thornton rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown to lead a Charger attack that racked up more than 330 yards on the ground in the game. Cherryvale will host Neodesha with the winner getting the district runner-up playoff spot.
Tyler LaSalle rushed for 244 yards and a pair of touchdowns as Holcomb knocked off Lakin 34-17. LaSalle also threw for 131 yards in the game which put him over the 2,100 yards of total offense on the season. Holcomb will host Cimarron in Week 9 with the winner claiming the district championship, and more importantly avoiding No. 2 Scott City in the first round.
Sacred Heart took control of District 13 with a 49-8 win over Ellsworth. Drew Diederich rushed for 152 yards and four touchdowns in the win for the Knights. He also caught a touchdown pass as Sacred Heart improved to 7-1 and 2-0 in district play. Ellsworth will play at Southeast of Saline in Week 9 with a change to claim a playoff spot.
Nemaha Valley slipped by Rock Creek 7-6 in a defensive battle in District 2. Caleb Meyer hit Justice McKernan on a 42-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter as the Raiders overcame a first-half Mustang score.
Class 2-1A
Olpe stepped out of district play and picked up a 53-7 win over Chase County. Mitchel Argabright rushed for 104 yards and three scores as the Eagles improved to 6-2. Issac Hall added 75 yards rushing and a pair of scores. Olpe has claimed the runner-up spot in District 4, but will look to finish strong at Jayhawk-Linn in Week 9.
St. Francis kept its playoff hopes alive thanks to a big first half in a 52-32 win over Leoti-Wichita County. The Indians led 30-6 at the break as Mikey Liebbrandt scored four touchdowns. He ran for a fifth score in the fourth quarter where the Indians outscored Leoti 22-20. Leoti-Wichita County was again led by Jantz Buddle who threw for 208 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for 124 yards and a score.
Sophomore Mitchell Wecker rushed for 296 yards and three touchdowns as Northern Heights blasted a depleted Herington team 59-20. The Wildcats rushed for more than 500 yards in the game. Northern Heights improved to 4-4 overall and 2-2 in district play.
Smith Center survived another close game getting an interception in the end zone to secure a 22-16 win over Bennington. Four Redmen backs combined to rush for more than 200 yards in the win. Kyler Atwood added two touchdown runs. Zach Fief led Bennington with 111 rushing yards.
Ell-Saline stayed in the playoff hunt by scoring 20 points in the fourth quarter of a 40-0 shutout over Washington County. Quarterback Garrett Walker completed 12 of 18 attempts for 215 yards and a touchdown. Keegan Hays caught three passes for 71 yards to lead the Cardinals. Justin Schmutz led Ell-Saline with 88 yards rushing and two scores.
Class 8M-I
Junior quarterback Tanner Tranbarger had a huge night in leading his Macksville Mustangs to a 66-20 win over Pratt-Skyline. Tranbarger completed 10 of 16 passes for 216 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 142 yards and five touchdowns, and returned an interception for another score.
St. John led Fairfield 38-8 in the second quarter before the Falcons added a late Wayne Schoenecker touchdown run to pull within 38-16 at halftime. Fairfield would then score the next 20 points of the second half to pull within 38-36 before the Tigers put the game away with touchdown runs from Schuyler Brown and Zuriel Reyes. Brown led St. John with 145 yards rushing and two scores. Tiger quarterback Spencer Nusser threw for 165 yards and two scores.
Marais des Cygnes Valley handed St. Paul its first loss of the season in a 52-40 decision at Melvern. Kaden Vanderpool had a huge night for the Trojans in rushing 35 times for 201 yards and five touchdowns. St. Paul will host unbeaten Marmaton Valley in Week 9, while MdCV will play at Pleasanton.
Mankato-Rock Hills blasted Wakefield 54-6 to set up a winner-take-all district championship game with Osborne in Week 9. The winner of the Rock Hills – Osborne game will be the District 4 champion, while the loser could fall out of the playoffs should a tie with Clifton-Clyde and Pike Valley result. Sophomore Joel Broeckelman rushed for six touchdowns in the win over Wakefield.
Don Melby’s Pike Valley Panthers scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to shock Osborne 50-40. Robert Cox rushed for 198 yards and two touchdowns and returned a kickoff 65 yards for another score to lead the Panthers to victory. Freshman Jake Tiernan led Osborne by throwing for 232 yards and a touchdown.
Class 8M-II
Caldwell secured the District 4 runner-up playoff spot by beating Argonia 49-0 in Week 8. Half of Darin Ward’s eight carries went for touchdowns as part of his 108-yard rushing night. The Blue Jays hold head-to-head district tie-breakers against both Stafford and Cummingham; the only two teams that could finish with the same record as Caldwell.
Beloit St. John’s-Tipton stepped out of district play and defeated Division-I Lakeside-Downs 26-6. Connor Eilert rushed for 150 yards and three touchdowns and registered 15 tackles on defense. Eriq Perez caught four passes for 78 yards and the other Blue Jay touchdown.
Natoma led Logan 29-22 at halftime and outscored the Trojans 18-12 in the second half to win 47-34. Natoma improved to 3-5 with the win, while Logan fell to 2-6. Brett Pinkerton led Logan with 169 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
Aaron Schmelzle and Taylor Platt each rushed for more than 100 yards as Axtell outscored Blue Valley Randolph 44-26. Schmelzle rushed for 122 yards and two scores and also caught a 36-yard touchdown pass. Platt added 105 yards and a touchdown on the ground for the Eagles.
Kyle Hammond rushed for 111 yards and three touchdowns as Colony-Crest rolled past Southern Coffey County 58-12. Hammond also had a big night throwing the ball; completing 7 of 10 passes for 173 yards and two scores.
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