by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — Tonight it is week #6. Things have become crunch time for the Sumner County teams.

McPherson (4-1) at Wellington (3-2)

The Wellington High School football team has a two-game winning streak and currently is sitting in the upper half of the Class 4A-West standings, meaning it could host the first-round post-season game.

Now McPherson comes to town. The Bullpups will be a hand full.

These two teams don’t usually play one another. The last time was in 1979. When the schedule came out, the Crusaders immediately decided to set Sept. 16 as the homecoming date because the Crusaders did not want McPherson as the opponent for the festivities. The Bullpups were named a top-five team in the K-Preps preseason Class 4A poll. At the time, it was No. 4 and the highest-rated public school in 4A.

McPherson continues to hover in the “others” with a 4-1 record. It has dominated Great Bend 44-27, buried Augusta 42-7, lost to Junction City 30-15, beat Circle 35-15, and dismantled Winfield 24-0. This is going to be a tough one.

Against the Vikings, McPherson accumulated 351 yards in offense, including 211 yards passing. They are led by Hunter Alvord, a 6-0, 182, sr., who can sling the ball to at least seven different receivers. The Bullpups like to distribute the ball to a multitude of rushers as well, with four players touching the ball last Friday.

As far as the Crusaders go, things are going as well as things have been going since 2018, when they reached the 4A semifinals. The defense is coming around, having held to El Dorado 154 yards – all on the ground. In that game, sophomore Carter Burnett got 18 tackles on the defensive end including three solos. His cousin Brody Weir has 10 tackles including one for a tackle for loss and a sack. The defensive line is slowly becoming a force.

But McPherson isn’t El Dorado. This marks the second-to-last home regular season. A win here would be that statement game for the Crusaders. It might also guarantee a good seed in the first round of the playoffs.

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South Sumner (5-0) at Wichita Independent (5-0)

Now South Sumner has a game. Wichita Independent has become the darling of the local media for its stunning turnaround in football. After going 3-39 and sporting a 22-game losing streak in 11-man football, the Panthers have switched to eight-man football and have won their first five games.

They are having that dream season. Last week they destroyed traditional 8-man power Argonia-Attica.

But so is South Sumner, which hasn’t seen a second half this season after throttling every opponent this season by 45 points before intermission. This game appears to be different. For the Outlaws to succeed tonight, they must stop senior Joseph Racalde-Phillips, who has rushed for 619 yards and 12 touchdowns this season.

This could be a battle for the District 3 8-man Div. 1 crown. Both teams are at 2-0. But Central-Burden may have something to say about that as well as it is also 2-0 in district.

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Argonia-Attica (3-2) at Udall (1-4) 

A&A has had a couple of humbling weeks after losing to Central-Burden and Wichita Independent.

Tonight the Titans travel to Udall, a team that has garnered just one win against Flinthills. The Titans need to win here to eke into the playoffs as one of the district’s four teams. With South Sumner looming, this is equivalent to a playoff game.

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Central-Burden (4-1) at Oxford (2-3) 

It is homecoming at Oxford. And the Wildcats will have their work cut out for them when the Raiders come into town. Central-Burder is locked in a three-way battle for the District 3 championship with South Sumner and Wichita Independent.

Oxford is hoping to break a two-game losing streak.

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Conway Springs (2-3) at Sterling (2-3)

The Cardinals are riding a two-game winning streak and could clinch another playoff berth if it can dispose of Sterling tonight.

The outlook is promising. Sterling lost to Medicine Lodge 28-12 last week – a team Conway Springs disposed of the week before. A win gets Conway Springs at .500 and sets up a showdown with Inman for possibly the district crown.

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Belle Plaine (0-5) at Leon-Bluestem (0-5) 

Here you go. Belle Plaine and Leon Bluestem had had several years in the previous decade when this was the game to determine which team would go winless and which would get its first win. Bluestem hasn’t won since Oct. 4, 2019, when it beat Yates Center 32-21. Since then, the Lions have lost 26 straight games. This year has been especially ugly because Leon-Bluestem scored just two touchdowns.

Belle Plaine is 0-5 but has been competitive. It lost to Medicine Lodge 23-20 and Pleasanton 46-33. The past two games have not been good, though, losing to Sacred Heart 30-0 and Marion 60-9.

If the Dragons want to break their nine-game losing streak, they need to do so here.