Buhler faced its second-straight ranked opponent to start the 2009 season on Friday, and the Crusaders posted a second-straight dominating performance with a 56-13 trouncing of Abilene, the seventh-ranked squad in 4A at the time.
As a result, Buhler vaults over defending 4A champion Topeka Hayden, second-ranked Bishop Miege and third-ranked Andale into the top spot in the latest 4A rankings.
The Crusaders are led by a strong ground game, which features senior running back Jorden Oden (5-foot-7, 195 pounds), who already has carried the ball 43 times for 540 yards and six touchdowns in just two games this season.
Of course, in front of every good running back is a good offensive line.
"They whipped us. That is all there is to it," Abilene coach Jeff Geist told the Abilene Reflector-Chronicle. "They were better in every phase of the game. Their line is better than ours. Hands down."
Oden began the scoring with a 4-yard run in the first quarter after the Crusaders displayed a sound aerial attack led by quarterback Jake Reffner, who connected with Tyler Montandon for a 37-yard gain on third down in the scoring drive.
The Cowboys, who lost to Rock Creek in the first round of the 2008 playoffs, struck back when Curry Sexton broke free for a 60-yard scoring run early in the second quarter to pull within 8-6. But Brad Wimer scored when he hauled in a 27-yard strike from Reffner, and Roman Davidson scored on a 27-yard run and a 20-yard pass from Reffner to take a commanding lead at intermission.
The Crusaders have also knocked off Andover 52-27 in the early going, allowing Steve Warner’s club to jump three rungs into the top spot. Hayden lost to Class 5A Emporia 28-6 to fall to fifth in this week’s rankings.
Bishop Miege’s 18-10 loss to Class 5A St. Thomas Aquinas isn’t as damaging as the Stags stay put at No. 2. Andale remains third after knocking off Winfield 36-17, while Louisburg moves into the fourth slot after belting Spring Hill 49-7.
Following Hayden are Holton, Basehor-Linwood, Wellington, Andover and Abilene in the 6-7-8-9-10 slots in that order.
Below is a look at some of last weekend’s top offensive performances and the latest Kansas high school football rankings.
Kansas’ Top Performances
Rushing
Brandon Barnes of Oskaloosa rushed for 291 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries in a 50-20 loss to Immaculata…Kansas City-Turner’s Rashon Thames rushed for 274 yards and four touchdowns on 22 carries in a 47-27 win over Lansing…Morgan Burns of Wichita Trinity rushed for 257 yards in a 30-14 win over Medicine Lodge…Centre’s Tanner Brunner rushed for 244 yards and five touchdowns on 26 carries in a 48-24 win over Canton-Galva…Grant Ferrell of Santa Fe Trail rushed for 242 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries in a 41-14 loss to Anderson County…Labette County’s David Brown rushed for 211 yards in a 29-22 win over Chanute…Jorden Oden of Buhler rushed for 208 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries in a 56-13 win over Abilene…Rose Hill’s Laque Mayes rushed for 205 yards in a 49-0 win over Augusta…Trevor Ridgeway of Cedar Vale rushed for 203 yards in a 30-26 loss to Udall.
Passing
Conner Embree of Blue Valley West completed 21-of-28 passes for 329 yards and three touchdowns in a 26-0 win over Goddard…Wichita Collegiate’s Blake Jablonski completed 23-of-37 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns in a 21-14 win over Marion…Blake Bell of Wichita Bishop Carroll passed for 286 yards in a 39-29 win over Wichita Northwest…Central-Burden’s Bo Savage completed 20-of-27 passes for 274 yards and two touchdowns in a 32-22 loss to Caldwell…Zach Neville of Wichita Independent passed for 270 yards in a 12-0 win over Belle Plaine…Hillsboro’s Jacob Fish passed for 242 yards in a 34-28 win over Smoky Valley…Jacoby Martin of Galena completed 14-of-21 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns in a 36-34 win over Pittsburg-Colgan…Basehor-Linwood’s Brandon Leppke completed 8-of-12 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns in a 44-21 win over Bonner Springs…Tanner Bailey of Winfield passed for 225 yards in a 36-17 loss to Andale…Thunder Ridge’s Cade Rietzke completed 9-of-9 passes for 212 yards and five touchdowns in a 56-6 win over Logan.
