Two weeks removed from its first and only loss of the season against Goddard, Andover Central had already cleansed the palate, so to speak, with a convincing victory over Salina Central.
 
That win assured the Jaguars, who had dropped two spots from their No. 1 ranking in Class 4A, they would avoid a similar tailspin to the three-game losing skid they experienced last season with Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail Division II losses to Eisenhower, Goddard and Salina Central.
 
But on Friday, Andover Central displayed something it couldn’t the previous week against Salina Central. The Jaguars battled through momentum swings and a second-half challenge from previously unbeaten Eisenhower to win 27-26 and improved to 6-1.
 
Central stayed in the hunt for the AVCTL II title, improving to 4-1 while Eisenhower completed its league slate at 5-1. Central and Goddard – which lost to Eisenhower 32-21 on Sept. 13 – each close the regular season with league contests on Friday.
 
“This game was really important for us,” senior wide receiver and defensive back Jace Adler said. “We really struggled against Goddard. I feel like we gave that game away, and we just really wanted to capitalize on mistakes better this game. I feel like we did that.”
 
Adler’s fourth-quarter interception, right after the Jaguars scored the go-ahead touchdown on senior Maddox Archibald’s 7-yard run with 8:55 remaining, was one of several key plays for Central throughout the game. Earlier in the fourth, Adler hauled in a 34-yard pass from quarterback Jace Jefferson on a third-and-12 play that kept the winning drive alive.

While the Jaguar defense was forced to turn away Eisenhower’s dangerous offense one more time after Adler’s interception, they didn’t let a hot start to the game go to waste.
 
Central, which lost to Eisenhower 41-17 last season to start its three-game slide, opened Friday’s game with an 8-play, 80-yard march. Bradshaw capped it with a 21-yard touchdown run, one play after senior Brody DeGarmo fully extended on a 31-yard diving reception from Jefferson on third and 10 near midfield.
 

“It really felt good at the start of the game,” Adler said. “We were rolling on all cylinders.”
 
Senior defensive end Dawson Rodd confirmed that a few minutes later, snagging a short pass from Eisenhower’s Derek Morgan out of the air and returning it 59 yards for a touchdown that put the Jaguars up 14-0. The 305-pound Rodd displayed good speed barreling down the sideline.
 
“I knew they were going to throw a ball back my way, so I was kind of sitting on it,” Rodd said. “When I saw it, I grabbed it. I almost ran out of gas at the end. I’m glad I got in.”
 
Eisenhower, No. 5 in Class 5A, worked its way back into the game with 20 second-quarter points. Morgan connected with his favorite target, senior Carter Pabst, on a deep post for a 53-yard touchdown that tied it at 14. After Central regained the lead on Jefferson’s 1-yard plunge, Morgan hit Pabst on a slip screen, and the North Dakota commit took it 79 yards to cut the Jaguars’ lead to 21-20.
 
Pabst, who finished with five receptions for 145 yards, hauled in his third touchdown from Morgan in the final minute of the third quarter, a 4-yarder that gave the Tigers their only lead at 26-21.
 
“I feel like we could have done way better on him, but a win’s a win,” Adler said.
 
Adler’s long reception helped Central position itself to pull off the victory. Eisenhower ran just eight offensive plays in the fourth quarter and got no closer than Central’s 46.
 
With the win, the Jaguars climbed a spot to No. 2 behind Louisburg, 4A’s lone unbeaten.
 
“The most challenging thing in football is battling adversity,” Central coach Derek Tuttle said. “Any coach will tell you that. We didn’t do a bad job of battling adversity in the Goddard game, but tonight it just felt like we had the opportunities to really make a statement on certain plays and I thought the kids did that.”
 
MOUNDRIDGE WORKS OVERTIME FOR DISTRICT TITLE
 
Facing one of the state’s best passing attacks with a district title at stake, Moundridge showed it could wing it around a little, as well.
 
Senior quarterback Henry Hecox completed 21 of 34 passes for 364 yards and five touchdowns, including a 10-yarder to Barrett Moddelmog in overtime to help the host Wildcats edge Sedgwick 41-40 in a battle of unbeatens for the Class 1A District 6 crown.
 
Hecox’s fifth extra-point kick of the game proved to be the difference, as Sedgwick’s two-point conversion attempt to win came up empty when quarterback Corey Crumrine and receiver Dallas Lagree couldn’t connect.
 
“It was an exciting game against a high caliber team,” Moundridge coach Tyler O’Connor said. “Our experience helped us tremendously when it came down to big moment in the game, and our guys responded each time they needed to.
 
