Friday Playoff Preview (Week Two)

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Despite both being Sunflower League members, Shawnee Mission Northwest and Olathe East didn’t meet during the regular season. In fact, the two haven’t met since the Hawks shutout the Cougars 28-0 in week two of the 2008 season.

Olathe East received quite a scare from Lawrence Free State in round one. The Hawks trailed 16-0 at halftime before scoring 20 unanswered points fueled by a big second half from star tailback Brandon Willingham. Willingham rushed for 190 yards and all three Hawk scores to give East their first playoff win since 2007.

Willingham has been the key for the Hawk offense all season. The senior has rushed for 1,620 yards and  possesses the speed to make every play an exciting one.

Shawnee Mission Northwest finished the regular season at 5-4 and won a district that wasn’t exactly littered with football powers. But don’t sleep on the Cougars. Two of Northwest’s four losses came by two points each – one of which was to defending 6A champ Olathe North, 31-29. 

The Cougars have a solid quarterback in Stephen Mangelsdorf who has thrown for 1,350 yards this season. 

But Northwest has won six of their last seven games by way of a defense that is allowing only 16 points per game during that span. 

The Cougar defense is led by Drew Goodger; a 6-4, 220-pound defensive end that is receiving some division I recruiting interest. They also feature senior DB Kenny Mings who has four interceptions, and is Mangelsdorf’s primary receiver on offense. 

The Cougars will need to limit Willingham’s big plays to have a chance.

Sunflower League rivals will meet for the second time this season, but this time a trip to the state semifinals is on the line. 

Olathe North beat Olathe South 30-7 back in week two of the regular season. In that game, the Eagles led 16-0 when the game was suspended due to weather. North would put the Falcons away on Saturday as Victor Simmons broke free for an 80-yard score as part of his 165 yards rushing. 

Adonis Saunders got the Eagles scoring started on Friday night with an 80-yard run of his own. Saunders would later add a three-yard touchdown run.

Simmons and Saunders are a formidable task for the Falcons to overcome. The North duo, which have already committed to play at Kansas next season, have combined for nearly 2,700 rushing yards this season. Simmons rushed for 193 yards, while Saunders added 146 yards in their first round playoff win over Shawnee Mission North. 

Olathe South has a strong ground attack of its own. 

Jeff Gourley’s group changed to the Wing-T this season and after an early learning curve, the Falcons have won seven of their last eight games.

Nick Sands and Jake Crist have led the Falcon offense all season. Sands has rushed for 1,470 yards and 17 touchdowns, while Crist has added 675 yards on the season. 

Against a stout Olathe North defense, the Falcons will need a solid performance from quarterback Frankie Suerer who has thrown for just 425 yards all season in South’s run-first offense. 

 

The Wichita Heights Falcons have been ranked atop Class 6A for most of the season.

And for good reason. The unbeaten Falcons finished second in 6A a year ago and have dominated their competition this season, pitching five shutouts and scoring 55 points per game.

Offensively, Heights is led by two 1,000-yard rushers in Dreamius Smith (1,326 yards and 27 TDs) and Daniel Deshazer (1,022 yards and 13 Tds). Smith, a KU recruit, ran for 267 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s 49-7 win against Garden City.

On the other side of the football, the Falcons have an intimidating pass rush as defensive linemen Zerrance Brick house (13) and Dominique Henderson (9) combine for 22 sacks.

However, the Falcons play in the dismal Greater Wichita Athletic League, and the Junction City Blue Jays will be their toughest opponent since playing Bishop Carroll in Week 1. Only two of Heights’ wins this season came against teams with winning records.

Junction City, the 2008 6A state champion, is led by the running back duo of Cody Parmely and Derrick Davis. The two combined for 260 rushing yards and four touchdowns in last week’s 51-17 win against Wichita Northwest.

And unlike Wichita Heights, Junction City plays in the extremely competitive Centennial League. The Blue Jays’ two losses were each by seven points to Manhattan and Emporia, two teams still alive in the state playoffs.

Still, the Falcons will be hard to stop.

 

It may sound silly to say, but the Dodge City Red Demons are a deceiving 10-0. Class 5A’s Hays is Dodge City’s only victory against a team with a winning record this season.

