Mathia return stakes Cats to win over Silver Lake

Louisburg return specialist Derek Mathia raced up the right sideline with the game’s opening kick and stunned the Silver Lake crowd that’s not used to losing as he crossed the goal line in Friday’s non-conference win over Class 3A’s second-ranked Eagles at C.J. Hamilton Field.

The 88-yard return in the game’s opening seconds spearheaded two more first quarter touchdowns as Class 4A’s second-ranked Wildcats put an end to Silver Lake’s 52-game regular-season win streak.

"It's pretty dang important to get the first punch in, and I think we did," Louisburg coach Gary Griffin told the Topeka Capital Journal. "That kind of set them back a bit, and then we got the ball back and get another one in. Then we got a third one in and then it kind of got ugly. If you'd told me we'd score 21 points, I'd said we'd win."

Louisburg's David Embers set up Alex Gentges' 1-yard score by latching on to a 48-yard strike from the arm of Kody Cook on the Wildcats' first play from scrimmage, putting Louisburg up 14-0.

On the ensuing kickoff, Cameron Rickel set up Silver Lake's first scoring opportunity when he raced 82 yards to the Louisburg 11. The Wildcat defense held, however, and Silver Lake had to settle for Jesse Barnes' 25-yard field goal.

Gentges scored on a 2-yard run later in the opening quarter to round out the game's scoring. Combined, the two stop units allowed just 326 yards of offense collectively.

Before Friday's contest, Silver Lake hadn't lost a regular season game since falling 17-7 to St. Mary’s in October 2004. The Eagles outscored their opposition 2,195-363 during the 52-game stretch. Silver Lake won 75 of 80 games overall and went 23-5 in the playoffs, winning the Class 3A title in 2006.

With the win, Louisburg (4-0) remains second in the 4A rankings behind Topeka Hayden, which knocked off Class 6A foe Topeka Washburn Rural 23-21 last weekend. Hayden's lone loss on the year came at the hands of Class 6A's third-ranked Manhattan, 7-6, in the season's opening weekend. Silver Lake (3-1) falls to sixth in the latest Class 3A rankings.

CONWAY SPRINGS DOUBLES UP ON GARDEN PLAIN
In another contest featuring a pair of top five Class 3A teams, Conway Springs raced to a 29-14 win over Garden Plain Friday behind the running of Cory Misak, who rushed for 173 yards and three touchdowns.

Misak took his second carry of the game to the house from 70 yards out and then added a third quarter score on a 72-yard punt return. He found pay dirt in the fourth quarter from nine yards away. Brian Doffing scored for Conway Springs as well, finding the end zone in the fourth quarter from 43 yards out. Joey Capul scored on runs of 2 and 3 yards for Garden Plain.

Top-ranked Wichita Collegiate's 33-21 loss to Andale, paired with Silver Lake’s loss to Louisburg, allowed Conway Springs to move into the top spot after sitting third last week. Garden Plain, meanwhile, falls to eighth in the latest Class 3A rankings.

KANSAS’ TOP PERFORMERS
RUSHING
Reggie Jordan of Hill City rushed for 354 yards and four touchdowns on 34 carries in a 30-14 win over Ness City… Nick Sands of South (Olathe) rushed for 279 yards and a pair of scores on 39 carries in a 31-7 win over Shawnee Mission South… Zack Goodrich of Marais des Cygnes Valley (Melvern) ran for 273 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries in a 54-14 win over Marmaton Valley… Cedar Vale's Colby Taglialatela rushed for 262 yards and three scores on 39 carries in a 34-18 win over Flinthills… Tre Burt of West (Shawnee Mission) rushed for 245 yards and a pair of scores on 32 carries in a 36-20 win over Olathe Northwest… Hutchinson's Ben Heeney rushed for 237 yards and four touchdowns on 18 carries in a 60-7 win over Salina Central… Kyler Wineinger of Greeley County (Tribune) rushed for 228 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 23 carries in a 52-34 win over Dighton… Coulter Croft of South Gray (Montezuma) rushed for 228 yards and four touchdowns on eight carries in a 54-8 win over Spearville.

PASSING
Nick Rotola of Word of Life (Wichita) threw for 367 yards in a 50-34 win over Beloit-St. John’s… D.J. Bronson of Northern Heights (Allen) completed 18 of 26 aerials for 365 yards and six touchdowns in a 53-26 win over Herington… Bo Savage of Central (Burden) completed 28 of 52 passes for 354 yards and a pair of scores in a 44-24 loss to Quivira Heights… Goessel's Neal Brubaker completed 30 of 49 passes for 321 yards and six touchdowns in a 60-58 win over Claflin… McVey Slader of Liberal completed 15 of 27 passes for 309 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-20 loss to Dodge City… Cory Turner of Field Kindley (Coffeyville) completed 20 of 31 aerials for 292 yards and three touchdowns in a 39-34 loss to Arkansas City… Derek Racette of Trinity (Hutchinson) completed 10 of 11 passes for 285 yards and five touchdowns in a 51-8 win over Bennington… Colin Murphy of Basehor-Linwood (Basehor) completed 14 of 24 passes for 278 yards in a 44-19 win over Bonner Springs.