“Couldn’t be more proud of the kids and their resiliency.”
 
Hecox had a hand in all six Wildcat touchdowns to help them win the shootout and improve to 6-0. He sandwiched a 1-yard touchdown run in between scoring passes of 27 and 40 yards to junior Kaizer Kanitz in a wild first quarter in which Moundridge led 21-20.
 
Kanitz also caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Hecox in the third quarter and finished with 13 receptions for 205 yards. Kanitz also had one of the Wildcats’ two interceptions.
 
Moddelmog added four receptions for 78 yards. Prior to his overtime touchdown, Moddelmog hauled in a 19-yard scoring pass from Hecox that gave Moundridge its biggest lead at 34-20.
 
The victory bumped Moundridge up to No. 2 in KSHSAA Covered’s 1A rankings. Sedgwick, which fell to 6-1, dropped from No. 2 to No. 3.
 
Crumrine finished 23 of 40 for 279 yards and three touchdowns for Sedgwick, which was denied a district title for just the second time in 14 years.


OTHER SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS FOOTBALL STANDOUTS
 

• Class 6A No. 1 Derby improved to 7-0 and clinched the Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail Division I title, scoring all its points in the first half of a 51-7 victory over visiting Maize South. Quarterback Drew Kemp passed for 143 yards and three touchdowns – two to tight end De’Saahn Brame – and added 88 rushing yards and two scores. Sophomore Arieus Finley ran 16 times for 135 yards and two touchdowns for the Panthers.
• Wichita Northwest rebounded from its first loss of the season to defeat visiting Wichita South 62-8 and secured its seventh Greater Wichita Athletic League title in the last 10 seasons. Junior Augie Fast ran 13 times for 216 yards and two touchdowns, while quarterback Jaylen Mason completed 9 of 17 passes for 161 yards and three scores, two to junior Griffin Baker and one to junior Chase Carter.
• Senior Lucas Meyer ran for 170 yards and a touchdown and junior Darius Rogers added 127 yards and three scores as Wichita Heights got its second win of the season, 61-7 over visiting Wichita North.
• Wichita Collegiate snapped reigning 3A champion Cheney’s 19-game winning streak, using a pair of touchdown passes from Harrison Simon to Sebastian Hines-Turner to defeat the visiting Cardinals 31-7. The Spartans won their third straight since a loss to 3A No. 1 Andale and improved to 3-0 in District 7.
• Brody Weir scored four touchdowns and Jalik Armstrong ran for 123 yards and two scores in visiting Wellington’s 54-13 victory over Rose Hill. Quarterback Dusty Bannister passed for 271 yards and three touchdowns, including one to Carter Burnett, who had five receptions for 131 yards. The Crusaders won their fifth straight since an 0-2 start.
• Buhler stayed unbeaten in Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail III play, using two touchdown passes from Brendan Scripsick to win 21-7 at Winfield. Mitchel McDaniel ran for 187 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter to secure the win for the Crusaders.
• Hesston set up a Week 8 showdown with fellow 3A unbeaten Andale, getting two touchdown passes from quarterback Jerick Humphreys and two rushing touchdowns from Karter Gonzalez in a 28-0 victory over Riley County. Humphreys completed 15 of 21 passes for 137 yards and scoring strikes to Daxon Deering and Asher Deutschendorf. Gonzalez ran 22 times for 128 yards.
• Reigning 1A champion Conway Springs locked down the District 7 title with its 18^th consecutive victory, as Isaac Winter and Logan Osner each ran for over 100 yards in the Cardinals’ 34-21 victory over visiting Ellinwood. Conway Springs trailed 15-14 at halftime, but took the lead in the third quarter on Cade Howell’s 1-yard run. Winter finished with 15 carries for 152 yards and a touchdown, while Osner had 16 carries for 111 yards and two scores.
• Trent Haag and Creyo Koop each scored three touchdowns as West Elk stayed unbeaten with a 66-8 victory over Northeast-Arma. Haag and Coop connected on a touchown pass, and Haag added two rushing scores and an interception return for a touchdown for the visiting Patriots, No. 4 in Eight-Player Division I.
• Freshman Max Deviney connected with junior Carson Vineyard on two touchdown passes to help Argonia-Attica defeat Ashland 45-0 and improve to 5-2. Deviney was 2 of 4 for 121 yards, while Vineyard added seven carries for 102 yards and a rushing touchdown for the Titans in the non-district game.