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2023 Pick Records
Brandon
Last week: 21-4
Overall: 159-25
2022 Record: 172-29
Justin
Last week: 21-4
Overall: 160-24
2022 Record: 174-27
Jared
Last week: 22-3
Overall: 157-27
2022 Record: 154-47
BROADCAST SCHEDULE
KNZA 103.9 FM & Sabetha Channel – Sabetha at Silver Lake
KMZA 92.1 FM – Jefferson County North at Centralia
KAIR 93.7 FM – Eudora at Atchison
Cobra Channel – Jackson Heights at St. Marys
Holton Channel – Holton at Wellsville
REGIONAL ROUND GAMES
Class 8M-I
(7-2) Clifton-Clyde at (9-0) Leoti-Wichita County @ 6:00 PM
Clifton-Clyde and Hill City played one of the wildest 8-man games in Kansas history last week as the Eagles pulled out an 84-78 win at home. Clifton-Clyde trailed the game late but used a trick play to score with roughly four seconds left to pull out the win. The Eagles offense is clicking at the right time as they have scored 58, 58, and 84 points in their last three games since their loss to Ell-Saline. Hill City combined for 640 yards of offense in a losing effort. They finished with 327 passing yards and 313 rushing yards.
Wichita County is the #1 ranked team in 8M-I and the defending state champions. The Indians beat Kiowa County last week in their playoff opener 54-0. There defense has posted seven shutouts in their nine games and have outscored their opponents this season 554-46 (61.5-5.1). They have won 22 straight games, and they lead the classification in both scoring offense and scoring defense.
This appears to be just the second all time meeting between Clifton-Clyde and Wichita County. The two teams played in 2019 in the first round of the playoffs with Wichita County winning the game 54-38.
Brandon’s Pick: Wichita County
Justin’s Pick: Wichita County
Jared’s Pick: Wichita County
Class 8M-II
(5-4) Hanover at (6-3) Lebo @ 6:00 PM
We have a rematch of the 1A-DII state volleyball championship on the gridiron. The Wildcats will hope for a better outcome with Hanover bouncing back from a blowout loss to Frankfort by getting a road playoff win against Lakeside in dominant fashion with the final score being 54-8. That win was just their second against an opponent that is currently over .500, granted the first was at #5 Osborne.
The Wolves have won six games in a row since their 0-3 start. Two of those losses came against teams that have four losses. During their winning streak, they have averaged 54.7 points per game and given up just 6.3 points per game including two shutouts. Last week, their opening playoff round matchup was favorable with a home game versus Norwich in which they won 52-6.
These two teams have met just twice all-time with Hanover winning both matchups. Those meetings came in season openers in 2016 and 2017 with the Wildcats winning 22-0 and 56-6, respectively.
Brandon’s Pick: Lebo
Justin’s Pick: Hanover
Jared’s Pick: Hanover
(7-2) Frankfort at (8-1) Canton-Galva @ 6:00 PM
The Wildcats let Lane Loiseau do all the heavy lifting in Frankfort’s 60-0 win over St. John’s-Tipton last week. He ran four times for 141 yards and four touchdowns. Henry Ketter quarterbacked for the Wildcats and attempted one pass which was a 27-yard touchdown to Loiseau. Brock Armstrong also had three carries for 74 yards and two touchdowns. Wes Anderson missed the game after getting injured at the end of the Hanover game two weeks ago. When asked about his status for this week, Head coach Nick Anderson simply said, “Fingers crossed”. Their win last week gave them their fifth consecutive season with a playoff win. However, they are hoping to get multiple playoff wins for the first time since 2020.
The Eagles are hoping for another deep playoff run after falling to Axtell in the sub-state round last year in a tight one with a final score of 36-32. Canton-Galva opened the season with a 42-40 loss at Little River, but since then they have mercy-ruled every opponent they have faced. During that eight-game stretch, they have outscored their opponents 500-104 for an average final score of 62.5-13. Last week, they began their run with a 56-8 win at home against Colony-Crest. This will be the first meeting between Frankfort and Canton-Galva.
Brandon’s Pick: Canton-Galva
Justin’s Pick: Canton-Galva
Jared’s Pick: Canton-Galva
(6-3) Central Christian at (9-0) Axtell @ 6:00 PM
CCS won the Heart of the Plains league this year with a perfect 4-0 record. The Cougars are also coming off an impressive 48-24 win against a solid St. Paul team. They are now facing a whole different beast, although, they did face Canton-Galva during the season and ended up losing 66-16.
Another week, another mercy rule victory for Axtell. They took care of Wakefield last week to a final score of 58-0. Brandon Schmelzle went 5-for-7 for 206 yards and three touchdowns with a 34-yard rushing touchdown as well. He now has 25 passing touchdowns and over 1,100 yards with zero interceptions. Eli Broxterman had another monster day with two receiving touchdowns and 106 yards with a 13-yard rushing touchdown as well. Broxterman has a total of 18 touchdowns and over 700 scrimmage yards. Axtell held Wakefield to just 79 yards on 34 plays from scrimmage.
