<a href="https://www.kshsaa.org/react/activity/tournament/info/Football/State/1/1">CLICK HERE FOR ALL KSHSAA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION</a>

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 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1764345825344.png" alt="Graphic Courtesy KSHSAA Covered" />
 <figcaption>Graphic Courtesy KSHSAA Covered</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://www.kshsaa.org/react/activity/tournament/info/Football/State/1/1">CLICK HERE FOR ALL KSHSAA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION</a>KSHSAA Covered<div>CLASS 3A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP &nbsp; HAYDEN (12-0) VS. ANDALE (12-0) &nbsp; 6 p.m. Friday at Gowans Stadium, Hutchinson &nbsp;
<figure class="caption figure_object_image"><img src="https://kshsaacovered.com/common/controls/image_handler.aspx?thumb_id=14&amp;image_path=/images/2025/11/24/3A_Andale.jpg" alt="20082" width="868" height="432" />
<figcaption>Andale</figcaption>
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&nbsp; UNSELFISHNESS DEFINES LATEST EDITION OF ANDALE DYNASTY &nbsp; Jack Horsch says you find out early as an Andale football player. Best to check that big ego at the door. &nbsp; &ldquo;Everyone wants a few more carries,&rdquo; said Horsch, a senior running back and linebacker who is the Indians&rsquo; second leading rusher this season with 665 yards. &ldquo;But you kind of learn as a freshman and sophomore how it&rsquo;s going to be. &nbsp; &ldquo;Coach (Dylan) Schmidt does a great job because he cares about you. He&rsquo;ll tell you, &lsquo;You&rsquo;re still one of our studs. We won&rsquo;t forget about you.&rsquo; And you end up wanting the other guy to do better than you just did because you trust each other. Here, if you get the win, carries don&rsquo;t matter.&rdquo; &nbsp; That philosophy has been in place throughout Schmidt&rsquo;s head coaching tenure at his alma mater. The 42-year-old Schmidt returned to Andale in 2017, and kicked an already established program into overdrive. The Indians are 109-4 in Schmidt&rsquo;s ninth season, and take a state-best, 25-game winning streak into a Class 3A championship rematch with Hayden on Friday in Hutchinson. &nbsp; Andale&rsquo;s overwhelming success hasn&rsquo;t come without the occasional complication that all coaches seemingly face. But if there&rsquo;s been a defining characteristic of Schmidt&rsquo;s current Indians team, which is 12-0 for the seventh time under him, it&rsquo;s their lack of stumbling blocks. &nbsp; &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had some other teams like this team,&rdquo; Schmidt said. &ldquo;The thing that I&rsquo;m most proud of or enjoy the most is it&rsquo;s just a lot of unselfish guys. &nbsp; &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve dealt with a lot of issues behind the scenes over the years. You deal with different people and egos and all sorts of things. This team has had very little if none of that. And I know I deal with no issues compared to a lot of other people. You just go through some of it as a coach.&rdquo; &nbsp; With seniors like Horsch, running back-defensive back Lane Parthemer, tight end-linebacker Hunter Grimes and quarterback-defensive back Sam Harp, Schmidt admits he&rsquo;s had it pretty good. &nbsp; Schmidt&rsquo;s approach has involved playing a lot of players, a luxury afforded him by Andale&rsquo;s frequently lopsided margins. The Indians&rsquo; closest game this season came in Friday&rsquo;s 3A semifinals, when they defeated Rock Creek 41-7 and for the first time didn&rsquo;t implement a running clock. &nbsp; &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a team game and there&rsquo;s going to be a few sacrifices,&rdquo; Schmidt said. &ldquo;Some kids get that and some don&rsquo;t. We&rsquo;re honest with them about how it&rsquo;s going to be at Andale High School. To have a team like this that understands that is really special.