Bearcats, Eagles, & Braves, Oh My: Class 2A Top Games

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Class 2A bracket is really stacked at the top Sabetha, Nemaha Central, Southeast of Saline, and Hoisington all seem ordained to win multiple playoff games, but none of the four are featured in this week's top five games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here is a look at five prospects in 2A who hope they can lead their teams to a state title in Salina.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Haven  (5-3) at Ellsworth (7-1) – </strong>Of the nine teams in Class 2A with one loss or fewer, the one with the biggest challenge in Week Nine is the Ellsworth Bearcats. Haven is a scrappy team and this could be a tighter game than many expect. The winner of this game in the next round will face the winner of Garden Plain (7-1) and Halstead (3-5).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Vance Loop,</strong> RB, 5'8”, 165, Haven, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Haven is not a team to sleep on and the offense has a solid running game. Spearheading that running game is junior running back Loop. In eight games played Loop has 846 yards rushing on 154 carries. He has scored 15 touchdowns on the ground for the Wildcats.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Council Grove &nbsp;(5-3)&nbsp; at Caney Valley &nbsp;(5-3) – </strong>This is one of just two games in the first round where both teams have winning records. The winner of this match-up will face the winner of Osage City and Neodesha.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='285495' first='Ace' last='Monihen']</strong>, ATH, 6'0” 205, Council Grove, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Monihen is a solid football player who can play multiple positions. He has thrown for 382 yards and rushed for 673 total yards. He has 15 total touchdowns combined in the air and on the ground. Defensively the junior has 29 total tackles. Eleven of those are tackles for loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lakin  (4-4) @ Beloit (4-4)</strong> – Two .500 teams meet in Beloit with the winner getting a chance to face either undefeated Hoisington or upset-minded Phillipsburg.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Carter Oldham, </strong>&nbsp;FB/LB, 6'1”, 200, Lakin, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oldham is a physical player who contributes on both sides of the ball. He has rushed for more than 600 yards on offense playing fullback and has</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Thomas More Prep (4-4) @ Larned (6-2) – </strong>This is an interesting match-up because no one knows if these teams are contenders are not. Larned has a nice record, but no solid-quality wins. While the Monarchs are a .500 team in the same boat. The Monarchs were thumped by Scott Community and Norton Community.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1107783' first='Luke' last='Fischer']</strong>, RB/LB, 6'4”, 215, Larned,&nbsp; ‘24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Braves have a solid two-way leader in senior Fischer. Offensively he has rushed for 1,063 yards and scored 19 touchdowns. As a linebacker, he collected 40 total tackles including four of lost yardage.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Minneapolis (4-4) @ Silver Lake (7-1) – </strong>Silver Lake has a long history of winning postseason games. The Eagles' first test in the 2023 playoffs will be the Minneapolis Lions. The winner of this match has a potential date with one-loss Sabetha unless Atchison County can knock off the Bluejays.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1113377' first='Owen' last='Just']</strong>, QB,&nbsp; 6'0”, 165, Minneapolis, ‘26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Just is just one of a handful of quarterbacks with over 1,000 yards passing in Class 2A. The sophomore signal-caller has thrown for 1,265 yards and completed 13 touchdown throws.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->