WICHITA, Kan.—
The second week of districts is in the books and some teams have already clinched playoff berths before next week’s final week.Class 6A
District 6
Derby is rolling on a five-game winning streak after blowing away East 57-13. Todd Freeman completed five passes with four of them going for touchdowns. He finished the night with 119 yards through the air and 135 yards on the ground. Luke Palmer caught two of Freeman’s passes for 60 yards and two touchdowns.
Heights rolled Southeast 62-0 on the other side of the district to extend the state’s longest winning streak to 21 games.
Derby and Heights are both into the playoffs and will play for seeding next Friday in Derby.
District 7
Northwest and South are both into the playoffs ahead of next week’s district championship game. South won its second game of districts as the Titans rolled 30-14. Wichita Northwest blanked North 54-0 to improve to 2-0 in districts.
District 8
The annual Hatchet game out west will be for a district title and a better seed at state this year, as Dodge City and Garden City both won on Friday to improve to 2-0 in district ahead of next week’s game.
Garden City dropped Goddard 26-13. Dodge City blasted Maize 49-22.
Class 5A
District 5
Emporia and McPherson locked horns in an impressive display of offensive power. The Spartans beat McPherson 66-63 in the defense optional game.
Derek Gifford rushed for 204 and four touchdowns on 20 carries in the win. Emporia’s quarterback was efficient as he was eight-for-nine passing for 267 yards and three touchdowns. Tyler Mathews threw for 441 yards and two touchdowns on the other side. His top receivers were Marcus Houghton and Jordan Hart. Hougton had 10 catches for 210 yards and a touchdown. His running mate Hart hauled in 10 balls as well for 188 yards and a touchdown. Austin Obannon rushed for 160 yards and six touchdowns in the losing effort.
The two teams combined for 1371 yards of offense and 19 touchdowns.
Newton dropped Valley Center 34-14 to set up a win or go home game next week against McPherson.
District 6
Hays clinched its first playoff berth since 1995 with a 28-24 win over Salina South. The Indians improve to 7-1 with the win.
Great Bend dropped Salina Central to end the Mustangs’ hopes of making the playoffs. Next week the Panthers travel to Salina to play Salina South for the second playoff spot in the district.
District 7
Kapaun and Andover Central are both heading to the playoffs after wins on Friday.
The Crusaders dumped Andover 56-34 behind a balanced rushing attack. Landon Root, Nathan Degenhardt and Luke Bean led the way for Kapaun with 78, 70 and 69 yards rushing each.
Andover Central rode on the back of Alex Bontz to a 47-21 win over Arkansas City.
District 8
Hutchinson and Bishop Carroll will play for the District 8 title next week in Wichita with matching 7-1 season records and 2-1 district records. The Salthawks boat-raced Liberal 70-17, while Carroll won with similar ease in a 42-0 game against West.
Class 4A
District 10
Thanks to District 10 there is a chance that a team with a 1-8 record could make the playoffs.
Rose Hill continued to roll and clinch a district championship with a 61-0 win over Circle. Derrick Decker led the Rockets with 13 carries for 152 yards and threw for another 133 yards.
El Dorado snapped a 25-game losing streak with 33-28 win over Augusta. The Wildcats scored the last two touchdowns of the game to get the win. Tyson Jones rushed for 112 yards. Travis House threw for 169 yards.
Next week Rose Hill will play El Dorado, while Circle and Augusta will lock horns. If Rose Hill and Augusta win then a one-win team will make the playoffs.
District 11
Clearwater came spiraling back down to earth as it saw the business end of a 49-7 shellacking at the hands of Mulvane. Mulvane quarterback Ty Redington torched the Indians through the air to the tune of 286 yards and five touchdowns. The Indians were outgained 471 yards to 179.
Wellington’s 19-year playoff streak is in jeopardy as the Crusaders lost their second district game by a 47-28 margin to Winfield.
No team has clinched a playoff spot as of yet in this district.
District 12
Andale is getting back to its old ways of late as the Indians posted a 56-3 win over the Knights. Andale was balanced rushing the ball with no ball carrier clearing the 50-yard mark, but the team rushed for 271 yards and seven touchdowns. Trinity’s lone score came off a 44-yard field goal from Regan Billings.
Maize South got its second district win with a 33-14 win over Cheney. Drake Dukes passed for 167 and three touchdowns to lead the Mavericks.
Andale and Maize South will battle for the district title next Friday in Andale.
District 13
Buhler blasted Haven 55-3. Tanner Fisher shredded the Wildcats for 207 yards and four touchdowns on 11 carries. Pratt got by Nickerson 31-21 on the other side of the district.
District 14
Ulysses rolled by Larned 60-18. Holcomb nipped Hugoton 34-27. Ulysses sits at 2-0 in district with Hugoton next week. Holcomb is 1-1 with 0-2 Larned next week.
District 15
Abilene held Hesston’s Kyle Perry down and held the Swathers down in a 28-13 win as a result. Abilene improves to 8-0 on the season.
Smoky Valley got a win over Chapman 28-14.
Class 3A
District 2
Bluestem clinched its first playoff berth in history with a 20-12 win at home over Fredonia. Blake Bolander threw for 243 yards and two touchdowns in the game.
District 10
Sedgwick held off Garden Plain 28-21 to clinch the District 10 title. Trent Stucky was at the front of the charge for the Cardinals once again with 200 yards passing and 64 rushing. His top target was Daniel Vogt and his nine catches for 164 yards.
Joey Capul led Garden Plain with 107 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
On the other side of the district, Halstead took a surprising 48-13 over Hutchinson Trinity. It was thanks to the three-headed rushing attack of Cory Armendariz, Jonah McKee and Devon Bibb. Armendariz had 189 yards, McKee was next at 164 yards and Bibb rounded out the trio with 121 yards. The three were also responsible for all seven of Halstead’s touchdown. The Dragons rushed for 455 yards to just 72 for the Celtics.
This sets up a winner-take-all game next Thursday in Garden Plain between the Owls and Halstead.
District 11
The Douglass Bulldogs are on their way to the playoffs after a 14-12 win over Belle Plaine. Collegiate is also heading to the playoffs after thumping Independent 63-0.
District 12
Conway Springs cruised in a 69-15 win over Chaparral. The Cardinals had 482 yards rushing as a team. Cory Misak had five carries for 124 yards and three touchdowns as he was only tackled twice while carrying the ball. Brian Doffing also had a solid showing with eight carries for 137 yards.
Medicine Lodge got by Kingman 22-7.
District 14
Smith Center is back in the playoffs after beating Minneapolis 53-14. Truitt Kuhlmann rushed for 294 yards and six touchdowns on 20 carries. Beloit thumped Republic County 66-24 to set up a do-or-die game next week with Minneapolis.
Other Districts
Pittsburg Colgan’s coach Chuck Smith picked up his 300th career win as his team took down Lyndon 38-13.
