Sunflower Slate

Our marquee matchup for Saturday is looking like the PSU-Washburn tilt in Topeka, which FYI is going to be televised on Cox Channel 22 starting at 1 p.m. Although, I’m not sure if anything is bigger this weekend than the Washburn-ESU volleyball tilt … I’m not kidding, that’s the place to be.

And there’s this … Hutchinson C.C. running back Romero Cotton — presumably the only prep athlete in Kansas history to win four state titles in wrestling and football — was sentenced to 38 months in prison yesterday.

Here’s a look:

MIAA

Pittsburg State (4-3 overall, 2-3 MIAA) at No. 20 Washburn (5-2, 3-2), 1 p.m. — This is a make-or-break game for both teams. If Pittsburg State wins, the Gorillas have a legitimate shot at finishing 8-3 and salvaging the season. Lose, and 6-5 is a real possibility. Washburn can’t afford to lose here and then go on the road with its playoff hopes riding on an upset of No. 5 Northwest Missouri next week.

No. 5 Northwest Missouri (6-1, 5-0) at Emporia State (1-6, 0-5), 1 p.m. — This one will get ugly. The Hornets get Truman next week in the only chance either team has to win an MIAA game this season. Sad state of affairs up the turnpike.

Nebraska-Omaha (5-2, 4-1) at Fort Hays State (4-3, 2-3), 2 p.m. – Here it is. Fort Hays gets another chance to win a meaningful MIAA game. That they get it at home is a huge plus. They lose this one and it’s back to pretender status.

KCAC

No. 16 McPherson (4-1, 3-1) at Kansas Wesleyan (4-1, 3-1), 1:30 p.m. — McPherson can’t lose again if it wants to stay in contention for both the KCAC title and an NAIA Tournament bid, and this will be a true test. Kansas Wesleyan has similar goals, but must still play Friends and Ottawa. If the Bulldogs can find a way to win, they should cruise to 7-1 with their next two games against the league’s winless teams.

No. 14 Friends (4-1, 4-1) at Haskell, 1:30 p.m. – I got to spend some time with Monty Lewis on Wednesday after KCAC hoops media day, and of course I grilled him about his running game, which has fallen off the map this year. The Falcons won the last three league titles by running the rock better than almost anybody in the country, but this year they’re having to rely on passing. But does he still have an ace up his sleeve? Maybe, but I’m not saying quite yet. It would ruin the fun.

Saint Mary (1-4, 1-3) at Bethel (1-4, 1-3), 1:30 p.m. – Bethel wins its second straight here. If you haven’t seen defensive lineman James McCartney play yet, you might wanna catch the Threshers this season. He’s something else.

Bethany (4-1, 3-1) at Southwestern (05, 0-4), 1:30 p.m. — The Swedes couldn’t have a better opponent on their schedule after last week’s deflating loss to Bethel on Homecoming. Remember, Bethany led 16-3 with 10 minutes to play and turned it over 3 times in its own red zone. Ouch. But The Jinx doesn’t apply to football anymore, and the Moundbuilders play slumpbuster better than anybody.

Tabor (0-5, 0-4) at Sterling (2-3, 1-3), 1:30 p.m. – Time to catch some Zs.

JAYHAWK

Independence (2-4 overall, 2-2 Jayhawk) at No. 4 Butler (5-1, 4-0), 1:30 p.m. — It’s still two weeks from the Halloween showdown between the Grizzlies and No. 3 Fort Scott, and with winless Highland up next week, this should be Butler’s last real test before facing the Greyhounds. The Grizzlies have the top-ranked defense in the league, and cornerback Darron Edwards is tied for the league lead with three interceptions.

Highland (0-6, 0-4) at No. 3 Fort Scott (6-0, 5-0), 1 p.m. – Fort Scott rolls here, beats Air Force Prep next Friday and takes 8-0 into the Butler game. But here’s the thing … they play again two weeks later in the Region VI title game, right? I think if either team wants a shot at the national title, it’ll need to win both games.

Garden City (3-4, 2-3) at Dodge City (0-6, 0-4), 1:30 p.m. & Air Force Prep at No. 20 Hutchinson (3-3, 2-3), 7 p.m. – I did a double-up on this one because it is shaping up, in my opinion, that the Garden City-Hutch and Coffeyville-Independence games on Oct. 31 will be for the third and fourth playoff spots in Region VI. Let me know if my math is off.

