In our Picks to Click, we feature eight players or units from across the state that we feel will have breakout performances on Friday night.
This season, we’ve assembled a team of eight media members across the state to each select one player (or unit) each week. We will track the cumulative statistics of our selections throughout the season similar to fantasy scoring.
Picks to Click contributors for the 2017 season include: John Baetz (Kansas Pregame Magazine); Dion Clisso (PrepsKC.com); Taylor Eldridge (Wichita Eagle); Matt Gilmore (Kpreps.com); Chet Kuplen (Kansas-Sports.com & @sportsinkansas); Brent Maycock (Topeka Capital Journal); Conor Nicholl (Kpreps.com); and Mark Schremmer (Kpreps.com).
Check back next Thursday to see our picks for Week 8, and how the players performed that we picked the week prior. See the bottom of this article for details.
Payton Hartman, QB, Blue Valley Northwest (Clisso)
Northwest senior quarterback Payton Hartman is among the state’s top passers through six games this season. The 6-foot-2, 207-pound Hartman has thrown for 1,566 yards and ten touchdowns while completing 52 percent of his passes. Last week, the Northwest signal caller led his team to a 35-28 win over Gardner-Edgerton in finishing 25 of 39 passing with 340 yards and two touchdowns. Hartman has passed for more than 300 yards in each of Northwest’s past two games, both on Thursdays. Hartman and the Huskies will play under the Thursday night lights again this week at Blue Valley.
Trenton Jones, RB, Conway Springs (Kuplen)
Jones has 55 carries for 1,176 yards this season and 18 touchdowns in six weeks as part of the Cardinal’s prolific single-wing offense. His most impressive stat is yards per carry as he averages 21.4 per rush. Conway Springs has blown opponents out 392-to-66 this season on the way to an unbeaten record. They will get their biggest test of the season this Friday against undefeated Garden Plain in the first game of districts meaning Jones could get more carries than he has been getting so far in 2017. His first five weeks he had only 31 touches in blowout victories. Conway is averaging 529.5 yards of offense per game, 510.7 of them come on the ground.
Caden Kinderknecht, QB, Northern Valley (Gilmore)
Caden Kinderknecht is winding down a brilliant eight-man career at Northern Valley. The 6-foot-1, 172-pound senior quarterback will play his 30th varsity game on Friday as the Huskies will take on unbeaten Sylvan-Lucas Unified. Kinderknecht has posted more than 5,500 yards of total offense in his career and had a hand in 83 touchdowns. He has rushed for 3,326 career yards and 52 scores, while passing for 2,208 yards and 30 touchdowns. He also has one defensive touchdown.
This sesason, Kinderknecht has rushed for 777 yards and ten scores and passed for 472 yards and eight touchdowns. He’ll need a big performance on Friday as the Sylvan-Lucas Mustangs come to Almena undefeated and averaging 53 points per game. Last season, however, Northern Valley won at Sylvan-Lucas 68-44 thanks to a big rushing night and seven total touchdowns from Kinderknecht. Friday’s game will go a long way in determining the district championship in 8M-II, District 5. A victory by Northern Valley would be the 283rd in veteran coach Chuck Fessenden’s career.
Graham Mertz, QB, Blue Valley North (Maycock)
A first-year starter in a pass-happy Eastern Kansas League, Mertz has already not only made a name for himself but landed a Division I scholarship, committing to Wisconsin earlier this week. Completing 61.7 percent of his passes this season, Mertz ranks fourth in the state in passing with 1,604 yards and 23 touchdowns with only three interceptions. The Mustangs face two-time reigning 5A champion Mill Valley on Friday but the Jaguars have been susceptible to the pass this year, allowing at least 250 yards in four of six games. North has put up at least 33 points in four of six games and Mill Valley is allowing 38.3 points per contest. This could become a shootout between big-time QBs (Brody Flaming for Mill Valley) and Mertz has enough weapons to have a monster game.
Colton Noonan, WR, Burlingame (Baetz)
The undersized Noonan is a versatile weapon for 8-Man I's top-ranked Bearcats, and while he has battled injuries this season, coach Jeff Slater will look to get him going this week as the Bearcats try to continue their winning streak. Last season Noonan caught 36 passes for 570 yards and 12 TDs. This year he has caught nine passes for 143 yards with two scores. But Noonan has also carried the ball 16 times for 225 yards and four more scores as the Bearcats frequently motion him into the backfield to get him extra touches.
Burlingame will face a team trending in the complete opposite direction this week when they host Valley Falls. The Dragons are 0-6 and have allowed at least 46 points in every game this season. A healthy Dalton Sporing and an experienced offensive line should allow Noonan to get open and get in the end zone.
