Frankfort rides high off upset of No. 1 Axtell

The clock had struck zeroes on Frankfort's bid for an undefeated regular season Friday night at Axtell.

But it wasn't over.

Officials determined there were four seconds left in the huge Eight-Man Division II clash. And given second life, Frankfort kept the dream alive.

Branden Bussmann hauled in a 32-yard pass from Gavin Cornelison in the corner of the end zone on the game's final play, giving the No. 5 Wildcats a 24-20 upset of No. 1 Axtell in a wild finish.

The loss was the first of the season for Axtell, which was fresh off its upset of previous No. 1 and three-time reigning state champion Hanover. The win moved Frankfort to 7-0 heading into this week's showdown with Hanover.

"It was quite the environment and quite the setting and I can't say enough about how well our kids handled it," Frankfort coach Nick Anderson said. "Even when it looked like we might come up on the short end of the stick, they stayed composed and believed and we found a way to pull it off."

Early on, it looked like last-second heroics wouldn't be necessary. Frankfort got out to a quick 12-0 lead on a pair of Garret Dalinghaus touchdown runs of 50 and 67 yards.

With All-State quarterback Quinn Buessing out after being knocked out of the Hanover game in the second quarter, Axtell was missing its biggest weapon — one that burned the Wildcats for 321 yards and five touchdowns passing and two more rushing in last seasons' game.

But Axtell proved it has more than Buessing in the upset of Hanover, rallying from 14-0 down without their leader for the 28-26 victory. And the Eagles bounced back Friday night as well, getting a pair of Isaac Detweiler touchdown passes to Derek Buessing to erase Frankfort's early lead.

After Frankfort went back on top 18-14 on Cornelison's 14-yard run late in the third quarter, Axtell reclaimed the lead when Mitchell Buessing scored from a yard out with just more than three minutes to play.

Cornelison was picked off with a minute-plus left as Frankfort tried to rally, but the Eagles couldn't run out the clock and turned the ball over on downs with just more than 40 seconds to play. Cornelison was sacked on Frankfort's first play, but a pass interference call on Axtell got the yards back and then Cornelison hit Bryce Stowell for a 23-yard play.

Stowell went out of bounds at the Axtell 32 and the clock went to zero before officials huddled and ruled there were four seconds left. That set up the game-winner.

"We just drew up plays in the dirt and went with it," Anderson said. "I told Gavin before the play, 'Throw it up to your senior and let him make a play for you.' He did and Branden ran a great route and made a great catch and I don't think anybody could have made a better throw than Gavin did right there."

The victory moved Frankfort to No. 2 in the Best of Kansas Preps rankings, a slot ahead of Axtell and two ahead of Hanover. It also served as validation for the Wildcat program, which was coming off a 7-3 season with all three losses coming to their Twin Valley League rivals.

"I think last year we were at the stage where we hoped we could be competitive with teams like Axtell and Hanover," Anderson said. "I really think as our kids have gotten older and matured, their mindset is that we are one of those teams and not only are we going to be competitive, we're going to win." 

A big reason for this year's success has been the emergence of Bussmann and Cornelison to complement Dalinghaus, who ran for 1,605 yards and 19 touchdowns last year and this year has 821 yards and 16 TDs in six games.

Bussman racked up 18 total touchdowns and nearly 1,000 total yards a year ago, but has become an even bigger weapon this year. In seven games, he's run for 465 yards and 10 touchdowns and added 331 yards and five touchdowns receiving.

Cornelison, meanwhile, threw for 600 yards last year after taking over as the starter late in the season, but this year already has 578 yards and 10 TDs passing and another 606 yards and nine TDs rushing.

"Team are really trying to take (Dalinghaus) out of the game and that's opened some doors for the other two," Anderson said. "Gavin's made some really good reads and decisions this season that's given him success and Branden's just really talented and has such a good skill set that we've moved him around to get matchups we like. It's nice having a variety of different weapons."

Frankfort can make an even bigger statement this Friday against Hanover. A win over the Wildcats would be the first since 2011 and would give the program its first district title since 2011 and first league title since 1999.

Hanover beat Frankfort twice last season by a combined score of 124-30 and has won eight straight in the series, all by 46 points or more.

"Our kids understand what's at stake," Anderson said. "There's a lot to play for and we know the opponent we're facing. I know they lost to Axtell, but they've got a lot of kids and are big and strong and they'll present us with issues.

"We met last night as a team and dissected the (Axtell) film with a fine-tooth comb and felt like offensively we left a lot out there. We didn't play as well as we liked to and were negative-three in the turnover category. To do that and still win on the road, there's a lot to be thankful for there but they understand there are things to clean up to be successful on Friday."

