Five football games to know: Wichita South beats Carroll for first time since 1992

With Week 4 of the Kansas high school football season officially in the books, The Wichita Eagle picked out five key games to highlight.

You can find a list of Wichita-area game scores from Friday at Kansas.com.

1. South wins over Bishop Carroll for first time since 1992

For more than three decades, Bishop Carroll sat near the top of the City League power structure with South always looking up.

On Friday, after 32 years, the roles reversed.

The Titans rallied from a halftime deficit and delivered a dominant second half for a 32-7 win over Bishop Carroll at Carpenter Stadium, snapping a 24-game losing streak. It was the first win against the Golden Eagles since a 34-14 victory to open the 1992 season when current head coach Russ Wells was a player at South.

“This is a massive win for our kids,” said Wells, who is in his sixth season as head coach at his alma mater. “The biggest thing for me is I’m just happy for our kids because I’ve wanted a win like this for them so bad. I got to be a part of winning as a player and as a coach at other programs, but I’ve wanted it for these kids for so long. They’ve worked so hard to get to this point and they deserve it.”

It was Carroll (1-3) in control of the first half, as South was limited to just 10 yards of total offense and watched as the Golden Eagles reeled off a touchdown drive just before halftime for a 7-6 lead.

But South recovered a squib kick to begin the third quarter and South running back Jay’den Kirk-McGowan went to work. After being held to two yards on the ground in the first half, the 210-pound junior exploded for 150 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries following halftime.

When Carroll attempted to rally, South’s defense rose to the occasion. Senior linebacker Ja’marcus Webster had a key interception in the second half, while fellow senior Damauri Parker had the game-sealing interception return for a touchdown in the second half.

“We talked about it at halftime how there was going to be adversity, how everything wasn’t going to go our way,” Wells said. “But there would be opportunities and when those opportunities came up, we needed kids to step up and make plays. We knew we had the kids in the locker room who were going to do that. We needed a play and Jay’den stepped up. We needed another play and Ja’marcus stepped up.”

In a program that hasn’t won four games in a season since 2016, Friday’s victory was a crucial one for a South (2-2) team that also improved to 2-0 in the City League. With two straight home games up next against North (0-4) and Heights (1-3), the Titans could push for their first winning record in nearly a decade.

Wells hopes Friday’s win arms the team with the confidence needed to make a push up the City League standings.

“We’ve talked about it for a while that we just need the kids to believe,” Wells said. “It doesn’t matter if anybody outside of us believes in what we’re capable of. We know what we could do and we feel like this was a game we can use to get over that hump.”

2. Northwest grabs control of City League race with Kapaun win

It was only a matter of time before the Northwest passing game found its rhythm.

At least that’s how Northwest coach Steve Martin felt and he was proven right on Friday when the Grizzlies raided the air to deliver the knockout punch in a 48-24 home win over Kapaun Mt. Carmel.

The victory puts the Grizzlies, 4-0 and ranked No. 5 in Class 6A, in firm control of the City League title race after beating both East and Kapaun, 3-1 and ranked No. 3 in 4A, in the first month of the season.

“I know our guys have maybe been a little frustrated not getting the ball in the air as much as we would have liked, but we saw some weird defensive fronts the first few weeks,” Martin said. “We’ve been successful running the ball for the first three games, but we knew as we get deeper in the schedule, we could show off our versatility. If you’re going to load up the box, we showed (Friday) that we can hurt you over the top and hurt you real bad.”

Northwest certainly made a statement with its near-flawless play in the first half. Highly-touted quarterback Jaylen Mason had a breakthrough game passing, as Ryder Campbell, Chase Carter and Griffin Baker all aided the air attack to help the Grizzlies take a 31-0 lead into halftime.

Kapaun briefly challenged in the third quarter, scoring a pair of unanswered touchdowns. But Northwest grabbed the momentum back when Mason connected with Carter for a long touchdown score on a play where Carter dragged a defender into the end zone from 15 yards out.

“We wanted to come out and be explosive and they had nine guys around the line of scrimmage, so we knew we had to open up the passing game,” Martin said. “We finally saw a structure in the secondary where we felt like we could take advantage. Our guys did a great job and we were balanced.”

3. Andale rolls again in 3A showdown against Collegiate

Andale and Collegiate have long been the two top programs in the AV-CTL Div. IV and also two of the top teams in Class 3A.

