Wichita Collegiate’s 51-20 win over fifth-ranked Garden Plain in Tuesday’s Kansas 3A state football playoffs was a long time coming for the Spartans.
Not since blanking Abilene 35-0 in the first round of the 2005 Class 4A playoffs had Wichita Collegiate tasted victory in the postseason. Now the Spartans are serious challengers for the 2009 Class 3A crown. As is usually the case, coach Bill Messamore’s offense centered around the arm of senior signal-caller Blake Jablonski, and Brett LeMaster’s catching abilities.
The Spartan duo hooked up nine times for 146 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 14-yard strike that opened the game’s scoring. Jablonski and LeMaster also connected on a 33-yard strike in the third quarter. Tre Bailey latched on to seven Jablonski aerials for 58 yards, scoring three times on throws of 5, 2 and 10 yards. In all, Jablonski completed 24-of-39 passes for 281 yards and six touchdowns.
The two small-school powerhouses traded touchdowns to open the game before the Spartans scored 17 straight points, and six of the next seven touchdowns, to jump out to a lead of 51-14.
"They were moving the ball so well," Garden Plain coach Todd Puetz told the Wichita Eagle of the Spartan offense. "We were playing a catch-up game and things were getting out of control. They spread the field out. They threw the ball well. We got beat."
Wichita Collegiate’s defense came to play as well, holding the vaunted Owl rushing attack to 145 yards for the game. The Spartans also forced a pair of fumbles and got interceptions from Tyler Coughenour and Bryce Cornejo.
8-Man upsets
A pair of upsets shook up the fields in both 8-Man divisions Tuesday. In 8-Man I, Greensburg (5-4) rocked fourth-ranked and undefeated Minneola 74-28, while South Barber (6-3) pulled the feat in 8-Man II with a 28-18 upset of undefeated and third-ranked Ashland.
Playoff rematches
Of the 14 rematches that took place Tuesday among Kansas’ smaller schools, only Coffeyville-Field Kindley was able to reverse its regular-season loss to Columbus in Class 4A. During the regular-season contest, Columbus upended the Golden Tornado 36-28. On Tuesday, the Titans fell 41-40 to Coffeyville-Field Kindley.
Here are the other rematches with regular-season results in parenthesis:
Class 4A – Eudora 28, DeSoto 0 (27-6), Independence 26, Altamont-Labette County 14 (34-29), Andover 25, Andover Central 13 (37-12), Rose Hill 45, Augusta 0 (49-0). Class 3A – Galena 53, Erie 8 (47-13), Scott City 54, Holcomb 6 (43-14), Conway Springs 54, Douglass 13 (49-12). Class 2-1A – Valley Heights 40, Onaga 0 (58-24), St. Marys 41, Wabaunsee 6 (44-16), Oswego 59, Uniontown 7 (44-13), Smith Center 54, Plainville 0 (59-0), Ell-Saline 53, Bennington 12 (58-13), Oakley 50, Atwood-Rawlins County 6 (29-6).
Top first-round playoff performances
Rose Hill’s Laqua Mayes rushed for 269 yards and 3 touchdowns on 24 carries in a 45-0 win over Augusta…Nathan Charlton of Greensburg rushed for 254 yards and 4 touchdowns on 29 carries in a 74-28 win over Minneola…Paola’s Skylar Hawkins rushed for 237 yards and 4 touchdowns on 28 carries in a 48-14 win over Chanute…Jake Eckert of Minneapolis rushed for 232 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 59-40 win over Sterling…Hugoton’s Caleb Gifford rushed for 227 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries in a 35-12 win over Clearwater…Beloit-St. John’s-Tipton’s Josh Wessling rushed for 225 yards and 4 touchdowns on 35 carries in a 26-14 win over Hope…Reggie Jordan of Hill City rushed for 215 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 56-24 loss to Clifton-Clyde…Chanute’s Matt Bollig completed 19 of 39 passes for 307 yards and a touchdown in a 48-14 loss to Paola…Tanner Brunner of Centre completed 12 of 21 passes for 289 yards and 6 touchdowns in a 56-26 win over South Haven.
