Week 4/5 Small Town Standouts From East Kansas

Week 5 has come and gone, and we have another list of standout players from East Kansas. As we take a look at the area, we see some familiar faces as by now we have a good idea at who our contenders are in each division and leagues. We will take a look this week at both weeks 4 and 5 combined as we missed last weeks games. Here is a look at my standout players! <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="155079" first="Zach" last="Knowlton"]</strong>- Spring Hill is off to one of the best seasons in school history. At 5-0, the Broncos are one win away from their best football season since the 1990’s. One big reason for this is Knowlton, as he truly can do it all for the Broncos. The speed from this kid is legit, and nobody so far has been able to stop him. In their first "real" test of the season against another legit 5A team in Desoto, Knowlton rushed for two big TD’s and had a few great catches in the 28-14 win. Knowlton also made a few big tackles on defense as a DB. Spring Hill is a legit contender this year, and they have a great player here. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="159106" first="Caden" last="Rhamy"]</strong>- Paola had a big week 4 win against Ottawa, in a big bounce back way. Following Rhamy, the ground game for the Panthers dominated the Cyclones from the first snap. Only needing 12 carries, Rhamy had a huge 246 yards and 4 touchdowns. At just over 20 yards a carry, Rhamy is a huge problem for every team Paola faces. Even though the historically tough team is not off to the start they wanted, Rhamy and the run attack will keep them in every single game. <strong>Noah McCullough</strong>- The Ottawa Cyclones are starting to come around. Coming into this season, the Cyclones were 3-34 in their last 37 games, and 1-8 last season. They are off to a 2-3 start under their new head coach, and just watching them you can see the improvement. This offense looks great under the leadership of McCullough. Ottawa had a big win this week against Bonner Springs, 30-13 and McCullough lead the way on the ground. With 20 carries for 202 yards, this Ottawa offense can cause problems for many teams in the Frontier League and can no longer be a team to look over on the schedule. Very excited to see where this team and offense goes next, as I truly believe good things are ahead for the Cyclones. <strong>T.J. Taylor</strong>- Iola may not have been off to the start they wanted, but with a big win this week against Anderson County, they are back in the win column. Taylor had a great game, finishing with 5 catches for 185 yards and two big touchdowns in the 34-7 Mustang win. Be on the lookout for the Iola Mustangs over the next several weeks to keep doing damage through the air.