&rdquo; &nbsp; While Andale has produced some extraordinary team numbers, like outscoring opponents 744-83 and forcing 55 punts while punting just twice, the Indians&rsquo; individual numbers often pale among the state leaders. Still, it&rsquo;s easy to see how Harp, in his third season as a starting quarterback, makes the Andale engine go. &nbsp; Harp enters Friday&rsquo;s contest with 1,375 rushing yards, averaging 12.2 per carry, with 30 rushing touchdowns. He&rsquo;s also completed 34 of 54 passes for 813 yards and 11 TDs. Harp has accounted for a team-high 42 touchdowns, while Horsch is second with 18. &nbsp; &ldquo;He makes my job and makes everybody else&rsquo;s job easy,&rdquo; Horsch said. &ldquo;When you&rsquo;ve got someone that fast, it opens up the game so much, I think. I&rsquo;m not surprised at what he does anymore because we&rsquo;ve grown up together since second grade and I&rsquo;ve seen it all.&rdquo; &nbsp; Harp ran for 163 yards and two touchdowns in last year&rsquo;s 3A championship game, when Andale rallied from a 7-point halftime deficit to defeat Hayden 36-19. His coolness under pressure served the Indians well, and has permeated throughout the team during his time at quarterback. &nbsp; &ldquo;We have one of those leaders that knows he&rsquo;s a stud, but doesn&rsquo;t like the spotlight a whole lot,&rdquo; Schmidt said. &ldquo;Other guys see that too and they fall in line with him. He&rsquo;s been an unbelievable leader for us, and just the leadership of this senior class, they&rsquo;ve done all those things that have made this season so enjoyable.&rdquo; &nbsp; ANDALE INDIANS (12-0) &nbsp; COACH:&nbsp;Dylan Schmidt (9th&nbsp;year, 109-4) &nbsp; STATE FINALS HISTORY:&nbsp;8 state titles &ndash; 2024 (3A), 2022 (3A), 2021 (3A), 2020 (3A), 2019 (3A), 2014 (4A), 2007 (4A), 2006 (4A); 1 runner-up finish &ndash; 2017 (4A I) &nbsp; 2025 RESULTS W,104-0 at El Dorado W,77-20 Wellington W,53-13 at Rose Hill W,54-7 at Wichita Collegiate W,45-3 at Nickerson W,68-0 Smoky Valley W,68-20 at Wichita Trinity Academy W,57-0 Hesston W,69-0 Chapman (P) W,51-6 Clay Center (P) W,57-7 Pratt (P) W,41-7 Rock Creek (P) &nbsp; 2025 STATISTICS &nbsp; TEAM &nbsp; Points scored: 744 (62.0 per game) &nbsp; Points allowed: 83 (6.9 per game) &nbsp; Total offense: 4,935 yards (411.3 per game) &nbsp; Rushing: 4,096 yards (341.3 per game), 80 TDs &nbsp; Passing: 839 yards (69.9 per game), 15 TDs, 1 INT &nbsp; INDIVIDUAL &nbsp; Rushing: Sam Harp (sr.) 113 carries, 1,375 yards, 30 TDs; Jack Horsch (sr.) 59 carries, 665 yards, 13 TDs; Lane Parthemer (sr.) 23 carries, 398 yards, 5 TDs; Noah Stanley (so.) 44 carries, 365 yards, 6 TDs; Aiden Allaire (so.) 19 carries, 231 yards, 2 TDs; Jrayton Dansel (jr.) 23 carries, 181 yards, 7 TDs; Ethan Eck (sr.) 18 carries, 141 yards, 3 TDs; Lane Martin (jr.) 14 carries, 119 yards; Sam Kuepker (sr.) 10 carries, 113 yards, 4 TDs; Brayden Spexarth (so.) 24 carries, 104 yards, 3 TDs. &nbsp; Passing: Sam Harp (sr.) 34 of 54, 813 yards, 13 TDs, 1 INT. &nbsp; Receiving: Jack Horsch (sr.) 15 catches, 326 yards, 4 TDs; Hunter Grimes (sr.) 6 catches, 176 yards, 5 TDs. &nbsp; Tackles: Jrayton Dansel (jr.) 75 tackles (34 solo), 2 tackles for loss; Hunter Grimes (sr.) 64 tackles (30 solo), 6 tackles for loss, 1 sack; Tristen Cox (sr.) 52 tackles (27 solo), 4 tackles for loss; Ethan Eck (sr.) 49 tackles (25 solo), 4 tackles for loss, 4 sacks; Lane Parthemer (sr.) 40 tackles (29 solo); Jack Horsch (sr.) 37 tackles (20 solo); Parker Lies (so.) 36 tackles (17 solo); Sam Kuepker 31 tackles (19 solo), 1 tackle