Sub-State Preview: Sleepers to Watch for in NE Kansas

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Friday night will be bitter sweet. It unfortunately will be the final Friday night of high school football in the Kansas City metro until next fall. However, folks get to look forward to what should be a great night of football.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The two Sub-State games taking place around the KC area features a few teams with championship pedigree, and a couple of squads looking to make program history. Each of these teams have star players that have led the way for them this season. But each of them also have contributors that should not be slept on. Here is a preview of the matchups, and four prospects to keep an eye on during the action.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">6A: Olathe Northwest (8-3) @ Gardner-Edgerton (9-2)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Class 6A contest is a rematch of the 2022 6A East Sub-State game. Olathe Northwest made it back to the state semifinals after shocking everyone in the metro by taking down the No. 1 seed in Olathe West. The Ravens' defense stepped up and managed to hold Olathe West's high-scoring offense to just 21 points. For Gardner-Edgerton, they faced some adversity against Shawnee Mission Northwest during Sectionals. Ultimately though the Trailblazers came out on top 38-31 and advanced to their third straight Sub-State.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The past few times these teams have faced off it hasn't been pretty for ONW. However, the Ravens are sure to play with a lot of confidence after their performance last week. Taking down the reigning 6A champions will be a tall task though. Especially with the Trailblazers eying a third straight state championship.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Some sleepers that are capable of making plays during this semifinal game are <strong>Tyler Manzella</strong> (Sr.) of ONW and <strong>Carson McCall</strong> (Jr.) of GE. Manzella is arguably the Ravens' top wideout, and he's a bit of a ballhawk in their secondary. He's had a three interception game this season, and came up with a clutch INT during Sectionals. For McCall, this is his first season starting under center and the Trailblazers haven't skipped a beat with him orchestrating the offense. Northwest is sure to key in on [player_tooltip player_id='1598862' first='Syre' last='Padilla'], but McCall can hurt them just as easily with his legs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">5A: St. James Academy (10-1) @ Basehor (11-0)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the first time in more than 10 years the Class 5A East Sub-State will not feature St. Thomas Aquinas or Mill Valley. It now comes down to St. James Academy and Basehor-Linwood to represent the east side of Class 5A in the state title game. The St. James Thunder are no strangers to a game of this magnitude, as this is their fourth semifinal round appearance in six years. For the Bobcats, this is their first semifinal appearance since 2018, and they head in as the No. 1 seed on this side of the 5A bracket.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These two teams have met multiple times in the postseason in recent years whether it be in Class 4A or 5A. One common theme in those games is St. James has been Basehor's kryptonite. This however could be the year that Basehor makes it over the hump. St. James won't make it easy though. The Thunder are determined to advance to their first state title appearance since 2021.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This matchup features a couple of studs at quarterback. But in this preview I wanted to highlight some playmakers deserving of more recognition. The first one is senior <strong>Alec Jett</strong> of St. James. Jett is the Thunder's leading receiver by a wide margin. He's dominated on this postseason run as he's collected 13 receptions for 311 yards and four touchdowns. The other playmaker in this matchup is sophomore <strong>Gavin Mitchell</strong> of Basehor. Mitchell has surprised folks this fall as he emerged as the Bobcats' lead back in his first varsity season. The sophomore has stepped up his game these past two weeks as well. Over his last two games he's rushed for 280 yards on 37 carries and has hit pay dirt four times. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->