LEBO - Another streak has bitten the dust. In a season where a bundle of long winning and losing streaks have come to an end, possibly the longest run of them all skidded to a stop on Friday. It was a streak that lasted almost 32 years. Friday night’s battle between the Lebo Wolves and the Burlingame Bearcats was the first 8-Man football game I’ve attended in my life. I’m not going to lie. It was an adjustment. That was evident from the opening kickoff as I began to write down that the Wolves would begin the drive from their own 20 after the touchback. Of course, things are a little different in 8-Man. Midfield is the 40-yard line, and a team starts its possession at the 15 after a touchback. It also didn’t take long to realize I was likely in for a high-scoring affair. Touchdowns were scored on the first four possessions of the game. “Get ready for a track meet,” one of the guys in the press box told me before the game when I disclosed that I was a newbie to the 8-Man ranks. But as the adage goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Once I got past the initial discomfort of the rule changes, I was able to sit back and take in a great example of small school Kansas high school football. The most important thing to remember is that there is still plenty of talent in 8-Man. I feel comfortable saying that players like Lebo’s Sam Strawder and Burlingame’s James Clem, as well as several others, would be significant contributors at all levels of the state‘s prep ranks. Strawder, a bruising running back and linebacker, made his presence known on both sides of the ball. The Lebo junior rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries, caught six balls for 73 yards with a TD and wreaked havoc on Burlingame’s backfield all game long as the Wolves captured a 62-22 victory. “Sam played a great game on both sides of the ball,” Lebo head coach Butch Jones said. “All of our kids did a good job of staying focused.” Clem, a speedy running back and kick returner, drew the focus of the Lebo defense. After a 43-yard kick return in the second quarter, the Wolves kicked away from Clem the rest of the game. Still, he was able to make plays on offense, rushing for 122 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Through five games, Clem has 703 yards on 59 carries. Yes, there are fewer players to choose from in 8-Man. But the best ones will shine no matter where you put them. In fact, the current roster of the Kansas State Wildcats includes three players from the 8-Man ranks in Little River’s Trevor Viers, Macksville’s Jared Loomis and Pike Valley’s Ian Peters. And there has been no lack of extraordinary individual performances in 8-Man this season: - Kiowa County’s Ross Binford had already eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in rushing after four games. Somehow, however, Binford picked up the pace and rushed for 508 yards and six touchdowns in Friday’s 58-42 win against South Central. The offensive outburst improved Binford’s offensive numbers to 1,542 yards and 25 touchdowns on 146 carries. He also has completed 22-of-47 passes for 561 yards and five touchdowns. - Central Burden quarterback Bo Savage has completed 98-of-177 passes for 1,363 yards and 22 touchdowns, while throwing only six interceptions. - Solomon’s John Aylward has ran for 857 yards and nine touchdowns on 123 carries, including a 387-yard and four TD performance Friday in a 84-60 win against Goessel. - Thunder Ridge’s Joel Struckhoff has ran for 762 yards and 10 touchdowns on 88 carries. - Sylvan-Lucas Unified fullback Eric Nitsch has carried 95 times for 649 yards and 17 touchdowns. - Pretty Prairie’s Daniel Krehbiel leads a Bulldogs defense that has kept its opponent from an offensive score in three of the five games. Krehbiel also has rushed for 408 yards and seven touchdowns on only 49 carries. - In the first game of the season, Jetmore-Hodgeman County’s Evan Kregar rushed for 235 yards and recorded 10 total touchdowns in a 74-8 win against Pawnee Heights. But for the Lebo Wolves on Friday, it was a team effort. In addition to Strawder’s 94 yards rushing, senior running back Dylan Kelley rushed for 94 yards on five carries and quarterback Trevor White rushed for 91 yards on 10 carries before leaving the game with what was thought to be a slight shoulder separation. Junior tight end Thadd Barker pitched in for the passing game with three receptions for 61 yards. That team effort lifted Lebo to an important district victory against the previously unbeaten Bearcats. The win provides the Wolves a little breathing room in a district that also includes unbeaten Madison and 4-1 Marais des Cygnes Valley. “This is a game that if you didn’t win, the game against Madison takes on a whole different meaning,” Jones said. 8-Man Division I’s third-ranked Wolves hope to make a run at the state title in Jones’ 26th and final season at Lebo. However, don’t expect Jones to make any predictions. “I always preach one week at a time,” Jones said. I’ll take Jones’ lead and refrain from making any bold statements on the season’s outcome. However, I will promise one thing: It won’t take me another 32 years to attend another 8-Man game.
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