Douglass’ Ryan Troxler completed 15 of 29 passes for 279 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 61-19 loss to Conway Springs…Blake Jablonski of Wichita Collegiate completed 22 of 37 passes for 248 yards and 6 touchdowns in a 51-20 win over Garden Plain…Rossville’s Mitch Buhler completed 14 of 19 passes for 225 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 51-8 win over Oskaloosa…Brandon Leppke of Basehor-Linwood completed 19 of 35 passes for 220 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 41-27 loss to Meriden-Jefferson West…Ell-Saline’s Tate Omli threw for 214 yards in a 53-12 win over Bennington…Chanute’s Tyrone Walls caught 12 passes for 199 yards and a touchdown in a 48-14 loss to Paola…Brett LeMaster of Wichita Collegiate caught 9 passes for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 51-20 win over Garden Plain…Douglass’ Jake Lovendahl caught 6 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown in a 61-19 loss to Conway Springs…Michael Mesh of Hutchinson Trinity caught 3 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown in a 14-12 win over SE-Saline.
Playoff predictions
Class 6A
First Round
No. 1 Olathe North (9-0) over Shawnee Mission East (4-5)
No. 8 Olathe East (6-3) over No. 4 Lawrence Free State (7-2)
No. 3 Blue Valley Northwest (8-1) over Olathe Northwest (4-5)
No. 5 Shawnee Mission West (8-1) over Blue Valley (3-6)
No. 2 Manhattan (9-0) over Maize (3-6)
Wichita Heights (5-4) over Wichita South (5-4)
No. 7 Wichita Northwest (7-2) over No. 10 Derby (6-3)
No. 9 Topeka (6-3) over Dodge City (7-2)
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Olathe North (10-0) over No. 8 Olathe East (7-3)
No. 3 Blue Valley Northwest (9-1) over No. 5 Shawnee Mission West (9-1)
No. 2 Manhattan (10-0) over Wichita Heights (6-4)
No. 9 Topeka (7-3) over No. 7 Wichita Northwest (8-2)
Semifinals
No. 1 Olathe North (11-0) over No. 3 Blue Valley Northwest (10-1)
No. 2 Manhattan (11-0) over No. 9 Topeka (8-3)
Finals
No. 1 Olathe North (12-0) over No. 2 Manhattan (12-0)
Class 5A
First Round
No. 2 Gardner-Edgerton (9-0) over Kansas City-Schlagle (6-3)
Topeka Seaman (5-4) over Kansas City-Sumner Academy (6-3)
No. 5 St. Thomas Aquinas (8-1) over Mill Valley (6-3)
No. 7 Kansas City-Turner (8-1) over Shawnee Heights (3-6)
No. 1 Hutchinson (9-0) over Liberal (3-6)
Wichita Kapaun Mount Carmel (6-3) over Salina South (5-4)
No. 4 McPherson (8-1) over No. 6 Emporia (7-2)
No. 3 Wichita Bishop Carroll (9-0) over No. 8 Newton (7-2)
Quarterfinals
No. 2 Gardner-Edgerton (10-0) over Topeka Seaman (6-4)
No. 5 St. Thomas Aquinas (9-1) over No. 7 Kansas City-Turner (9-1)
No. 1 Hutchinson (10-0) over Wichita Kapaun Mount Carmel (7-3)
No. 4 McPherson (9-1) over No. 3 Wichita Bishop Carroll (10-0)
Semifinals
No. 2 Gardner-Edgerton (11-0) over No. 5 St. Thomas Aquinas (10-1)
No. 1 Hutchinson (11-0) over No. 4 McPherson (10-1)
Finals
No. 1 Hutchinson (12-0) over No. 2 Gardner-Edgerton (12-0)
Class 4A
Second Round
No. 1 Bishop Miege (8-2) over No. 3 Holton (10-0)
No. 5 Louisburg (9-1) over Columbus (8-2)
Eudora (8-2) over Meriden-Jefferson West (7-3)
