Kansas Class 6-Man Football State Championship Preview:

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-Man Kansas High School State Football championship kicks off on 3:00 PM Saturday at Kiowa County High School in Greensburg. This will be the second year the state championships for both 6-Man and 8-Man will be hosted in Greensburg and their regulation sized turfed field. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Neither the Cunningham Wildcats (11-1) or the Weskan Coyotes (11-1) are foreign to 6-Man state championships. The Coyotes will now meet the Wildcats in a rematch of last year's title game in which Weskan outlasted Cunningham, 49-48.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Weskan is looking to go back-to-back as KSHSAA sanctioned champions while Cunningham is looking for their second KSHSAA championship after winning in 2022. Cunningham had also been runners-up to Cheylin in 6-Man in 2021, when the title was not quite yet KSHSAA sanctioned. As KSHSAA memebers they were runners-up in both 2023 and 2024. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Wildcats of Cunningham enters Saturday's state championship game after defeating Tescott 44-0. Head Coach Lance McGuire is in his 20th year as head coach and is 87-66 in 14 non co-op seasons. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As a team the Wildcats are known for being a predominantly run heavy team where they rushed for 2,289 yards (208.1 per game) and 48 TDs. They do not throw the ball very often but when they do it is normally for a big scoring play. On the season they passed for 478 yards (43.5 per game) and added 11 additional touchdowns to only one interception. <br> <br>Leading the way for Cunningham is junior Stephen Kerschen (5-foot-11, 190-pounds) who has rushed for 1,281 yards on 107 carries and 23 touchdowns. Also senior Skyler Thimesch (5-foot-10, 165-pounds) has pitched in 94 carries for 704 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns and freshman Liam McGuire ( who has 24 carries for 165 yards rushing and 5 touchdowns. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defensively, senior Dylan Halderson (5-foot-10, 185-pounds) has had 86 tackles (40 solo), 2 fumble recoveries and 1 interception, senior Logan Kinsler (6-foot-2, 165-pounds) has had 66 tackles (43 solo), 3 tackles for loss and 5 interceptions, Thimesch has registered 62 tackles (24 solo), 4 tackles for loss and 4 sacks and lastly Kerschen has had 58 tackles (28 solo), 8 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries and 1 interception for the Wildcats. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As for the Coyotes of Weskan they are coming off of a thrilling 26-21 victory over South Barber where they secured the victory on a goal line stand. Head Coach Brett Clow is in his 11th season, 74-25 overall and looking for his second state title for the Coyotes after winning in 2024.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Weskan is led by a dynamic weapon in junior [player_tooltip player_id='1609452' first='Karsyn' last='Wright'] (5-foot-11, 160-pounds) who has rushed for 1,488 yards on 99 carries and 31 touchdowns this season. Wright was the star of last seasons state title game. The son of 8-Man legend Derrick Wright (Tri-Plains), who held the 8-Man career rushing yardage record for many years until now Thunder Ridge head coach Joel Struckhoff (also played for Thunder Ridge) eclipsed the feat years later. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior quarterback Nick Cottrell (6-foot-0, 165-pounds) has passed for 44 of 69 for 848 yards, 21 touchdowns and only 1 interception on the season. Receiving wise Wright has also accumulated 12 receptions for 341 yards and 7 additional scores and junior Dodger Allen (5-foot-11, 145-pounds) has contributed 12 receptions for 205 yards and 7 touchdowns. 6-foot</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On defense, the Coyotes have had senior Austin Smith (5-foot-8, 150-pounds) has had 76 tackles (42 solo), 3 tackles for loss, 3 fumble recoveries and 1 interception, freshman Eli Goodwin (6-foot-0, 170-pounds) has had 71 tackles (37 solo), junior Eli Aldridge (6-foot-3, 215-pounds) has had 61 tackles (27 solo), 2 tackles for loss 3 fumble recoveries, junior Ayden Aldridge (6-foot-2, 225-pounds) has had 58 tackles (35 solo), 5 tackles for loss and 2 sacks, Dodger Allen has had 57 tackles (30 solo), 2 fumble recoveries and 2 interceptions and lastly [player_tooltip player_id='1609452' first='Karsyn' last='Wright'] has had 56 tackles (30 solo), 3 interceptions and 1 fumble recovery on the season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In conclusion, I expect yet another epic battle between these two ball clubs. Keep an eye on who can control each others superstars between Kerschen (Cunningham) and Wright (Weskan). </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->