Hutchinson 56, Newton 0 – The Salthawks posted their fifth shutout of the season and held their fifth opponent to fewer than 100 yards of offense.
Hutchinson’s offense ran just 32 offensive plays but they went for 401 yards. Kade Smith carried the ball four times for 205 yards and three touchdowns. Terrell King added six carries for 112 yards and three touchdowns.
Taysen Runyon kicked a pair of field goals, including one from 47 yards.
Newton mustered just 52 yards of offense, including minus-1 yard rushing on 23 attempts.
Central Plains 68, Little River 44 – Through three quarters, it was a classic eight-man showdown as the game was tied 36-36. But then, Central Plains scored 32 unanswered points, taking advantage of two Little River turnovers, to pull away for a crucial Eight-man Division 1 District 3 game.
Central Plains had a dominant ground game, with Joel Schrieber rushing for 130 yards and three touchdowns, while Eli Hurley added 123 yards and four touchdowns. Brodie Crites had 134 yards of offense.
Jaren Garrison led Little River with 121 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Hillsboro 32, Lyons 0 – Hillsboro grabbed an early lead but led just 7-0 at halftime. But then Hillsboro controlled the second half, as Jesiah Gooch scored his second touchdown late in the third quarter to give the Trojans a 13-0, sparking them to victory.
Gooch added a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns.
Hillsboro had 405 yards of offense to just 105 for Lyons. Gooch led the way with 159 rushing yards. Deacon Showalter led Lyons with 69 rushing yards.
St. John 60, Stafford 14 – Behind a stellar performance from junior quarterback Braxton Alpers, the St. John Tigers locked in a spot in the Eight-Man Division 2 playoffs with a 60-14 win over Stafford on Friday night in St. John. In the Stafford Country rivalry showdown, the Tigers and Trojans were knotted at 8 after the first quarter, but a 24-0 second quarter that included a touchdown run and pass from Alpers put St. John up 32-8 at halftime. Stafford scored first in the second half on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Jacob Simmons to Cody Knoche, but St. John reeled off the next four scores with two touchdown runs and a touchdown pass from Alpers and on the final play of the third quarter, Miguel Gonzalez scored on a 22-yard run to put the game on ice.
Alpers finished with 195 yards on 21 carries with four touchdowns rushing and went 6-14 for 125 yards and two passing touchdowns. Jace Reyes added two receiving touchdowns. The Tigers outgained the Trojans 467-125. Juan Ibarra led the Tiger defense with three interceptions on the night. St. John is now 3-4 and 1-2 in 8-Man DII District 6, while Stafford fell to 1-6 and finished district play 0-4.