The Manhattan Indians, on the other hand, went unbeaten in a brutal Centennial League that boasts six teams who are still alive in the playoffs.

Ty Suggs leads the Manhattan ground attack, rushing for 178 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s 47-28 win against Derby.

Dodge City quarterback Jared Helfrich can beat you with his arm and his legs. Helfrich passed for 175 yards and ran for 75 more in last week’s 42-14 over Haysville Campus.

The other thing the Red Demons have going for them is that they are at home. Manhattan faces nearly a four-hour road trip to Dodge City.

However, expect the Indians to have an enjoyable drive home.

 

The past four weeks have marked an amazing turnaround for the Shawnee Heights T-Birds. Before the start of district play, Shawnee Heights suffered through a difficult Centennial League schedule and held an 0-6 record. Since then, Heights is 4-0 and has put up 44 points a game.

However, this is the week the T-Birds will likely run out of gas.

They face a high-octane Gardener-Edgerton Trailblazers offense, which has scored at least 42 points in every game. As is widely known by now, the Trailblazers are led by senior quarterback Bubba Starling, who has already committed to play at Nebraska. A dual threat, Starling has rushed for 1,881 yards and 24 touchdowns while passing for 794 yards and seven touchdowns. Senior running back Brett Jensen also has topped the 1,000-yard mark with 1,190 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Shawnee Heights counters with running back Donnie Lockhart, who ran for 230 yards and five touchdowns in last week’s 56-30 win against Mill Valley. Lockhart has now amassed more than 1,500 yards this season.

But the T-Birds offense won’t be able to keep up with the Trailblazers.

The Blue Valley Tigers just edged Bishop Miege 35-34 last week to advance to the second round of the playoffs. Now, the Tigers look to get past the Topeka Seaman Vikings to set up a potential rematch against district foe Gardner-Edgerton.

Despite Seaman’s record, the endeavor should be no easy task for Blue Valley.

The Vikings boast a dynamic passing game with quarterback Butch Rea and wide receiver Jacob Hurla. Rea has passed for more than 1,600 yards and 21 touchdowns, and Hurla has 62 catches for 1,121 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Linebacker Ian Allen leads a Blue Valley defense, which has kept opponents to eight points or fewer in five games this season.

Blue Valley 35, Topeka Seaman 17

 

One of the state’s top offenses will clash with an elite defense as McPherson travels to Wichita to take on Bishop Carroll.

The two teams have a combined three losses on the season. McPherson lost a 49-42 shootout to Gardner-Edgerton in week six, while Carroll’s losses have come to 6A’s top-ranked Wichita Heights (21-0), and 5A’s top-ranked Hutchinson (21-14). 

McPherson enters with an impressive offense that averages nearly 49 points per game.

Junior quarterback Tyler Matthews has been on target, completing 75 percent of his passes for 2,427 yards with 28 touchdowns and only three interceptions. Matthews’ go-to receiver has been senior Christian Ulsaker, a 6-6 target that has 61 catches for 1,052 yards and 11 touchdowns.

The Bullpups can run the ball too with senior Kevin O’Connor who has 1,233 yards and 15 touchdowns.

But McPherson will have its hands full with a Carroll defense that surrenders only 10.5 points per game and has only allowed double digits in five of ten games.

The Eagle defense opened eyes in the final week of the regular season by holding powerful Hutchinson to 21 points and forcing seven Salthawk turnovers. 

Beau Bell, Nick Bui, and Tucker Chadd lead an undersized, but really effective d-line that frees up linebacker Aaron Jackson.

The Carroll secondary led by Max Martinez will be tested, it will be up to that Eagle defensive line to get some pressure on Matthews.

Two teams that will be virtually mirror images of each other on offense will meet in Emporia as top-ranked Hutchinson will travel to Welch Stadium to take on the Spartans.

Emporia coach Dustin Delaney is in his first season with the Spartans after leaving his post as offensive coordinator at Hutchinson. He’s brought with him the flexbone offense that has produced six consecutive state titles for the Salthawks.

Last week, Derek Gifford rushed for 221 yards and four touchdowns as Emporia scored 29 unanswered points to eliminate Kapaun Mt. Carmel. The Spartans had fallen behind 12-0 early before their scoring barrage.

