High School Football Preview - Week 7

Since you're thinking about football right now anyway

Piper senior wide receiver Lane Collette made an amazing catch on the sideline in the first half of the Pirates’ game against De Soto on Friday, Oct. 6.

As the 2023 regular season winds down with just two Fridays remaining, teams are jockeying for playoff positions and conference bragging rights.

Game time forecast is warm and comfortable, in the upper 70s at kickoff, so get out to support your team tomorrow. Updated forecast: It will be breezy and in the mid-50s. Bring a jacket.

Speaking of game time, all games are scheduled for 7:00 pm, except Wyandotte hosting Blue Valley Southwest, and Harmon hosting Sumner. Those two games kick off at 5:00 pm.

If you’ve got a prediction for one or all of Friday night’s games, drop it in the comments section below, and if you’re not already signed up, subscribe for free to get stories and photos from football and other fall sports.

Pictures from last Friday’s Harmon-KIPP and Piper-De Soto games are below.

Around Town

Washington (4-2) at Schlagle (2-4)

Washington wrapped up an undefeated home schedule last week, doubling up the Bulldogs 48-24. The Wildcats are racking up some notable stats along with their wins.

Defensive end Hassan Daniels is tops in the state with eight sacks through six games, plus 11 more quarterback hurries. Defensive back Nick Carter has grabbed four picks, and returned a fumble recovery for a touchdown.

The Stallions were on the wrong end of a thumping last week against Eudora. They'll need to pick their heads up to run with the Wildcats. Schlagle's Savion Ross and Lorenzo Johnson are also making life tough for opposing quarterbacks, with 11 1/2 combined sacks in 2023.

Blue Valley Southwest (5-1) at Wyandotte (1-5) 5:00 pm

Wyandotte's lone win this season was 40-14 two weeks ago at Harmon. The Timberwolves’ sole loss was at home against perennial 4A champ Bishop Miege.

Leavenworth (2-4) at Piper (3-3)

The Pirates dropped a tough match-up to De Soto last Friday. Piper and Leavenworth have played four shared opponents this season, with the Pirates holding a +43 advantage in the cumulative score.

The Pioneers started the season with consecutive wins against Turner and Topeka West, but haven't won since.

De Soto (5-1) at Turner (0-6)

De Soto won handily over Piper last week, taking advantage of two punt blocks to run out to a 62-28 win. Turner had its first two touchdown game of the year, but lost to previously winless Topeka West.

Sumner (3-3) at Harmon (0-6) 5:00 pm

Sumner's passing game was really clicking in the Sabres' win over KC Northeast. Jayden Gordon passed for 197 yards, including five passes of 15 or more yards. The game was highlighted by an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Sommyr Moore.

Harmon is still looking for the first win of the season after a 56-0 loss to KCMO's KIPP Legacy charter school. The Hawks got a highlight defensive play on a fumble recovery by Adrian Fernandez, but couldn't keep the Gators' offense bottled up.

On the Road

Bishop Ward (1-5) at Baldwin (2-4)

Look for a high-scoring match-up between the Bulldogs and Cyclones. Baldwin has two straight wins including 55-0 over Osawatomie. Ward has four games with four or more touchdowns this season, but has lost three of them. To win, they'll need their defense to clamp down on the Bulldogs.

Bonner Springs (0-6) at Paola (3-3)

KIPP at Harmon

De Soto at Piper