WESTERN KANSAS WEEK 4 PICK SIX 

HILL CITY (2-1) AT RAWLINS COUNTY (2-1)

Rawlins County’s bid for a 3-0 start was denied by WaKeeney-Trego after the Golden Eagles handed the Buffaloes a 40-34 loss last week.

Hill City’s loss also came at the hands of Trego, dropping a 30-20 decision in Week 1. The Ringnecks bounced back with wins over Ellis (62-26) and Thunder Ridge (58-12). 

Hill City senior quarterback Tate Balthazor has thrown for 411 yards and five touchdowns while adding 224 yards and three TDs on the ground. Tyler Ashbaugh has a team-high 265 yards on the ground with seven touchdowns. Ashbaugh ran for 118 yards and three touchdowns last week against Thunder Ridge and caught a 64-yard touchdown pass from Balthazor, who threw for four scores. 

Rawlins County had a pair of 100-yard rushers in the Trego loss with Dominique Paz (173 yards, three TDs) and Austin Chumley (128 yards, one TD). 

Paz, a sophomore, leads the team with 383 yards on the ground and eight touchdowns while Chumley has 288 yards and five scores. 

Rawlins County started the season with back-to-back shutouts over Dighton (46-0) and Greeley County (52-0). 

The Buffaloes won last year’s matchup with the Ringnecks, 48-28. 

LIBERAL (3-0) AT  DODGE CITY (2-1)

Liberal is off to a strong start under first-year head coach Trevor Powers, starting 3-0 with victories over Wichita North (64-6), Wichita South (28-21) and Guymon, Okla., (52-13).  

Blayden Betts was all over the field in the Guymon win, accounting for three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving) and logging two sacks, a pass breakup and a blocked extra point. 

Dodge City bounced back from a 34-20 loss to Olathe East with a 27-8 win over Wichita South last week. The Red Demons beat Woodward, Okla., 28-3 in Week 1. 

Liberal has one of the top receivers in the state in senior James Fieser, who has 12 receptions for 256 yards and 7 touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Tevin Cotter has thrown for 474 yards and 10 TDs. 

Landry Fitzgerald leads the Redskins in tackles with 24. 

Dodge City’s Fabian Ortiz helped key the Red Demons’ win over Wichita South with a rushing touchdown and interception return for 51 yards while quarterback Ty Scheck accounted for three touchdowns. 

Dodge City beat Liberal 33-14 in last year’s meeting. 

SMITH CENTER (3-0) AT PLAINVILLE (1-2) 

Traditional powerhouse Smith Center is well on its way to rebounding from a rare losing season. 

After going 4-5 a year ago, the Redmen have jumped out to a 3-0 start with wins over Chapman (16-6), Phillipsburg (16-14) and Norton (28-20). 

They’ll meet a Plainville squad that is looking to bounce back from a 28-6 loss to Russell that dropped the Cardinals to a 1-2. 

Plainville has a dynamic running back in Draden Puckett, who ran for 157 yards and five touchdowns in the Cardinals’ Week 2 51-7 win over Sacred Heart. 

The Redmen are led by senior back Parker Hutchinson and senior lineman Kharson Montgomery. 

Plainville won last year’s matchup with Smith Center, 14-8. 

STERLING (3-0) AT ELLINWOOD (3-0)

A win over Sterling would be one of Ellinwood’s biggest wins in recent program history. The Eagles are eyeing their first 4-0 start since 1986.  

Ellinwood has outscored opponents 102-6 during wins Syracuse, Herington and Osawatomie. 

The Osawatomie win game was called because of weather after the first quarter but went in the books as a 21-0 Ellinwood win. Despite the abbreviated action, Austin Brack still managed 137 rushing yards on four carries with three touchdowns. 

Sterling enters 3-0 as well. The Black Bears moved up two spots to No. 3 in the KSHSAA Covered Class 1A rankings after a 60-47 shootout win over Inman last week. Their other victories were against Sedgwick (47-6) and Moundridge (27-15). 

Brack has rushed for 455 yards and seven touchdowns while Drake Hosman has added 317 yards on the ground and a pair of scores. 

Layton Wirtz has a pair of interceptions for the Ellinwood defense and Austin Shinliver leads the team in tackles with 21. 

Sterling running back Zane Farney has put up monster numbers, rushing for 558 yards and 12 touchdowns. Wyatt Newberry has 318 yards rushing with four TDs. The Black Bears have thrown just five times on the season. 

Farney is coming off a 222-yard, five touchdown performance against Inman. 

Newberry has two interceptions on defense. Cameron Morris leads Sterling with 23 tackles while Deryn Maxwell and Newberry have 22 each. 

Ellinwood has started 3-0 in each of the last two seasons but finished with 4-win seasons both years. Sterling, 6-4 last year, won last year’s Week 4 matchup 41-35 to deny the Eagles a 4-0 start. 

ST. FRANCIS (3-0) AT OBERLIN-DECATUR (2-1)

St. Francis is eyeing its first 4-0 start since 2020. The Indians opened with a 25-8 win over Quinter before blanking Wheatland-Grinnell (47-0) and Greeley County (51-0). 

Senior quarterback Lucas Raile has thrown for 455 yards and six touchdowns on the season while running back Layne Todd has five rushing touchdowns. Drayton Fromholtz leads the team with 25 tackles and 5.5 sacks. 

Decatur is looking to bounce back from a 32-28 loss to Wallace County after opening with lopsided wins over Greeley County (52-6) and Dighton (56-16). 

The Red Devils returned key players off last year’s 4-5 team including running back/linebacker Josiah Pattangall, quarterback/defensive back Gage Williby and running back/linebacker Kaden Sowers. 

Decatur won last year’s matchup with St. Francis, 32-14. 

WICHITA COUNTY (2-1) AT WAKEENEY-TREGO (3-0) 

Trego will get a chance to establish itself as a contender in Eight-Player Division I, facing a powerhouse in Wichita County. 

The Golden Eagles have a solid early resume with wins over Hill City (30-20),  Hoxie (54-6) and Rawlins County (40-34) but will get their toughest test of the young season in Wichita County. 

The Indians went 33-3 over the past three seasons including an undefeated state championship season in 2022. They lost key pieces off last year’s 8-2 team but brought senior quarterback Cashton Young and some other key playmakers. 

Wichita County opened with an out-of-state loss to Haxtun, Colo., before rolling to wins over Elkhart (60-0) and the Manhattan Eagles (60-12). 

Young missed the season opener but has put up big numbers over the last two weeks. Against the Manhattan Eagles he rushed for 200 yards and three  touchdowns and threw for three scores. 

Freshman Jared Aschenbrenner came up huge for Trego in the Rawlins County game, accounting for three touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving and a kick return). 

Trego senior quarterback Ashton Wynn has thrown for 352 yards and five touchdowns while junior Jack Conness leads the team in rushing with 319 yards and 6 touchdowns. Wynn has a team-high 56 tackles and Westyn Windholz has three interceptions. 

For Wichita County, Young has 344 rushing yards and six touchdowns and has thrown for 293 yards and four scores in two games. Dylan Luna is the Indians’ top receiving threat with 15 receptions for 246 and 5 touchdowns. Young also has three interceptions on defense. Sophomore Beau Porter leads the team with 24 tackles. 

Wichita County rolled to a 58-8 win over Trego in last year’s matchup.