The lone meeting was last year in the bi-district round with Axtell coming out on top 50-0.
Brandon’s Pick: Axtell
Justin’s Pick: Axtell
Jared’s Pick: Axtell
Class 1A
(8-1) Jackson Heights at (6-3) St. Marys – Cobra Channel
Jackson Heights improved to 8-1 overall with their 36-12 win at home over Mission Valley last week which extended their winning streak to four since their lone loss against Centralia. The game was tied 6-6 at the end of the first quarter but the Cobras outscored the Vikings 22-0 in the second quarter which proved to be the difference. Quarterback Drake Mellies led the rushing attack with 174 yards and two touchdowns. Joshua Smith rushed for two touchdowns and Titus Eisenbarth added another rushing touchdown. Titus is one of their top players and was injured for most of the season but has been getting a little bit of playing time over the past two games.
The defending champs in St. Marys won their sixth consecutive game as they blasted Riverside last week in their playoff opener 62-6. The Bears are ranked #2 in Class 1A according to K-Preps despite having three losses. A reminder that there three losses in the first three weeks of the season were against Rossville, Rock Creek, and Silver Lake. The Bears have the fourth best scoring offense in the classification, averaging 41 points per game.
St. Marys beat Jackson Heights last season in the first round of the playoffs 46-14. The matchup last season was the first meeting between the two schools since 2011. This will be the 13th all time meeting between Jackson Heights and St. Marys. The Bears have won six straight against the Cobras. The Cobras have not won against St. Marys since 1990 and the first ever meeting between the two was back in 1969.
Brandon’s Pick: St. Marys
Justin’s Pick: St. Marys
Jared’s Pick: St. Marys
(8-1) Jefferson County North at (8-1) Centralia – KMZA 92.1 FM
The Chargers rallied last week to take down Troy in their playoff opener 48-22. Troy jumped out to an early 16-0 lead before JCN exploded and outscored the Trojans 48-6 the rest of the game. The Chargers rushed for 434 yards and averaged nearly 12 yards per carry. They finished the game with 496 yards of total offense while Troy finished with 289 yards of offense. JCN has outscored their last three opponents 188-35 since their lone loss to St. Marys.
The Panthers’ offense exploded for 30 points in the second quarter in their 50-12 win over Oskaloosa. Five different Panther ball carriers found the endzone including Becker, Flentie, Tanking, Aldefer and Grossnickle. Maveryk Becker is 45 yards shy of a 1,000-yard season on the ground alone. He also has nearly 400 receiving yards. This season, the senior back has amassed 19 total offensive touchdowns, two defensive touchdowns and a kickoff return touchdown.
This will be the 11th all-time meeting between Centralia and Jefferson County North. Centralia beat the Chargers last season 34-8 in the regional round. The Panthers have won have eight straight against JCN. The Chargers’ lone wins against Centralia was 7-0 in 1998 and 12-0 in 1984 which was the first ever meeting between the two.
Brandon’s Pick: Jefferson County North
Justin’s Pick: Centralia
Jared’s Pick: Centralia
(7-2) Valley Heights at (8-1) Sedgwick
The Mustangs ran all over Whitewater-Remington in their 58-14 win last week with 406 rushing yards and a combined eight touchdowns. Carson Spoonts also had a passing touchdown with his team-leading 132 rushing yards and two scores. Jayden DeWalt had 118 yards and two touchdowns and Kaison Bigham had 85 yards and three touchdowns. A win today would be the first time in school history that Valley Heights got multiple postseason wins.
The Cardinals have won six games in a row since their Week 3 41-6 loss at Sterling. Sedgwick has a solid resume including a 35-20 win over reigning 1A runner-up Inman. The Cardinals also handed Marion their only loss of their season with a 34-28 road win to clinch District 6. Last week, they won handily against Sacred Heart at home 35-7, who Valley Heights defeated in Week 5 38-15. The only other common opponent between these two teams was Valley Heights’ opponent last week. Sedgwick defeated Remington on the road 42-7 in Week 6.
The lone meeting between these two teams was in last year’s playoffs in the opening round with Sedgwick getting a 49-22 win.
Brandon’s Pick: Valley Heights
Justin’s Pick: Sedgwick
Jared’s Pick: Sedgwick
Class 2A
(8-1) Sabetha at (8-1) Silver Lake – KNZA 103.9 FM & Sabetha Channel
#4 Sabetha picked up a monster win last week in their playoff opener against ACCHS defeating the Tigers 71-6. The Bluejays rushed for 341 yards led by Colin Menold’s 100-yard, four touchdown performance. ACCHS were missing some key pieces, but the Bluejays defense held the Tigers to minus-15 rushing yards in the game and they forced a pair of early turnovers. The Bluejays lone loss of the season was against top-ranked Nemaha Central in the regular season finale.
