WESTERN KANSAS WEEK 6 PICK SIX
HUTCHINSON TRINITY (4-1) AT ELLINWOOD (4-1)
Ellinwood is aiming to move to 5-1 for the first time since the 2003 season.
The Eagles rolled in their three games before running into Sterling in Week 4 and taking a 43-8 loss to the Black Bears, now ranked No. 3 in Class 1A. However, Ellinwood bounced back last week with a 41-13 win over South Sumner to even up its district record at 1-1.
Drake Hosman and Austin Brack had huge nights on the ground for the Eagles against South Sumner. Hosman ran for 186 yards and three touchdowns while Brack added 143 yards and two scores. Brack also returned an interception for a touchdown.
Brack has a team-high 638 rushing yards and nine touchdowns while Hosman has 537 yards on the ground with five TDs.
Ellinwood is set for a test against Hutchinson Trinity which rolled to a 40-6 win over two-time reigning champion Conway Springs over last week.
Senior Drew Dechant passed for 163 yards and three touchdowns in the Conway Springs win, and ran for 130 yards and two TDs. Dechant connected with Bentyn Chastain on scoring passes of 46 and 38 yards, and had first-half touchdown runs of 40 and 28 yards. Kaid McElgunn returned a punt 66 yards for a touchdown and also caught a 55-yard touchdown pass from Dechant in the third quarter.
Hutchinson Trinity’s lone loss was a 24-6 setback to Inman in the season opener.
Trinity has won each matchup with Ellinwood over the past three seasons, taking 26-15 win over the Eagles last year. Ellinwood is searching for its first winning season since 2004.
HOLCOMB (5-0) AT SCOTT CITY (3-1)
The stage is set for another Great West Activities Conference showdown.
GWAC foes Scott City, Hugoton and Holcomb all entered last week undefeated before Hugoton knocked off Scott City in thrilling fashion. The Beavers will look to bounce back after giving up the game-winning touchdown to Hugoton on a 4th-and-goal pass from the 29 with 17 seconds left in a 17-14 loss.
They’ll look to respond against a Holcomb squad that is 5-0 and has climbed to No. 3 in the 3A rankings.
The Beavers and Longhorns played two defensive slugfests last year. Scott City won 9-0 in the regular season but Holcomb took a 10-7 win in the quarterfinals before losing to Andale in the semis.
Scott City has a deep running back stable led by backs Cayden Couchman and Peyton Bergner. Matthew Wheeler led the Beavers in rushing last week with 88 yards on 15 carries.
The Longhorns have a dynamic quarterback in sophomore Cooper Cranston, who has rushed for 635 yards and six touchdowns. Cranston also has a team-high five interceptions in the secondary. Last week, freshman Ryan Wickwar took most of the snaps at QB, throwing for 178 yards and two touchdowns in a 53-24 win over Colby.
LIBERAL (5-0) AT GREAT BEND (5-0)
A young Liberal squad pulled out a 39-32 shootout over Garden City last week to set up a battle of unbeatens with No. 2-ranked Great Bend.
Sophomore quarterback Tevin Cotter completed 26 of 36 passes for 384 yards and five touchdowns, adding 57 yards on the ground, while James Fieser caught 15 passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns.
The Redskins have been road warriors. Friday’s game will be their fifth straight away from home.
Great Bend has been as good as predicted, outscoring opponents 236-50 in their 5-0 start.
In last week’s 41-0 win against Dodge City, Daxton Minton threw four touchdowns. Notre Dame commit Ian Premer caught two TDs and also ran for a score. Conner Holladay finished with 103 rushing yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.
On the season, Minton has thrown for 783 yards with 13 touchdowns and just one interception. Premer has a team-high 287 receiving yards and six touchdowns while Cooper Ohnmacht has a team-best 19 receptions with three TDs. Holladay has 405 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.
The junior Ohnmacht has starred in all phases. He’s returned an interception, a kickoff and punt for touchdowns. Kale Kern leads the team in tackles with 41.
For Liberal, Cotter has already gone over 1,000 passing yards for the season and has 17 touchdowns and three interceptions.
Friday’s matchup features some of the best receivers in the state. Liberal counters the Panthers’ weapons with Fieser, who has already 30 receptions for 541 yards with 11 touchdowns.
Landry Fitzgerald has a team-best 42 tackles for the Redskins.
The Panthers and Redskins have split the last four meetings with each other. Great Bend won a defensive struggle last year, 14-7.
PHILLIPSBURG (3-2) AT PRATT (4-1)
Phillipsburg moved into the driver's seat in Class 2A District 7 after a dramatic 29-28 win over previously unbeaten Russell.
Tanner Horinek scored the go-ahead touchdown and two-point conversion with 33 seconds left before a potential game-winning field goal attempt from Russell fell short. Horinek finished with 130 yards and two touchdowns on just seven carries.
Now the Panthers will get a non-district test against Pratt. The Greenbacks have bounced back from a 34-8 season-opening loss to Hoisington to win four straight, including back-to-back 35-0 shutouts over Chaparral and Wichita Collegiate.
Cade Liggett leads the Greenbacks with 676 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
Phillipsburg suffered tight losses to Smith Center (16-14) and TMP-Marian (20-19) before responding with a 40-28 win over Beloit and then notching the key win against Russell.
SOUTH BARBER (4-1) AT INGALLS (5-0)
Ingalls is the only unbeaten team left in the Six Player ranks.
After Rolla was unable to play in Week 3, Ingalls and Tescott played an impromptu contest with Ingalls pulling out a 30-25 win in the battle of ranked teams.
The Bulldogs now sit No. 3 in the KSHSAA Covered rankings. They’re coming off a 62-6 win over Moscow. Keegan Nothern ran for 182 yards and three touchdowns in the win.
South Barber lost 66-18 to Cunningham in the season opener before winning four straight. The Chieftains are coming off back-to-back shutouts over Moscow (48-0) and Chetopa (70-0).
Austin Swonger passed for 164 yards and five touchdowns in the Chetopa win, and Cody Shklar ran for 106 yards and three scores. Garen Cantrell had four receptions for 100 yards and three scores.
Swonger has thrown for 1,097 yards with 26 touchdowns and two interceptions. Cantrell has been his top target with 25 receptions for 506 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Nothern all six-man players with 528 rushing yards.
South Barber won the matchup with Ingalls last year, 51-32.
SYLVAN-LUCAS (5-0) AT CLIFTON-CLYDE (4-1)
The Mustangs and Eagles will meet in a key matchup in Eight-Player Division I District 4.
Both teams are 2-0 in district play. The Mustangs are coming off a 58-0 win over Lakeside while Clifton-Clyde beat Washington County 38-22.
Sylvan-Lucas has yet to be challenged, outscoring opponents 278-40. Zayne Maupin is the Mustangs’ top playmaker. He ran for three touchdowns and returned a punt for a touchdown last week.
After a 56-6 loss to Hanover in Week 2, Clifton-Clyde has won three straight, including shutouts against Linn (8-0) and Lakeside (46-0).
In the Washington County win, Gage LeClair had a rushing and receiving touchdown and 12 tackles and Kyzler Damman threw for three touchdowns and returned a punt for a score. Damman also had 11 tackles and Striker Affolter had 10 tackles.
Clifton-Clyde won last year’s matchup with Sylvan-Lucas 32-6.