Five Wichita-area games to know: Andover Central edges Eisenhower in league thriller

With Week 7 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. Andover Central hands Eisenhower first loss in AV-CTL Division II thriller

Stopping the connection between Derek Morgan and Carter Pabst has proven to be nearly impossible for defenses this season.

And the Eisenhower duo once again lit up the scoreboard on Friday, but in the end, Andover Central’s defense produced the stop it needed to hang on for a dramatic 27-26 home victory between the AV-CTL Division II rivals with state rankings.

Andover Central, ranked No. 3 in Class 4A, improved to 6-1 and handed Eisenhower, ranked No. 5 in Class 5A, its first loss of the season. The victory also moves both teams in a three-way tie in the loss column with Goddard for the league title race, which would finish as a three-way tie if Andover Central (at Andover) and Goddard (at Salina Central) both win next Friday.

“I was really proud of the kids and their effort and the way they fought for that one,” Andover Central coach Derek Tuttle said. “It was good to see them come back from a little adversity. I thought we took some steps as far as that and bounced back after (Eisenhower) scored. Our kids were pretty confident and that’s what we want in late October. We still have a ways to go to get to where we want to be, but we’re taking some good steps right now.”

The Jaguars stunned Eisenhower in the first quarter, building a 14-0 lead following a 21-yard Maddox Archibald touchdown run and then a 55-yard interception return by 315-pound defensive lineman Dawson Rodd.

“We know from testing that he can move,” Tuttle said of Rodd. “He can run under five seconds in the 40, which is really good for a lineman and really good for a lineman with his size and stature. It was pretty thrilling to see him do that. I think he lived out every d-lineman’s dream.”

But Eisenhower showed why it entered Friday’s game with an unblemished record, as Morgan quickly steadied the Tigers in the second quarter with a touchdown run of his own and then a 53-yard scoring pass to Pabst.

When Andover Central regained the lead on a Jace Jefferson score, Morgan and Pabst connected again on a 79-yard touchdown just before halftime. The pair then teamed up for their third score of the game, a four-yard touchdown, but Eisenhower missed its last two extra-point attempts and only extended its lead to 26-21 entering the fourth quarter.

That became crucial in the fourth quarter when the Jaguars pieced together a go-ahead drive, capped by an Archibald score, to take a 27-26 lead with 8:55 remaining. Andover Central’s defense came up with a critical stop on the ensuing possession, as Jace Adler came down with an interception to wipe out a potential go-ahead score by Eisenhower.

Eisenhower mounted a final rally, driving to midfield in the closing minutes, but Morgan’s fourth-down pass couldn’t be corralled by a receiver and an Archibald first-down run sealed the victory.

“We knew Eisenhower was going to make big plays, but our guys just kept battling and kept fighting,” Tuttle said. “That turnover by Jace was huge because they were threatening and moving the ball. I’m just really proud of how the kids played and how much heart they showed tonight.”

2. Collegiate airs it out to take down defending state champions

When Collegiate’s passing game is in sync, few defenses can match up with its array of pass-catchers with speed, height and athleticism.

The Spartans showed just how potent their aerial attack can be on Friday with a head-turning 31-7 win over Cheney, which entered undefeated and ranked No. 1 in Class 3A as the defending state champions.

Collegiate, ranked No. 4 in 3A, improved to 6-1 and won its third straight game since a disappointing 47-6 loss to Andale. By snapping Cheney’s 19-game winning streak, the Spartans also take control of the race for the District 7 championship.

“We’ve been a little inconsistent and we weren’t perfect (on Friday) but we did a lot of really good stuff,” Collegiate coach Troy Black said. “This team knows we have some talent, but we’re not good enough to coast. When we do things the way we’ve been taught, we’re a pretty good team.”

Senior quarterback Harrison Simon, a first-year starter, found success early and often through the air, as 6-foot-5 junior Sebastian Hines-Turner, 6-foot-2 speedster A.J. Batiste, 6-foot-2 senior Roman Hourani and 6-foot-4 senior Markus Gorges all helped the Spartans pull away for a convincing victory.

“We’ve got some receivers with some height and some speed and when we can get them the ball, they’re pretty special,” Black said.

While the offensive explosion was nice, Black was even more pleased with Collegiate’s defense holding Cheney to a single touchdown. Just last week, the Cardinals won 75-7 and entered Friday averaging 48.5 points.

