EIGHT-PLAYER, SIX-PLAYER STATE SEMIFINALS PREVIEW
EIGHT-PLAYER DIVISION I
EAST
SYLVAN-LUCAS (10-1) AT LINCOLN (10-1)
Lincoln’s breakthrough season continued with a 46-44 win over Ell-Saline in the quarterfinals, proving the Leopards are legit title contenders.
Lincoln quarterback Jeremiah Miller ran for four touchdowns and threw for nearly 300 yards with three TDs. Xavier Miller and Ben Bell each had 100-yard receiving games for the Leopards.
Sylvan-Lucas secured its semifinal spot with a 50-44 win over Little River behind a huge game from Zayne Maupin, who rushed for three touchdowns, caught two TD passes and threw a TD pass. Maupin finished with 227 yards on the ground. Quarterback Carter Johnson added three touchdown passes.
The semifinal is a rematch of Lincoln’s 62-36 win over Sylvan-Lucas in Week 7, a result that ultimately decided the district title. Lincoln’s only loss came the following week in a 48-44 setback against Clifton-Clyde.
The Mustangs will be tasked with slowing down a high-flying Lincoln offense that features three dynamic players in the Miller brothers and Bell. Sylvan-Lucas will look to ride a smashmouth offensive attack led by Maupin.
Lincoln’s run to the semis has produced the Leopards’ first three playoff wins in program history.
Sylvan has three state championships in program history (1995, 1997, 1998).
WEST
SOUTH CENTRAL (10-0) AT HILL CITY (10-1)
After dropping its season opener to rival WaKeeney-Trego, Hill City has reeled off 10 straight wins, avenging the Trego loss last week in the quarterfinals.
Hill City quarterback Tate Balthazor ran for five touchdowns and the Ringneck defense forced timely turnovers in a 58-36 victory over the Golden Eagles.
After posting lopsided wins in each of its first 10 games, South Central passed tests in the last two rounds. The Timberwolves beat 60-48 in regionals before taking a 36-28 over perennial power Wichita County last week.
In the quarterfinal win, South Central quarterback Easton Huck ran for 226 yards and a touchdown and threw for three scores. Senior leader Jack Herd logged 18 tackles and a sack.
The Ringnecks and Timberwolves are built similarly in that both rely on balanced offensive attacks.
Balthazor has thrown for 1,185 yards and 19 touchdowns while rushing for 1,105 yards and 21 TDs. Tyler Ashbaugh has rushed for 1,019 yards and 19 TDs, and Jaxson Smith is Hill City’s top receiver with 22 receptions, 508 yards and 11 TDs.
For South Central, Huck has thrown for 804 yards and 19 TDs and has rushed for 1,088 yards and 16 TDs. Coda Lindsay has added 757 yards and 11 TDs on the ground and 12 TDs. Herd has 26 receptions for 495 yards and nine TDs.
The Timberwolves have made the state semifinals for three straight seasons. They were Eight-Player Division II state runners-up to Axtell in 2023 and made the Division I semis last year before losing to eventual champion Hoxie.
Hill City is back in the semifinals after making back-to-back trips in 2021 and 2022, losing to eventual champions Meade and Wichita County in both those seasons.
South Central knocked Hill City out of the playoffs in the quarterfinals last year, handing the Ringnecks a 60-12 loss in the only previous meeting between the programs.
EIGHT-PLAYER DIVISION II
EAST
AXTELL (10-1) AT HANOVER (11-0)
Hanover has already snapped one of Axtell’s streaks this season, ending the Eagles’ state-record 58-game winning streak in Week 7 with a 26-18 victory. Now the Wildcats will try to end Axtell’s reign of four straight Eight-Player Division II state titles.
The two programs have been the powerhouses in Division II for the past decade, combining to win the last five championships and eight of the last nine with Osborne’s title in 2019 – Axtell was second that year – the lone interruption of the Twin Valley League’s dominance.
After Hanover won its fourth title in five years in 2020, the baton passed to Axtell, which had ended the Wildcats’ state-record winning streak in 2019 on its way to a runner-up finish. The Eagles have run roughshod over nearly everyone in the past five seasons, winning three of its four state title games in mercy-rule fashion, including last year’s 50-0 win over Victoria.
Despite graduating a stellar senior class from a year ago, the Eagles have been nearly as dominant this season, allowing more than one touchdown in just three games, twice to Frankfort including a 60-14 win last week.