Receiving
Devin Hedgepeth of Derby caught six passes for 164 yards in a 20-12 loss to Salina Central…Blue Valley Northwest’s Matt Ornduff caught eight passes for 155 yards and a touchdown in a 34-15 win over Blue Valley…Andrew Karlin of Victoria caught four passes for 150 yards and three touchdowns in a 56-22 win over St. John-Hudson…Sumner Academy’s Benny Parker caught four passes for 129 yards and three touchdowns in a 52-33 win over Lincoln College Prep…Alex Visk of Blue Valley West caught seven passes for 125 yards in a 26-0 win over Goddard…Wichita Independent’s Chase Lewonowski caught 122 yards in passes in a 12-0 win over Belle Plaine…Jacob Lawson of Central-Burden caught eight passes for 120 yards and a touchdown in a 32-22 loss to Caldwell…Northern Heights’ Nick Mendez caught eight passes for 119 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-20 win over Herington…Matt Buhler of Rossville caught seven passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns in a 37-14 win over Riley County…Blue Valley West’s DeSean Warren caught four passes for 109 yards and a touchdown in a 26-0 win over Goddard.
Kansas High School Football Rankings
Class 6A
1. Olathe North (2-0) 112 18 1
2. Junction City (2-0) 94 15 2
3. Manhattan (2-0) 70 21 4
4. Shawnee Mission West (2-0) 46 37 7
5. Dodge City (2-0) 85 3 8
6. Wichita Northwest (1-1) 45 52 3
7. Derby (1-1) 39 23 5
8. Blue Valley West (2-0) 56 7 9
9. Blue Valley Northwest (2-0) 82 36 -
10. Olathe East (1-1) 43 37 10
Class 5A
1. Hutchinson (2-0) 96 33 1
2. McPherson (2-0) 103 31 2
3. Gardner-Edgerton (2-0) 118 22 3
4. Salina Central (2-0) 68 33 4
5. Wichita Bishop Carroll (2-0) 67 29 5
6. St. Thomas Aquinas (2-0) 40 29 6
7. Kansas City-Turner (2-0) 70 42 8
8. Salina South (1-1) 64 57 7
9. Emporia (2-0) 68 27 -
10. Newton (2-0) 89 15 -
Class 4A
1. Buhler (2-0) 108 40 4
2. Bishop Miege (1-1) 70 18 2
3. Andale (2-0) 85 37 3
4. Louisburg (2-0) 98 14 5
5. Topeka Hayden (1-1) 25 35 1
6. Holton (2-0) 63 34 8
7. Basehor-Linwood (2-0) 93 21 9
8. Wellington (2-0) 79 19 -
9. Andover (1-1) 56 59 10
10. Abilene (1-1) 48 63 7
Class 3A
1. Conway Springs (2-0) 85 19 1
2. Silver Lake (2-0) 65 14 2
3. Garden Plain (2-0) 114 14 3
4. Marysville (2-0) 95 8 4
5. Wichita Collegiate (2-0) 77 42 5
6. Scott City (2-0) 62 7 6
7. Pleasant Ridge (2-0) 75 12 7
8. Norton (2-0) 54 14 8
9. Riverton (2-0) 112 6 9
10. Rossville (2-0) 60 20 10
Class 2-1A
1. Smith Center (2-0) 118 0 1
2. St. Marys (2-0) 78 22 3
3. Olpe (2-0) 67 6 6
4. Oakley (2-0) 51 0 7
5. Pittsburg-Colgan (1-1) 84 47 2
6. Meade (2-0) 88 13 8
7. Ellis (1-1) 35 22 4
8. St. Francis (1-1) 48 50 5
9. Ell-Saline (2-0) 65 15 10
10. Osborne (2-0) 68 23 -
Class 8-Man I
1. Baileyville B&B (2-0) 78 14 1
2. Clifton-Clyde (2-0) 126 34 2
3. Madison (2-0) 61 0 3
4. Quinter (2-0) 94 26 4
5. Colony-Crest (2-0) 107 26 5
6. Minneola (2-0) 93 32 6
7. Macksville (1-1) 24 36 7
8. Goessel (1-1) 78 44 8
9. Pretty Prairie (2-0) 100 42 -
10. Frankfort (2-0) 106 22 10
Class 8-Man II
1. Victoria (2-0) 86 28 2
2. Hanover (1-1) 68 36 1
3. Rozel Pawnee Heights (2-0) 82 20 4
4. Sharon Springs-Wallace County (2-0) 92 34 5
5. Quivira Heights (1-1) 76 54 3
6. Beloit-St. John’s-Tipton (2-0) 88 34 8
7. Ashland (2-0) 52 32 9
8. Centre-Lost Springs (2-0) 82 48 -
9. Norwich (1-1) 60 48 6
10. Rexford-Golden Plains (1-1) 62 58 10
