A Catholic private school, returning to 5A following a short stint one classification down, preparing for a regular season slate in an Eastern Kansas League filled with a bunch of teams that are power players even in 6A.

That description actually matches both teams in this week’s KSHSAA Covered Game of the Week.

On one side is St. Thomas Aquinas, which started this season by keeping things rolling from the Saints’ run to the 4A state title in 2023.

On the other side is St. James Academy, which ended a four-year losing streak in the season opener. The Thunder are trying to right the ship following a two-win campaign last year, which matched the team’s lowest win total from its 2-8 season in 2018.

St. James Academy earned an upset victory in Week 1 of this season by defeating the other team which shares nearly all of the same attributes mentioned above. The Thunder powered through Miege with a 44-28 win over the Stags, who remained in 4A. 

St. James head coach Tom Radke said the win had added emotions based on how last year played out, particularly against their rival.

“It was a great win for us after losing to Miege last year twice,” Radke said. “They ended our season last year, so it was a great feeling to get the win and get that taste out of our mouth.”

With that win, St. James also accomplished something that it had not for the full duration of the team’s four-year stay in 4A. The Thunder kicked off the season with a victory for the first time since 2019. Even when St. James won 4A state titles in 2020 and 2021, the team lost the season opener each time, including an 0-4 start in the latter season.
 

But now St. James will be trying to pull off something this week that has eluded the program even more than a fast start to a season.

The Thunder will face an Aquinas team which holds a 10-1 advantage in this series. St. James earned its sole win over the Saints during the 2022 regular season. The Thunder won that game 24-20, only for Aquinas to begin its current two-game winning streak by earning a 28-13 victory in the state quarterfinals that same year.

The Saints also provided St. James its season-opening losses during both of those state championship seasons for the Thunder.

Aquinas, which only spent a single two-year cycle in 4A, left that classification as the reigning champs. Although the Saints will not be able to defend their crown in the same classification, they seem more than ready to pursue the second half of their two-peat by battling through 5A.

Aquinas opened its season with a victory for the ninth straight year, holding off Blue Valley West in a 25-21 back-and-forth thriller last week.

Aquinas head coach Randy Dreiling said both teams had big plays that swung the game in one direction, while also having some negative plays that swung the momentum back in a similar way.

“It was a battle,” Dreiling said.

Aquinas junior running back Calin Arndt led the way with two rushing touchdowns, including the go-ahead score from four yards out early in the fourth quarter.
 

The Saints only had two major concerns coming out of that game. One was how often their offense let the ball hit the ground. The second was letting the Jaguars twice take a lead in a game that the Saints held a two-score lead in the opening quarter. If the Saints can avoid the former, they’ll likely be able to avoid the latter happening again.

The Saints defense had their hands full trying to clamp down on Blue Valley West senior quarterback Tate Nagy in that one. 

“Our front four was relentless on this guy (Nagy),” Dreiling said after the game. “He had to run around and he made some great plays, but those big sacks saved the day for us.”

Aquinas will go up against an offense with a little bit different style of attack in Week 2.

St. James Academy senior quarterback Tyson Beashore, who transferred from Spring Hill, leads an Air Raid offense that doesn’t ask him to use his legs nearly as much as Nagy does for the Jaguars. 

Instead, the Thunder quarterback will stay in the pocket as he tries to distribute the ball all across the field with his arm. He did just that against the Stags throwing for 262 yards and four touchdowns in his first game leading the Thunder.

Beashore found chemistry, almost instantly, with senior wide receivers Parker Chase and Sam Niesen. Chase caught six passes for 170 yards and three touchdowns. Niesen added another 104 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions.
 

Radke said Beashore had a good summer with the team, but he noticed that the experienced gunslinger really started to click with his new group during the first week of practice this fall.

“We really got to settle in to fine tuning our offense led by our (offensive coordinator) Matt Joshi,” Radke said. “When Tyson really figured out the Air Raid system and what Coach Joshi wanted from him, all started to fall into place. 

“And we thought we could have something special.”

Even the 16-point victory over one of St. James’ two big rivals does not fully capture how strong the team performed against the Stags. The Thunder raced out to a 20-0 lead after one quarter, expanded that lead by another touchdown before halftime and held 44-14 advantage heading into the final frame.

