WESTERN KANSAS WEEK 3 PICK-SIX 

GREAT BEND (2-0) AT BUHLER (2-0)

Great Bend moved up a spot to No. 2 in the KSHSAA Covered 5A rankings after a 40-21 victory over Olathe South. The 2-0 Panthers have looked as good as advertised over the first two weeks, showing off a full arsenal of weapons. 

Conner Holladay rushed for 189 yards and two touchdowns in a breakout performance against South. The opportunistic Panthers intercepted the Falcons three times, with Jaxon Wondra returning his pick for a touchdown. 

Buhler is 2-0 after victories over Mulvane (34-27) and Augusta (37-12). The Crusaders have one of the state’s best running backs in Ben Clouse, who has rushed for 372 yards and 6 touchdowns on 50 carries. Landon Martinez and McCade Zachary each have two interceptions for the Buhler defense. 

In last year’s matchup, Great Bend pulled away for a 43-26 win over the Crusaders with Ian Premer stealing the show. The Notre Dame commit scored touchdowns on all five of his receptions. The Panthers went on to go 9-1 with a loss to Hays in the second round of the playoffs while Buhler reached the state semifinals in 4A before falling to Andover Central and finishing 9-3. 

Great Bend senior quarterback Daxton Minton has thrown for 280 yards and three touchdowns over the Panthers’ first two games. 

PLAINVILLE (1-1) AT RUSSELL (2-0)

In his season debut, Plainville standout running back Draden Puckett rushed for 157 yards and five touchdowns last week to lead the Cardinals to a 51-7 win over Sacred Heart. 

The Cardinals bounced back from a 33-18 loss to Phillipsburg in which Puckett did not play. 

After going 3-6 last year, Russell is well on its way to a winning season. The Broncos moved to 2-0 after blanking Oakley 33-0. Walker Middleton had three touchdowns, two on the ground and one receiving. Trey Zorn completed 16 of 23 passes for 155 yards and 2 touchdowns. 

The Broncos beat TMP-Marian 29-22 in the season opener. Zorn has thrown for 332 yards and five touchdowns on the season. 

Plainville edged Russell 26-20 in last year’s matchup. The Cardinals went on to go 8-3, losing to eventual champion Conway Springs in the playoffs. 

OSBORNE (1-1) AT VICTORIA (2-0)

Victoria outlasted Central Plains in dramatic fashion last week, answering the Oilers’ go-ahead touchdown with a game-winning 23-yard TD run from quarterback Wyatt Schmidtberger with 27 seconds left to give the Knights a 22-20 win. 

The Knights, state runners-up to Axtell last year, are ranked No. 2 in Eight-Player Division II. They returned the core of last year’s team, led by lineman Kyle Huser, end Ethan VonLintel and running back Weston Scherrer, who ran for 102 yards and two scores in the Central Plains win. 

Osborne, which starts five freshmen, opened with a 52-46 shootout win over reigning state champion Hoxie but took a 52-6 loss against Ell-Saline last week. 

Freshman quarterback Tate Tiernan has thrown for 387 yards and seven touchdowns for the Bulldogs. 

Victoria beat Osborne 22-14 last year in the Knights’ closest game of the regular season. The Knights went 12-1 while Osborne shook off an 0-3 start to finish 7-4. 

The matchup features two of the top eight-man coaches in Victoria’s Doug Oberle and Osborne’s Steve Tiernan. Tiernan has two titles at Baileyville B&B and two at Osborne, while Oberle has won three titles at Victoria.

OTIS-BISON (1-1) AT PAWNEE HEIGHTS (2-0) 

Pawnee Heights has cruised to wins over Chase (70-12) and Western Plains (54-0). 

The Tigers will get a test this week in Otis-Bison, which went 6-4 last year in its first year in Six-Player football. The Cougars opened a 62-0 win over Western Plains but took a 72-32 loss to South Barber last week. 

Otis-Bison is led by the trio of Gavin Alloway, Aiden Ochs-Lohrey and Kelson Juno. Quarterback Maddox Firebaugh threw for 237 yards and four touchdowns in the South Barber game. 

Pawnee Heights has a balanced offensive attack that includes Alexis Ibarra, Brynnen Cody, Logan Enabit and Cody Holste. 

Otis-Bison won last year’s matchup with Pawnee Heights, 40-19. 

TESCOTT (2-0) AT NORTHERN VALLEY (1-1)

Tescott rolled to a 54-0 win over Southern Coffey County last week after notching a 39-8 victory over Peabody-Burns in the opener.

The No. 3-ranked Trojans are on the short list of title contenders in the Six-Player classification. They went 8-3 last year and reached the state semifinals the second straight year. Tescott has an experienced squad, led by Charlie Phelps and Joey Stirn. 

Northern Valley opened with an out-of-state opponent in Crawford, Neb., dropping a 67-51 shootout. The Huskies bounced back with a 74-12 win over Chase. 

Northern Valley is led by Gavin Thalheim and Owen Hammond. The Huskies are looking to bounce back from a 4-6 season. 

Tescott beat Northern Valley 52-30 in last year’s matchup. 

TREGO (2-0) AT RAWLINS COUNTY (2-0)

After a hard-earned 30-20 win over Hill City in Week 1, Trego had no trouble with reigning Eight-Player Division I champion Hoxie, rolling to a 54-6 win. 
Jack Conness rushed for 174 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries and quarterback Ashton Wynn added two touchdowns on the ground for the Golden Eagles, who went 4-5 last year. 

Rawlins County has looked sharp early, blanking Dighton (46-0) and Greeley County (52-0). The Buffaloes graduated a star player in Ryan Sramek but returned several other key pieces from last year. 

Dominique Paz has 210 yards on the ground with five touchdowns while Austin Chumley has added 160 rushing yards and four scores. 

Conness has 228 rushing yards and five touchdowns for the Golden Eagles while Wynn has thrown for four touchdowns. Cass Smith leads Trego in tackles with 35 and Westyn Windholz has two interceptions.

Rawlins County beat Trego 42-24 in 2024 on the way to a 7-3 season.