O16 Spoonful

Wichita East at Wichita Heights (Thursday) Surely the Aces (by the way, I like the old school East High helmets better, the ones that are navy versions of 'Bama's; the stealth bomber's got to go) will have a better showing than they did against Bishop Carroll. East looked a team that did not belong. Players looked shell-shocked after half a quarter, and organization went out the window. They better be ready for Heights, or this one will get ugly, too. Bryce Brown needs more touches than he did against Carroll in the early going. I've got Heights, which will contend in 6A this November, by 20. Conway Springs at Garden Plain Conway will surprise people, after erasing our confidence in them in the season opener against Cheney, a 13-7 loss. They've settled in, and they will score some touchdowns against Garden Plain. The Owls will win on the line, however, as they have all season long. Garden Plain's second act after last fall's overwhelming state title run has been astounding. I didn't think they had the dominant team this year, but I was wrong. At the same time, there has been very little worthy competition in the Central Plains League this fall. Don't compare these teams based on their results from Cheney. Cheney's quarterback, which played so well against Conway, did not play in their 40-0 loss to Garden Plain. However, the fact that Conway couldn't muster offense comparable to Garden's against Cheney worries me. Garden by 14. McPherson at Hutchinson McPherson was the only team to play Hutch tough last year, losing in the season opener 17-7 at home. That was a game in which Hutch fullback Romero Cotton went down with an injury on the first offensive series. Not an excuse, but something to factor in. Mac coach Tom Young will have a game plan for Randy Dreiling and Hutchinson; Mac QB Joel Piper is throwing for over 200 yards per game. This has to worry Hutch, which struggled mightily against the Derby passing game on Sept. 26. Piper will have to match his game average to beat Hutch. Mac's performance against Valley Center last week tempers my expectations of them; they led 21-0 before leading 28-14 at halftime, before winning 41-27. McPherson gave up 356 passing yards to VC, a 1-5 football team. But still, while their underwhelming defensive performance against Valley Center is suspect, Hutch does not throw the ball. Whatever their ability in the defensive secondary, Mac is strong on the line of scrimmage, which is what they need against the Hutch triple option. Hutch by 10, setting up a state title run. Andale at Buhler I've had this game marked on my schedule all year. I've seen Buhler; I haven't seen Andale, a team gaining steam. After losing to Winfield in Week 2, they put up 70 on Kingman last week. Clearly, the problems on offense have dissipated - sort of. On the whole, I think Buhler has proven itself a contender. In their one loss of the season at Andover Central, they weren't overwhelmed, they just didn't play well enough to win. If they'd made a couple plays in the red zone and not turned the ball over, they would have been right there. Andale does not have a passing game, and it was their diversified and potent attack last fall which put them a cut above. I've got Buhler winning behind superior quarterback play, something they didn't have last year, as they constantly turned the ball over. After losing two consecutive seasons in the playoffs to Andale, Buhler takes the next step. Crusaders by 7. Derby at Wichita Southeast I think this one gets out of hand. Derby's offensive attack is the most intriguing thing going in area prep football this year. Seriously. I don't think anyone can stop Derby. Their defense isn't so great, but they can run the fastbreak. Derby, which can't look ahead to Heights in Week 3 of district play, by 21.