One game and two-thirds of a quarter might be a little early to suggest a football season is in the danger zone.
 
But after a 44-10 season-opening loss at Maize South followed by a 14-point deficit eight minutes into their home opener against Arkansas City on Friday, the Andover Trojans were in desperate need of something positive.
 
With hard-luck senior quarterback Brady Strausz sidelined indefinitely with a broken arm he sustained in the opener, Andover steadily regained its footing. The Trojans turned the momentum on Ark City with a run-heavy offense and suddenly-effective pass defense to rally for a 45-27 victory that evened their record at 1-1.

 
Senior Nik Pai moved from running back to quarterback and rushed for 175 yards and two touchdowns. When cramps sidelined Pai in the second half, sophomore Tanner Woolston replaced him with a wildcat look that produced 92 rushing yards and two scores.
 
“After last week, some of us questioned how we would respond,” said Pai, who learned his new duties while battling through illness after the Maize South loss. “I knew we had the guys to respond, but you never know how things are going to go.
 
“Being down 14 points, I was like, ‘All right, we’ve got to pick things up.’ And these guys did.”
 
Andover’s defense, ripped for 448 passing yards and five touchdowns by Maize South sophomore Tate McNew in the opener, was under fire again in the early going against Ark City. Bulldogs senior Gabe Welch connected on his first six passes for 139 yards, including touchdowns of 29 yards to Trevor Pierce and 62 to Max Mendez on a fourth-and-1 play, to put Ark City up 14-0.
 
The Trojans, who had a field goal blocked after driving 61 yards on their first possession, broke through late in the first quarter with a nine-play, 83-yard march that included the first of Pai’s six completions. Senior Christian Snipes completed the drive with an 8-yard run, the first of his back-to-back touchdowns.
 
The drive marked a turning point for Andover. Welch misfired on his next nine passes and 12 of 13, resulting in three consecutive three-and-outs and a turnover on downs for Ark City. Meanwhile, Pai found running seams in a weakening Bulldog defense, scoring on runs of 38 and 25 yards before halftime to give Andover a 26-14 lead.
 
“We talked all week about responding,” Andover coach Ken Dusenbury said. “We had that injury to Brady last week, which was so unfortunate. We just kind of kept doing what we do. Our kids believe in what we do, and good things started to happen.”
 
Woolston got into the act in the second half, taking a direct snap 34 yards for a score on his first rushing attempt. When junior Vaiden Law added a 9-yard touchdown run later in the third, Andover had scored 39 unanswered points.
 
Law finished with 86 yards on 10 carries and Snipes had 81 on 10. The Trojans rolled up 521 yards of total offense, 468 on the ground.
 
“I’m just so proud of our young guys,” said Pai, who will prepare for his second start at quarterback when the Trojans host 2-0 Goddard on Friday. “Tanner Woolston, he stepped up. He was thrown in the position I was. We are not quarterbacks. We are running backs. But that kid did a phenomenal job.”

CIRCLE BREAKS THROUGH AGAINST BUHLER
 
Clearing the tallest hurdles is never easy, and Circle certainly understands that after a dramatic, 38-35 victory over Buhler on Friday that moved the Thunderbirds to 2-0.
 
It was Circle’s first victory in eight attempts since the teams’ first meeting in 2016. And it wasn’t decided until Buhler’s Bradley Neill came up short on a 43-yard field-goal attempt on the game’s final play.
 
“I told my parents and told my friends after the game I was exhausted because there was every bit of emotion that there is in terms of happiness, sadness, anger and anticipation,” Circle coach Logan Clothier said.
 
Resurgence, revival … whatever you want to call it, the T-Birds are in the middle of one under Clothier after winning six games last season, their most since 2001. But even with that, Circle endured a 76-0 loss to the Crusaders last season – its worst in a series in which Buhler averaged 53.3 points and limited the T-Birds to a total of nine points in six meetings prior to Friday.
 
Circle trailed 13-0 in the first quarter before engaging in Friday’s seesaw battle. The T-Birds rallied for a 14-13 lead and a 26-23 halftime advantage, which came on Conner Chadwell’s 44-yard pass to Ty Smith just before the break.
 
Smith, an All-Class 4A defensive back last season, caught four passes for 183 yards and three touchdowns. He also intercepted three passes, one of which resulted in a touchdown being called back for an illegal block.
 
“His football awareness and his understanding of the game has taken another step,” Clothier said. “His ability to run after the catch and his route-running has really improved.
 
