The sub-state round of the high school football playoffs includes a rematch of one of the top games in the state this season as Manhattan High hosts Derby in 6A.
The Indians won at Derby in overtime to kick off the season, 26-23, the first win in what has grown to a 11-0 season. Their defense set the tone for the season by limiting the Panthers to 275 total yards, 191 of that being put up by Notre Dame commit Dylan Edwards.
Derby will be without its quarterback, Brock Zerger, who suffered a season ending injury in a win over Washburn Rural last Friday night. That leaves the Panthers needing to replace an athlete who put up over one thousand passing and another one thousand rushing yards this season.
Derby has a string of seven straight sub-state round wins dating back to 2014. During that time, they’ve gone on to win five titles, but lost last year in the championship to Blue Valley Northwest. The last Manhattan appearance in a sub-state game was 2019, a 56-0 loss to Derby. The Indians also were a title game foe for the Panthers in 2018. Derby won that championship by a 24-6 score.
Kickoff tonight is at seven with coverage beginning at 6:30 on Newsradio KMAN.
In 4A, Wamego is in its first sub-state game since 1975 and will host McPherson. The Bullpups are making their fourth sub-state appearance in five years when the two teams kick off at seven tonight, with our B104-7 Carpet One of Manhattan Game of the Week coverage starting at 6:30.
Neither school has ever appeared in a state championship game and had to rally from deficits last week before eventually cruising to wins.
Wamego is outscoring opponents 43-6 while McPherson has put together a season where they’re outdoing foes by a 37-15 margin.
The state championship games for both classes are scheduled for 1:00 next Saturday, with 6A begin contested at Emporia, the 4A game in Topeka.
