WESTERN KANSAS WEEK 5 PICK SIX
DODGE CITY (2-2) AT GREAT BEND (4-0)
Great Bend will step into conference play after an impressive run through its non-conference slate.
The No. 2-ranked Panthers rolled to a 75-8 win over Wichita North last week. They also own victories over McPherson (42-7), Olathe South (40-21) and Buhler (38-21).
Junior Cooper Ohnmacht has been tremendous in all facets for the Panthers. Last week, Ohnmacht returned a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns and also caught a touchdown pass.
The Panthers are stacked with weapons. Notre Dame commit Ian Premer has a team-high 254 receiving yards with four touchdowns followed by Ohnmacht with 200 yards and two TDs. Conner Holladay leads Great Bend’s rushing attack with 302 yards and four touchdowns. Quarterback Daxton Minton has 656 passing yards with nine touchdowns and one interception.
Dodge City dropped to 2-2 with a 31-22 loss in its Western Athletic Conference opener last week. The Red Demons’ wins came against Woodward, Okla., (28-3) and Wichita South (27-8).
Dodge City quarterback Ty Scheck has passed for 571 yards. TyJour Hooke leads the Red Demons in rushing with 187 yards. Fabian Ortiz leads the WAC in tackles with 50.
HILL CITY (3-1) AT ST. FRANCIS (3-1)
Hill City has been picking up steam since dropping a 30-20 loss to WaKeeney-Trego in the season opener.
The Ringnecks rolled to big wins in the next three games against Ellis (62-26), Thunder Ridge (58-12) and Rawlins County (58-12).
Senior quarterback Tate Balthazor starred in the Rawlins County win. Balthazor threw for 202 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 167 yards and three TDs. Tyler Ashbaugh added 176 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
St. Francis started 3-0 but will be looking to bounce back from a 38-28 loss to Oberlin-Decatur last week. Quarterback Lucas Raile threw for 234 yards and two touchdowns last week for the Indians, adding two touchdowns on the ground.
St. Francis beat Quinter (25-8), Wheatland-Grinnell (47-0) and Greeley County (51-0) in its 3-0 start. Raile has thrown for 689 yards and eight touchdowns with one interception. Layn Todd has a team-high 226 yards on the ground with five touchdowns. Dayton Fromholtz leads the St. Francis defense with 35 tackles and 5.5 sacks.
Balthazor has 613 passing yards with eight touchdowns and one interception on the season. Ashbaugh leads the Ringnecks in rushing with 391 yards and six touchdowns while Balthazor has 391 yards on the ground with six touchdowns. Aiden Hall and Briggs Born are tied for the team lead in tackles with 42. Hall also has a team-best six sacks.
Hill City won last year’s matchup with St. Francis, 76-36.
JUNCTION CITY (3-1) AT HAYS (3-1)
After a 48-20 win over Garden City in its Western Athletic Conference opener, Hays will wrap up its loaded nonconference schedule with one more huge test.
Junction City’s 28-14 upset over Manhattan was at the centerpiece of a wild night in Class 6A last Friday. The Blue Jays were fantastic on defense, notching five interceptions and one fumble recovery against the then-No. 1-ranked Indians.
Manhattan handed Hays its first loss in a 10-8 defensive slugfest in Week 3 after Hays, runner-up in 5A last year, had notched wins over Derby and Choctaw, Okla. Braxton Basgall ran for 148 yards and three touchdowns in the Garden City win last week.
Junction City opened with wins over Campus (48-3) and Lawrence (14-7) before taking a 31-21 loss against Wichita Northwest, ranked No. 2 in 6A.
The Bluejays vaulted to No. 3 in 6A with last week’s Manhattan win. Marshall Karmann had two interceptions, while JaMarcus Tyson, Lovell Autry and Khaliel Walker each came up with one and Toby Johnson had a fumble recovery. Junction City quarterback Conrad Gomez hit Autry for touchdown passes of 18 and 76 yards, and he also ran in a score that clinched the win.
Gomez has thrown for 738 yards with 12 touchdowns and two interceptions on the season. Autry has a team-high 17 receptions for 268 yards and four touchdowns.
Hays, ranked No. 3 in 5A, has one of the top running backs in the state in Holden Lind, who has rushed for 556 yards and six touchdowns.
Tanner Geist is one of the Indians’ top playmakers on defense. The junior defensive lineman leads the team in tackles with 34 including 10 tackles for loss.
Hays has won each of the last three matchups with Junction City, including a 27-17 victory last year.
OTIS-BISON (2-1) AT CUNNINGHAM (3-1)
Otis-Bison is looking to find its footing in the Six-Player ranks while Cunningham has been the pre-eminent program since the six-man game became KSHSAA sanctioned.
Cunningham will make the move back up to Eight-Player next year. The Wildcats played an eight-man game against Minneola last week, falling 42-40 in overtime.
Cunningham has reached the state title game in three straight years with a state championship in 2022.
This is Otis-Bison’s second year as a Six-Player program. The Cougars beat Western Plains 62-0 in the season opener, lost to South Barber 26-7 in Week 2 and then took a 26-7 win over Pawnee Heights. Maddox Firebaugh threw for three touchdowns in the Pawnee Heights win.
The Cougars' top playmakers are Firebaugh, Gavin Alloway and Aiden Ochs-Lowrey.
Stephen Kerschen ran for 127 yards and four touchdowns for Cunningham in last week’s loss to Minneola. On the season, Kerschen leads the team with 419 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. Dylan Halderson has a team-high 38 tackles for the Wildcats.
SCOTT CITY (3-0) AT HUGOTON (4-0)
Hugoton has outscored opponents 202-31 heading into the Great West Activities Conference showdown with Scott City.
The Eagles rolled up 653 yards of offense in a 63-18 win over Colby last week.
Running back Hunter Garza had four total touchdowns (two rushing, two receiving) against Colby. He ran for 102 yards on 11 carries and scored on both his catches with 65- and 58-yard TDs. Fullback Isa Guardado went for 168 yards on the ground and two touchdowns.
After Scott City’s Week 3 matchup with Hoisington was declared a no-contest after a lightning stoppage, the Beavers cruised to a 44-7 win over Ulysses last week. Scott City also has lopsided wins over Cimarron and Wray, Colo.
The duo of Peyton Bergner and Cayden Couchman dominated in the backfield for the Beavers last week. Bergner ran for 100 yards and two touchdowns on just five carries and caught seven passes for 92 yards and a score. Couchman had 75 yards on nine carries with a touchdown and caught five passes for 100 yards and a TD.
Scott City has won the last 13 matchups with Hugoton, which will be looking for its first win against the Beavers since 2005.
TMP-MARIAN (2-1) AT SMITH CENTER (4-0)
Smith Center has raced out to a 4-0 start after going 0-4 to begin the 2024 season.
The Redmen trailed Plainville 16-14 early in the third quarter last week before scoring the last three touchdowns in a 34-16 win.
Smith Center quarterback Parker Hutchinson ran for touchdowns of 62, 22 and 9 yards to lead the Redmen, who also have wins over Chapman (16-6), Phillipsburg (16-14) and Norton (28-20).
TMP-Marian is coming off a bye week. The Monarchs opened with a 29-22 loss to Russell but bounced back with a 55-6 win over Norton and a 20-19 victory over Phillipsburg. TMP's Jackson Gillespie ran for 102 yards and a touchdown in the Phillipsburg win.
Smith Center beat TMP 20-14 in overtime last year, starting a four-game winning streak that came after the 0-4 start. Smith Center is 8-1 all-time against TMP with the Monarchs’ lone win coming in 2001.