By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
FRIDAY NIGHT'S GAMES
CLASS 6A
Jadyn Baum, Washburn Rural
WICHITA SOUTH (3-5) at WASHBURN RURAL (5-3)
Washburn Rural is the No. 7 Class 6A West seed while Wichita South is No. 10. Washburn Rural, playing without standout senior quarterback John Hoytal, dropped a 43-0 home Centennial League decision to Manhattan last week. Friday's winner will advance to a second-round game to face the winner of Friday's game between No. 2 Wichita Northwest (7-1) and No. 15 Campus (0-8). Game time: 7 p.m.
TOPEKA HIGH (3-5) at DERBY (5-3)
The Trojans, coming off a 34-12 home non-league loss to Pittsburg, are the No. 11 6A West seed while perennial state contender Derby is the No. 6 seed. The Topeka High-Derby winner will advance to face Friday's winner between No. 3 seed Junction City (6-2) and No. 14 Wichita West (1-7). Game time: 7 p.m.
CLASS 5A
G'Honi Montgomery, Highland Park
DE SOTO (6-2) vs. HIGHLAND PARK (6-2)
At Hummer Sports Park
Coming off a big 42-30 Meadowlark Conference road win over previously-unbeaten Kansas City-Washington, Highland Park is the No. 8 Class 5A East seed while United Kansas Conference stalwart De Soto is seeded No. 9 and coming off a 42-21 UKC home win over Seaman. Highland Park junior G'Honi Montgomery carried the ball 14 times for 292 yards and five touchdowns against Washington and has 633 yards on 55 attempts in five games. Junior JoJo Kingcannon has rushed for 393 yards and four TDs on 26 carries and caught seven passes for 280 yards and three TDs. The Highland Park-De Soto winner will move on to face the winner of Friday's contest between No. 1 seed Basehor-Linwood (8-0) and No. 16 Blue Valley Southwest (0-8). Game time: 6 p.m.
Aiden Scott, Shawnee Heights
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (4-4) at ST. JAMES ACADEMY (7-1)
Shawnee Heights is coming off a 29-16 home United Kansas Conference win over Kansas City Turner and is the No. 11 5A East seed for the playoffs while St. James is the No. 6 seed. The T-Bird-Thunder winner will advance to next week's second round of the playoffs to take on the winner of Friday's game between No. 3 seed Spring Hill (7-1) and No. 14 Kansas City-Harmon (1-7). Shawnee Heights senior quarterback Aiden Scott has completed 181 of 287 passes for 2,767 yards and 23 TDs while senior AJ Gallegos has 61 catches for 860 yards and seven touchdowns. Dayton Vanderpool is the T-Birds' leading tackler with 75 stops (51 solo), including 5.5 tackles for loss. Game time: 7 p.m.
SEAMAN (3-5) at LIBERAL (6-2)
Seaman, coming off a 42-21 United Kansas Conference road loss at De Soto, is the No. 11 5A West seed while Liberal is No. 6. The winner of Friday's game will advance to face the winner of Friday's game between No. 3 Andover (6-2) and No. 14 seed Salina South (1-7). Seaman junior quarterback Cale Ketter has completed 136 of 231 passes for 2,013 yards and 23 touchdowns while Josh Brown has 38 catches for 611 yards and eight TDs and Coy Barta has 33 catches for 558 yards and nine TDs. Sophomore Quentin Moravec has 830 rushing yards and 11 TDs on 147 attempts. Game time: 6 p.m.
TOPEKA WEST (1-7) at SALINA CENTRAL (7-1)
Topeka West, which is coming off a 52-6 United Kansas Conference road loss at Piper, is the No. 15 5A West seed and will face a tough road test at No. 2 seed Salina Central. The winner of Friday's West-Salina Central contest will advance to the second round of postseason to take on the winner of Friday's contest between No. 7 Goddard (5-3) and No. 10 Maize South (4-4). Game time: 7 p.m.
CLASS 3A
Jude Krentz, Hayden
COLUMBUS (2-6) at HAYDEN (8-0)
Hayden, the Class 3A runnerup the past two seasons, is the No. 1 East seed and will be at home Friday to face No. 16 Columbus. With a win Friday Hayden will advance to host the winner of Friday's game between No. 8 Parsons (3-5) and No. 9 Wellsville (5-3). Wildcat senior quarterback Connor Hanika has completed 75 of 127 passes for 1,117 yards and 16 touchdowns while senior Kade Mitchell has carried the ball 74 times for 654 yards and has scored 14 total TDs. Senior Jude Krentz leads Hayden with 72 tackles (40 solo) and five tackles for loss while Xander Blasing has 56 tops (41 solo) and six tackles for loss. Game time: 6 p.m.
CLASS 2A
Kipton Kruger, Silver Lake
ST. MARYS (3-5) at SILVER LAKE (6-2)
Silver Lake, the No. 4 East seed, will put its six-game winning streak on the line against No. 13 St. Marys. The Eagles, coming off a 17-8 win over Council Grove, took a 21-6 win over the Bears in district play. The winner of Friday's game will move on in 2A to face the winner of Friday's game between No. 5 seed Sabetha (7-1) and No. 12 Humboldt (3-5). Eagle freshman quarterback Kipton Kruger has completed 125 of 180 pass attempts for 1,501 yards and 14 touchdowns, while senior Dayne Johnson has 52 receptions for 746 yards and seven TDs. Bryson Burgos has carried the ball 88 times for 546 yards and seven TDs. Jayden Waterer has 55 tackles and six sacks for the Silver Lake defense while Grady Bergmann has 55 stops and three interceptions. Game time: 7 p.m.
CLASS 1A
Canann Mitchell, Rossville
MISSION VALLEY (4-4) at ROSSVILLE (7-1)
Rossville wrapped up its district championship with a 49-6 win over Wabaunsee last Friday and is the No. 4 1A East seed while Mission Valley is the No. 13 seed. The Bulldawgs took a 55-6 win over the Vikings in district play. The Rossville-Mission Valley winner will advance to the second round of postseason to face the winner of Friday's game between No. 5 seed Jefferson County North (7-1) and No. 12 McLouth (3-5). Rossville senior quarterback Canann Mitchell has completed 72 of 108 passes for 1,099 yards and 13 touchdowns and ran for 632 yards and 10 TDs on 80 attempts. Cameron Miller has 26 catches for 457 yards and seven TDs while Jack Donovan has 26 grabs for 316 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Conner Bush has rushed for 543 yards and eight TDs on 44 carries while Andre Johnson leads the Bulldawgs with 77 tackles. Game time: 7 p.m.
