One victory was not going to exorcise the demons that still linger from how Jackson Heights’ 2024 season came to an excruciating and heartbreaking end on the Cobras’ home field last November.
 
But a 21-0 shutout of an experienced Riverside team in Friday’s 2025 season opener was a good start.
 
“Last year, it was really tough ending the year like that,” Heights senior Austin Zeller said of a stunning 42-38 Class 1A playoff quarterfinal loss to Rossville. “This year we’re coming back hungrier than ever. We put in a lot of work in the weight room over the summer and we’re just ready to come back and fight.
 
“Our main objective (against Riverside) was to come out punch them in the mouth, stop them early and kill any momentum and go from there.”
 
Riverside certainly entered the season opener with a healthy dose of momentum from its 2024 season. After winning a combined six games from 2021-23, the Cyclones went 7-3 a year ago – the program’s highest win total since going 7-2 in 2013.
 
With eight starters back on offense and all 11 starters returning on defense, the Cyclones posed a pretty stern test for a Heights team that returned a good amount of experience with seven starters back each way, but also had some big holes to fill – namely on the offensive line and in the linebacking corps.
 

 
Defense was a strength for the Cobras last season as they allowed just two touchdowns in the regular season, one to Riverside in a 35-7 win in last year’s opener. And if this year’s opener is any indication, it will be again this season.
 
Despite losing leading tacklers Titus Eisenbarth and JW Moore, the Cobras completely shut down a Riverside offense that returned 1,000-yard passer Beckam Griffin, leading rusher Elijah Moore and All-Northeast Kansas League receiver Ty’Zell Harrington.
 
Riverside managed just one first down in the first half and never crossed the 50-yard line. For the game, the Cyclones produced just 115 yards of total offense (38 rushing, 77 passing) and three first downs – two coming late in the game.
 
The Cobra defense came up with four turnovers (3 fumble recoveries, 1 interception) and had two sacks and nine tackles for loss.
 
“Whenever you’ve got Ty’Zell on the outside, Beckam and Elijah, those are weapons you have to stop and going into it, we knew we had to stop the run,” Heights coach Caleb Wick said. “We felt like we did that in the first half and then they hit us a little bit on that first drive of the second half.
 
“But overall our defense flew around. Brody Browning was everywhere on the field and when you’re that small you have to tackle low and he was an ankle-biter tonight. Defense won us this game. … I felt like that was our biggest question mark coming in and now it feels like that got answered tonight.”
 
Facing Riverside’s veteran defense, Heights’ offense wasn’t as crisp as Wick would have liked. But the Cobras were opportunistic early as Drake Mellies busted a 40-yard run to set up a short TD run to get the Cobras on board and then he found Zeller and Sir Peek for TD passes in the second quarter for a 21-0 halftime lead that stood as the teams went scoreless in the second half.
 

 
The last time Heights had been on its own field, the postgame mood was devastation. The Cobras were in prime position to advance to the state semifinals for the first time since 2019, leading Rossville 38-21 with 5:20 left in the game.
 
But Rossville -- benefiting from twice recovering onside kicks – scored three touchdowns in a span of 1:27 to shock the Cobras with an improbably 42-38 victory.
 
While Wick said that loss has certainly motivated the Cobras throughout the offseason, it wasn’t one his team was necessarily dwelling on when it returned to the field Friday. Well, not entirely.
 
“All the kids wanted to wear the black jerseys tonight and I said, ‘No, we’re not breaking those out quite yet,’” Wick said of the uniform color the Cobras wore in the playoff loss. “You’re always going to think about that game and it’s going to be in the back of your head. But these seniors want to write their own book.
 
“I told them at the beginning of the year, ‘Last year’s senior class wrote their book guys, and now this is your first chapter of your book.’ Hopefully we have a lot of chapters to go and this was a great first step.”
 
ROSSVILLE FLIPS SCRIPT, KNOCKS OFF SILVER LAKE 28-27 IN OT
 
After going to overtime in last year’s War on 24 showdown in the season opener, Rossville and Silver Lake did it again this year.
 
