No. 5 St. James Academy (1-1) at No. 4 Blue Valley Northwest (2-0)
For the third time in three weeks, No. 5 St. James Academy will face a ranked team as the Thunder will travel to No. 4 in Class 6A, Blue Valley Northwest, in a heavyweight Eastern Kansas League matchup. The Thunder just came off a 41-21 loss to No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas a week ago, while Blue Valley Northwest held off an improved Shawnee Mission Northwest squad in a 40-31 victory.
Northwest has a balanced offensive attack that is led by the quarterback and running back combo of Aidan Ihm and L.J. Bowens. Ihm has thrown for 431 yards this season to go along with six touchdowns to no interceptions. Bowens has done a lot of damage on the ground as he has more than 250 yards of total offense through two games and five total scores. Sophomore Baron Marshall has also been big in the receiving department with seven catches for 190 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The Huskies even have weapon in the kicking game as Trace Rudd, the University Oklahoma commit, is 10-for-10 on extra point and field goal attempts this season, along with 12 touchbacks.
Despite the loss to Aquinas last week, the Thunder are off to a good start to their season as they are 1-1 with a shutout victory over then-No. 1 Bishop Miege in week one. The injury bug has hit the team as they lost quarterback Frankie Menghini to an injury, but junior backup John Hornback has stepped right in. Hornback had a big day against Aquinas with 246 yards passing and had two touchdowns. Senior receiver Alec Jett was the recipient of a few of those passes as he had four catches for 152 yards.
Shawnee Mission East (2-0) at No. 4 Mill Valley (1-1)
It will be the battle of dual-threat quarterbacks as Shawnee Mission East will try to stay unbeaten as the Lancers travel to No. 4-ranked Mill Valley after the Jaguars are coming off their lone loss of the season to Lee’s Summit North. The Lancers, on the other hand, have won two straight to begin the year, including a 41-21 win over Topeka-Seaman last week.
Shawnee Mission East quarterback Jack Reeves does a little bit of everything for the Lancers. Along with being quarterback, Reeves leads the team in rushing and is coming off a big 208-yard performance against Seaman where he scored four total touchdowns. In all, Reeves has 598 total yards of offense. When Reeves does look to throw, junior Chase Jehle leads the team with 215 yards receiving.
As for Mill Valley, the Jaguars have a dual-threat signal caller of their own in Blake Jay, who made the move after starting at wide receiver a year ago. Jay is currently leading the team in rushing with 247 yards on the ground, 427 total yards and four touchdowns. Running back Reggie Reece, the team’s leading rusher a year ago, currently has 164 yards and three touchdowns. The Jaguars are running behind an experienced offensive line led by K-State commit Lamarcus Barber.
Olathe West (2-0) at Shawnee Mission Northwest (1-1)
Olathe West will square off in a Sunflower League matchup against Shawnee Mission Northwest as the Owls will try for their third straight win after close victories against Lawrence and Blue Valley West. The Cougars, on the other hand, opened their season with a blowout of Shawnee Mission North, before falling to state-ranked Blue Valley Northwest at home last week. The last time these two teams met was in the state playoffs when Shawnee Mission Northwest earned a 21-7 win.
The Owls, under head coach Jon Wiemer, are riding high after a big road win over Blue Valley West last week. First-year senior quarterback Brody Hale, who made the move from the defensive side of the ball last season, threw for 164 yards and two scores in the win over the Jaguars. Senior Sam Krzykowski has emerged as the team leading target for Hale as he had 85 yards receiving and a touchdown.
The Cougars will feature a triple option attack led by quarterback Trai Woodruff. Northwest has tallied more than 800 yards on the ground in their two games and Woodruff has led the way with 309 of those yards. Running back Tyree Newton has 223 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground, while fellow running backs Demetric Tyler and Drew Wilson have each found the endzone three times.
Blue Valley (1-1) at No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas (2-0)
Blue Valley will try to do something no other team has done to this point — stop St. Thomas Aquinas’ rushing attack — more specifically Calin Arndt. The Saints running back has been a terror for opposing defenses through the first two weeks and the Tigers will get their crack at him Friday as they travel to Aquinas to try and knock off the state’s No. 1 team.
Arndt has been one of the top players in the state the last two weeks as he has put up video games numbers behind a stout offensive line, led by 4-year starter Stephen Carroll. In a win over St. James Academy last week, Arndt torched the Thunder with 261 yards on the ground and five touchdowns in their 41-21 victory. Through two games, Arndt has 500 yards rushing to go along with eight touchdowns.
As for the Tigers, they will look to quarterback Dan Sogard who has led Blue Valley through the air. So far this season, Sogard has 485 yards passing with five touchdowns and will throw to several different receivers. Senior Parker Cowell (151), junior Jordan Lockett (136) and senior Taft Stueve (108) all have more than 100 yards receiving. The Tigers are coming off a tough 31-30 loss to Washburn Rural after knocking off Blue Valley Southwest in their opener, 28-21.
De Soto (2-0) at Piper (1-1)
History could be made for De Soto on Friday as the Wildcats travel to Piper in what is an important game in the United Kansas Conference Standings. If the Wildcats win, De Soto head coach Brian King will become the school’s all-time wins leader. He tied that mark last week with a 51-6 win over Turner. The Pirates, on the other hand, are trying to stay toward the top of the league after a close 27-21 loss to Basehor-Linwood, which is also 2-0.
De Soto quarterback Ben Parks had a big night against Turner last week as he had 223 yards of total offense and four touchdowns, including three of those through the air. The Wildcat offense was on full display in a win over Topeka West as running back Will Morton had 125 yards rushing and a pair of scores, while Parks also had two touchdowns. Through two games, the Wildcats have amassed more than 700 yards of offense, but will face their toughest test up to this point against Piper.
The Pirates got a big game out of junior Roman Byers in their opening win over Seaman. Byers had more than 240 yards on the ground and had two scores and was also one of the team leaders on defense with 10 tackles at outside linebacker. Sophomore quarterback Leeum Healy is guiding the Pirate offense in his first season at starter as he had 150 yards against Seaman. Piper had a tough time getting going offensively against Basehor, but is looking to bounce back against De Soto.
No. 5 Paola (2-0) at No. 4 Ottawa (2-0)
The last time Paola and Ottawa met on the gridiron it turned out to be an instant classic. Last season, the Cyclones rallied from 20 points down to defeat Paola in a 37-34 comeback to earn their first win over the Panthers in two decades. Now, the Cyclones will try and make it two in a row in a battle of Class 4A ranked teams.
Ottawa has cruised through its first two weeks as the Cyclones have outscored their opponents — Atchison and Baldwin — 90-13 and their offense has been clicking. Starting quarterback Haydon Hull has completed 27 of 37 of his passes for 414 yards and five touchdowns. Jayce Mourning leads the Cyclones in receiving yards with 135 and all-state player Aiden McCullough is right behind him with 107. The Cyclones will be without all-state wide receiver Nate Sims, a University of Kansas commit, as he suffered a season-ending knee injury last week against Baldwin. Ottawa sophomore running back Julius O’Bryan is over 200 yards rushing through two games and has four touchdowns.
As for Paola, the Panthers are led by a pair of sophomores. Sophomore Bodhi Shay had a big game for the Panthers in their 28-21 win over rival Louisburg last week. Shay racked up 183 yards rushing and scored a pair of touchdowns. Another sophomore, quarterback Mason Stein, threw for a pair of touchdowns in the win as well and has four scores on the season. Senior wide receiver Sasha Pichnenko is the team leading receiver after 4 catch, 90-yard performance against Louisburg.