The Stanton County Trojans will head out on the road to face off against the Conway Springs Cardinals at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Stanton County will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Kansas Rankings (they are ranked 206th, while Conway Springs is ranked 59th).
Stanton County scored first but ultimately less than Oakley in their game on Thursday. They were the victim of a tough 34-12 defeat at the hands of the Plainsmen. Stanton County has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Despite the loss, Stanton County saw an underclassman step up: Arihm Gonzalez rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Conway Springs had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 26 points), and they went ahead and made it six on Friday. They really took it to Trinity for the full four quarters, racking up a 41-6 victory at home. The result was nothing new for Conway Springs, who have now won five matches by 26 points or more so far this season.
It was another big night for Brayden Kunz, who rushed for 274 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 13.7 yards per carry. Kunz hasn't dropped below 100 rushing yards for seven straight games. Isaac Winter was another major influence, as he rushed for 96 yards and ran in a TD.
Stanton County has traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost four of their last five matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 2-5 record this season. As for Conway Springs, their victory was their third straight at home, bumping their overall record up to 6-2.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Stanton County has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 209.9 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Conway Springs struggles in that department as they've been even better at 356.8 per game. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Stanton County was taken down by Conway Springs 65-0 when the teams last played back in October of 2021. Thankfully for Stanton County, Izic Billups (who rushed for 96 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