Only this time, Rossville was able to overcome a late Silver Lake score and pull out the victory.
 
After seeing the Eagles tie the game on the final play of regulation and then ride that momentum to an overtime win a year ago, Rossville was in danger of experiencing a bit of deja-vu as Silver Lake got a 2-yard touchdown run from Bryson Burgos with 6 seconds left to tie the game at 21-all.
 
As they did a year ago, the Eagles got the ball first in overtime and converted right away. Kipton Kruger hit Dayne Johnson for a 10-yard TD. But this year, Rossville blocked the PAT kick and that opened the door.
 
Canann Mitchell scored on a 5-yard run on the Bulldawgs’ second play of overtime and Austin Dorhman kicked the winning PAT.
 
Rossville managed just 172 yards of total offense but got a 45-yard fumble return touchdown from Landen Lewis and a 40-yard punt return touchdown from Cameron Miller, who also caught a 35-yard TD pass. Andre Johnson led Rossville defensively with 14 solo and 6 assisted tackles.
 
Dayne Johnson finished with 215 yards receiving for the Eagles as Kruger threw for 282 yards in his freshman debut at quarterback.
 

 
OTHER WEEK 1 FOOTBALL STANDOUTS

• Parker Schwarz has run for more yards in a game than the 287 he racked up against Osawatomie in Friday’s season opening 71-6 win, going over 300 yards twice last season. But as efficient nights go, Schwarz has never been more productive. The senior back needed just 9 carries to roll up that yardage, averaging nearly 32 yards per carry, and 5 went for TDs as the Buffaloes rolled to a 71-6 victory. Josh Goodwin added 122 yards and 3 touchdowns on just 8 carries and Prairie View amassed 545 yards in the first half and 650 in the game and also broke the previous school record for points in a game, scoring all 71 in the first half to break the old mark of 63.
• Clifton-Clyde rallied from a 20-0 halftime deficit to knock off Eight-Player Division II No. 4 Frankfort 34-28 in overtime. Wes Anderson threw two touchdown passes and ran for two scores, the last putting Frankfort up 28-0 in the third quarter before the Eagles stormed back with 34 unanswered points. Joseph Fahey led the charge with a touchdown pass and three TD runs to force overtime and then ran in a 10-yard score in OT for the game-winner. Fahey finished with 132 yards and 4 TDs rushing and 173 yards and a TD passing while Anderson led Frankfort with 181 yards and 2 TDs passing.
• In a battle of ranked Eight-Player teams, Division II No. 3 Hanover broke free from an 8-8 first-quarter tie with Division I No. 4 Ell-Saline, outscoring the Cardinals 24-0 over the final three quarters for an impressive 32-8 victory. Kadrick Cohorst completed 8 pf 11 passes for 118 yards and 3 touchdowns and also ran for a touchdown while Braylon Meyn hauled in two of his TD passes and had 94 yards. 
• Waverly’s Dustin Foster had a monster game in the Bulldogs’ wild 90-46 shootout win over Wichita Life Prep. Foster ran for 8 touchdowns in the game, scoring on runs of 37, 3, 34, 45, 51, 2, 37 and 63 yards on his way to a 385-yard night on 26 carries. He also ran in three conversions.
• Republic County won its first opener in four years as the Buffaloes pulled out a 34-28 overtime win over Troy. Kash Henke scored the game-winner in overtime on a 2-yard run after he had hit Aden Morris with a 2-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter to force overtime. He also had a 30-yard TD run and the Buffaloes defense got a pick six from Morris and scoop and score from Nick Kendall. Troy got four touchdowns from Colt Jensen, who had an 84-yard kickoff return touchdown, 2 TD catches from Kaston Jasper and a 64-yard TD run.
• After losing 46-0 to Wakefield in last year’s season-opener, Goessel turned the tables and shot down the Bombers with a 50-30 victory in this year’s opener. Trey Gaddis sparked the Bluebirds with 146 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground and also taking all three of his catches for touchdowns as well. He also returned two punts for 96 yards and had 5 tackles and two passes defended on defense. Goessel led just 20-16 at the end of the first quarter before outscoring Wakefield 24-6 in the second and third quarters.
• Nemaha Central avenged last season’s opening loss to Marysville that ended its 26-game winning streak with a convincing 48-0 shutout of the Bulldogs on Friday. Carter Hajek returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown and he added 107 yards rushing with two scores and threw for another TD. Caleb Strathman had a rushing and receiving TD and the defense allowed Marysville just 160 total yards.