This week they face the task of slowing down Ben Heeney and the Salthawks.

Heeney exploded for 335 yards and five scores last Friday in a 55-42 shootout over Salina Central. The senior running back, who’s heading to play for the Jayhawks next year, has amassed 1,804 rushing yards this season.

The Salthawks led that game 55-28 before giving up a couple of late scores. Hutch has outscored its opponents by an average score of 50-16 this season.

With all four remaining teams on the east side of Class 4A, the Frontier League is guaranteed to have a participant in the state championship game. One quarterfinal matches a pair of Wildcats as DeSoto travels to take on Louisburg in a rematch of a game played in early October. 

In that game, Louisburg used two big special team plays to dispose of DeSoto, 28-7.

Trailing 10-0 late in the second quarter, DeSoto’s Cole Cannon scored on a 50-yard touchdown run to pull the hometown Wildcats within three. But on the ensuing kickoff, Louisburg’s Daniel O’Connor raced 93 yards for a touchdown to put the purple Wildcats up 16-7. 

The Louisburg special teams again made an impact on the next play, forcing and recovering a fumble at the DeSoto 25 yard line. Junior running back Garrett Griffin would find the endzone just a few plays later to give Louisburg a 22-7 lead. 

As has been the key all season, the Louisburg defense was stifling in that game holding DeSoto to just 145 yards of total offense. In fact, the 35 points allowed in last Saturday’s second-round win over Chanute was the most the Wildcats have given up all year. 

In that game, it was the offense which picked up the slack.

At 7-4, DeSoto has their most wins since a first-round loss in 2003. 

The Wildcats have been led by Ryan Hicks and Jeff Bowen through two rounds of the playoffs. Each scored touchdowns in DeSoto’s 14-7 first-round win over Frontier League rival Eudora. And on Saturday, Hicks rushed for 197 yards and scored three touchdowns, while Bowen ran for 130 yards and a score.

Since scoring a total of 27 points in four consecutive losses in the middle of the season, DeSoto has averaged more than 36 points per game. 

They’ll need a similar effort to get by Louisburg on Friday night.

The other Frontier League quarterfinal will take place in Paola as the Baldwin Bulldogs will make their second trip into Panther country this season. Baldwin defeated Paola 32-14 to open the 2010 season.

Both teams feature power running offenses and both have talented backfields. 

Baldwin has a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in running back Josh Hoffman and quarterback Ryan Rogers. Hoffman (6-2, 190) has rushed for 1,579 yards and 22 touchdowns this season, while Rogers (5-10, 200) has added 1,127 yards and 13 scores. 

They follow a talented group of blockers up front including seniors Jesse Austin (6-6, 303), Tyler Schneider (6-9, 300), Jesse McDaniels (6-0, 240), and fullback Landon Ausherman (6-2, 230).

In the week one match-up, Hoffman rushed for two touchdowns and threw another to Rogers as the Bulldogs grabbed a 20-7 halftime lead. Baldwin thwarted a Paola scoring attempt at the goalline to end the half. 

Hoffman racked up 207 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries in that meeting. Rogers added 60 yards rushing and a score, threw for 108 yards, and caught the 67-yard touchdown pass from Hoffman. 

Paola features a pair of 1,000-yard rushers of their own in lightning-quick running back in Skylar Hawkins and junior fullback Tyler Henness. Hawkins has rushed for 1,456 yards on the season, while Henness has 1,128 yards. Tanner Staats also provides the Panthers with a spark out of the backfield. 

Junior Jeremiah Daniels has stepped in at quarterback for his injured classmate Seth Kern. Kern, a talented runner, left early in the first-round win over Fort Scott.

At 11-0, the Buhler Crusaders are an extremely good football team. The only problem is that they face a Topeka Hayden Wildcats team that may be great for the 4A level.

Hayden’s only loss of the season came 7-6 to 6A’s second-ranked Manhattan Indians in Week 1. The Wildcats posted two wins over 5A teams that are still alive in the playoffs.

Offensively, the Wildcats have some balance with quarterback Grant Arnold and running backs Alec Steuber and John Banister.