for loss; Emery Craft (sr.) 30 tackles (16 solo), 1 sack; Toben Easter (sr.) 23 tackles (15 solo); Sam Harp (sr.) 22 tackles (13 solo); Alex Kraus (sr.) 21 tackles (8 solo), 2 tackles for loss; Emmett Eck (so.) 20 tackles (15 solo); Cruz Kaiser (so.) 17 tackles (11 solo); Brody Kelp (sr.) 17 tackles (10 solo), 2 tackles for loss. &nbsp; Takeaways: Hunter Grimes (sr.) 3 fumble recoveries, 1 INT; Sam Kuepker (sr.) 4 INTs; Lane Parthemer (sr.) 2 fumble recoveries, 1 INT; Brody Kelp (sr.) 3 fumble recoveries; Colt Lane (sr.) 3 fumble recoveries; Parker Lies (so.) 2 INTs; Sam Harp (sr.) 2 INTs; Emmett Eck (so.) 2 INTs; Cruz Kaiser (so.) 2 INTs; Konnor Bretthauer (jr.) 2 fumble recoveries. &nbsp; Kicking: Austin Bugner (so.) 14 of 16 PATs; Seth Fernandez (sr.) 11 of 12 PATs. &nbsp;
<figure class="caption figure_object_image"><img src="https://kshsaacovered.com/common/controls/image_handler.aspx?thumb_id=14&amp;image_path=/images/2025/11/24/3A_Topeka_Hayden_HS.jpg" alt="20083" width="872" height="351" />
<figcaption>Hayden</figcaption>
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&nbsp; THIRD TIME&rsquo;S A CHARM? HAYDEN LOOKS TO FINISH TRIP TO HUTCHINSON WITH ELUSIVE TITLE &nbsp; In each of its appearances in the Class 3A state championship game the past two seasons, Hayden has been right where it needed to be at halftime. &nbsp; In 2023, the Wildcats trailed fellow unbeaten Cheney just 13-7 in a snowy title game in Hutchinson. Last year, Hayden led juggernaut Andale 19-12 at halftime. &nbsp; The second half of each of those games, however, has been disastrous for the Wildcats. They&rsquo;ve been outscored 45-0 after halftime the last two seasons, thwarting their bid to bring home the program&rsquo;s first state championship since 2008. &nbsp; Last year&rsquo;s loss was particularly stinging as the Wildcats had outscored Andale 13-0 in the second quarter to take a lead and had a chance to add a third score late in the half. A second straight recovery of a pooch kick by the Wildcats set them up in Andale territory and a completion to Jensen Schrickel along the sideline looked like it would give Hayden a first down at the Indian 8. &nbsp; But Schrickel was ruled out of bounds and Hayden couldn&rsquo;t punch in a score that would have put the Wildcats up two scores. &nbsp; &ldquo;We felt like we had an opportunity to go up at least two scores at halftime and it didn&rsquo;t happen,&rdquo; Hayden coach Bill Arnold said. &ldquo;And then we just didn&rsquo;t make enough plays in the second half and they did.&rdquo; &nbsp; Hayden got the ball to start the second half but was stymied and once Andale scored on its ensuing drive, the Indians were rolling. They outscored Hayden 24-0 in the second half to take a 36-19 victory. &nbsp; &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had some big games with Andale over the years,&rdquo; Arnold said. &ldquo;Going back to my first year here in 2007, we had a stretch of two, three, four years in a row where we played them in the playoffs. They&rsquo;re a solid program and have pretty much the same mentality that we have. They expect to be in those championship games and win them. &nbsp; &ldquo;They&rsquo;re very talented and disciplined in what they do and it will be a great test.