The Council Grove Braves opened district play Friday night with a 69-6 road victory over the Minneapolis Lions, improving to 4-0 on the season.
The matchup was part of a new district alignment for Council Grove. For the 2026 and 2027 seasons, KSHSAA placed the Braves in Class 2A District 5 with Minneapolis, Southeast of Saline, Marysville and Riley County as part of a geographic realignment.
Council Grove totaled 489 yards of offense on just 35 plays while holding Minneapolis to 190 yards. The Braves forced two turnovers, including an interception returned for a touchdown.
Council Grove wasted little time taking control.
Senior quarterback Luke Stewart connected with Mason Samuels for an 8-yard touchdown to open the scoring. Stewart then broke loose for a 60-yard touchdown run before Bradley Doornbos scored on a 3-yard run to give Council Grove a 21-0 lead.
Minneapolis scored its only touchdown of the night on a 2-yard run, but the two-point conversion failed.
Doornbos answered with another 3-yard touchdown run, giving Council Grove a 28-6 advantage before the end of the first quarter.
The Braves added four touchdowns in the second quarter. Stewart connected with Logan Stockwell for a 21-yard score before Stockwell struck again on defense, making a one-handed interception on a Minneapolis swing pass and returning it 70 yards for a touchdown.
Easton Stohs caught touchdown passes of 27 and 30 yards from Stewart as Council Grove carried a 55-6 lead into halftime.
Cooper Andres accounted for both second-half touchdowns, scoring on a 1-yard run in the third quarter and breaking loose for a 70-yard touchdown in the fourth. Stewart finished 15-of-19 passing for 271 yards and four touchdowns. His 158.3 passer rating is considered a perfect rating under the formula used in the team statistics.
According to Coach Derron Reddick, it was only the third perfect passer rating recorded by a Council Grove quarterback in school history. Stewart now accounts for two of the three, having also reached the mark last season against Central Heights.
Stewart added 63 rushing yards on two carries, giving him 334 yards of total offense. Reddick said that total ranks third in Council Grove history for a single game and moved Stewart into second place on the school’s career total-offense list.
Samuels led the receiving corps with six catches for 107 yards and a touchdown. Stohs caught three passes for 71 yards and two touchdowns, while Stockwell had three receptions for 65 yards and a score.
Grady Kepley added an 18-yard reception on a one-handed catch that helped set up Doornbos’ second touchdown. Sy-ied Smith-Jenkins had a 6-yard reception and Ian Stockwell caught one pass for four yards.
Council Grove also produced 218 rushing yards on 16 carries.
Andres led the ground game with 134 yards and two touchdowns on just four attempts, an average of 33.5 yards per carry. Stewart had 63 yards and a touchdown on two carries, while Doornbos finished with 29 yards and two touchdowns on nine attempts.
Defensively, David McDiffett led the Braves with nine tackles, includ- ing one tackle for loss. Reddick said McDiffett’s performance increased his career total to 216 tackles, moving him past 2025 All-State safety Hayden Buttrey for the most career tackles by a defensive back in Council Grove school history.
Reid Buttrey finished with seven tackles, including one for loss. Stohs, Dillon McDiffett, Samuels and Doornbos recorded six tackles each.
The defense finished with eight tackles for loss, seven quarterback hurries, one sack and two interceptions.
In addition to Stockwell’s interception return, Stewart intercepted a Minneapolis pass and returned it 16 yards. Stockwell also recorded three quarterback hurries and shared a sack with Maddox Ziegler.
Carter Bremer converted nine of 10 extra-point attempts. He also handled 11 kickoffs for 446 yards, including one touchback.
Through four games, Council Grove is averaging 54.8 points and 338 yards of offense per game. The Braves have scored eight non-offensive touchdowns — three defensive touchdowns and five return touchdowns.
Council Grove has also built a plus-nine turnover margin, forcing 10 turnovers while committing only one.
The offensive line has not allowed a sack through the first four games, while the Braves are averaging 7.9 yards per rushing attempt. Council Grove has completed 71.2% of its passes and is averaging 4.56 points per offensive possession.
The Braves will return home Friday, Oct. 2, to host the Marysville Bulldogs. Both teams enter the game 1-0 in district play.