But Hayden’s strength may be its defense as it has allowed no more than 13 points to any 4A teams.

The Wildcat defense will have a big challenge in slowing down Buhler running back Tanner Fisher, who rushed for 340 yards and five touchdowns in last week’s 39-7 win over Abilene. Fisher has 2,281 yards and 39 touchdowns on the season.

The game will mark the third consecutive year that the Crusaders and Wildcats have met in the playoffs. Hayden has won the previous two meetings, 35-21 in the state semifinals last fall, and 37-13 in the 2008 quarterfinals.

The Ulysses Tigers have more than just the Holton Wildcats as an obstacle Saturday. The Tigers must travel 375 miles before they can start their quarterfinal playoff matchup.

In order to get past Holton, Ulysses will need to show some of the balance it displayed in last week’s playoff win against Hesston. In that game, Josh Jarnagin rushed for 223 yards and two touchdowns, while quarterback Braden Langston completed 7 of 9 passes for 143 yards and two TD passes to Jarnagin.

Holton’s running game, which averages about 400 yards, must get back on track after recording only 128 in last week’s 47-21 win over Andale.

But in a game between two pretty evenly matched teams, the home-field advantage gives Holton the edge.

The Caney Valley Bullpups wishbone attack compiled 396 rushing yards in last week’s 47-7 playoff win against the Southeast-Cherokee Lancers. Skye Richey and Tim Shamblin rushed for 159 and 117 yards, respectively, in the win.

However, the Rossville Bulldogs will present a stronger defense than the Lancers. Rossville has recorded four shutouts this season and kept two more opponents to just one touchdown.

Caney also could have trouble defending Rossville’s passing game. Bulldogs quarterback Mitch Buhler completed 24 of 35 passes for 308 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s 40-22 win over Atchinson County.

It should be more than the Bullpups can handle.

In the battle of the Eagles, Wellsville will likely face its toughest test of the season in Silver Lake.

Wellsville will need to try and hold on to the ball in order to have success. Silver Lake forced six turnovers in last week’s 42-18 win over Riley County.

Dalton Hughes will be counted on by Wellsville to have another big game after rushing for 168 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s 55-12 win against Neodesha.

With 11 players on the roster who weight 230 pounds or more, Silver Lake will likely be too big and too strong for Wellsville.

Expect Silver Lake to run a lot behind the big guys up front. However, quarterback Keenan Kruger will keep defenses honest as he’s completed 55 percent of his passes for 1,041 yards and 13 touchdowns in seven games.

 

Two teams that may be somewhat a surprise will battle for a berth in the state semifinals as Hutchinson Trinity travels to Beloit to take on the Trojans.

Hutch Trinity advanced to the quarterfinals by knocking out defending champion Wichita Collegiate 26-8, while Beloit upset Terrell Lane and unbeaten Norton 42-35. 

The Celtics returned 15 starters with playoff experience from last season’s quarterfinal team. So while it may not be a surprise that they are back in the quarterfinals, the way they got here certainly is. Typically a passing team, the Celtics rushed for 183 yards in dethroning Collegiate. Austin Rea became the first Celtic with to eclipse the 100-yard mark in a game this season, finishing with exactly 100 yards on 16 carries.

Usually, Trinity relies on record-setting quarterback Derek Racette who entered the game averaging 246 yards passing per game. On Saturday, he threw for a season-low 82 yards and didn’t throw a touchdown for only the second game this season. Still Racette is a major threat. The senior has thrown for 2,537 yards and 33 touchdowns this season, and he has multiple receiving threats led by Michael Mesh who has 39 receptions for 1,023 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Their challenge this week is to travel up north of I-70 where they saw their season end at Norton a year ago. This time, they get the team that eliminated Norton; the Beloit Trojans. 

Beloit used a short touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Payton Vetter to Luke Shamburg with just over two minutes remaining to knock off the unbeaten Blue Jays.  

The Trojans will use a Double Wing offense that features three backs that had strong performances against Norton. Robert Ludwig rushed for 151 yards, Lane Koster 146 yards, and Shamburg added 94 yards as the Trojans racked up more than 430 yards as a team.