I’ll be posting updates on scores tomorrow, so come on back now, ya’ hear?

-TA

ROSS DAUSIN (EL DORADO TIMES)

Over 4,000 people pack into Gowans Stadium in Hutchinson for a lights-out thriller of a game between two nationally ranked teams … A quarterback getting a new lease on life leads a once-proud program to 4-0 and its first national ranking since 2002 … And my Dead Red Ravens? Maybe they’ve got a little life in them after all.

It all happened Saturday, and I thought I’d go over it today because I’m moving Roll Call back to Tuesdays … no big deal, just a few of the leagues don’t get their Player of the Week awards out until Tuesday and I want to get them all in.

Let’s look at what we’ve got …

MIAA

No. 12 Washburn 28, Fort Hays State 14 — I wasn’t so much impressed that Washburn won as I was that FHSU almost won. Is that so wrong? I think the Tigers have a good team and could pull off an upset if they’re hitting on all the right cylinders, which they’ll have to do because the rest of their schedule is BRUTAL. As far as Washburn … QB Dane Simoneau isn’t a star in the making, he’s a star.

Pittsburg State 21, Missouri Southern 13 – Pittsburg State breaks a three-game, MIAA losing streak with a win against one of the downtroddens. Don’t know that it proves anything, and questions still need to be answered in Gorilla Country.

Neb-Omaha 34, Emporia State 13 – Hornets play Truman Oct. 24 in last winnable game of the season. Then what?

KCAC

No. 24 Bethany 27, Kansas Wesleyan 21 – Steven Baker started for Bethany back in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Then he started coaching. Then this year he decided to come back. Then Saturday he threw for 326, 2 TDs and no picks in the Swedes’ win over rival KWU, a battle of unbeaten teams. And now … he’s got Bethany ranked for the first time since 2002. They’ve got Bethel on Saturday for Homecoming, and don’t sleep on the Threshers.

No. 15 Friends 15, Bethel 7 — I’m not sure what to think of Friends. They’re doing what they have to do right now, but we won’t know if they’re the team until they get a true test against a good team. Until then it’s just smoke and mirrors, baby.

No. 10 Ottawa 54, Southwestern 16 – Here’s a thought: Why don’t all the teams in the KCAC put together their own records as far as stats, send them to me, I’ll sort them out and then we’ll have some sort of all-time leaders in the KCAC? That way, we can say once and for all that Ethan Haller is the greatest (statistically) KCAC qb of all-time.

Peru State 19, Tabor 7 — Tabor-Southwestern game in November will be one chance for either team to win a game.

No. 18 McPherson 21, Sterling 0 — Linebacker Jeff Paulson continues to make his case for All-American honors for the Bulldogs, who don’t necessarily need Ottawa to lose to make the NAIA playoffs … but they do need to win out.

JAYHAWK

QUICK QUESTION: HOW MANY KJCCC PLAYERS HEAD TO MANHATTAN NEXT SEASON? GUESS RIGHT AND THERE’S A PRIZE!

No. 4 Butler 13, No. 13 Hutch 10 — Talked to Jeff Lutz, who covered this game for us, and he said there was a nice crowd, but they never got much to get excited about it. Hey, that’s a 13-10 game for you. As far as Butler … both No. 1 Blinn and No. 2 Navarro won Saturday. What that means is on Oct. 31, when Blinn plays Navarro and Butler plays Fort Scott, the winners of those two games will have the inside track to play in the national championship game. I think. For Hutch, now, its a matter of making a bowl.

No. 3 Fort Scott 31, Independence 9 — I’m telling you … Jasmin Hopkins is nice.

Coffeyville 35, Garden City 0 — Didn’t see this one coming. Injuries have slowed GCCC … but wow. Looks like the Coffeyville-Independence game will be for fourth playoff spot.

Air Force Prep 30, Highland 10 – zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

ETHAN HALLER

I might have made some smart-aleck comment earlier this week about how Ottawa quarterback Ethan Haller would need to throw for 600 yards to impress me … so Dude actually went out and tried to do it. Here’s a short recap of Saturday’s games, including EH’s 587-yard performance in the Braves’ 2-OT win over McPherson.

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