Rivals clash for final time

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With the two schools separated by nine miles, a game between the Claflin Wildcats and Quivira Heights Thunderbirds has always made for a great rivalry.

However, tonight’s clash at Claflin has special meaning.

It will be the final meeting on the gridiron for the two Central Prairie League teams as the schools will consolidate for the 2011-12 school year. This season will be final chapter for two tradition-rich schools that have always received a great deal of support from their towns.

To add to the drama, 8-Man Division II’s No. 3 Quivira Heights owns a two-game winning streak in the series after ending a 20-year drought in 2008.

So saying the community is focused on the game would be an understatement. It is the job of the coaches to keep things in perspective.

“We’re not trying to make anymore out of it than what it already is,” Claflin head coach Chris Steiner said. “There’s so much hype, I don’t need to add anything."

Quivira Heights coach John Phelan said he is happy it’s the first game of the season.

“I kind of feel like we need to get this first one done and move on with the season,” he said. “The juniors on down will be teammates next year, so let’s get it out of the way and move on.”

 

With declining enrollments and a smaller tax base, something was going to have to give for the high schools in Claflin and Bushton. Voters overwhelmingly passed the proposal for consolidation, which would create a newly-named high school in Claflin, a junior high in Bushton and an elementary school in Holyrood.

The measure kept a school in each town and made to where Claflin’s grade school would be the only building to close.

“Everybody hates to lose their school and their mascot and colors, but it’s just the ways of the times,” Phelan said. “With enrollment dropping, it was just inevitable.”

No decision has been made on the name of the new high school, but students and community members are being asked to submit ideas. There also has been no decision of who will be the head football coach.

Since Claflin is the larger of the two high schools as an 8-Man Division I team, the new school will assume Claflin’s football schedule in 2011. After that, enrollment will decide whether it will move to a larger classification.

Mark Miller, an All-State player for Claflin in 2003, admits it would have been difficult to merge with a rival, but also said the players have a wonderful opportunity before them by combining efforts.

“The rivalry between Quivira Heights and Claflin was special for a lot of years,” he said. “It will be tough for people to root for the other, but the name on the front of the jersey will be all that matters. Putting these teams together will make for great competition. They will get game night competition in every practice. If they can just get past the rivalry stuff, it will make for better teams in all of the sports.”

　

It wasn’t long ago that Claflin was pound-for-pound the most dominant football team in the state. Gregg Webb’s smash mouth style led the Wildcats to five state championships in the 90s (1991, 1992, 1997, 1998, 1999), including a string of three consecutive Class 2-1A titles with a then-state record of 51 consecutive victories.

They would use their “Plow Boys” to run the ball 98 percent of the time and still put up ridiculous offensive numbers. In fact, former running back Kipp Connell still holds the single-season rushing record with 3,382 yards. During the winning streak, the Wildcats ran the ball 58 times for 618 yards in the 1999 state championship game, which ended in a 52-34 win against St. Mary’s-Colgan.

Basically, Claflin was Smith Center before Smith Center.

“We had some great success in my 15 years there,” said Webb, who now coaches the Class 4A Eudora Cardinals. “We made it to the state championship nine times and won it five times. We have tons and tons of great memories. I met my wife there. We raised our family there, so that community will always be important to me.

“We had great kids and great people. The kids took great pride in the streak. Once you reach that level, they know what it’s like to stay there and it’s difficult to take that away from them. The kids think they are unbeatable. It’s what Smith Center had. It’s what Hutchinson has. The younger classes looked up to them and wanted to achieve it as well.”

Quivira Heights never had a run like Claflin, but it has been a traditionally competitive team and advanced to the 8-Man Division II title game a year ago. This season, the Thunderbirds will have a final opportunity to win the school’s first state football title.

However, Steiner said he doesn’t think either school will lose its legacy.

“I’m not planning on losing that Claflin tradition,” said Steiner, who also played for the Wildcats from 1990-93. “I’m planning on combining that tradition with the tradition Quivira Heights has and forming something pretty special.”

　

Even though Claflin and Quivira Heights are so close to each other, the teams didn’t always face each other in football as there were times the Wildcats played in Class 2-1A while the T-Birds competed in 8-Man.

However, when the teams did meet, it was usually a battle and the stands were always packed.

Webb enjoys recounting a game he coached in the early 90s.

“My fondest memory of the rivalry and the best game we had with them was in ‘93 or ‘94,” Webb said. “We were ranked 1 and 2. It ended up being four overtimes. It was one of the best games I’ve ever been a part of. I remember by the second or third overtime, fans were standing right next to me on the sidelines. Somehow we ended up winning the game.”

The 2008 version saw Claflin cruise to a 20-0 lead at halftime before Quivira Heights rallied to a 28-26 victory.

Now, the Wildcats are trying to snap a two-year winning streak by the T-Birds.

“Our kids want to win,” Steiner said. “Our juniors have never beaten Quivira Heights. To them, that’s not acceptable.”

Phelan said both teams will want to end the rivalry as winners.

“It’s a big pride factor,” he said. “They want to be the last one to end with the victory in the rivalry. We’ve had a lot of good battles over the years. Hopefully, we’ll have one more.”