RECEIVING
Cameron Craig of Field Kindley caught 11 passes for 210 yards and a pair of touchdowns… Wichita Word of Life's Jacob Pope was credited with 202 yards receiving in a 50-34 win over Beloit-St. John’s… Deaton Tyson of Liberal caught eight aerials for 183 yards and a score in a 41-20 loss to Dodge City… Pretty Prairie's Tanner Hines caught four passes for 173 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-2 win over South Barber… Ryan Murphy of Basehor-Linwood caught seven passes for 161 yards in a 44-19 win over Bonner Springs… Central (Burden) player Kolton Price caught 14 passes for 149 yards and a score in a 44-24 loss to Quivira Heights… Gail Lee of Northern Heights caught five aerials for 146 yards and a pair of scores in a 53-26 win over Herington… Inman's Devan Wenthe caught six passes for 142 yards and a score in a 49-13 loss to Remington… Trae Regier of Haven caught six passes for 142 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 26-20 loss to Ellinwood.

Note: In search of the state's top performances, results were borrowed from the Topeka Capital Journal and the Wichita Eagle as well as MaxPreps statistics section as of Monday evening.

KANSAS FOOTBALL RANKINGS
TOP 10
1. Heights (Wichita) (4-0) 170 14 1
2. Gardner-Edgerton (Gardner) (4-0) 200 54 2
3. Hutchinson (3-1) 200 71 3
4. Olathe East (4-0) 150 20 4
5. Blue Valley (Stilwell) (4-0) 189 28 5
6. Manhattan (4-0) 153 46 6
7. Junction City (4-0) 114 43 7
8. North (Olathe) (3-1) 83 67 8
9. Aquinas (Overland Park) (4-0) 188 48 9
10. Shawnee Mission West (3-1) 116 82 10

CLASS 6A
1. Wichita Heights (4-0) 170 114 1
2. Olathe East (4-0) 150 20 2
3. Manhattan (4-0) 153 46 3
4. Junction City (4-0) 114 43 4
5. Olathe North (3-1) 83 67 5
6. Shawnee Mission West (3-1) 116 82 6
7. Topeka (4-0) 161 80 7
8. Dodge City (4-0) 174 50 8
9. Lawrence Free State (3-1) 163 58 –
10. East (Shawnee Mission) (3-1) 112 61 10

CLASS 5A
1. Gardner-Edgerton (4-0) 200 54 1
2. Hutchinson (3-1) 200 71
3. Blue Valley (4-0) 189 28 3
4. Aquinas (4-0) 188 48 4
5. McPherson (4-0) 196 67 5
6. Carroll (Wichita) (3-1) 136 35 6
7. Bishop Miege (Shawnee Mission) (2-2) 138 78 7
8. Kapaun Mt. Carmel (Wichita) (4-0) 182 36 8
9. Hays (4-0) 130 29 9
10. Central (Andover) (3-1) 93 71 10

CLASS 4A
1. Hayden (Topeka) (3-1) 110 55 1
2. Louisburg (4-0) 138 16 2
3. Buhler (4-0) 171 17 3
4. Abilene (4-0) 121 49 4
5. Baldwin (4-0) 154 21 5
6. Holton (3-1) 195 21 6
7. Perry-Lecompton (Perry) (4-0) 149 61 8
8. Independence (4-0) 186 78 9
9. Hesston (4-0) 98 60 10
10. Concordia (3-1) 112 84 7

CLASS 3A
1. Conway Springs (4-0) 234 14 3
2. Scott (4-0) 139 42 4
3. Hutchinson Trinity (4-0) 218 58 6
4. Collegiate (Wichita) (3-1) 144 105 1
5. Norton (4-0) 163 16 9
6. Silver Lake (3-1) 114 49 2
7. Phillipsburg (4-0) 114 43 10
8. Garden Plain (3-1) 179 24 5
9. Smith Center (3-1) 134 43 –
10. Atchison County (Effingham) (4-0) 170 54 –

CLASS 2-1A
1. St. Mary's-Colgan (Pittsburg) (4-0) 189 7 1
2. Olpe (4-0) 81 52 2
3. Centralia (3-1) 116 76 3
4. Meade (3-1) 175 50 4
5. Oswego (4-0) 182 32 7
6. LaCrosse (4-0) 203 74 8
7. Washington County (4-0) 162 46 9
8. Elkhart (4-0) 146 50 10
9. Valley Heights (3-1) 68 31 6
10. Lyndon (4-0) 158 75 –