Paola (7-3) over Independence (8-2)
No. 7 Andover (9-1) over Topeka Hayden (6-4)
No. 2 Andale (10-0) over Wellington (7-3)
No. 6 Rose Hill (9-1) over No. 8 Abilene (9-1)
No. 4 Buhler (9-1) over No. 9 Hugoton (10-0)
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Bishop Miege (9-2) over No. 5 Louisburg (10-1)
Paola (8-3) over Eudora (9-2)
No. 2 Andale (11-0) over No. 7 Andover (10-1)
No. 4 Buhler (10-1) over No. 6 Rose Hill (10-1)
Semifinals
No. 1 Bishop Miege (10-2) over Paola (9-3)
No. 2 Andale (12-0) over No. 4 Buhler (11-1)
Finals
No. 1 Bishop Miege (11-2) over No. 2 Andale (13-0)
Class 3A
Second Round
No. 8 Galena (10-0) over Osage City (7-3)
Rossville (8-2) over Riley County (5-5)
No. 2 Silver Lake (10-0) over Cherryvale (10-0)
No. 6 Marysville (9-1) over No. 7 Pleasant Ridge (10-0)
No. 3 Wichita Collegiate (10-0) over Hillsboro (7-3)
No. 4 Scott City (10-0) over No. 10 Hoisington (9-1)
No. 1 Conway Springs (10-0) over No. 9 Hutchinson Trinity (10-0)
Norton (7-3) over Beloit (8-2)
Quarterfinals
No. 8 Galena (11-0) over Rossville (9-2)
No. 2 Silver Lake (11-0) over No. 6 Marysville (10-1)
No. 3 Wichita Collegiate (11-0) over No. 4 Scott City (11-0)
No. 1 Conway Springs (11-0) over Norton (8-3)
Semifinals
No. 2 Silver Lake (12-0) over No. 8 Galena (12-0)
No. 1 Conway Springs (12-0) over No. 3 Wichita Collegiate (12-0)
Finals
No. 1 Conway Springs (13-0) over No. 2 Silver Lake (13-0)
Class 2-1A
Second Round
No. 8 Centralia (9-1) over No. 10 Valley Heights (9-1)
No. 4 Pittsburg-Colgan (9-1) over Moundridge (4-6)
No. 6 St. Marys (9-1) over Valley Falls (6-4)
No. 2 Olpe (10-0) over No. 7 Oswego (10-0)
No. 1 Smith Center (9-0) over Minneapolis (7-3)
No. 5 Meade (10-0) over St. Francis (7-3)
No. 9 Ellis (8-2) over Ell-Saline (8-2)
No. 3 Oakley (9-0) over Elkhart (6-4)
Quarterfinals
No. 4 Pittsburg-Colgan (10-1) over No. 8 Centralia (10-1)
No. 2 Olpe (11-0) over No. 6 St. Marys (10-1)
No. 1 Smith Center (10-0) over No. 5 Meade (11-0)
No. 3 Oakley (10-0) over No. 9 Ellis (9-2)
Semifinals
No. 2 Olpe (12-0) over No. 4 Pittsburg-Colgan (11-1)
No. 1 Smith Center (11-0) over No. 3 Oakley (11-0)
Finals
No. 1 Smith Center (12-0) over No. 2 Olpe (13-0)
Class 8-Man I
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Baileyville B&B (10-0) over No. 10 Goessel (8-2)
No. 5 Pretty Prairie (10-0) over No. 8 Frankfort (8-2)
No. 3 Quinter (9-1) over No. 9 Macksville (8-2)
No. 2 Clifton-Clyde (9-1) over Greensburg (6-4)
Semifinals
No. 1 Baileyville B&B (11-0) over No. 5 Pretty Prairie (11-0)
No. 2 Clifton-Clyde (10-1) over No. 3 Quinter (10-1)
Finals
No. 1 Baileyville B&B (12-0) over No. 2 Clifton-Clyde (11-1)
Class 8-Man II
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Hanover (9-1) over No. 10 Centre (8-1)
No. 2 Beloit-St. John’s-Tipton (10-0) over No. 7 Caldwell (10-0)
No. 4 Otis-Bison (10-0) over No. 6 Quivira Heights (8-2)
No. 5 Victoria (9-1) over South Barber (7-3)
Semifinals
No. 1 Hanover (10-1) over No. 2 Beloit-St. John’s-Tipton (11-0)
No. 4 Otis-Bison (11-0) over No. 5 Victoria (10-1)
Finals
No. 1 Hanover (11-1) over No. 4 Otis-Bison (12-0)
