NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS WEEK 8 PICK SIX
WAMEGO (5-2) AT ABILENE (5-2)
While a North Central Kansas League title won’t be on the line, seed positioning in the Class 4A west playoff bracket is. Wamego is currently the No. 3 seed in the west while Abilene is the No. 5 seed.
Wamego has won three straight after a 2-2 start, beating Clay Center 28-14 a week ago. Clay Center handed Abilene one of its two losses, beating the Cowboys 14-7 in the season opener. Abilene’s other loss was 28-14 to Rock Creek, which beat Wamego 21-13.
Logan Fulton has had a big season at quarterback for Wamego, throwing for 1,291 yards and 15 touchdowns. His favorite target has been Dominic Falco, who has 34 catches for 839 yards and 9 touchdowns.
Abilene has had nice balance on offense this year. Taygen Funston has thrown for 846 yards and 7 touchdowns with Levi Evans (389 yards, 2 TDs) and Heath Hoekman (224 yards, 3 TDs) his leading receivers. Lane Hoekman is the leading rusher with 747 yards and 7 TDs.
Wamego has won six straight in the rivalry with Abilene’s last win coming in 2016, a 50-14 victory. The Red Raiders pulled out a 28-27 overtime win in 2017 and after the two teams didn’t play in 2018 and 2019, Wamego has taken decisive wins in the last five meetings with the closest game a 24-point contest.
JEFFERSON WEST (6-1) AT HAYDEN (7-0)
Jefferson West has enjoyed one of the biggest turnarounds in the state this year, already posting more wins than the Tigers had over the previous three seasons combined. The six wins are the most since the 2019 team finished with an 8-2 mark and West is only seconds away from being undefeated, suffering a last-second loss to St. Marys in Week 3.
The arrival of the Schwinn gang has been a huge key to the breakthrough season with Jeff Schwinn taking over as head coach of the program and his sons Brixton and Brody keying the Tigers’ potent passing attack. Brixton, a freshman, has thrown for 1,407 yards and 18 touchdowns while Brody, a junior, has been on the receiving end of 36 of his completions for 628 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Crayton Holman leads the Tigers in catches with 38 for 433 yards and 5 touchdowns. Brixton is also the Tigers’ leading rusher, but with just 233 yards as West has run for only 658 yards and 8 touchdowns as a team.
West will get its biggest test yet in Hayden, which is ranked No. 2 in Class 3A and has been nothing short of dominant this season. The Wildcats haven’t had a game closer than 22 points this season and have convincing wins over ranked 4A teams No. 2 Eudora (28-6) and No. 4 Wamego (42-6). The Wildcats haven’t scored less than 48 points in any of their three district games.
Conner Hanika has thrown for 950 yards and 13 touchdowns this season, but has only been picked off once. He’s spread the wealth in the passing game with four Wildcats having at least 175 yards receiving. Kade Mitchell has rushed for a team-high 586 yards and 9 touchdowns.
Hayden’s defense has been smothering with only Holton scoring more than one touchdown against the Wildcats.
SACRED HEART (5-2) AT REPUBLIC COUNTY (6-1)
It’s hard to say which North Central Activities Association program has enjoyed a bigger turnaround this year.
Sacred Heart went just 3-5 last year in Ryan Krajicek’s first year as head coach, but has flipped that mark already this season. Last week’s 41-0 victory over Herington clinched the Knights’ first winning season since the 2013 squad went 8-2 and the last time the Knights won at least five games came in 2015 when they went 5-5.
Republic County, meanwhile, is enjoying its best season since the merger of Belleville and Hillcrest and North Central following the 2005 season. Since 2006, the Buffaloes haven’t posted a winning season with the program’s best mark a 5-6 season in 2016. Only three times in the program’s previous 19 seasons has it won at least four games.
The Buffaloes signaled this year’s breakthrough season with a 34-28 overtime win over Troy in the season opener. After falling 40-16 in Week 2 to Ellsworth, Republic County has dominated its next five foes and last week picked up a huge 36-11 win over Valley Heights last week.
Kash Henke and Nick Kendall sparked the win over Heights, with Kendall rushing for two touchdowns and throwing for one and Henke throwing for two scores and totaling 189 yards of total offense. Aden Morris caught both TD passes.
Henke has rushed for 491 yard and 5 touchdowns while Kendall has added 442 yards and 9 scores. Henke has also thrown for 538 yards and 8 touchdowns and Morris has 6 TD catches.
Sacred Heart began the year 0-2 with losses to Ellsworth and Plainville before also putting together a five-game winning streak. The Knights have been a bit more explosive on offense, especially in the passing game where Maddox Wells has thrown for 1,196 yards and 16 touchdowns and Noah Hines has 618 yards and 11 TD grabs. Elias Gordon is the leading rusher with 473 yards and 3 touchdowns. Dom Matteucci has a combined 605 yards and 6 touchdowns rushing and receiving.