They’ll go against a Celtic defense that held Wichita Collegiate to just 143 yards of total offense.   

Very few people outside of the Smith Center locker room thought the Redmen, winners of 87 of their last 90 games, could hang with the Scott City Beavers last week. The Redmen proved the doubters wrong in a big way using old fashioned ground pounding to roll up 460 yards rushing with big nights from running backs Truitt Kuhlmann and Kale Newell. The offensive line is picking up steam and a healthy Alex Hobelmann is executing the Redmen wishbone attack to perfection.

Conway Springs is a perennial power in 3A and after dispatching fellow 3A contender Garden Plain twice this season - including a 20-6 victory last week - the Cardinals appear poised for a trip to the title game and a potential rematch of the '08 championship game with Silver Lake, the eastern half favorite. Brian Doffing and Cory Misak roll up the yards behind a physical offensive line as the Cardinals continue to use their deceptive, yet powerful, single wing attack.

Smith Center will face the best defense they've seen all season as the Cardinals have allowed only 105 points - much of it by third stringers late in blow-out wins - with six Conway Springs opponents scoring six points or less.

This should be a low-scoring game with huge chunks of the clock eaten up by time consuming drives and the team with the ball last could win.

Two schools that have gotten to know each other very well over the past six season will reunite in Pittsburg on Friday night. The St. Marys Bears and St. Mary’s Colgan Panthers have matched-up in the 2-1A basketball and baseball state tournament in recent years, and this will mark the fourth meeting between the schools on the gridiron since the Bears dropped down from Class 3A in 2004. 

Both schools are members of competitive leagues that prepare them well for playoff runs. St. Marys enters the game with a 5-5 record, but among those losses are three teams still alive in the playoffs in Silver Lake, Rossville, and Centralia. In all, the Bears five losses have come against teams with a combined record of 40-12. 

The Bears feature a talented running back in Dorian Sills-Berry who rushed for 204 yards and four touchdowns last week against Washington County. Quarterback Mitch Baumchen is also a threat to run and has thrown for more than 1,000 yards on the season.

They’ll face a Colgan team that will likely be without its starting quarterback for the second consecutive game. Starter Nate Arnold and back-up Sam Gilbert were both injured in the Olpe game, which means that the Panther’s leading wide receiver Andy Farmer will be under center again. Farmer, who was the Panther’s back-up QB last fall, was 4 of 7 for 108 yards and a touchdown in the first-round win over Oskaloosa.

He has the luxury of having twins Christian and Zach Smith in the backfield. The junior backs are averaging more nine and ten yards per carry respectively. Chris has rushed for 726 yards and 13 touchdowns this season, while Zach has 740 yards and 16 scores. 

The Bears and Panthers last met in the 2007 state semifinals in Pittsburg where Colgan advanced 28-14. St. Marys has won at Hutchinson Field before, 22-15 in a 2006 quarterfinal. Colgan won the other meeting in the 2005 state semifinals, 35-7 at St. Marys.

This meeting will likely be decided by which of the two wins the battle in the trenches. If the Bears can control the line of scrimmage and the clock, they can move on. Don’t be fooled by their 5-5 record, a win by St. Marys would not necessarily be a surprise or an upset. But the Panthers still have plenty of playmakers, and kicker Austin Barone could be a difference-maker.

 

The defending state champion Centralia Panthers will try to keep their repeat hopes alive when they travel to face the Olpe Eagles.

In order to do so, the Panthers will need another big game from Michael Glatczak. The quarterback threw for 105 yards and three scores and rushed for 146 yards and two TDs in Centralia’s 34-6 win over Onaga last week. Glatczak has rushed for 1,035 yards and 19 touchdowns while throwing for 875 yards and nine more scores on the season.

Olpe’s rushing attack is led by Linden Stueve and Tyson Pettijohn. Each was around the 100-yard mark in last week’s 35-6 win over Valley Falls.

Both teams’ losses came to strong opponents as Centralia lost 44-40 to Concordia, a 4A playoff team, and Olpe lost 28-21 to 2A’s top-ranked St. Mary’s Colgan Panthers.

In what’s likely to be a close game, the defending champs have the edge.