Beashore had more than enough time in the pocket to show off what he and the offense were capable of. That performance was thanks in large part to the protection of an offensive line that returned all five starters in seniors Brock McKensie, Jackson Cantu, Luke Neff, Carter Jasperson and Jack Marsha.

The Thunder offense may have taken some people by surprise with its six-touchdown performance against Miege, but Dreiling is not one of them.

“Not surprised they won, but the score really shows their improvement over last year,” Dreiling said. “We scrimmaged them this summer and they are for real.”
 

Dreiling’s prescription for slowing down the Thunder is not too much different than they plan in Week 1.

“We have to stop the run and eliminate big pass plays,” Dreiling said. “They are going to complete passes. We have to keep them in front of us.”

If the Saints players on defense can rally to the ball and disrupt the rhythm that the Thunder offense found last week, Dreiling trusts his offense can find a way to impose its will with its polar opposite style.

Aquinas found success last week with senior Elzie Slaughter starting at quarterback and leading the team’s flexbone offense for the first time. He delivered with a rushing touchdown, some big first down runs, and generally making the right decision in the triple option. 

Junior running back Calin Arndt led the way with two rushing touchdowns, including the go-ahead score from four yards out early in the fourth quarter. Senior running back Will Callahan also had a 26-yard rushing touchdown to get the Saints on the board in the first quarter.

The Saints only had two major concerns coming out of that game. One was how often their offense let the ball hit the ground. The second was letting the Jaguars twice take a lead in a game that the Saints held a two-score lead in the opening quarter. If the Saints can avoid the former, they’ll likely be able to avoid the latter happening again.

Dreiling has little doubt that the offense will be able to eliminate those handful of miscues, especially as Slaughter becomes more comfortable and experienced in his role.

“People don’t understand the decision-making process that goes on with running this offense. The first time you do it is bam, bam, bam,” Dreiling said. “There are going to be some mistakes. He’s just going to get better and better and better as we go.”
 

The Thunder are hoping they can force the Saints into replicating some of those issues this week. St. James was able to exploit some of the inexperience against Miege in Week 1. The Stags had many key returners this year, but none were along the offensive line.

Junior linebacker Andrew Maurer led the team with six tackles, including three tackles for loss and two sacks. Senior Aidan Dreiling matched Maurer with two sacks of his own, while senior defensive end Max Requet and senior safety Jack Bevitt reached the quarterback as well.

For Aquinas, junior guard Stephen Carroll returns for his third year as a starter, but junior tackle Tyler Barnes is the only other member of the offensive line who started games for the Saints last year. Despite that roster turnover, the Saints offensive line did not show any signs of weakness against the Jaguars. 

In fact, their offensive line opened up running lanes for all of the team’s runners throughout the contest.

Carroll, who also recovered a fumble on the Saints final drive to keep the offense on the field and run out the clock, has helped shape the identity of the fresh-faced O-line entering this season.

“All the Carroll boys are slightly psychotic and they play so hard,” Dreiling said. “I would hate to be the guy that has to take him on every down. He's relentless and his engine, his motor never stops. You turn on the film and it's sometimes almost comical.

“He’s our bell cow over there on the offensive line. That's the guy we lean on and we're gonna keep doing that the whole year.”
 

Not only will St. James goes up against an offensive line with a player like Carroll and without as many question marks as their previous opponent had, the Thunder will also need to roll out a much different game plan to combat an offense much more focused on the ground attack.

Radke said his defense is already well prepared for that week-to-week change of styles, at least with this opponent.

“We have played Aquinas enough to know what we are getting ourselves into,” Radke said. “We have started implementing a flexbone period throughout the year to better prepare ourselves for when we see a flexbone team.”

While last week’s rivalry game win over Miege was the only time St. James will face the Stags this season, this week’s match-up has the potential of becoming a rematch in the 5A playoffs down the road. That fact doesn’t mean the Thunder will try to save any tricks up their sleeves.

“You just want to win,” Radke said. “You will pull out all the stops so you can have bragging rights for a few weeks. In the end, it's high school football. The team that stays healthy, blocks and tackles the best, makes a few plays, is going to win the game. 

“Each week we get a chance to play under lights with our brothers and have a chance to do something special. That is why we love this game so much.”