 

• Council Grove lost its top two quarterbacks in the first half of its 26-7 win over Wabaunsee, but saw Reid Buttrey step in after not having a single practice rep at the position and account for 100 yards of offense and a rushing touchdown. Before leaving with an injury Braves quarterback Luke Stewart moved to No. 2 all-time on the Braves’ career passing charts, throwing for 166 yards and 3 touchdowns. David McDiffett led the defense with 15 tackles as Council Grove held Wabaunsee to minus-5 yards rushing in the game.
• Landon Schmitz took the season-opening kickoff back 70 yards for a touchdown and Axtell rolled from there, extending its state-record win streak to 53 games with a 52-6 win over Linn. Schmitz, Wyatt Detweiler and Joe Lybarger each ran for two TDs on 12 combined carries.
• Centralia picked up a huge Twin Valley League win over rival and 2024 1A semifinalist Valley Heights as Quentin Alderfer ran for 183 yards and 3 touchdowns and added 89 yards passing in a 28-14 Panther win. Alderfer’s 21-yard TD run broke a 14-14 halftime tie. Aiden Unruh led the Mustangs with 132 yards rushing, including a 42-yard TD run.
• Shawnee Heights’ potent passing attack was on full display, but couldn’t quite help the T-Birds pull off a win over Washburn Rural as they fell 51-41. Aiden Scott threw for 428 yards and 4 touchdowns with Tyren Parker catching 7 passes for 172 yards and 2 TDs and AJ Gallegos adding 113 yards receiving. Rural got 201 yards and 2 TDs passing from John Hoytal, while TJ Minikwu and Jayden Baum each ran for two touchdowns and Nate Selm had a TD reception and kickoff return for a score, the latter clinching the Junior Blues’ win.
• In his first career start at quarterback, Oskaloosa’s Richie Rockhold had a memorable debut as he led the Bears to a 38-17 win over Pleasant Ridge. Rockhold threw for 287 yards and 2 touchdowns and also ran for 72 yards and three conversions. He also picked off a pass on defense. Derrick Harvey had 5 catches for 146 yards and Cash Perry ran for 107 yards and 3 touchdowns and also caught a TD pass.
• Logan Fulton threw for 332 yards and 5 touchdowns, hitting Dominic Falco for 4 of those scores with Falco finishing with 213 yards receiving in Wamego’s 40-6 win over Concordia. Mason Isch had 11 tackles, 2 sacks and 3 tackles for loss on defense.
• Osage City handled Olpe 41-13 as Kasen Parsons threw for 270 yards and 3 touchdowns with Dylan Theel catching 2 of those TDs and finishing with 107 yards receiving and 54 rushing with a TD. Parsons also had a rushing TD and Quenten Stark had 73 yardsd and a TD receiving. Reed Silver returned an interception 31 yards for a score and Austin Lamb had 11 tackles.
• Class 6A No. 3 Manhattan opened its season with a 43-13 win over Garden City while breaking in an entirely new cast of skill players. Finn Watson took over at quarterback and threw for 133 yards and a touchdown, completing 8 of 10 passes. Kha’MarioDavis and Maclain Aslin each ran for over 100 ayrds with Davis rushing for 128 yards and a TD and Aslin running for 100 yards and 2 scores.
• Conrad Gomez threw for 313 yards and 6 touchdowns to lead Junction City to a 48-3 win over Campus. Gomez hit five different receivers for TD passes with Lance Morris leading the group with 6 catches for 122 yards while JaMarcus Tyson had 2 TD grabs.
• Jefferson County North methodically worked its way to a 40-0 win over Maur Hill, scoring TDs in each quarter. Merrick Noll ran for 110 yards and a TD and Nic Cahill, Will Elias and Knox Heston all had TD runs. Kyle Burnett had an 11-yard interception return for a score.

