Week 2: Pick Six NEK/NCK Recaps

MANHATTAN 37, JUNCTION CITY 21

It wasn't necessarily the plus-two turnover margin Manhattan held over Junction City that mattered most in the Indians' 37-21 victory that brought the Silver Trophy back to Manhattan.

It was the timing and location.

Junction City committed three of its five turnovers in the first half, two of them on its half of the field that led to scoring drives of three and four plays for the Indians. Manhattan scored 17 points off the turnovers, taking a 24-14 halftime lead.

"Our defense was very opportunistic and they're continuing to improve," Manhattan coach Joe Schartz said. "It just kind of turned into a turnover battle and we were fortunate to come up with more."

Manhattan tailback Vinny Smith ran for 147 yards and three touchdown and Keenan Schartz converted a fourth-down play on the first play of the second quarter for a 5-yard touchdown pass to Joe Hall.

The victory was the 100^th for Schartz at Manhattan as the Indians improved to 2-0. Junction City fell to 1-1, losing starting quarterback David Rowell to an injury early in the second half.

UP NEXT: Manhattan (2-0) vs. Highland Park (0-2); Junction City (1-1) vs. Seaman (2-0).

SEAMAN 35, HAYDEN 14

A week after dropping 71 points on Highland Park in the season opener, Seaman showed off its big-play ability against a tougher test Friday at Hayden.

Locked in a 7-7 deadlock with the host Wildcats late in the third quarter, Seaman unloaded with four scoring plays of 40 yards or more to break the game open.

Camden Barta hit Casen Stallbaumer on a tackle-breaking, 65-yard touchdown with just under 40 seconds left in the third quarter to jump-start the flurry of big-play strikes. After Hayden pinned Seaman deep in its own territory, Barta hit a streaking Brody Gormley on a slant and he took it the distance for a 97-yard touchdown.

Then the Viking defense got in on the act with Callen Barta picking off a Hayden pass and returning it 66 yards for a score. Seaman capped the barrage on a 44-yard touchdown run by Aidan Polter.

Camden Barta finished 7 of 18 for 244 yards and three touchdowns. Gavin Arnold led Hayden's offense, throwing for 187 yards and two touchdowns.

The meeting was the 91^st between the two schools, the rivalry dating back to 1925. With Seaman moving to the United Kansas Conference next season, however, the rivalry might take a hiatus with scheduling a meeting difficult.

UP NEXT: Seaman (2-0) at Junction City (1-1); Hayden (1-1) vs. Topeka West (1-1).

HOLTON 24, CHAPMAN 14

A week after needing a last-second field goal to top Nemaha Central 25-24, Holton overcame a somewhat slow start and rode a stingy defense to a 2-0 start.

The Wildcats trailed 8-3 after Eli Riegel scored on a 2-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter and were facing going down two scores when Chapman mounted a 13-play drive into the Holton red zone.

But a fourth-down stop denied the Irish and Holton responded with a late 13-yard touchdown run from Jace Boswell to take a 10-8 halftime lead. Jayden Fletcher's 58-yarde touchdown run in the third quarter staked the Wildcats to a 17-8 lead and after Chapman closed to within 17-14 on a Nick Anderson 21-yard touchdown pass to Camden Liebau, Holton sealed the win with another TD run from Fletcher.

Fletcher finished with 153 or Holton's 270 yards on the ground. Chapman, which had the ball on offense for much of the game, finished with 219 yards on the ground, but were hampered when Riegel left the game with cramps in the second half after rushing for 96 yards before his departure.

UP NEXT: Holton (2-0) at Sabetha (1-1); Chapman (1-1) at Abilene (0-2)

SOUTHEAST OF SALINE 36, BELOIT 6

Defense dominated the opening half of Friday's huge North Central Activities Association contest with Southeast of Saline holding just a slim 8-6 lead at halftime with Luke Gebhardt's 9-yard touchdown pass to Chase Poague accounting for Southeast's lone score and an 8-yard run by Branson Hiserote accounting for Beloit's.

In the second half, however, only Southeast's defense stayed the course. Gebhardt got the Southeast offense rolling in the second half as the Trojans put up 28 points after halftime to pull away for the comfortable win.

He finished 10 of 17 for 173 yards and four touchdowns, hitting Michael Murray for a pair of scores (46 and 11 yards) and brother Jake for another from 41 out. Matt Rodriguez tacked on a 38-yard scoring run and Southeast of Saline scored 36 straight points after Beloit had scored first.

UP NEXT: Southeast of Saline (2-0) at Ellsworth (1-1); Beloit (1-1) vs. Concordia (2-0).

CHASE COUNTY 44, LEBO 36

Chase County never found any offensive footing in last year's 52-6 loss to a Lebo team that wound up going 10-1 on the season.

It didn't take long for the Bulldogs to get off and running in Friday's rematch. Chase County exploded for 28 first-quarter points and then got a game-winning score in the final minute to pull out a 44-36 victory to move to 2-0.

After a huge opener in which he accounted for 290 yards of total offense and four touchdowns, Mitch Budke followed it up with another big-time performance. He ran for Chase County's first two scores and a quick 12-0 lead and then hit Cal Kohlmeier for a pair of touchdown passes (13 & 35 yards) later in the quarter as Chase County led 28-14 at the end of the first quarter.

Following a scoreless second quarter, Lebo cut the Bulldog lead to 28-22 on a pair of Kyle Reese touchdown runs of 25 and 10 yards before Budke busted off a 45-yard run to restore a 14-point lead. The Wolves then stormed right back and got a pair of touchdowns to tie the game 36-36 – Reese running it in from 29 yards out and then hitting Grayson Shoemaker on a 30-yard pass with 1:11 left.

But Budke capped his night with a 1-yard touchdown with 31 seconds left in the game and the Bulldog defense made a key stop late to preserve the victory.

Budke finished with 193 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, while also completing 6 of 9 passes for 147 yards and two scores. Kohlmeier had five catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns.

Reese had a huge game for Lebo, rushing for 246 yards and four touchdowns and throwing for 79 yards and another score.

UP NEXT: Chase County (2-0) at Valley Falls (2-0); Lebo (1-1) vs. Waverly (2-0).

MADISON 46, HARTFORD 0

After dropping 100 points on Maranatha in its opener – a game in which Shayden Sull set state records for touchdowns and points in a 512-yard, 13-touchdown effort – Hartford seemed poised to challenge Madison's vaunted defense.

Instead, Madison flexed its muscle early and often.

The Bulldogs held Sull to just 19 yards on 14 carries, kept Hartford out of the end zone altogether and allowed just 90 yards in a 46-0 victory with the game ending at halftime.

Madison, meanwhile had no trouble getting its offense in gear. Bryson Turner had touchdown runs of 24 and 59 yards in the first quarter, while Drew Stutesman added a pair of short scoring runs in the quarter as well, part of his three-touchdown effort.

Casey Helm mixed in a 42-yard touchdown pass to cap the first quarter, Madison's third in a span of 2:25 as the Bulldogs led 38-0 at the end of the period.

Turner ran for 143 yards on just four carries and Helm threw for 112 yards, completing all seven of his pass attempts.

UP NEXT: Madison (2-0) at Southern Coffey County (0-2); Hartford (1-1) vs. Burlingame (0-1).