WEEK 3 – Hard to believe we’re already into week 3 of the high school football season. Teams beginning to separate themselves from others while others are just looking for that first win of the season. District play is right around the corner and the playoffs soon enough will start to take shape. From 6-Man to Class 4A we got you covered as another edition of the Friday Night Fever Show is on the way presented by GN Banks.

2022 Pick Records

Brandon

Last week: 17-3
Overall: 33-7
Last season: 158-31

Justin

Last week: 16-4
Overall: 33-7
Last season: 157-32

Jared

Last week: 16-4
Overall:  29-11
Last season: n/a

Games to be Broadcast

Holton at Hiawatha – KNZA 103.9 FM, Holton Channel, Hiawatha Channel
Axtell at Clifton Clyde – KMZA 92.1 FM
Valley Falls at Horton – KAIR 93.7
Jefferson West at Sabetha – Sabetha Channel

Week 3 Games

6-Man

(1-1) Wetmore at (1-1) Peabody-Burns

The Cardinals suffered their first loss at the 6-Man level last Friday vs. Pawnee City 65-20. Dierk Hanzlicek scored two total touchdowns and had 151 total yards. He had a 43-yard passing touchdown to Jacob Carls and a 7-yard rushing touchdown. Kyler Wommack had a good day at the office with 118 yards in the loss. The two quarterbacks combined for 15 completions out of 28 attempts for 220 yards. That wouldn’t be enough, though, as they allowed 476 yards, and they were not really in the game for the second half after they found themselves behind 42-6.

Peabody-Burns have been a part of two blowouts so far this season with the last week’s game going their way in a 54-6 road win against Chetopa. The Warriors are looking for their home win of the year. Their junior quarterback Tanner Parks has three touchdowns and averaging 79 yards a game. Their senior running back Colton Gossen has 216 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Brandon’s Pick: Wetmore
Justin’s Pick: Wetmore
Jared’s Pick: Wetmore

8-Man (Non-League)

(1-1) Osborne at (0-2) Hanover

Hanover is still looking for their first win of the season as they lost last week 50-14 last week at Ell-Saline. The Wildcats have been outscored 102-20 in their first two games this season. They’ll be looking for their first win against the Osborne Bulldogs. Osborne is coming off a 54-0 win at Stockton last week after losing 58-12 to Hill City in week one.

Hanover has dominated the recent series as they are 7-1 against Osborne in their last eight games dating back to 2014. They played twice last season with Osborne winning the regular season matchup 36-26. Hanover beat them in the first round of the playoffs 24-6.

Brandon’s Pick: Osborne
Justin’s Pick: Osborne
Jared’s Pick: Osborne

(0-2) Frankfort at (2-0) Lyndon

Quarterback Wes Anderson had a solid day during their 52-30 loss to Washington County last Friday. He now has 336 passing yards and five touchdowns and a 50% completion percentage. The Wildcats have had a tough time establishing the run as they are averaging just 31.0 per game. If Frankfort wants to shot at this one, they will need their defense to make huge improvements because they are allowing 457 yards in their first two contests.

Lyndon has their first home game after two road wins against Lebo and Herington. The Tigers in those games have an average margin of victory of 27.5. These two teams are unfamiliar foes and haven’t met since 2004. 

Brandon’s Pick: Lyndon
Justin’s Pick: Lyndon
Jared’s Pick: Lyndon

(0-2) Doniphan West at (0-2) Maranatha Academy

Doniphan West continued their early season struggles as they lost last week at home against Cair Paravel 56-8. The Mustangs have been outscored 102-8 in their first two games of the season. Cair Paravel quarterback Jase Pavlik threw for 126 yards and four touchdowns.

The Eagles of Maranatha Academy also have struggled out of the gate this season as they have been outscored 98-6. They lost 52-6 last week to KC East Christian. The Eagles are 2-7 in their last nine games dating back to last season.

D-West has dominated the last four meetings against Maranatha dating back to 2014 as they have outscored the Eagles 195-40 in those four games. The Mustangs won last year’s matchup 62-14.

Brandon’s Pick: Doniphan West
Justin’s Pick: Maranatha
Jared’s Pick: Doniphan West

(1-1) Wakefield at (0-2) Blue Valley-Randolph

Blue Valley was shutout last week at 8M-I #3 Clifton Clyde 48-0. It’s the first time in seven games dating back to last season that Blue Valley was held scoreless. The Ram’s defense has surrendered 114 points in their first two games this season.

The Wakefield Bombers are coming off a 50-16 loss at Solomon and that was after they beat Herington in week one 40-16.

