Sports preview: Wellington to battle Circle; Conway Springs sees Inman again; more
By Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — It is week #6 in high school football. Wellington tries to shore up its football post-season positioning in two weeks, Conway Springs and South Sumner attempt to stay on top of their respective districts, and the other three Sumner teams look to get in the playoffs.
The weather is calling for upper 50s. Can’t ask for better football weather than that.
Wellington (4-2) at Circle (1-5)
Last year, Circle came into Wellington with a lot of moxie. The Thunderbirds were 5-1 and were getting plenty of statewide media attention. Wellington would pull off a huge 45-35 victory at Sellers Park. The Crusaders accumulated more than 500 yards in offense, as then-senior running back Malachi Rogers rushed for 276 yards. It was a huge victory for the Crusaders, as Circle would go on to an 8-3 record while advancing to the third round of the playoffs.
This year? Maybe not so much. Despite getting many preseason accolades, Circle has opened with a 1-5 record. In the past three weeks, the Thunderbirds have lost to McPherson 32-16, Augusta 50-16, and Abilene 41-8.
“They’ve had a lot of injuries,” said Jeremiah Meeks, head Wellington football coach. “They lost a key running back and linebacker. But they still have plenty of talent. Their offensive line is especially humongous.”
The two tackles are both 6-6 and over 200 pounds. Circle is 16th in offense in the 32-team Class 4A and 24th in defense. The Thunderbirds are currently 30th in pass defense and 15th in rushing defense.
Wellington’s defense is slowly climbing the charts after two good outings in the past weeks. The Crusaders are 21 in total defense – 17th in rushing and 19th in passing (see stats here).
Offensively, Wellington is ninth overall and No. 2 in passing behind Abilene. Wellington is 22nd in rushing. The Crusaders are averaging 218.2 yards passing to 136.5 yards rushing.
As we mentioned in our analysis here, things are setting up nicely for Wellington, thanks to last week’s win, providing it keeps winning. Meeks thinks Wellington could be a No. 3 seed in the Class 4A-West.
Wellington is still doing well on the injury front, losing just one starter this season. As of Monday, he didn’t expect anyone other than Grady Norris to sit out.
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Conway Springs (4-2) at Inman (2-4)
In the past two years, Inman has knocked out Conway Springs on its way to the state championship game. But every year is different.
Inman is struggling this year, currently 2-4. But that may be a bit misleading. The Teutons have lost to Marion (6-0), Sedgwick (5-1), Sterling (3-3) and Hutchinson Trinity (3-3). It isn’t like Inman is losing to any weak sisters.
Still, Conway Springs has an opportunity to continue the momentum after beating Sterling 39-13 for its fourth straight win. Inman is 40th out of 42 in total defense in Class 1A, while Conway Springs is sixth in total offense.
Last year in the October game, Conway Springs pulled off a mammoth 35-14 upset over Inman, only to see the Teutons come back and exact revenge one month later with a 23-6 victory in the state semifinals.
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Belle Plaine (2-4) at Sedgwick (5-1)
The Dragons picked up its second win against Leon-Bluestem. Things will be a lot tougher in Sedgwick, which is listed in “others” in Class 1A.
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Argonia-Attica (5-1) at South Sumner (6-0)
South Sumner will return to action when A&A comes to Caldwell. The Outlaws rolled over A&A 64-16 in 2022. If the Outlaws win here, that will set up a very intriguing matchup with undefeated and top-five-ranked Central-Burden for the district championship.
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Udall (0-6) at Oxford (3-3)
Oxford can improve to 4-3 with a win over its rival.
