A few HOPL football teams are sitting pretty in their respective districts. South Barber took control of its district with a big win against Caldwell on Friday.
Stafford
The Trojans were able to stay of out the Div. II, District 4 basement with a convincing win against Argonia on Friday. Stafford needed just two quarters to complete a 52-0 thumping, improving to 1-2 in district play, 3-3 overall.
The Trojan defense allowed just 86 yards all night while the offense rushed for 300 yards. Ethan Johnson took eight totes for 116 yards and two scores, including a 63-yard run. Tristin Paulsen also crossed the century mark with 108 yards on eight carries. Three of those tries went for scores. Austin Ceniti finished with 76 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. Defensively, Ceniti had a huge game with three interceptions. Johnson led the team with 10 tackles.
South Barber
The Chieftains took control of Div. II, District 4 on Friday with a 30-6 win against Caldwell. South Barber now sits atop the district as the lone unbeaten team at 3-0, 4-2 overall. Caldwell falls to second with a 3-1 district mark and 3-3 overall record.
Neither team scored in the first quarter, but the Chieftains would find the end zone twice in the second quarter and again in the third quarter for a 22-0 lead. Caldwell’s lone score in the fourth quarter was offset by another South Barber score. Sophomore Dylan Allison had a big night with 111 yards and two scores on 16 carries. He also led the team with four receptions and another touchdown for 58 yards. Jace Thurman recovered two fumbles and scored the other Chieftain touchdown. Sophomore quarterback Peyton Yandel completed 7-of-13 passes for 79 yards and a score.
Norwich
At 2-4 after a win on Friday, the Eagles do not have the best record in Div. II, District 4. But they are not out of the hunt yet. Norwich downed Attica 24-18 to improve to 2-1 in the district. The Eagles are now one of three teams with that record sitting behind South Barber at 3-0.
Quarterback Jacob Norris carried the Eagles on his freshman back in the win. He was the only player to finish with positive rushing yards, taking 43 carries for 285 yards and two touchdowns. He was also effective in the air, completing 8-of-18 passes for 77 yards and the other two touchdowns. He did throw an interception as well. Brandon DePriest caught four of those passes, one for a score, for 32 yards. Caleb Bartel had one reception, a three-yard touchdown pass from Norris. Lucas Lohrman had a monster night defensively with 23 tackles. DePriest had an interception.
Cunningham
Friday night, the Wildcats took a break from district play to take on 4-1 Fairfield. The Falcons prevailed 44-20, dropping Cunningham to 3-3 on the year. The Wildcats still have the rest of district play to look forward to, currently right in the mix of things at 2-1.
Fairfield ran away with things early on, leading 14-0 after one quarter and 38-0 at the half. The Wildcats put 20 points on the board in the fourth quarter for a more respectable score. Cunningham had trouble moving the ball with just 145 yards of total offense. Most of that came on the ground, led by Hunter Westerman’s 69 yards and touchdown on seven carries. The sophomore also returned a kick 72 yards for one of the Wildcat scores. Cody Huhman finished with just 25 yards on seven carries, but one of those tries went for a touchdown. Dylan Moran led the pass attack with 19 yards on his one completion to Zach Chambers.
Skyline
Div. I, District 6 is tough with two 5-1 teams and another at 4-2. Kiowa County is that 4-2 team after handing the Thunderbirds a 50-0 loss Friday night. Skyline falls to 0-3 in district play, 0-6 overall.
Kiowa needed just two quarters to pull off the win, scoring 30 points in the opening frame. Sophomore quarterback Dustin Weber struggled to move the ball, picking up 37 yards on eight carries and missing on all three pass tries. Skyline finished with just those 37 yards offensively all night. Defensively, Sam Howell led the way with seven tackles. Chanler Simar and Brandon Baird each recorded six tackles.