This will be the first meeting between Blue Valley and Wakefield since 2017 with the Bombers winning that game 52-6. Wakefield is 7-1 in their last eight games with Blue Valley with the Rams lone win in that stretch coming in 2005.

Brandon’s Pick: Wakefield
Justin’s Pick: Blue Valley-Randolph
Jared’s Pick: Wakefield

8-Man (Twin Valley League)

(2-0) Washington County at (1-1) Linn

Washington County improved to 2-0 with a 52-30 win over Frankfort last week. The Tigers put up nearly 500 yards of offense. Trenton Zenger scored three touchdowns while Payton LeDuc and Jaydon Otott added two apiece.

Linn is coming off a 66-20 beatdown at Logan-Palco which gave them their first win of the season. The win for the Bulldogs snapped a seven-game losing streak dating back to last season.

Brandon’s Pick: Washington County
Justin’s Pick: Washington County
Jared’s Pick: Washington County

(2-0) Axtell at (2-0) Clifton Clyde (KMZA 92.1 FM)

As expected, Axtell has dominated their first two contests. They are averaging 95.0 points per 48 minutes. They are coming off a 54-0 win vs. Hartford which resulted in a halftime mercy rule. Quarterback Isaac Detweiler continued his dominance with four more touchdowns, three being passing touchdowns with one on the ground. Landon Schmitz and Brandon Schmelzle also had a rushing touchdown each last Friday.

Clifton-Clyde shut out Blue Valley 46-0 last week and they have a very solid balanced offense. Long has a passing efficiency of 64% and he can really sling it. As for the running game, it’s averaging 5.0 yards per carry so far through their first two games with seven touchdowns. The Eagles are a team that very rarely makes mistakes as they have just turnover this season. The defense for Clifton-Clyde has been the best of the best allowing -1.6 yards per carry so far this season with 25 carries for -55 yards. They have also forced five turnovers this season.

Brandon’s Pick: Axtell
Justin’s Pick: Axtell
Jared’s Pick: Axtell

11-Man (Twin Valley League)

(1-1) Onaga at (2-0) Centralia

The Buffaloes had no answers for Valley Heights’ rushing game last week. They allowed 393 rushing yards and 7 rushing touchdowns as they lost to the Mustangs 46-7. As for Onaga, they only were able to produce 154 yards of offense. This is mainly because they lost their starting senior quarterback Zac Fisher to an injury with :59 left in the first quarter after returning a punt.

Centralia comes off a 40-0 win against Christ Prep last Saturday. The Panthers’ defense had a huge day with an interception, four fumble recoveries and a blocked punt on special teams. Coach Roger Holthaus said he was happy with how they also turned those turnovers into points. On offense, quarterback Trenton Talley had a solid afternoon, according to Holthaus, who said his QB threw the ball exceptionally well.

Brandon’s Pick: Centralia
Justin’s Pick: Centralia
Jared’s Pick: Centralia

(2-0) Troy at (1-1) Valley Heights

Troy entered K-Prep’s rankings this week for the first time at #5 in Class 1A after they blasted Valley Falls 63-0 last week to improve to 2-0. They did the damage in two quarters as the game was over at halftime. Reagan Hartman threw for 210 yards while the running game produced 246 yards. Troy has won their first two games of the season for the first time since 2018.

Troy will get a Valley Heights squad coming off their first win of the season as they beat Onaga 46-7 behind reigning athlete of the week Jayden DeWalt. Jayden had 12 carries and produced 290 yards and five touchdowns. He averaged over 24 yards per carry and has rushed for nearly 400 yards on over 16 yards per carry in his first two games of the season.

Troy and Onaga haven’t played since 2015 with Troy winning that game 34-12. The Trojans are 4-1 in their last five meetings with the Buffaloes with Onaga’s last win against Troy back in 2009.

Brandon’s Pick: Troy
Justin’s Pick: Troy
Jared’s Pick: Troy

Big 7

(1-1) Riverside at (0-2) Royal Valley  

Royal Valley is still searching for their first win of the season as they were hammered last week by 2A #2 Nemaha Central 71-15. The Panthers were down 36-0 after one and 63-0 at halftime. This is their first home game of the season and there next three games will be on their home field.

Riverside had the displeasure of playing Perry-Lecompton after a loss. The Cyclones generated 291 yards of offense but were only able to produce 12 points in their 35-12 road loss. Riverside was more efficient than the Kaws’ offense as the Cyclones averaged 6.2 yards per play, and Perry-Lecompton average 6.0 yards per play. Both teams completed 16 passes, but the Kaws had two passing touchdowns and no interceptions, and the Cyclones had no touchdowns and two interceptions. Quarterback Beckam Griffin went 16-for-23 with 193 yards and running back Percy Duncan had two touchdowns and 41 rushing yards on 13 carries.

