Deck’s Top 5 Big Games: Week One In Kansas

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are just one more sleep from kicking off the Kansas High School football season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In what I hope will be a regular weekly in-season fixture at Prep Redzone here is the first edition of “Deck's Top 5 Big Games.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Each week I will feature five games across the state and one player from each game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hays (5A) @ Junction City (6A) – </strong>An early battle for supremacy out west. It's hard to fathom Junction City being considered a western Kansas school, but that's the 6A region they are in.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='259774' first='Malik' last='Bah']</strong>, RB, 5'8” 180, Hays ‘24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the Indians to come out on the winning end of this matchup, they will need a productive game from their running back. He is coming off an elbow injury suffered during the playoffs last season. He rushed for 1,633 yards and 22 touchdowns as a junior. He is fast and difficult to coral. A solid Bluejay defense will try to shut him down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Derby @ Manhattan @ (6A) – </strong>Defending 6A state champ opens up against perennial powerhouse Panthers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='146119' first='Demaria'e' last='Baker']</strong>, CB, 6'1”, 180, Derby, ‘24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Derby produces college-level talent in every graduating class. Baker is a solid college prospect in the Panthers' current senior class. He can cover and tackle and he will need to do both well if Derby is to knock off the defending champs in the season opener. He is a stud in track and field as well and will have plenty of opportunities to compete in college.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bishop Carroll (5A) @ Wichita Northwest (6A) – </strong>Traditional Week One rivalry matchup between public and private schools that don't like each other.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='259823' first='Hank' last='Purvis']</strong>, G, 6'4”, 285, Bishop Carroll, ‘24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Never Nervous” [player_tooltip player_id='259823' first='Hank' last='Purvis'] is one of the top offensive linemen in the state of Kansas. He will have his hands full against a fast and athletic Grizzly defensive unit. Purvis is excellent as a run-blocker and has committed to play college football at UNLV.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Basehor-Linwood @ Tonganoxie (4A) –</strong> &nbsp;The “Eight Mile” showdown features two teams looking to make a statement early in class 4A.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='334730' first='Sam' last='Lough'], </strong>OL/DL 6'3”, 295, Basehor-Linwood, 24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lough is a workhorse with quick feet and will be a key cog on a young Bobcat offensive line. Winning the line of scrimmage will be important for Basehor in this game and Lough will play a huge role if that is accomplished. Lough is a physical lineman who has multiple college offers in hand. He has one Division II offer, multiple NAIA offers, and a couple of Division I preferred walk-on offers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Southeast of Saline (2A) @ Rock Creek (3A) – </strong>Two traditional powerhouses and neither wants to start off 0-1.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1107796' first='Nathan' last='Friesen']</strong>, RB, 5'10”, 175, SE Saline ‘24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Trojans face a rough road opener at St. George. Running back [player_tooltip player_id='1107796' first='Nathan' last='Friesen'] will be leaned on to produce yardage and points for Southeast of Saline. Friesen had a 1,000-yard rushing season as a junior and scored 17 times on the ground. He just might need a 100-yard game and multiple touchdowns for the Trojans to knock off Rock Creek.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->