Top Rushing Performers From The Eight-Man Ranks

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's time to wrap up the extensive coverage of the top rushers in Kansas this past season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are backs from the eight-man football ranks who rushed for over 1,000 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1115722' first='Ryan' last='Sramek']</strong>, RB, 5'9”, 135, Rawlins County, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The junior back rushed for 1,982 yards for the Buffaloes. In 11 games he rushed for 32 touchdowns for Rawlins County.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1103762' first='Gavin' last='Turk'],</strong> QB/LB, 6'1”, 190, Linn, ‘24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bulldog senior rushed for 1,942 yards and 29 touchdowns in nine games played for Linn.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1103765' first='Andrew' last='Smith']</strong>, ATH, 6'3”, 180, Little River, ‘24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Smith rushed for 1,927 yards and 36 touchdowns in 10 games played. The Redskin senior is a versatile athlete who can play QB, RB, TE, CB, or LB.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mason Baker</strong>, QB, 6'1”, 190, Thunder Ridge, ‘24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Baker had a productive season for the Longhorns. He rushed for 1,925 yards and 30 touchdowns in nine games. He also threw for 986 yards and 11 touchdowns for Thunder Ridge.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1215327' first='JT' last='Prusa'],</strong> QB/DB, 5'9”, 165, South Central, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Timberwolf signal caller rushed for 1,738 yards and 32 touchdowns. He also threw for 561 yards and 11 touchdowns for South Central.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Wyatt Gardner, </strong>ATH, 5'7”, 160, Wichita County, ‘24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gardner took snaps for the Indians at quarterback, but he is better suited as a running back or slot back at the collegiate level. He rushed for 1,584 yards and threw for 976. He accounted for 46 total touchdowns in Wichita County's march to the state title game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='282252' first='Creyo' last='Koop'], </strong>RB/LB, 5'9”, 175, West Elk, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Patriot junior rushed for 1,563 yards and 37 touchdowns in 11 games. He has rushed for over 1,000 yards for three straight seasons and could make a run at a total of 6,000 yards for his high school career next fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gage Bowers, </strong>QB/LB, 5'9”, 195, Pretty Prairie, ‘24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bowers is a bulldog of a quarterback. He is compact and physical. He rushed for 1,470 yards in 9 games. He scored 22 touchdowns and collected 39 total tackles on the defensive side of the ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ian Kresin, </strong>RB/LB, 5'9”, 180, Lakeside, ‘24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kresin rushed for 1,448 yards and 32 touchdowns in nine games played. He also scored two touchdowns on receptions and threw for one more during his senior season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Brayden Berens, </strong>QB, 5'9”, 180, Skyline, ‘24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Berens rushed for 1,435 yards and 23 touchdowns in nine games. He also threw for 531 yards and nine touchdowns for the Thunderbirds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Eli Lang, </strong>QB, 6'0”, 175, Minneola, ‘24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lang is a dual-threat quarterback for the Wildcats. He finished his senior campaign with 1,280 yards rushing. He also threw for 1,962 yards and accounted for 46 total touchdowns. He twice rushed for more than 1,000 yards and threw for over 1,000 in two seasons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='285541' first='Khris' last='Hermosillo'], </strong>RB/DE, 5'10”, 175, Wichita County, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hermosillo rushed for 1,219 yards in 11 games. He also rushed for 25 touchdowns and caught two touchdown passes. He has rushed for over 1,200 yards in back-to-back seasons for the Indians.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jace Wunderlich, </strong>ATH, 5'11”, 165, Central, ‘24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Raiders' senior rushed for 1,132 yards in 10 games played and scored 22 touchdowns on the ground. He also threw for 1,411 yards and 22 more touchdowns. Wunderlich is also a top prospect to play college baseball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Connor Fowler, </strong>ATH, 5'10”, 170, Fairfield, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fowler rushed for 1,097 yards in nine games and scored 10 touchdowns. Fowler is also a guard on the Falcons basketball squad.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Blaine Hickel, </strong>RB, 6'2”, 185, Central Plains, ‘24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hickel rushed for 1,059 yards and 14 touchdowns in 10 games played for the Oilers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Brock Keith, </strong>RB/LB, 5'10”, 175, Meade, ‘24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Meade senior rushed for 1,022 yards and 10 touchdowns in eight games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The following backs rushed for over 800 yards but fell short of the 1,000-yard threshold, <strong>Dalton Morrison </strong>(Argonia/Attica),<strong> Cordell Jordan </strong>(Oxford),<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='284966' first='Lucas' last='Kirk'] </strong>(Bucklin), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1229100' first='Ashton' last='Wynn']</strong> (Trego), <strong>James Littlewood</strong> (Minneola), <strong>Daniel Cramer</strong> (Dighton), <strong>Dawson Lantz</strong> (Osborne), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1229102' first='Kole' last='Riedy']</strong> (Rural Vista), <strong>Alex Smith</strong> (South Haven) and South Central's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1048599' first='Isaiah' last='Jellison']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->