&rdquo; &nbsp; Both teams have been on a collision course to meet again in the title game this season, starting the year ranked No. 1 and 2 and never showing any signs of not being worthy of those rankings. While Andale has absolutely steamrolled its entire schedule, outscoring opponents 744-83 this season with last week&rsquo;s 41-7 semifinal win over previously undefeated Rock Creek its only game without a running clock in the second half, Hayden has been nearly as impressive in its run to a 12-0 mark. &nbsp; The Wildcats have outscored their foes 563-84 this season, starting the season with a 28-6 win over Eudora for the Cardinals&rsquo; only loss during the regular season. Hayden has allowed just two teams to score more than a touchdown this season, a 56-22 win over Holton in the regular season and a 43-29 playoff quarterfinal win over Jefferson West after having previously beaten the Tigers 42-0. &nbsp; Last week&rsquo;s 46-0 shutout of previously undefeated Santa Fe Trail &ndash; a game the Wildcats led 29-0 at the end of the first quarter &ndash; was the fifth shutout of the season. &nbsp; The defense has contributed six touchdowns this season, nearly half of what it&rsquo;s allowed, while the Wildcat special teams have chipped in four return scores as well. Throw in an offense that&rsquo;s been efficient and balanced with nine different Wildcats having rushing touchdowns and seven having TD receptions, and it&rsquo;s been as complete of a team as Arnold has had in his 19 years leading the program. &nbsp; &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the thing, I don&rsquo;t like to say dominating though we&rsquo;ve been very successful, but we&rsquo;ve been successful in all three phases of the game,&rdquo; Arnold said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not like the offense is doing all the work or the defense is carrying us. We&rsquo;ve reaped the benefits of all three phases and they complement each other. That in itself kind of sets this group apart from some other ones.&rdquo; &nbsp; The biggest holes Hayden had to fill off last year&rsquo;s runner-up team have been more than capably plugged. Connor Hanika took over at quarterback for four-year starter Jett Wahlmeier and thrown for 1,659 yards and 23 touchdowns while getting picked off just three times &ndash; two of those coming in the second quarter against Trail in the semifinals. &nbsp; He&rsquo;s no stranger to the state stage, either. As a sophomore, he filled in when Wahlmeier was hurt in the playoff opener and helped the Wildcats reach the 2023 championship game. &nbsp; Schrickel&rsquo;s spot, meanwhile, was taken by senior Kade Mitchell, who&rsquo;d been a complementary weapon the past two years and scored touchdowns in each of the last two championship games. Mitchell leads Hayden in rushing (941 yards, 13 TDs) and receiving (463 yards, 5 TDs). &nbsp; An injury suffered in the quarterfinal win kept Mitchell out of the semifinal win over Santa Fe Trail and though Arnold couldn&rsquo;t 100% confirm he would be available for the title game, he said he anticipated Mitchell would play. &nbsp; Even without him last week, Hayden had no troubles. Mason Becker moved in from his receiver spot to fill the void and ran for 201 yards and a pair of touchdowns, scoring on runs of 53 and 65 yards. &nbsp; &ldquo;Mason&rsquo;s grown into it,&rdquo; Arnold said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got some speed and he does a really, really good job of reading the blocks in front of him, probably better than anyone else on the team.&rdquo; &nbsp; Becker has also had a big impact on defense where he and Logan Power took over cornerback starting jobs to replace Schrickel and Brady Heinen, who were lockdown corners a year ago. The two have combined for nine interceptions this year and the defense as a whole has 21 interceptions as well as 15 fumble recoveries. &nbsp; &ldquo;They were untested, but good athletes,&rdquo; Arnold said of Becker and Power. &ldquo;And those two corners have played phenomenal this year. We haven&rsquo;t missed a beat and that was a big concern going into the season because Brady and Schrickel were pretty doggone good last year.