WICHITA, Kansas (KWCH) – Half of the high school teams in Kansas lost last week, meaning it’s tough to find games between two undefeated teams even in week two.
Most of the games on this week’s list feature two undefeated soccer teams, but even the one that isn’t should answer some questions. There are also some strong rivalry games this week, including one in the City League that we might not have classified as a rivalry five years ago.
And without further ado, here are the top five Wichita area high school games scheduled for September 13th.
Wichita Northwest (1-0) against Wichita East (1-0) at Carpenter Stadium
Will Wichita Northwest’s revenge tour begin Friday, or will East assert its dominance over a team that has been at or near the top of the City League for the better part of a decade?
East beat the Grizzlies twice last season, including 48-28 in the Class 6A playoffs. Adding to the excitement this year is the transfer of running back AJ Bohannon, who rushed for more than 1,200 yards for Northwest last year. His brother A’maree Bohannon is the anchor of the Aces’ defensive backfield as a free safety.
Both teams had convincing wins in Week 1 – Northwest beat west side rival Bishop Carroll 34-13. The Grizzlies showed they wouldn’t miss AJ Bohannon, as the aptly named junior running back Augie Fast rushed for 201 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Jaylen Mayson evened things up with 117 passing yards on nine completed passes and two touchdowns.
East was even more dominant, outscoring Heights 48-0. Thanks to its strong offense, the team took a 28-0 halftime lead.
Watching perhaps the City League’s best game in Week 2 isn’t ideal, but we’ll know a lot more about the league race when we wake up on Saturday morning.
Goddard (1-0) at Goddard Eisenhower (1-0)
Goddard doesn’t fit. Eisenhower does. And often. Friday’s game between the cross-town rivals will be the ultimate contrast in style.
Eisenhower, which beat Valley Center 28-17 last week, returns 2,000-yard passer Derek Morgan and its top receiver Carter Pabst, who caught 19 touchdowns in 2023. Goddard scored just one touchdown and did not attempt a pass in the 7-3 win over Maize in Week 1. The Lions’ running attack was underwhelming, averaging just 3.5 yards per attempt, but Brock Sullivan’s touchdown was enough for a win.
Defensively, there isn’t much separating the two teams in Goddard. Before a 42-39 loss to Kapaun Mount Carmel in the Class 5A semifinals last year, Eisenhower had allowed a total of 56 points in its last five games, including 35-6 and 41-7 playoff wins over Hays and Andover.
Goddard won the teams’ only meeting last year, 22-14, in the final week of the regular season, but the Lions’ playoff run ended with a loss they barely avenged: a 31-22 first-round loss to Maize.
Conway Springs (1-0) at Garden Plain (1-0)
Another game where one team is looking for some sort of revenge. However, Conway Springs can’t be too disappointed with last year’s Week 1 loss to Garden Plain, as the Cardinals went on to win the Class 1A championship. The Cardinals started 0-2, including a loss to Kingman, but won every game after that.
There will be no opposing offensive styles in this game – both teams like to run, traditional and current. In last week’s 49-14 win over Wichita Trinity, Garden Plain threw five passes – once for a touchdown – and ran 37 times. Junior Emrick Hayes had 148 yards and three touchdowns, and senior Cooper Scheer ran for 118 yards on eight carries with two touchdowns. Quarterback Brady Brack also contributed a running touchdown.
Garden Plain entered the Class 2A playoffs on a six-game winning streak, beating Halstead in the first round before losing to Ellsworth. Conway Springs was done losing early, finishing the year with 11 straight wins.
Last week, Conway Springs rushed for 333 yards in a 42-0 win over Nickerson, including 175 yards from senior Isaac Winter. The Cardinals lost star running back Brayden Kunz, but coach Matt Biehler has shown he can regroup – he hasn’t had a fewer losing season since taking over as head coach in 2009 and led Conway Springs to two state titles.
Cheney (1-0) at Kingman (1-0)
Cheney was here last week just to see how the defending Class 3A champion would fare against Holcomb, a team that wins a playoff game or two most years.
The result wasn’t particularly exciting, as Cheney won 38-7. But we’ll give it another go this week, as Kingman is another team that looks to be a challenge, at least on paper. The Eagles had a 7-3 record last year, including a 34-7 loss to Cheney, and a 29-6 record over the past three seasons. We’ll see if the excitement goes beyond the matchup on paper this week.
Last week, Kingman held Chaparral to 64 rushing yards in a 26-13 win and did not allow Chaparral to play in the first half. The Eagles returned quarterback Ben Bradshaw and an experienced group of linebackers in seniors Kade Osborn, Collin Schreiner and Colby Arensdorf.
Cheney extended its winning streak to 14 games last week, but the Cardinals’ schedule isn’t slowing down after Kingman, with Garden Plain waiting next week. Quarterback Josh Burdick leads and directs an offense with multiple options for big plays at running back and receiver.
Andale (1-0) at Wellington (0-1)
We expect Andale to win this game, most likely by a significant margin. But the Indians proved deadly last season, losing to Cheney twice, including in the 3A title game, and it’s never too early to see how they respond.
If Week 1 is any indication, they’re responding pretty well, thank you very much. Andale made it to El Dorado with an Andale-esque final score of 68-7. Wellington held on against Collegiate last week before a three-point loss. Andale’s stellar performance means you only have one or two games where you learn a lot about the Indians, and this game could be one of them.
Junior Sam Harp returns after throwing for nearly 600 yards and 11 touchdowns. Senior Bo Kaiser, a 190-pound tight end, converted nearly half of his nine caught passes last year for scores and averaged nearly 30 yards per catch. Senior Cooper Marx brings nice size and athleticism to the Indians backfield at 225 pounds.
Wellington returns one of the best passers in the class in senior Dusty Bannister, who threw for 2,616 yards with 25 touchdowns last fall. Nearly all of the talent in the backfield returns, led by senior Nick Giefer, who rushed for 862 yards on 188 of the team’s 282 carries. Two of Wellington’s three losses last year were to Andale and Collegiate.
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