Sacred Heart has beaten Republic County each of the last three seasons, including a 32-13 victory last year.
JEFFERSON COUNTY NORTH (7-0) AT JACKSON HEIGHTS (7-0)
Not only is the Class 1A District 3 title on the line, but the winner of this battle of unbeatens will also claim the Northeast Kansas League title.
Heights won the league last year, demolishing North 52-0 in their regular-season finale – one of six shutouts the Cobras posted a year ago. Heights only has three shutouts this year, but the defense has been nearly as stingy as a year ago with the Cobras having allowed just 26 points all season.
North’s defense has been just as tough as Heights’ has with the Chargers opening the season with three straight shutouts and adding a fourth two weeks ago. North has allowed just 28 points this season.
Both defenses will face their biggest tests of the season this week as North is averaging 44 points per game and Heights is averaging 54 points per contest.
Four-year senior starter Drake Mellies fuels the Cobra offense as he’s thrown for 1,057 yards and 16 touchdowns and run for another 838 yards and 15 scores. Freshman Tatum Eisenbarth has emerged as a solid complement in the backfield with 441 yards and 5 touchdowns rushing while Austin Zeller leads a balanced receiving corps with 445 yards and 8 TDs.
North quarterback Will Elias has thrown for 697 yards and 13 touchdowns and also run for 710 yards and 11 scores. Merrick Noll is coming off a 5-TD performance last week and has 559 yards and 8 touchdowns on the ground and Christopher Noll had 3 TD catches two weeks ago and has 380 yards and 9 touchdowns receiving.
A win would give the Cobras their second straight undefeated regular season while North was the league champion in 2023, running the table in league play, though the Chargers didn’t face Heights that season. North advanced to its first-ever state championship game in 2023, falling in the Class 1A title game to Conway Springs.
RIVERSIDE (6-1) AT CENTRALIA (6-1)
After opening the season with a 21-0 loss to undefeated and No. 1 Jackson Heights, Riverside has ripped off six straight victories. The Cyclones have gotten it done defensively, recording four straight shutouts over the past four weeks and allowing just 15 points during the six-game streak.
That defense will be put to the test by Centralia, which suffered its only loss this season to Missouri power Mid-Buchanan. The Panthers have been overpowering against their Kansas competition with their closest win a 14-point victory over Valley Heights in the season opener.
Centralia has shut out its last three opponents while also getting a forfeit win over Horton in Week 6. The Panthers have allowed just 22 points in their six wins.
Last year’s contest was a thriller as Centralia rallied for a 34-28 victory. That victory was part of a late-season surge that carried the Panthers all the way to the Class 1A state championship game where they fell to Conway Springs.
While the Panthers have leaned on Quentin Alderfer to lead the offense, Riverside has been balanced in the passing and run game. Beckam Griffin has thrown for 761 yards and 9 touchdowns and also run for 251 yards and 5 scores while Elijah Moore has run for 520 yards and 8 touchdowns. Three other backs have at least two rushing touchdowns and Ty’Zell Harrington is the leading receiver with 236 yards and 5 TDs.
BURLINGAME (5-2) AT RURAL VISTA (6-1)
After recording just four wins in Brian Henry’s first four years as head coach, Rural Vista has been on an upward trend the past three seasons, going 5-5 in 2023 and 7-3 last season. This year, the Heat have been nothing short of dominant in getting to 6-1, even showing well in a 70-30 loss to then-ranked Little River in their only loss.
In its six wins, Rural Vista has outscored its opponents 301-12 and posted four shutouts in its last five games. The Heat statistically have the top running back in Eight-Player Division II with senior Kole Riedy enjoying a huge season. Averaging nearly 12 yards per carry, Riedy has run for 1,435 yards and 25 touchdowns this season while adding 24 two-point conversion runs as well.
He’s far from a one-man show, however, as Koden Sanford has thrown for 539 yards and 4 touchdowns and also run for 216 yards and 10 scores.
Burlingame has reloaded after losing some of the program’s all-time great players from last year’s 10-1 team. Danny Cain has stepped in at quarterback and thrown for 1,202 yards and 18 touchdowns with Drake Skirvin hauling in 49 catches for 729 yards and 11 touchdowns. Cain has also run for 531 yards and 9 touchdowns.
Burlingame is coming off a 52-14 loss to Reno County Homeschool and also fell 42-26 to Madison. The Bearcats won last year’s contest with Rural Vista in a 60-30 shootout and this year’s game also could be high-scoring.
The winner will win the District 2 title with both teams coming in 3-0 in district play.