6A Regional Round Preview: Old-fashioned Shootouts Out West

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Class 6A's western bracket is loaded for bear and those games this week will be fun to watch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>So moving into the regional playoff week, I am going to drop down from five games to four and highlight two games and prospects from each side of the bracket.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Wichita East (7-2) @ Wichita Northwest (7-2) – </strong>This is a rematch I would love to see in person. The Aces and Grizzlies will meet for a second time this season. The Aces are just one of two teams to defeat Northwest this season. East won a 34-28 week four match-up. The road won't get any easier for these two teams as the winner will face either No. 1-seeded Washburn Rural (9-0) or No. 8-seeded Junction City (6-3).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='259758' first='Michael' last='Lopez'] Jr.</strong>, WR/CB, 5'5”, 140, Northwest, ‘24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northwest has a roster filled will college prospects and one of those is Lopez. He is playing only on the offensive side of the ball this season. He is a solid route runner, has nice hands, and has breakaway speed. He can line up in the slot or on the outside. Lopez is very dangerous on quick screens.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lawrence (7-2) @ Derby (8-1) – </strong>This game could be a high-scoring affair that comes down to which team takes care of the ball better. The Panthers are the No. 3 seed in the western bracket, while the Lions are the No. 6 seed. The winner of this game will face either defending champion Manhattan or Free State in the sectional round.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1214945' first='Gabe' last='Wingerd']</strong>, WR,&nbsp; 5'11”, 185, Lawrence, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wingerd is the Lions' top receiving threat. He has hauled in 25 receptions for 442 yards and three touchdowns. The Lions have a very dangerous quarterback in [player_tooltip player_id='733502' first='Banks' last='Bowen'], but the Panthers will need to lock down Wingerd to have a better chance of defeating the Lions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Blue Valley West (4-5) at Olathe North (8-1) – </strong>Games featuring the No. 5 and No. 4 seeds always seem to be competitive on paper. The No. 4 seed in the east the Olathe North Eagles will look to claw the eyes out of the No. 5-seeded Blue Valley West Jaguars. The winner of this match will face either Olathe East (7-2) or Blue Valley (5-4) in the sectional round.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1112369' first='Tate' last='Nagy'],</strong> QB, 5'9”, 140, Blue Valley West, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nagy is the unofficial passing leader in Class 6A in terms of yardage. He has thrown for 1,621 yards in nine games for the Jaguars. He has a 65 percent completion rate and has thrown for 15 touchdowns. He is also a threat on the ground as he has rushed for 578 yards and four scores.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Blue Valley Northwest  (5-4) @ Olathe South (6-3)</strong> – The No. 7-seeded Huskies and the No. 4-seeded Eagles will face each other this week in a Thursday night tilt. The winner of this game likely gets a date with No. 1 seed Gardner-Edgerton in the sectional round. The 8-1 Trailblazers play No. 8 seed Shawnee Mission Northwest (4-5).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1224070' first='Andrew' last='Nogueras'], </strong>&nbsp;LB, 5'8”, 170, Olathe South, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nogueras is the leading tackler for the Falcons. He finished the regular season with 85 total tackles. He has high-quality speed and can play solid pass protection from his linebacking position.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->