NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS WEEK 4 PICK SIX
DESOTO (3-0) AT BASEHOR-LINWOOD (3-0)
The United Kansas Conference title likely will be decided in Friday’s game, which has typically been the case since the formation of the league in the 2018 season with the two rivals combining to claim each of the first six league crowns. Over that span, De Soto has only lost twice in league play (once to Basehor), while Basehor has only dropped nine – four of those coming to the Wildcats.
De Soto is coming off its most impressive win of this season, rolling past Piper 57-7 last week. The Wildcats racked up 439 rushing yards in the contest and now have rushed for 1,014 yards and 16 touchdowns behind the offensive line of Seth Goins, James Dyes, Dylan Roy, Wes Flagor and Judd Riedesel. Four backs have at least 125 yards with Jayden Lang leading the way with 267 yards and 4 touchdowns. Drew Parks has a combined 363 rushing and passing yards with four touchdowns each way.
Basehor-Linwood won a 42-35 shootout with Shawnee Heights last week, getting a big night from senior back Nick Doering. He ran for 195 yards and two touchdowns and also caught a 68-yard touchdown pass. On the season, Doering has run for 378 yards and 7 touchdowns and first-year starting quarterback Carter Dixon has added 345 yards and 5 touchdowns through the air.
De Soto has won four straight after Basehor took their first meeting in 2018 with a 35-27 victory.
NEMAHA CENTRAL (2-1) AT CHANUTE (3-0)
The tough early-season schedule continues for two-time reigning Class 2A state champion Nemaha Central with Friday night’s challenge perhaps the biggest yet for the Thunder. Chanute is ranked No. 3 in the KSHSAA Covered Class 4A rankings and is coming off an strong 27-14 win over McPherson last week.
Kris Harding threw for 212 yards and two touchdowns in the win over McPherson and now has thrown for 491 yards and 4 TDs this season. Quentin Harding has added 316 yards and 4 TDs on the ground this season.
Nemha Central, meanwhile, fought off a late surge by Rossville to hold on for a 31-28 against its new Big East League rival. The Thunder built a 24-7 halftime lead on the strength of two touchdown runs and a touchdown pass by Carter Hajek and still led 31-14 after three quarters before Rossville got within three with just over two minutes to play.
Hajek finished with 170 yards and three rushing touchdowns, pushing him to 478 yards and 7 touchdowns this season on the ground. He’s also thrown for 307 yards and three touchdowns.
Nemaha has beaten Rossville and Silver Lake in consecutive weeks after seeing its 26-game winning streak snapped by Marysville in the season opener.
Chanute and Nemaha have never faced each other in their programs’ histories.
RILEY COUNTY (3-0) AT COUNCIL GROVE (3-0)
Every game in Class 2A District 3 will be a big one with the five teams in the district going into Week 4 with a combined 14-1 record. That means a good team will be left out of the playoffs when it’s all said and done.
Council Grove has yet to be tested in its 3-0 start, outscoring its first three foes by a combined 136-20. The Braves rolled to a 46-0 shutout of new Flint Hills League rival Cair Paravel last week. Fresh off a school-record passing performance in the Week 2 win over Mission Valley, Luke Stewart threw for 132 yards and two touchdowns against Cair Paravel while Ace Monihen ran for 93 yards and two scores.
Monihen also returned a fumble for a touchdown and the Braves got pick-sixes from Landon Dody and Bradley Doornbos. Stewart has thrown for 551 yards and 5 touchdowns this season and Monihen has 301 rushing yards with 9 touchdowns.
The 2024 season has been anything but cruise control for Riley County. The Falcons opened with a 27-14 win over Jefferson West that saw starting quarterback Eli Harmison go down with a fractured fibula in the third quarter.
But Riley County hasn’t let that injury derail it, coming from behind to beat Holton 21-20 in Week 2 and Chapman 28-22 in Week 3. Sam Allen has carried the load and run for 429 yards and six touchdowns, including three against Chapman, while Kadrick Woodard has filled in more than adequately at quarterback for Harmison, throwing for 294 yards and two touchdowns.
Riley County is 4-0 against Council Grove since 2018, scoring more than 60 points in three of those four wins, none of which were by fewer than 44 points.