FRIDAY NIGHT STARS

• Lebo's Devan McEwen had a monster night in leading the Wolves to a 62-36 upset of Maranatha. McEwen completed 20 of 29 passes for 383 yards and seven touchdowns and also ran for 92 yards and two touchdowns. Kyle Reese, Andrew Bailey and Luke Davies each caught two TD passes with Reese racking up 234 yards on just seven catches.

• Holton's Konnor Tannahill keyed the Wildcats' 30-8 upset of Class 3A No. 2 Marysville, rushing for 130 yards and three touchdowns. His touchdown runs of 7 and 1 yards led the Wildcats to a 14-0 halftime lead and he capped the upset with another 1-yard TD run.

• Devin Neal helped No. 2 Lawrence rebound from an early 10-0 deficit to beat No. 3 Olathe North 35-10. Neal ran for 154 yards and two touchdowns and also caught a pair of touchdown passes from Jackson Dooley, who threw for 269 yards and three TDs.

• William Welch threw for 254 yards and a touchdown, but Thad Metcalfe played the role of hero for Perry-Lecompton in its 21-20 overtime win over Hayden. Metcalfe filled in late at QB for Welch, who was injured, and threw two touchdown passes, including a 16-yarder to Hunter Hess in OT.

• Lyndon stayed unbeaten with a 36-16 win over Troy as Darian Massey threw for 102 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for 53 yards.

• Riley County rallied past Southeast-Saline 33-29 on a fourth-quarter touchdown. Garrett Harmison threw for 113 yards and three touchdowns, two going to younger brother Trey, and Deon Barnes ran for 166 yards an two touchdowns.

• Rossville's Torrey Horak ran for 209 yards and three touchdowns and threw for 125 yards and three more scores as the Bulldawgs rolled past Council Grove 62-13. Three different players caught TD passes and three more added touchdown runs for Rossville.

• St. Marys quarterback Caden Hurla had the best game of his career in a wild 44-43 win over Mission Valley. Hurla threw for a career-high 327 yards and five touchdowns. Four different receivers caught TD pass with Charles King catching two and finishing with 153 yards on four catches. The Bears stopped a two-point conversion on the final play of the game to seal the win.

• Silver Lake posted its fifth straight shutout with a 57-0 blanking of Osage City. Cody Hay threw for 188 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for three touchdowns.

• Rock Creek knocked off Clay Center 54-14 as Charlie Killingsworth ranf or 122 yards and three touchdowns and threw for 154 yards and two scores. Brooks Whaley caught both TD passes. Logan Mullin ran for 189 yards and a TD for Clay Center.

• Santa Fe Trail had three players run for at least 90 yards and Draven Schallock caught three touchdowns passes as the Chargers routed KC Ward 55-8. Zach Baker ran for 91 yards and three touchdowns and McClain Weekley (107 yards, TD) and Andrew Berckefeldt (118 yards) also topped 100 yards on the ground.

• Kamble Haverkamp ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns on five carries and Devon Feldkamp added two rushing touchdowns as Centralia topped Wabaunsee 62-0. The Panthers had five players run for TDs and finished with 320 rushing.

• Nemaha Central's Dylan Schultejans threw for 188 yards and four touchdowns and also ran for two scores as the Thunder rolled past Atchison County 57-18.

• Cole Lacey led Marais des Cygnes Valley to its third win of the season, its most in five years, as the Trojans routed Wakefield 82-34. Lacey ran for 171 yards and two touchdowns on just 10 carries and also completed 11 of 15 passes for 200 yards and 5 TDs. He also had six solo tackles and 2 pass breakups.

• Cole Coggins ran for 117 yards and a touchdown and Cameron Beardsley added a pair of rushing touchdowns as Valley Heights topped Northern Heights 28-13. The Mustangs ran for 310 yards overall and built a 28-0 lead.

• Quentin Barron ran for 169 yards and four touchdowns to lead Riverside to a 55-0 victory over Horton. Kobe Davis added 134 yards and two touchdowns passing for the Cyclones.

• Madison's Colton Fife returned the opening kickoff against Burlingame for a touchdown and later returned a punt for a score as the Bulldogs rolled 56-6. Madison also got interception returns for touchdowns from Brome Rayburn and Ryan Wolgram.

• Chase County bounced back from its tough loss to Lebo with a 60-14 win over Valley Falls. Trint Rogers ran for 159 yards and three touchdowns and Cael Budke ran for 129 yards and four touchdowns and also threw a TD pass.

• Waverly's Damian Foster ran for 172 yards and five touchdowns and also threw for 119 yards and a score as the Bulldogs topped Hartford 68-20.