Kansas Pregame 6-Man Top 6: Pablo Bermudez and Logan McCarty

Kansas Pregame polled 6-Man coaches who voted for the top three seniors they coached against this season. Kansas Pregame staffers then used those votes to develop a Top 6 list of seniors in the classification. Check out this Top 6 capsule below, and find the complete list of Top 6 selections here, along with the honorable mention list. For a look back at the Top 8 lists click here for 8-Man I and here for 8-Man II.

Cheylin football has a good case for arguing the title of best 6-Man program since Kansas teams began competing in the particular form of football in the mid-2010s.

The Cougars first season was in 2016 after struggling with low numbers in 8-Man II the few years prior and seeing that reflected in their season outcomes (just three wins from 2013-2015). 

That same year the change was made, Cheylin hired Chris Walden as their new head coach, and played their way to a fourth place finish in the newly launched – though as yet KSHSAA sanctioned – 6-Man playoffs.

Over the next four years Cheylin saw improvement, taking second with six wins in 2017, finishing 4-3 with an early playoff loss in 2018, and then again finishing as the state runner-up in 2019 with a 9-1 record.

They were close, but still just short.

Enter the freshman class of 2020, a group led by two 2023 Kansas Pregame Top 6 selections, Logan McCarty and Pablo Bermudez.

The duo immediately were on the varsity field as two of the team’s key players, helping the Cougars to an unofficial state championship (then known as the Wild West Bowl) and a perfect 9-0 record.

“When they were freshman, Logan's impact was mainly felt on offense, handling QB duties for most of our playoff run,” Walden said, “while Pablo's impact was felt on defense. He had eight interceptions as a freshman which led our team and he was third on that team in tackles. They were both very critical to us winning the title in 2020, not sure we would have won it if we didn't have those two playing that night.“

Along with his team leading eight interceptions and 49 tackles, Bermudez also recorded seven pass deflections, and two fumble recoveries defensively. On the other side of the ball he managed 134 total yards and three total TDs.

McCarty had 975 total yards and 19 offensive TDs, along with 69 tackles, one sack, one tackle-for-loss, five interceptions, and three pass deflections on defense. 

He saw his biggest moment in the championship game, when he was called on to step in at QB in place of his brother Colton, a former Top 6 selection, who suffered an ankle injury early in the game.

While his brother did eventually reenter the game, it was as a pass catcher. The younger McCarty finished the game 21-26 for 320 yards and three touchdown passes – five of them for 102 yards and two TDs to Colton – and helped the Cougars to a 46-0 win over Moscow.

While it wasn’t a nailbiter, the big stage put on display the younger McCarty’s ability to show up in big games and big moments.

“Logan's biggest strength is no doubt his poise and confidence during critical moments of games,” Walden said. “His arm strength and throwing ability are no doubt his best athletic intangibles, but when the games are in critical stages, he always makes the right decision and the right play.” 

With the graduation of a talented Class of 2021 that included the elder McCarty, it was on the sophomore duo and their class to take on a bigger load.

That sophomore season didn’t go Cheylin’s way as the team struggled to a 3-5 mark through a brutal schedule. The combined opponents’ record in the Cougars’ losses stood at 38-9 at season’s end, and included the 2021 state champs Natoma, along with 9-1 Cunningham who would go on to win the first KSHSAA sanctioned title in 2022.

Despite the tough result and a first round playoff exit, the team was loaded with potential and saw bigger numbers out of McCarty and Bermudez, who both received All-State honors.

McCarty carried his impressive passing production from the state title game into the next season, going 100-163 for 1,345 yards and 23 TDs to just six interceptions, and added another 551 yards and 12 scores on 76 carries. Defensively, he recorded 85 tackles, two QB hurries, five interceptions, and two pass deflections. 

Bermudez missed a majority of three games in the middle of the 2021 season due to an ankle injury and unrelated appendectomy, but still received more attention offensively as a pass catcher with 22 receptions for 294 yards and five TDs, and again made his biggest impact on defense, where through six games he had 34 tackles, a tackle-for-loss, four interceptions, and five pass deflections. 

Cheylin saw a return to major success as the duo entered the fall of their junior years, and also saw a major uptick in how Bermudez was used offensively, as the newly minted upperclassman averaged 104.2 yards of offense per game with 1,146 total yards and 25 total offensive TDs.

“Pablo's biggest strength is his athleticism and his field vision,” Walden said. “He can appear to be dead in the water on a run or a catch, and with a couple spins, jukes, stiff arms, or cut backs, he is somehow walking into the end zone unscathed. He can make some moves on the football field that not many other kids in the state of Kansas can make.” 