Royal Valley has the recent edge over Riverside as they are 5-2 in their last seven against the Cyclones. They beat Riverside last year 16-13. The Cyclones last beat the Panthers in 2019, 42-14.

Brandon’s Pick: Riverside
Justin’s Pick: Royal Valley
Jared’s Pick: Riverside

(1-1) Perry Lecompton at (2-0) Nemaha Central  

Perry Lecompton took care of business last week and got their first win of the season against Riverside 35-12. Kaws quarterback Gunnar Ball had a nice night throwing for 209 yards and two touchdowns while adding over 80 yards rushing. It was a “bend don’t break” kind of game for the Kaws defense as they allowed almost 300 yards of offense and over six yards per play but only surrendered two touchdowns to Riverside.

Nemaha Central after a huge Week 1 win at Holton, followed it up with a 71-15 home win versus Royal Valley. This is the first time they have started 2-0 since 2017 when they had an undefeated 9-0 in the regular season before falling in the second round of the playoffs and finishing 10-1. Thunder running back Cooper Hajek (Hike) followed up last week’s impressive performance with four more touchdowns to put his total to eight on the young season. Hajek is averaging 9.3 yards per carry so far with 334 rushing yards. Meanwhile their quarterback Brayden Uphaus has fewer incompletions (4) with five passing touchdowns (5) after going 4-for-4 this past Friday with four touchdowns.

Nemaha Central has won the last four games against the Kaws by a combined score of 123-35 with the last meeting in 2017. Perry Lecompton’s last win over Nemaha Central 47-6 back in 2011.

Brandon’s Pick: Nemaha Central
Justin’s Pick: Nemaha Central
Jared’s Pick: Nemaha Central

(1-1) Holton at (2-0) Hiawatha (KNZA 103.9 FM + Hiawatha & Holton Channels)  

Holton got back on track in a big week two win against Sabetha 35-14 and ripping off several big plays in route to 442 total rushing yards. Garyson Booth had 244 of those yards on just 13 carries. The Wildcats are averaging 8.2 yards per carry this season and hit the road for the first time this year in their final tune-up before district play.

Hiawatha moved to 2-0 after they won at Jefferson West last week 26-7 on the back of their defense and special teams. Ashton Rockey took the opening kickoff back for a touchdown while Ty Willich added an interception return touchdown. Xavier Oldham added two field goals in the second half. The Redhawks lost their starting quarterback Brandt Barnhill in the first quarter to a leg injury. The Redhawks start a season 2-0 for the first time since 2012.

Holton has dominated this series without losing to Hiawatha in more than 20 years, including an early 28-0 first quarter lead last year that led to a 48-18 win.  

Brandon’s Pick: Holton
Justin’s Pick: Holton
Jared’s Pick: Holton

(0-2) Jefferson West at (1-1) Sabetha (Sabetha Channel)   

Jefferson West is off to an 0-2 start as they lost at home last week to Hiawatha 26-7. They were held to just 60 yards of offense and their lone touchdown was an 80-yard kickoff return TD by Sam Broxterman. It’s the third straight season for the Tigers where they’ve lost their first two games of the season.

Sabetha hung tough for a little while last week against Holton but ultimately lost 35-14 to drop their first game of the season. It’s the third straight year for the Bluejays splitting their first two games of the season.

From 2006-2021, Sabetha and Jefferson West have faced off 12 times with the Bluejays winning nine of the 12 meetings. They won last year 56-13 and have won six straight. Jeff West last beat Sabetha in 2013.

Brandon’s Pick: Sabetha
Justin’s Pick: Sabetha
Jared’s Pick: Sabetha

Northeast Kansas League

(0-2) Oskaloosa at (2-0) ACCHS

Oskaloosa quarterback Trenton VanHoutan was called on to contribute a lot Friday night and he produced 212 passing yards with a passing touchdown and two interceptions. For the running game, VanHoutan was able to find the endzone as well and so did Gunnar Rockhold who had 55 rushing yards. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as the defense allowed 60 points in their 60-20 loss at Pleasant Ridge last Friday. They have a tough task against one of the best teams in the state in Atchison County.

ACCHS won a monster NEKL showdown last week with Jefferson County North 14-6. The Tigers scored all their points in the first quarter. Bricen Lee threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Trenton Kimmi and he also added a 10-yard rushing touchdown. The Tigers have now gone back-to-back seasons starting 2-0 after not having a 2-0 start since the 2012 season. Last year’s team went on to win the NEKL title.

The last two meetings between ACCHS and Oskaloosa was 2018 and 2019. The Tigers won both games with ease as they won 46-0 in 2018 and 56-12 in 2019.