SILVER LAKE (2-1) AT ST. MARYS (3-0)
The other big Class 2A District 3 opener pits once Mid-East, now Big East League rivals looking to perhaps get the inside track to the district title. St. Marys is ranked No. 3 in the KSHSAA Covered 2A rankings while Silver Lake was ranked in the top five before suffering a 35-7 blowout loss to Nemaha Central in Week 2.
The Eagles bounced back last week, scoring the final 11 points of their game with Perry-Lecompton to pull out an 18-12 victory. Dysen Schooler threw for 296 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for 143 yards. His 18-yard TD pass to Bryson Burgos in the third quarter put the Eagles up for good after Perry had gone on top 12-7 on Eli Dean’s 44-yard TD run.
St. Marys, meanwhile, rolled past Jefferson West 42-0 thanks to a balanced offensive effort. Five different Bears had rushing touchdowns and Brady Hurla threw for 125 yards with seven different receivers catching passes.
Hurla has thrown for 257 yards and a touchdown and also run for 231 yards and five scores. Korleone Holz has added 244 yards and two touchdowns on the season.
It’s been two decades since St. Marys came away from its showdown with the Eagles with a win, the last coming in 2004. Silver Lake has won 19 straight since, including a 29-28 thriller last season.
Both teams have taken wins over rival Rossville this season, Silver Lake rallying for a 33-26 overtime win over the Bulldawgs in the season opener and St. Marys winning 24-19 in Week 2.
RIVERSIDE (2-1) AT MAUR HILL (2-1)
In a sense, it’s a case of back to where it started for Riverside.
When Elwood and Wathena merged in 2011 to become Riverside, the school was still a member of the Delaware Valley League. But when the Cyclones moved to the Big Seven League in 2013, it was part of a redesign for the Delaware Valley which then became the Northeast Kansas League.
With the Big Seven merging with the Mid-East League this season, Riverside is now back as a member of the Northeast Kansas League and comes into Friday’s game on a two-game winning streak after falling 35-7 to Jackson Heights to start the season. The Cyclones upset undefeated McLouth last week with a dominating 34-14 victory.
Maur Hill’s only loss also came to Jackson Heights, 55-0 in Week 2. The Ravens opened the season with a strong 22-20 win over Jefferson County North, last year’s NEKL champion and Class 1A state runner-up. Last week, the Ravens demolished Maranatha 65-12.
Luke Siebert completed 5 of 9 passes for 107 yards and three touchdowns against the Eagles and the Ravens also got three rushing touchdowns from three different players. Siebert has thrown for 291 yards and 4 touchdowns this season.
Despite being in different leagues, Riverside and Maur Hill have maintained a strong rivalry, playing nine times in the past 13 seasons that Riverside has existed. Riverside won the first three meetings, but the Ravens have won five of the last six.
FRANKFORT (3-0) AT HANOVER (3-0)
Who is the top threat to three-time reigning Eight-Player Division II champion Axtell in the Twin Valley League? Well, Frankfort and Hanover can stake that claim with a victory in Friday’s huge league clash.
Both teams have been dominant in their 3-0 starts with Frankfort averaging just under 73 points per game while giving up 56 total points and Hanover averaging 45.3 points per game and allowing just 16 points.
Their head-to-head comparison game? Wins over Clifton-Clyde with Frankfort rolling the Eagles 70-34 in the opener and Hanover cruising 50-0 in Week 2.
Frankfort’s offensive weapons have delivered. Wes Anderson has thrown for 806 yards and 16 touchdowns while Lane Loiseau has 334 yards receiving with 7 touchdowns and Carter Olson having 232 yards receiving and 5 TDs. Loiseau has also added 145 rushing yards with 5 scores and Anderson has run for four touchdowns.
Hanover got a pair of rushing touchdowns from Alec Jueneman and Reiken Stallbaumer threw for 139 yards and three touchdowns, two to Hunter Kickhaefer, in the win over Clifton-Clyde. The Wildcats ran for six touchdowns as a team in last week’s 52-0 win over Washington County with Stallbaumer getting two of them.
Stallbaumer has four rushing touchdowns and four passing touchdowns this season, accounting for nearly 400 yards of total offense overall.
Frankfort topped Hanover twice last season, winning 62-14 in the regular season and 38-12 in the playoffs and has won three of the last four meetings after the Wildcats won 11 straight in the series from 2012-2020.