Norton junior wide receiver Jonah Ruder went straight to his coach, Lucas Melvin, and quarterback Kade Melvin after the Bluejays delivered its memorable 10-8 semifinal home win last Friday against Hoisington. Norton had lost 38-7 to Hoisington in Week 8.
“That's on you,” Ruder told them. “That's through preparation and hard work.”
A few minutes later, Ruder's focus remained on Norton's work ethic. The Bluejays, 4-5 last year, have become an extremely rare team to post a losing mark one season and then reach the state title the next.
“Everyone saw us out here tonight, but it's really what happened behind the scenes that made it happen,” Ruder said. “I just thank God for all that, for all the health, and just ready for a state championship. Just grinding in the weight room, every week, every day after weights, he would ask us 'How bad did we want it? How bad do we want to do the extra conditioning, how bad we wanted to push ourselves to get to this point?' and it paid off.”
Norton (9-3) will face Nemaha Central (10-2) for the Class 2A state championship Saturday at Salina District Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
Both teams have traditional success, though the squads were a combined 9-9 last season. Nemaha Central is the consolidation of Baileyville B&B and Nemaha Valley.
B&B was a longtime state power before it closed its doors after a 2013 state title. This is the first state appearance for Nemaha Central. Nemaha Valley made one state showing, a runner-up finish in '73.
From '15-17, Nemaha Central was a combined 32-3 with a state semifinal berth in '16.
After last season's 5-4 record – tied for the lowest wins in the nine-year Warren Seitz era – Nemaha Central changed its offensive and defensive schemes. The Thunder had a lot of linebacker-type players and switched to a three-man front before the year started.
“Because we've lost a lot of guys, we had some experience back, some guys playing new positions, we didn't know exactly what we had until really later on in the season,” Seitz said.
Nemaha Central owns wins against several pass-heavy quality quarterbacks, including Maur Hill's Jack Caudle, Rossville's Torrey Horak and in the semifinals versus Riley County's Garrett Harmison.
Junior Nathan Deters (6-foot-2, 225) and senior Easton Emmons (6-3, 230) have led the way up front at defensive line. Senior Brad Schmitz has started at nose guard.
“The guys know what our responsibilities are,” Seitz said. “And try to get to their zones and drop in their zones, and three guys up front get after it a little bit.”
Then, Nemaha Central went to mainly a three-receiver look after a Week 1 loss to Sabetha. Senior quarterback Dylan Schultejans has passed for 1,572 yards with 26 total scores (21 passing) in his first season as the starter.
Senior Bryce Uphaus has delivered an exceptional season with 120-plus tackles and five interceptions, four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
“We didn't think we were going to be as deep as what we are up front,” Seitz said of the defensive line. “So I think it starts up there, and then Bryce Uphaus has really played a good linebacker.”
Senior Gavin Duryea missed four midseason games, though has 179 carries for 822 yards and 14 rushing scores. Junior Gage Palic is at 55 rushes for 338 yards and eight scores.
Nemaha Central averages 169 rushing yards a game and 4.7 yards per carry. Last season, the Thunder averaged 155 rushing yards a contest.
“Offensively, I would say that we are probably running the ball a little bit better,” Seitz said. “Our offensive line is probably better. The quarterback play statistically is about the same, but I think we have got more yardage and better yardage out of our two running backs.”
Norton has enjoyed a steady of run of excellence under coach Melvin, including a semifinal showing in '09, quarterfinals in '15, and a 9-1 season in 2010. However, Norton is into a state championship for the first time in 30 years.
“It was awesome,” coach Melvin said. “Those other teams were family, too. Those other teams have built this. It's a family thing. This is for all the Bluejays, all over.”
Ruder's older brother, Jace, was a four-year Norton starting quarterback and is in his second year as a signal caller at University of North Carolina. Senior defensive lineman Judson Wiltfong's older brother, Hayden, was a Bluejay standout and now plays for Fort Hays.
“It's crazy,” Judson said. “We have had so many great players in the history, and to finally just break though with this group, this team, it's amazing.”
Kade Melvin, in his second year as a dual-threat quarterback after he replaced Jace Ruder, has delivered an exceptional fall. He has completed 129 of 223 passes for 1,846 yards with a 12/9 TD/INT ratio. Melvin has 198 carries for 1,193 yards and 19 scores.
Senior Luke Wahlmeier has 173 rushes for 1,012 yards and eight TDs, and kicked the game-winning 32-yard field goal with six seconds left to beat Hoisington. Norton has improved its offense from 22.1 points per game in '18 to 29.3 this year.
“He has been doing it for a while, tough kid,” Hoisington coach Zach Baird said of Melvin. “Obviously a coach's kid, so he's a dual threat. He is a strong kid, can run through arm tackles. He is smart. …. so you know when you playing somebody like that, it puts a lot of stress on your defense, because even if you cover well, he's liable to pull it down, and hurt you on the ground. He's a really good football player.”
Jonah Ruder, who had battled a significant hamstring injury, is the team's leading receiver with 38 catches for 629 yards. He is tied for second with three receiving touchdowns. Wiltfong has delivered a mammoth season with 139 tackles, 23 for loss, both team-bests.
“Been bothering me since freshman year, but got it healed up,” Ruder said. “We had several guys hurt (in '18). Knee injuries, shoulder injuries, but we have been blessed, and now we are headed to state.”
Both teams have had a sizable defensive improvement from 2018. The Thunder went from 21.9 points allowed in '18 to 15.8 this year.
“It's a team,” coach Melvin said. “There are so many guys. Those young guys help us every day at practice get better, and the old guys are executing. So it's pretty awesome.”
Norton has the third-biggest scoring defense improvement among the 16 state-qualifying squads. The Bluejays allowed 29.8 points a game in '18 and is at 17.8 this fall. Ruder credited Norton's work ethic for the turnaround – and coach Melvin pushing the Bluejays.
“He was right,” Ruder said. “We had to work. We all busted our butts in the weight room, through practice.”
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