 

The Stanton County Trojans will make the long 265-mile trip to take on the Ell-Saline Cardinals in the 2-1A quarterfinals. The game has been moved from Brookville to Salina Stadium in Salina for a 6:00 pm kickoff.

Stanton County earned the school’s first playoff win since 2003 last Friday with a dominating 52-7 romp over Ellis. The Trojans used big plays and a steady rushing attack that amassed 345 yards on the night.  Austin Narin rushed for 199 yards and three scores in the win, giving him more than 1,300 yards and 17 touchdowns on the season. Stanton County features multiple rushing threats including sophomore quarterback Quinn Kendrick and fullback Marques Logan. 

 

The Meade Buffaloes are ranked outside the top-three of 2A by most media polls, but Scott Moshier's only loss this season is to a Canadian, Texas, team that is 10-0 and has appeared in the last three 1A Texas State Championship games, winning two of them.

Meade's schedule in Kansas has not been as strong with a number of their opponents featuring losing records, but in games where the competition was the best that's when the Buffaloes played the best. Against Cimarron, Stanton County and Elkhart, three teams a combined 22-7, Meade outscored them a combined 158-23. The 46-6 win over Stanton County now looks more impressive as the Trojans dismantled Ellis last week 52-7.

LaCrosse has been a 2A power going 49-6 the last five seasons and their offense has been explosive thanks to running back Marcus Moeder, quarterback Tayler Stull and bruising fullback Scott Irvin. Welcome to the fold a potential superstar in sophomore running back Kip Keeley, the son of long-time coach Bill Keeley, and you've got one heck of an offense. But the defense has been exposed in several games this season allowing 20 points or more five times and posting only one shutout. Fortunately that shutout was last week in their playoff opener against Moundridge a sign the defense is improving.

These two teams have tangled four times in the last five years with LaCrosse winning the first three match-ups by a combined score of 125-22 and Meade rebounding with a 46-12 win last season.

If LaCrosse is to post another victory in this emerging rivalry the health of Moeder and Stull is imperative. Both players have battled injuries in the second half of the season, but appear to be near 100 percent as they make their playoff push.

Kellan Hernandez and Jaden Friesen fuel the Meade offense behind a big offensive front and their defense appears to have an edge allowing only 54 points all season.

At first glance, this semifinal matchup looks like a no-brainer.

Madison already defeated Lebo 46-0 in Week 7. What should a few weeks matter?

However, keep in mind that Lebo was missing four starters from that game from injury. And when you’re talking about 8-Man football, that’s a lot. The list of missing players included quarterback Trevor White, who accounted for three touchdowns in last week’s 50-40 win against Colony Crest.

A healthy Lebo team will try to slow down a Madison attack, which has scored no less than 40 points in a game this season.

That’s easier said than done with the likes of Madison’s Kole Schankie running the ball. Schankie has posted 459 yards and 12 touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ two playoff wins.

The Osborne Bulldogs did the unthinkable and upset unanimously top-ranked Pretty Prairie last week 50-40. The win gives Osborne a 10-1 record this year only a season removed from a 3-6 finish. Fifth year coach Cullen Riner has exceeded his eight wins in the past four seasons as an 11-Man coach in 2010 and appears poised to deliver a trip to the 8-Man I title game.

Hill City, another former Mid-Continent League 11-Man team has thrived in three seasons of 8-Man football culminating with their 26-20 victory over Jetmore-Hodgeman County last week to also improve to 10-1 on the season. The two playoff wins are the school's first ever in the postseason. Fifth year coach Chris Shank posted a 5-13 record in his first two seasons as the Ringnecks coach in 11-Man, but since has gone 23-7 in 8-Man.

The Bulldogs are averaging 50 points a game behind running backs Damon Schurr (1,066 yards rushing, 22 TDs), Jakob Demars (885 yards rushing, 10 TDs) and Justin Pruter (647 yards rushing, 10 TDs). Osborne quarterback Ethan Slothower has tallied 872 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns along with 541 passing yards with eight scores.

For the Ringnecks, quarterback Reggie Jordan is one of the state's best, totaling nearly 3,000 yards rushing and passing and leads 8-Man in scoring at 26 points per game. Big defensive end Tyler Bess has been a terror to opposing offenses recording 12 sacks this season.