Brandon’s Pick: ACCHS
Justin’s Pick: ACCHS
Jared’s Pick: ACCHS

(1-1) Pleasant Ridge at (2-0) Jackson Heights

The Rams of P-Ridge were able to land their first win of the season last week as they beat Oskaloosa 60-20. The Bears kept it close in the first half as the Rams led 22-7 at halftime but they would go on to score 22 points in the third quarter and 16 more in the fourth.

Jackson Heights have dominated their first two opponents of the season. They have outscored Maur Hill-Mount Academy and Horton 111-28 in the first two including last week’s 50-21 win over the Ravens. Alex Browning led the Cobras last week with 16 carries for 196 yards and two touchdowns. Jude Williams added five carries for 110 yards and two touchdowns.

Pleasant Ridge has won six of the last eight meetings with Jackson Heights. However, the Cobras won the last two meetings in 2016 and 2017 by a combined score of 74-12. The Rams won six straight over Jackson Heights from 2004-2009.

Brandon’s Pick: Jackson Heights
Justin’s Pick: Jackson Heights
Jared’s Pick: Jackson Heights

(0-2) Valley Falls at (1-1) Horton (KAIR 93.7)  

It was another rough go last week for Valley Falls losing 63-0 at halftime. The offense was only able to get 35 yards of offense last Friday. Six of the Trojans’ nine touchdowns came on long plays of 20 yards or longer. The Dragons were able to turn Troy over twice but were unable to turn those into points. Coach Wyatt Hofstra said he is happy about how they have been able to get turnovers in both of their games, but he feels they are being wasted since they can’t turn them into points. Hofstra said he is excited to play Horton on their homecoming night as they hope to play spoilers.

The Horton Chargers did something they haven’t done since 2017 and that’s win a game. They beat McLouth last week 22-14 to end a 38-game losing streak. The go-ahead touchdown for the Chargers was a 50-yard pass in the fourth quarter.

This will be the first time since 2015 that Valley Falls and Horton meet up on the gridiron. Valley Falls is 5-3 in the last eight meetings between 2004-2015. The Dragons won in 2015, 22-6 while the Chargers last beat the Dragons 21-6 in 2014.

Brandon’s Pick: Valley Falls
Justin’s Pick: Valley Falls
Jared’s Pick: Valley Falls

(0-2) McLouth at (1-1) Maur Hill-Mount Academy

The game has been canceled and will not be made up.

(1-1) Wabaunsee at (1-1) Jefferson County North (NON-LEAGUE)

Jefferson County North is coming off their first loss of the season as they fell 14-6 at home against ACCHS last week. The Chargers offense was held in check as the Tigers scored all 14 of their points in the first quarter. It’s the third straight season that JCN has split their first two games of the season.

The Wabaunsee Chargers are also 1-1 as they won last week 74-6 over Northern Heights. Wabaunsee lost in week one to Troy. Wabaunsee has won four of their last six games dating back to last season.

This will be the fifth straight season that JCN and Wabaunsee play each other. JCN is 4-0 against Wabaunsee and have outscored them 156-37 including last year’s win of 30-11.

Brandon’s Pick: Jefferson County North
Justin’s Pick: Jefferson County North
Jared’s Pick: Jefferson County North

KCA League

(2-0) Atchison at (0-2) KC Harmon

Atchison is off to a 2-0 start as they dominated KC Sumner Academy last week with a 47-20 win on the back of senior running back Jesse Greenly who scored four rushing touchdowns. Sean Noll and Trey Carter combined for three more rushing touchdowns as all the damage was done on the ground. Jesse is averaging nearly 180 rushing yards per game through the first two.

The KC Harmon Hawks are looking for something positive. They lost 80-0 against KC Washington last week and they’ve been outscored 135-0 in their first two games of the season.

Atchison has dominated this series winning 11 straight including last year’s 70-0 romp. They have outscored the Hawks 215-8 with three shutouts in the last four meetings.

Brandon’s Pick: Atchison
Justin’s Pick: Atchison
Jared’s Pick: Atchison

North Central Kansas League

(0-2) Marysville at (0-2) Chapman

Marysville dropped to 0-2 after last week’s 34-7 defeat at Wamego. The Bulldogs have lost four straight and five of their six games dating back to last season.

The Chapman Fighting Irish are also looking for their first win of the season as they’re 0-2 after losing 24-0 against Clay Center last week. Chapman hasn’t started 0-2 since 2019.

Marysville is 11-7 against Chapman dating back to 2004 but they lost last year’s meeting 48-16. Chapman has won two of the last three games against Marysville.

Brandon’s Pick: Chapman
Justin’s Pick: Chapman
Jared’s Pick: Chapman