The other was in a 26-18 loss to Hanover that ended the Eagles’ winning streak. Hanover’s physicality helped the Wildcats control the contest throughout as they built a 26-6 lead before Axtell got a pair of late touchdowns to pull within a score. The Eagles got the ball back with a minute to go and a chance to tie, but Hanover’s defense held.
The game was one of two in which Hanover has allowed more than a touchdown, the other a 52-12 win over Linn the following week with the Wildcats blanking Linn 50-0 last week in a rematch with the Bulldogs.
Both teams’ quarterbacks drive their offenses. Axtell’s Wyatt Detweiler has thrown for 1,355 yards and 21 touchdowns and run for 750 yards and 21 scores while Hanover’s Kadrick Cohorst has thrown for 1,185 yards and 25 touchdowns and run for 512 yards and 19 scores.
WEST
HODGEMAN COUNTY (10-1) AT VICTORIA (10-0)
Like the Axtell-Hanover matchup in the East, the West semifinal will also be a rematch from the regular season.
Victoria wrapped up a district title by holding off Hodgeman County 28-14 in Week 8. The Knights came up with a goal-line stand in the fourth quarter and then drove 79 yards for the game-sealing touchdown.
Hodgeman County won a 34-28 overtime thriller over Wallace County in the quarterfinals to set up another shot at Victoria. Tyson Younger had three receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown for the Longhorns. Gavin Reece threw for 189 yards and two touchdowns.
Weston Scherrer has been a workhorse on the ground throughout the playoffs for Victoria. He ran for 262 yards and four touchdowns in last week’s 36-22 win over Hutchinson Central Christian.
The Knights are looking for a second straight trip to the state title game after falling to four-time reigning champion Axtell last year. Victoria has seven total state championships, including back-to-back titles in 2014-15.
Hodgeman County made the state title game in 2017 before losing to Hanover.
SIX-PLAYER
EAST
TESCOTT (9-2) AT CUNNINGHAM (10-1)
The top two finishers in Six-Player District 2 meet in the state semifinals for the third consecutive season, with Cunningham looking to maintain its dominance and Tescott looking to break through.
Cunningham, winner of four straight along with a pair of forfeit victories, captured the district title with a 58-12 victory over Tescott on Oct. 24. The Wildcats’ rushing tandem of junior Stephen Kerschen and Skyler Thimesch was too much for Tescott in that meeting. Both scored four touchdowns, with Kerschen running 18 times for 200 yards and Thimesch gaining 103 yards on 19 carries.
The Wildcats are coming off another rematch with a district foe, defeating Otis-Bison 46-0 for the second time this season. Kerschen ran for 150 yards and four touchdowns to bring his season yardage total 1,160 yards with 21 TDs, both team highs. Thimesch added 101 yards and two scores, while senior Logan Kinsler had a team-high 11 tackles.
Tescott’s path to the semifinals was a little rockier, as the Trojans fell behind Peabody 16-0 before surging to a 52-30 victory. Senior Charlie Phelps turned in a huge game for Tescott, catching three touchdown passes and returning a kickoff for a score. He also had 13 tackles – 10 for loss – and blocked a punt.
Tescott took the lead by halftime and went on to win behind junior Joey Stirn’s 242 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Stirn also completed 4 of 6 passes for 91 yards and the trio of scores to Phelps.
A win would put Cunningham in the title game for the fourth time in four seasons of KSHSAA-sanctioned six-player football. The Wildcats also finished runners-up in the 2021 Wild West Bowl in the final year prior to KSHSAA hosting the championship.
WEST
SOUTH BARBER (10-1) AT WESKAN (10-1)
Reigning state champion Weskan hasn’t lost to an in-state opponent since the Coyotes re-joined the KSHSAA ranks before the 2024 season.
Weskan opened the season with a 58-38 loss to Otis (Colo.) but have dominated since.
The Coyotes have arguably the top player in the six-player classification in Karsyn Wright, who rushed for 415 yards and eight touchdowns in last week’s 60-26 quarterfinal win over Ingalls.
Weskan coach Brett Clow expects a tough test this week in South Barber, which rolled to a 45-0 win over Pawnee Heights last week. Quarterback Austin Swonger ran for two touchdowns and threw two TD passes to Steele Smith.
South Barber hasn’t lost since a 66-18 setback to Cunningham in the season opener.
It will be the first meeting between the Chieftains and Coyotes.