&rdquo; &nbsp; Having been close to a point the past two seasons to ending its title drought, Hayden is eager to make the most of this year&rsquo;s opportunity. &nbsp; &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a great group of seniors,&rdquo; Arnold said of a class that numbers 13. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve grasped the experience the last three years. A couple got to play as freshmen, but the bulk of them have been playing since their sophomore season. And then you add in some juniors there that were right on the cusp of producing results for us last year. &nbsp; &ldquo;Every team is a little bit different. From the positive side of things, this group of seniors this is their third year in a row and they know what to expect. They have the same aspirations as everyone else.&rdquo; &nbsp; HAYDEN WILDCATS (12-0) &nbsp; COACH:&nbsp;Bill Arnold (19th&nbsp;year, 177-51) &nbsp; STATE FINALS HISTORY:&nbsp;3 state titles &ndash; 2008 (4A), 2004 (4A), 1998 (4A); 6 runner-up finishes &ndash; 2024 (3A), 2023 (3A), 2016 (4A II), 2014 (4A I), 2009 (4A), 2003 (4A),&nbsp; &nbsp; 2025 RESULTS W,28-6 Eudora W,49-0 at St. Michael the Archangel (Mo.) W,46-7 at Bishop Ward W,42-6 Wamego W,51-0 at Hiawatha W,56-22 Holton W,48-7 at Perry-Lecompton W,42-0 Jefferson West W,70-7 Columbus (P) W,42-0 Wellsville (P) W,43-29 Jefferson West (P) W,46-0 Santa Fe Trail (P) &nbsp; 2025 STATISTICS &nbsp; TEAM &nbsp; Points scored: 563 (46.9 per game) &nbsp; Points allowed: 84 (7.0 per game) &nbsp; Total offense: 4,427 yards (368.9 per game) &nbsp; Rushing: 2,768 yards (230.7 per game), 45 TDs &nbsp; Passing: 1,659 yards (138.3 per game), 23 TDs, 3 INTs &nbsp; INDIVIDUAL &nbsp; Rushing: Kade Mitchell (sr.) 89 carries, 941 yards, 13 TDs; Jackson McGivern (sr.) 70 carries, 457 yards 9 TDs; Mason Becker (jr.) 32 carries, 438 yards, 5 TDS; Jude Krentz (sr.) 66 carries, 399 yards, 10 TDs; Connor Hanika (sr.) 17 carries, 120 yards, 3 TDs. &nbsp; Passing: Connor Hanika (sr.) 100 of 165, 1,659 yards, 23 TDs, 3 INTs. &nbsp; Receiving: Kade Mitchell (sr.) 21 catches, 463 yards, 5 TDs; Makhi Kidd (sr.) 28 catches, 314 yards, 4 TDs; Xander Blasing (sr.) 24 catches, 296 yards, 5 TDs; Mason Becker (jr.) 9 catches, 292 yards, 4 TDs; Logan Power (jr.) 11 catches, 159 yards, 2 TDs. &nbsp; Tackles: Jude Krentz (sr.) 102 tackles (53 solo), 6 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks; Xander Blasing (sr.) 74 tackles (55 solo), 7 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks; Jackson McGivern (sr.) 72 tackles (45 solo), 7 tackles for loss, 1 sack; Logan Saenz (sr.) 67 tackles (38 solo), 2 tackles for loss; Julian McGivern (sr.) 44 tackles (21 solo), 2 tackles, 2.5 sacks; Rondell Harris (sr.) 42 tackles (25 solo), 5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks; Andrew Rohr (sr.) 39 tackles (26 solo), 6 tackles for loss, 2 sacks; Logan Power (jr.) 35 tackles (26 solo), Kade Mitchell (sr.) 31 tackles (20 solo), 3 tackles for loss; Mar Barnett (jr.) 30 tackles (15 solo), 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack; Jace Wolff (jr.) 29 tackles (19 solo); Caleb Menke (jr.) 26 tackles (18 solo), 4 tackles for loss; Mason Becker (jr.) 22 tackles (15 solo); Mason Branson (jr.) 22 tackles (12 solo); Sam Hammes (sr.) 19 tackles (9 solo), 2 tackles for loss; Jackson Haas (sr.) 16 tackles (10 solo), 1.5 sacks. &nbsp; Takeaways: Logan Power (jr.) 5 INTs, 1 fumble recovery; Mason Becker (jr.) 4 INTs, 1 fumble recovery; Xander Blasing (sr.) 3 INTs, 2 fumble recoveries; Kade Mitchell (sr.) 2 fumble recoveries, 1 INT; Logan Saenz (sr.) 3 INTs; Rondell Harris (sr.) 2 fumble recoveries; Jace Wolff (jr.) 1 INT, 1 fumble recovery; Jackson McGivern (sr.) 2 fumble recoveries. &nbsp; Kicking: Mason Becker (jr.) 2 of 2 FGs, 58 of 58 PATs.</div>

🏈 Class 3A state championship preview: Andale vs. Topeka Hayden