Osborne beat Hill City 50-38 in week five. Now, the two teams will play for a trip to state as Hill City will host the semi-final game at 7 p.m. The two teams appear evenly matched, but the edge goes to a Bulldog team which features multiple threats and a balanced offense.

In a rematch of perhaps the game of the regular season, second-ranked Hanover travels east down Highway 36 to take on the top-ranked Baileyville B&B Falcons.

While Friday’s match-up between the two schools has more at stake, the previous meeting was so good that it deserves a second look.

Baileyville raced out to a 22-6 lead after the first quarter thanks to two Cody Heiman short touchdown runs that followed a Hanover fumble and a blocked punt. That score would remain until the fourth quarter when the Wildcats would make a charge. Hanover quarterback Austin Steinfort threw three touchdowns in the fourth quarter; the last going to Connor Hynek with 18 seconds left to pull the Wildcats within a two-point conversion of a tie. They would convert as Steinfort hit Ethan Diederich to send the game into overtime tied at 28. 

Hanover got the ball first in the overtime period, but B&B’s Logan Haug stripped Steinfort of the ball on the second play and recovered to end the Wildcats’ possession. Haug would then end the game by kicking his first ever field goal – a 25-yarder that gave the Falcons the 31-28 win.

In that game, Mitch Engleken rushed for 102 yards and Cody Heiman rushed for 94 yards and three scores. The Falcons feature a balanced rushing attack with Engelken (526 yards, 13TD), Heiman (442 yards, 10TD), Dylan Buessing (386 yards, 9 TD), and Eric Huerter (359 yards, 7TD). Huerter, the B&B quarterback, missed the first showdown with Hanover due to injury.

 

The Falcons didn’t play the final two weeks of the season thanks to forfeits by Flint Hills Christian and Kickapoo Nation. B&B showed no signs of rust in dismantling last year’s state runner-up Quivira Heights, 50-0 in the first round. That game marked the return of quarterback Huerter who has completed 11 of 12 passes for 200 yards and six touchdowns in the Falcon’s two playoff games. For the season he’s thrown for 500 yards and 14 touchdowns.

 

Over the past seven seasons, these two have been the premier programs in 8 Man football. B&B is 68-12 with a state championship and two runner-up finishes during that period, while Hanover is 65-14 with a runner-up finish and back-to-back state titles in 2008 & 2009. For the Wildcats to win a third straight title, they’ll have to get by the Falcons for the first time since 2007.

Last season the Otis-Bison Cougars were rolling through their opponents and favorite to reach the 8M-II state title game. But Central Prairie League rival Quivira Heights upset the Cougars 42-6 in the second-round of the playoffs and derailed their dream season. Friday, Otis-Bison has a second chance to reach their goal as they host the unbeaten Ashland Blue Jays. 

Gone from the Cougars is Kpreps 2009 8M-II player of the year Kevin Wissman, but nearly everyone else is back. Otis-Bison is led by a solid backfield including Michael Hlavaty, Patrick Piper, and Dylan Wissman (Kevin’s brother).   Hlavaty leads the Cougars with 717 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns. Piper (671 yards, 14 TD) and Wissman (618 yards, 10TD) are not far behind. Quarterback Trevor Keller is also an offensive threat having thrown for 645 yards and 15 touchdowns. 

Otis-Bison advanced to the semifinal round with a 51-6 road win over Cheylin last week. Piper carried the load in that contest rushing for 152 yards and three touchdowns.

Ashland comes into this game having survived their first real test of the season against Thunder Ridge. The Blue Jays trailed 22-14 at halftime before rallying for a 28-22 win. Quarterback Austin Stebens threw for 119 yards and two touchdowns and Terrell Osborn added two rushing touchdowns for the Blue Jays. 

On the season, Ashland has been led by a pair of solid running backs in Ben fox and Ervin Swonger. Fox leads the Blue Jays with 877 yards and 11 touchdowns, while Swonger has contributed 779 yards and 13 scores. Stebens gives the Blue Jays that added dimension in the passing game having thrown for 1,182 yards and 21 touchdowns against only one interception.