However, it was still defense where he shined, recording 95 tackles, four interceptions, five pass deflections, a fumble recovery, and two forced fumbles.

McCarty, meanwhile, went 80-134 passing for 1,474 yards and 23 TDs to only three interceptions, and ran the ball 115 times for 1,118 yards and 20 more scores, and also caught three passes for 23 yards and yet another touchdown. On defense, he recorded 85 tackles, a tackle-for-loss, a sack, three interceptions, two pass deflections, two fumble recoveries, and a forced fumble.

The big numbers from the duo resulted in both again being named All-State and the team finished 9-2, with both losses coming against Ashland, first in Week 3 and again in the state semifinals.

Entering their senior season, Cheylin brought back seven players total with significant starting experience, all of whom were juniors and seniors, with Bermudez and McCarthy leading the way.

“They are both outstanding leaders and aren't afraid to put in extra work during practice to benefit the team,” Walden said. “That is something that I feel the juniors, sophomores, and freshman took notice of early on this season and started trying to emulate as well. Aside from them doing a lot of the heavy lifting for us this season in terms of stats and big plays during all of our games, there aren't two kids on our team that wanted to see our younger or less experienced guys get some game time and make some plays, more than those two.”

Along with his leadership, Bermudez again had a monstrous year defensively, oftentimes in the opposition’s backfield, with 75 tackles, 13 tackles-for-loss, four sacks, eight QB hurries, an interception, three pass deflections, eight fumble recoveries, and six forced fumbles.

McCarty’s defensive stats were also huge, with 84 tackles, 15 tackles-for-loss, three sacks, three QB hurries, six interceptions, three pass deflections, four fumble recoveries, and three forced fumbles.

The Cougars had only one opponent score double digits against them all year, with Ashland facing them twice and losing twice by scores of 62-32 and 66-27.

Even with double digit score totals, teams were nearly hopeless in keeping up with the Cheylin offense.

The Cougars finished the season with 4,797 all-purpose yards on the season and averaged 63.4 points per game.

Of those nearly 5,000 yards, 1,895 of them were produced by Bermudez, who had 614 rushing yards, 934 receiving yards, 238 kick return yards, 59 punt return yards, and 50 interception return yards for a total of 43 TDs.

McCarty had at least a hand in a significant portion of the rest going 99-147 with 2,222 yards and 42 TDs to just a single interception and carried the ball 96 times for 1,030 yards and 20 more scores.

For a team so dominant offensively, the November 25th state championship being played in what turned out to be a snow storm could have posed a problem, but not for Cheylin.

“To be honest, I don't think they cared much that it was snowing,” Walden said. “They had one thing on their mind all week and that was to go and play their best football game of the season in the most important game of the season and they did just that. We have a team motto every year, it reads, ‘1-0, everyday’. This group of kids has personified that motto and mindset since they were freshman. Regardless of the circumstances, who the opponent is, how big the hurdle is, how deep the hole is, show up everyday, work your tail off, and make sure at the end of the day, you can say you are a winner. The snow was certainly a factor in the way that we had to play, but the senior boys didn't allow it to become a distraction or obstacle. They just wanted to show up and play ball!”

The Cougars did just that, blowing out defending state champs Cunningham 57-8 and ending the year 12-0, making it Cheylin’s first KSHSAA championship football trophy after they officially adopted the division in 2022.

“It meant a lot, it really did,” Walden said. “I have coached this group of juniors and seniors in some capacity since they were in fifth and sixth grade. So I have been able to see them go through some of their most celebrated times as well as some of their darkest days as students, athletes, and humans. When you get the privilege to be around a group of young people that completely buy-in to whatever you are doing, coaching, teaching, it makes the journey with them mean a lot more. I personally enjoyed every moment of the highs and lows with this group mainly due being able to see them grow up and face adversity and overcome all of it through the past seven years. It is a pretty surreal feeling to be able to coach the first organized sports team or organization to win a KSHSAA state title for our school, and it couldn't have happened to a more deserving group of kids.”

Along with their Top 6 honors and additional All-State nods for both players, McCarty became the first ever 6-Man player to earn a selection to the Kansas Shrine Bowl, where he is expected to play defensive back.

After the two finish high school, their current plan is to attend Kansas State and spend their freshman year as roommates, though the door is still potentially open if the right football offer comes along.

“I hope we will be able to get both of them to move back to western Kansas after they have graduated from college,” Walden said. “They would both make excellent football coaches for the next generation of youth!”