Carter Putz, QB, Bishop Miege (Schremmer)
The Stags senior quarterback is nearing the end of one of the best prep careers in Kansas history. For his career, he's already thrown for a state record 99 touchdown passes and is approaching the state record of 8,901 passing yards. On the season, Putz has completed 76 of 104 passes for 1,397 yards and 13 touchdowns. He's also rushed for 249 yards and six touchdowns on 41 attempts. The Stags will take an 18-game winning streak into this week's district game against Eudora.
Caden Williams, WR, Trinity (Eldridge)
Josh Seabolt, RB, Cimarron (Nicholl)
Last winter, Seabolt became Cimarron’s first-ever wrestling state champion when he earned the Class 3-2-1A title at 182 pounds. This fall, Seabolt has again enjoyed a standout year. He has benefited from first-year coach Greg Koenig’s double-wing offense that annually produced big rushing numbers and explosive offenses at Beloit.
Seabolt has helped Cimarron start 4-2 and average 31.7 points per contest. He has 162 carries for 1,039 yards and nine rushing scores. Overall, Seabolt has accounted for 52 percent of Cimarron’s rushing yards and has exceeded 100 yards in five contests.
Cimarron starts 3A, District 16 play at home against Lakin (5-1) in a contest that should decide both playoff berths – and will decide the Hi-Plains League title. The Bluejays have won three straight against Lakin and are 14-1 in league play since the start of 2015. Seabolt will likely carry a significant offensive load in the big matchup.
Week 6 Picks to Click results (scoring):
Dan Bollig, LB, St. Thomas Aquinas – Bollig registered two tackles in the Saints’ 34-14 win over previously-unbeaten St. James Academy. (Clisso – 4 pts)
Brayden Francis, WR, Sedgwick – Francis had four catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns in the Cardinals’ 58-7 win over Medicine Lodge. (Maycock – 25 pts)
Sam Hardin, QB, Wichita Trinity – Hardin had a huge night in the Kights’ 63-32 win over Belle Plaine. The senior quarterback passed for 195 yards and six touchdowns, and added 122 rush yards and another score. (Kuplen – 73 pts)
Kaden Kraus, LB, Halstead – Kraus had nine stops in the Dragons’ 39-30 loss to defending 4A-II champion Pratt. (Schremmer – 18 pts)
Cade Miller, QB, West Elk – Miller accounted for all five Patriot touchdowns in their 36-22 win at St. Paul. Miller rushed for 203 yards and three scores on 37 carries, and passed for 75 yards and two more scores. (Gilmore – 57 pts)
Journey Schule, LB, Clearwater – Clearwater fell 34-22 to Chaparral, but Schule recorded 19 tackles, 4 for a loss, and 1 forced fumble. (Eldridge – 38 pts)
Jace Ruder, QB, Norton – Ruder completed 9 of 19 passes for 89 yards and rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Norton defeated Colby, 35-6 to improve to 5-1 on the season. (Nicholl – 30 pts)
Denton Schurr, RB, Osborne – Schurr carried seven times for 65 yards and a touchdown in the Bulldogs’ 44-10 win over Logan-Palco. The senior also caught two passes for 36 yards. (Baetz – 15 pts)
Standings for the 2017 season through Week 6:
1. Brent Maycock, Topeka Capital Journal 274 points
1. Taylor Eldridge, Wichita Eagle-Varsity Kansas 274 points
3. Chet Kuplen, Kansas-Sports.com & @sportsinkansas 248 points
4. Mark Schremmer, Kpreps.com 245 points
5. Matt Gilmore, Kpreps.com 202 points
6. John Baetz, Kansas Pregame Magazine 165 points
7. Conor Nicholl, Kpreps 159 points
8. Dion Clisso, PrepsKC.com 153 points
2017 Picks to Click
- The objective will be to have the most cumulative points over the course of the season.
- Participants may select a quarterback, running back, WR/TE, offensive line or a defensive player each week.
- Everyone must pick a WR/TE, offensive line and defensive player at least once.
- Points will be rewarded only for the player's offensive or defensive stats, depending on how you designate the player that week. For instance, if you pick a running back then you will not receive any of his points for defense.
Scoring system
QBs/RBs/WRs/TEs
- 1 point for every 10 yards passing, rushing or receiving from a quarterback, running back or wide receiver
- 6 points for every passing, rushing or receiving touchdown
Offensive line
- 1 point for every 50 yards gained as an offense
- 3 points for every offensive touchdown
Defensive player
- 2 points for every tackle
- 4 points for every INT, sack or fumble recovery
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