Silver Lake has posted an impressive season and resume which included a 58-7 win at home last week over Minneapolis. The Eagles have won seven straight games with their lone loss against 3A #3 Topeka-Hayden back in week two. The Eagles offense is averaging 44 points per game while the defense has given up just seven total points in their last four games with three shutouts.
This will be the first meeting between Sabetha and Silver Lake since 2017. Sabetha won that matchup 17-14 in the Sub-State round of the playoffs and would go on to win the 3A state championship. It’ll be the 10th all-time meeting between the two schools with Sabetha holding the 5-4 advantage. Silver Lake last beat Sabetha 28-7 in 2014 and the first meeting between the two schools goes back to 1980.
Brandon’s Pick: Sabetha
Justin’s Pick: Sabetha
Jared’s Pick: Silver Lake
(5-4) Riley County at (9-0) Nemaha Central
The Falcons are coming off an arguably surprising outcome last week with a 28-7 win at Rossville last week. Their offense has been less than electric this season with an average of just 23.2 points per game. It’s been the Falcons defense which has been the team’s strength with an average of 20.6 points allowed per game. Those numbers might be similar, but the Falcons have been able to get big time stops in crucial situations and have helped Riley County to three one-possession wins.
As good as the Falcons’ defense has been, no one’s defense has been better than Nemaha Central’s. Their shutout streak continued last week after getting their eighth straight in a 48-0 win over Pleasant Ridge. In the meeting back in Week 7 which resulted in a 30-0 win for the Thunder, Carter Hajek went for 30 carries and 107 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. He also had seven completions in ten passing attempts for 76 yards.
This will be the fourth overall meeting between these two teams with Nemaha Central winning the previous three games. It will be the second playoff meeting with the first coming in 2019 in the sub-state round where the Thunder won 39-14.
Brandon’s Pick: Nemaha Central
Justin’s Pick: Nemaha Central
Jared’s Pick: Nemaha Central
Class 3A
(5-4) Holton at (9-0) Wellsville – Holton Channel
Holton scored at least 60 points and ran for more than 500 yards for the second straight week beating Bishop Ward last Friday 60-14. Cael Frazier and Kyler Jackson each ran for more than 100 yards but Abbott Hundley led the Wildcats with 209 yards rushing and 5 touchdowns while adding a sack and fumble recovery for a 49-yard touchdown to improve Holton record to 5-4 and continue their 26th straight playoff season.
Hundley now has 955 yards rushing this season while Kyler Jackson has 670 and Cael Frazier 489. The Cats are rushing for 326 yards per game but will face a much different style team when traveling to Wellsville. The Eagles are 9-0 and have won all their games by at least 28 points except for a 36-29 win against Prairie View in week six. Wellsville runs a pass-heavy spread attack that has thrown for more than 2,500 yards on the season and averaged 45 points per contests.
Senior Willie Dorsey has completed 138 of 183 passes for 2,443 yards with 37 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions. He has three different receivers with at least 499 yards. Fellow seniors Dezmond Winton (848 yards, 13 TD) and Brody Lee (747 yards, 11 TD) led the way while junior Kenyon Gillins (499 yards, 5 TD) has added to the aerial attack. Wellsville rushes for 106 yards per game as well led by sophomore Payton Otwell with 360 yards.
Although Wellsville and Holton haven't played each other, they have two common opponents this season in Bishop Ward and Perry Lecompton. Wellsville beat those two teams by a combined 87-6 margin while Holton topped those teams by a 92-31 margin. Strength of schedule is one area that could be an advantage for Holton having played three ranked teams that all have one or fewer losses this season. The Eagles have only played three teams with a winning record (5-4, 6-3, and 7-2) this year.
Brandon’s Pick: Wellsville
Justin’s Pick: Wellsville
Jared’s Pick: Holton
Class 4A
(5-4) Eudora at (9-0) Atchison – KAIR 93.7 FM
The Eudora Cardinals won their playoff matchup last week at home against KC Piper 28-14. Despite a 5-4 record, Eudora has been a top-five team this season and has played a difficult schedule. Three of their four losses have been by a combined 12 points. The four losses for Eudora have come against 5A Spring Hill, Ottawa, Louisburg, and Tonganoxie. Spring Hill is 7-2, Louisburg is 9-0 and ranked #2 in the state behind Bishop Miege, and Tonganoxie is 7-2 and ranked #4 in the state. All three teams are still alive in the playoffs.
#5 Atchison defeated Bonner Springs in their playoff opener last week 56-22. Xiomar Hernandez returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and the Phoenix would roll the rest of the game. Trey Carter continued his strong season throwing for 205 yards and three touchdowns on just eight completions (25.6 yards per completion). Hernandez, Carter, and Jaden Carter each added a rushing touchdown as Atchison rushed for 157 yards in the game.
This will be the third all-time meeting between Atchison and Eudora. The Cardinals won 50-7 in 2021 and 20-12 in 2006. Both of those meetings were in the second round of the playoffs.
Brandon’s Pick: Atchison
Justin’s Pick: Atchison
Jared’s Pick: Eudora
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