Many of those talented receivers played a key role in the secondary on defense, while Black also gave credit to the defensive line for disrupting Cheney’s offense throughout the game. Standouts included Tristan Sprole, Cooper Brown and Drake Beran on the defensive line.

Collegiate can wrap up a district title with a win next Friday at Chaparral, while Cheney will try to secure the No. 2 seed in another difficult showdown against Pratt (6-1).

3. Moundridge prevails in OT thriller in 1A unbeaten showdown

A clash of unbeaten Class 1A title contenders produced an instant classic, as Moundridge stopped a two-point conversion in overtime to hold on for a 41-40 victory over Sedgwick.

The dream season for No. 6-ranked Moundridge (6-0) continued in its first season playing 11-man football since 2017 with a marquee victory over No. 3-ranked Sedgwick (6-1). It also put the Wildcats in the driver’s seat to claim Heart of America and District 6 championships next Friday with a win at Inman.

“Sedgwick is such an explosive offense and they’re extremely well-coached, so this is a big win,” Moundridge coach Tyler O’Connor said. “But our guys do a great job of staying even-keeled. We’ll celebrate this one (Friday), but by (Saturday) we’ll be focused on next week’s game.”

After a back-and-forth first half, Moundridge briefly seized control of the game with two straight scores in the third quarter to open up a 34-20 lead. But Sedgwick quarterback Corey Crumrine answered back immediately with a touchdown of his own, then guided the Cardinals on a game-tying drive with a touchdown and two-point conversion with 2:35 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Moundridge took the first possession in overtime and immediately scored, as Henry Hecox found Bear Moddelmog for a touchdown and 41-34 lead. Hecox finished with 364 passing yards and five touchdowns, while Kaizer Kanitz recorded 13 catches for 205 receiving yards and three touchdowns and Moddelmog finished with 78 receiving yards and two scores.

Crumrine again answered back with a touchdown for Sedgwick and the Cardinals opted to go for two and the walk-off win.

“Honestly, it was one of those moments where you feel really lucky as a coach to get to experience that with your kids,” O’Connor said. “As a coach, I’ve seen all of the hard work these kids have put in and for it to all come down to a moment like that, I just try to step back and cherish that as a coach and watch the kids shine in their roles.”

In the end, it was junior Brayden Elmore, playing in his first game as a full-time cornerback, who stuck with his receiver and swatted the pass down in the end zone to preserve the victory for Moundridge.

4. Derby rolls to claim AV-CTL Division I championship

The postseason is where this Derby team will fight for its spot in history, but the dominance so far this season has been on par with past championship squads.

Derby continued its destruction of opponents with a 51-7 home victory over Maize South to improve to 7-0 and clinch the AV-CTL Division I title. The No. 1-ranked Panthers have outscored their opponents 371-37 this season.

It was all Derby from the start on Friday, as senior quarterback Drew Kemp connected with Tennessee-bound tight end Da’Saahn Brame for a pair of first-quarter touchdown passes and then broke off a 70-yard run for another score. In essentially one half of work, Kemp finished with 143 passing yards on 7-for-9 passing with three touchdowns and 88 rushing yards with two touchdowns.

Derby led 51-0 at halftime, as sophomore running back Arieus Finley racked up 135 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Easton Splane and Braesyn Williams each finished with an interception on defense, while holding Maize South to a season low in scoring.

It was the second straight loss for Maize South, by a combined score of 106-37, following a 5-0 start to the season. The Mavericks end the regular season against Hutchinson (5-2) in what will be a crucial game for playoff seeding.

5. Hesston notches shutout win to keep undefeated season alive

The undefeated season marched on for Hesston with a 28-0 shutout home victory over Riley County, the No. 10-ranked team in Class 2A.

The Swathers, ranked No. 10 in 3A, improved to 7-0 this season to set up an undefeated showdown for the District 6 championship next Friday against Andale. It is the longest unbeaten stretch to open a season for the Swathers since their 2014 team started 10-0 before losing in the second round of the playoffs.

Senior Karter Gonzalez has been a standout two-way player this season, as he had racked up 752 rushing yards on just 74 carries and 15 touchdowns on offense and led the defense in tackles with 65 entering Friday’s game. Sophomore quarterback Jerick Humphreys has also added an aerial threat this season, as his favorite target has been senior Asher Deutschendorf, who had hauled in 15 balls for 527 yards and six touchdowns before Friday. Conner Graber, Ethan Coutre, Zach Smith and Gavin Larson are others among the leaders on defense.