But Andale has always seemed to hold the upperhand in the rivalry, a trend which continued Friday with a dominant 47-6 win for the 11th straight victory by Andale in the series. Andale (4-0) entered ranked No. 2 in 3A, while Collegiate (3-1) was ranked No. 5.

“I don’t think we could have played a much better game,” Andale coach Dylan Schmidt said. “Our special teams were on point, the defense was unbelievable and our offense played really well. All phases were some of the best we have played in a long, long time.”

Collegiate held tough in the first half, but Andale methodically pulled away like it has so many times in the Schmidt era.

After stopping Andale on its first drive, Collegiate went three-and-out and Andale reeled off a 10-play drive capped by a Sam Harp touchdown and Cooper Marx two-point conversion. Collegiate’s next drive ended on a Harrison Potucek interception, which set up a Landon Harp score and two-point conversion. Finally, the Spartans sustained a deep drive that reached the Andale 8-yard line, but turned the ball over on downs and watched Andale go 91 yards in four plays, as Landon Harp’s 45-yard score just before halftime dealt a crushing blow and a 24-0 lead.

Landon Harp finished with 159 total yards and three scores, while Sam Harp scored two touchdowns on the ground and threw for two more scores through the air. Lane Parthemer, Hunter Grimes and Potucek all finished with interceptions on defense, as Andale took a 47-0 lead into the fourth quarter.

“Our kids have done a good job of being prepared,” Schmidt said. “For some reason, they’re always locked in against Collegiate. They’re always so ready. As the game went along, we just continued to execute no matter the phase.”

4. Tennessee recruit Da’Saahn Brame can’t stop scoring for Derby

Derby tight end Da’Saahn Brame, a top-100 recruit in the class of 2025 who is verbally committed to Tennessee, hauled in three touchdown passes in the Panthers’ 59-7 home win over Maize to continue his strong senior season.

Brame hasn’t played much past halftime this season because Derby (4-0), the No. 1-ranked team in the state, has blown out four straight opponents.

But the 6-foot-6, 230-pound athlete has taken seven of his 12 catches this season for touchdowns. On Friday, Brame had his best game yet — five catches for 96 yards and three scores.

“He’s 6-6, 230 with a 40-inch vert and we’ve hand-timed him at 4.4 in the 40,” Derby coach Brandon Clark said. “He’s a freak. But the best thing about him is that he cares about his teammates. It’s not about Tennessee or him going to college or any of that stuff after. He’s soaking this up and he is loving life right now and he’s such a great teammate and a great role model, especially to our younger kids.”

Derby quarterback Drew Kemp, a transfer from Maize, has particularly enjoyed throwing to Brame.

On his second touchdown connection in the second quarter, Brame had his defender beat but there was no angle to directly deliver the ball. So Kemp just threw a pass to the corner of the end zone, where only Brame could make a play. Sure enough, Brame swiveled his hips, chased down the ball, secured it and toe-tapped to make a highlight play seem routine.

“I know if you just put it where only he can get it, he’s going to go get it and it’s going to be a touchdown,” said Kemp, who completed nine of 10 passes for 135 yards and four touchdowns against his former team. “He’s definitely one of a kind. But the biggest thing for me is that he’s been such a great teammate to me. Ever since I transferred here, he’s welcomed me with open arms and we’ve built a great connection. He’s been a blessing to have.”

Derby sophomore running back Arieus Finley added 134 total yards on just 10 touches and two touchdowns, while Kikoa Indalecio and Dalton Hornback each scored non-offensive touchdowns in the rout.

5. Conway Springs beats Medicine Lodge in battle of 1A unbeatens

In a battle between the top two-ranked teams in Class 1A, Conway Springs prevailed with a 45-24 win at Medicine Lodge on Thursday.

It was also a rematch between Central Plains League rivals that played each other in last year’s 1A semifinals, as Conway Springs won 40-34 during the regular season and 34-19 in the postseason to sweep Medicine Lodge en route to a state championship.

The Indians (2-1) certainly grabbed the attention of Conway Springs with two successful onside kicks in the first quarter, which helped the home team build an early 10-0 lead.

But Conway Springs reeled off 31 straight points, including a 95-yard touchdown run by senior running back Isaac Winter just before halftime, to pull away for a comfortable win. Winter finished with 202 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns, while fellow senior running back Grant Fisher added three touchdowns.

Conway Springs has won 12 straight games against Medicine Lodge, dating back to 2007.