“Last year, he was fast, but now it’s about, ‘How do I set up a guy? How do I get open here?’ We’ve talked a lot about how guys at the next level are expected to block even when they’re not getting the ball. That’s been huge, as well. He’s taken so many steps that you like to see a player take from his junior to senior year.”
 
Last season, Smith hauled in most of his 730 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns from now-graduated quarterback Luke McGinnis. This fall, Conner Chadwell’s brother, Cooper, has replaced McGinnis and has passed for 475 yards and six touchdowns in the T-Birds’ first two games.
 
“I think Cooper has brought a calmness to us,” Clothier said. “He’s serious when it’s time to work and he’s ready to go, but at the same time he keeps the energy light. I think he noticed our coaches and sometimes our kids were getting so worried it was Buhler week. I talked to him after our Tuesday or Wednesday practice and he said, ‘Coach, I know it’s Buhler, but I think everyone is a little uptight.’ So he calms things for us.
 
“He’s got a lot of arm talent, and I think he’s just been gaining confidence each week.”
 
Chadwell, a senior, was ejected for taunting against Buhler in the fourth quarter after connecting with Smith on a 64-yard touchdown that put Circle up 38-26. That preceded a stressful final eight minutes in which Buhler scored a touchdown and safety to pull within three. The Crusaders got the ball back with less than a second remaining and lined up for a potentially tying field goal, but came up short.
 
“Obviously, he’s going to learn from that and I told him we can still have fun without doing those types of things,” said Clothier, whose team travels to Winfield on Friday. “My message to the kids is we’re playing a faceless opponent. The great programs, they don’t worry about who they’re playing, but they worry about themselves and how they prepare.”

OTHER WEEK TWO STANDOUTS

• Cheney junior Colter McDaniel caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Josh Burdick and returned an interception 76 yards for another score in the final minute of the first half to help the Cardinals pull away to a 37-7 victory over Garden Plain. McDaniel, an Argonia-Attica transfer, staked Cheney to a 29-0 halftime lead with his two touchdowns.
• Maize senior Avery Johnson completed 17 of 24 passes for 358 yards, including touchdown strikes of 78 yards to Bryson Hayes and 41 to Jaeden Martin in the Eagles’ 42-14 victory over Andover Central. Johnson also rushed for 79 yards and a touchdown as Maize, No. 2 in Class 5A, improved to 2-0 and handed the 4A No. 4 Jaguars their first loss.
• Wellington’s Parker Thornton and Malachi Rogers returned interceptions for touchdowns in the first half and the Crusaders forced seven Clearwater turnovers in a 49-18 victory, their first under coach Jeremiah Meeks. Wellington intercepted four passes and recovered three fumbles.
• Derby quarterback Brock Zerger passed for 88 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 83 yards and two scores to help the Panthers rebound from a season-opening loss to Manhattan with a 69-20 victory at Salina South. Derby scored on offense, defense and special teams in a 55-point first half.
• Kingman quarterback Nolan Freund completed 14 of 23 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns, and Tristen Davidson hauled in five receptions for 139 yards and a score in the Eagles’ 36-0 victory over Conway Springs.
• Chaparral quarterback Austin Clark accounted for 370 yards of total offense and five touchdowns as the Roadrunners won a 54-40 shootout with Wichita Trinity. Clark completed 11 of 20 passes for 189 yards and three touchdowns and rushed 10 times for 181 yards and two scores, including a 98-yard dash in the second quarter. Jackson Swartz caught a 64-yard touchdown pass from Clark and returned a punt 65 yards for a TD in the first half for Chaparral.
• Senior Hunter Alvord passed for two touchdowns and ran for two others in McPherson’s 42-7 victory over Augusta. Alvord was 12 of 17 through the air for 132 yards and rushed five times for 66 yards.
• Argonia-Attica junior Dalton Morrison rushed nine times for 56 yards and three touchdowns in the Titans’ 45-0 victory over Cedar Vale-Dexter.
• Wichita East’s RayRay Leaks rushed for 203 yards and three touchdowns to help the Blue Aces knock off Kapaun Mt. Carmel 30-20 in their Greater Wichita Athletic League opener. Cornerback Omari Wishom picked off a Kapaun pass in the end zone late in the fourth quarter to prevent a go-ahead touchdown for the Crusaders.
• Junior quarterback Jayce Glasper helped Wichita Northwest bounce back from a season-opening loss to Bishop Carroll, passing for 193 yards and three touchdowns in a 52-6 victory over Wichita Heights. Glasper, who also ran for a touchdown, connected with receiver Michael Lopez on scoring tosses of 59 and 38 yards.