 

• Beloit freshman quarterback Truitt King had a solid debut for the Trojans, throwing for 112 yards and a touchdown in their 52-8 win over Lyons. Sophomore defensive lineman Kross Kemmerer had 9 tackles.
• Southeast of Saline built a 52-6 halftime lead and rolled to a 60-21 win over Minneapolis in the opener. Gannon Jacobson threw for 267 yards and 5 touchdowns and Grady Gebhardt had 87 yards rushing and 2 TDs and 104 yards receiving and 2 more TDs. 
• Zion Bell ran for 161 yards and 4 touchdowns and Gavin Rosa threw for a pair of scores as Rock Creek blew past Bishop Ward 51-0.
• Clay Center’s Eisaac Girton ran for 145 yards offensively and added 12 tackles on defense to lead the Tigers to a 14-7 win over Abilene.
• Santa Fe Trail spread the wealth with six different players accounting for touchdowns in a 42-7 win over Burlington. Bryson Crotinger had two rushing touchdowns and Xavier Davis returned a fumble 38 yards for the Chargers’ first score.
• Danny Cain’s debut as Burlingame’s starting quarterback was a strong one as he completed 13 of 16 passes for 182 yards and 5 touchdowns and also ran for 120 yards and a score. Drake Skirvin caught three of the TD passes, amassing 113 yards, while Brock Moon had the other two and also led the defense with 9 tackles.
• Atchison County opened with a 40-20 win over McLouth as Cody Falk completed 12 of 15 passes for 213 yards and 2 touchdowns and Riley Kesinger had 98 yards and a TD receiving. Max Bottorff led the defense with 17 tackles, 2 tackles for loss and 2 interceptions, one he returned 40 yards for a touchdown.

 

• Rural Vista’s Kole Riedy ran for 297 yards and 5 touchdowns on just 15 carries in the Heat’s 52-6 romp past Solomon. Riedy scored on runs of 46, 56, 44, 3 and 42 yards and he also had a 30-yard catch.
• Dalton Lingenfelter ran for 157 yards and 3 touchdowns and also caught a TD pass and Landon Reed threw for 150 yards and 2 scores as Marais des Cygnes Valley opened with a 54-6 rout of Southern Coffey County.
• In a 49-8 loss to Ellsworth, Sacred Heart’s Noah Hines had 6 catches for 167 yards and a touchdown.
• Emporia’s Rylan Crowell ran for 120 yards and a touchdown (40 yards) and also returned an interception 65 yards for a score, but the Spartans fell 24-14 to Pittsburg in Daniel Goodman’s head coaching debut. Crowell had 12 tackles and 3 tackles for loss.
• Hartford’s Simon Blankley had 18 tackles in the Jaguars’ 50-0 loss to Fairfield.
• Topeka High’s Zane Smith ran for two touchdowns and threw for 121 yards and another score to lead the Trojans to a 40-14 win over Wichita West. Rico Dowd added a pair of rushing touchdowns.
• Hayden’s Connor Hanika threw for 150 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Wildcats to a 28-6 win over Eudora.
• Cair Paravel’s Tobias Bonura ran for 231 yards and 4 touchdowns on just 14 carries and also had a 44-yard punt return touchdown in the Lions’ season-opening win over West Franklin.
• Madison’s Cruz Leiser ran for 177 yards and 5 touchdowns and also had a receiving touchdown in the Bulldogs’ win over Lebo.