For the Hill City Ringnecks and the Madison Bulldogs, one game at a time has been the philosophy this season. However, getting to Newton for the 8-Man Division I state championship was in the back of their minds. When the Hill City players received their playbooks before the season, the mysterious number of 215 was marked on a back page. Players later realized the number stood for the number of miles from Hill City to Newton. The Madison Bulldogs players also were given motivation for making Newton their target. Madison head coach Fred McClain made his players aware of the history of Fischer Field, the site of the state title game. Fischer Field is named after John Curtis Fischer, a longtime coach and educator in Newton. Coincidentally, Fischer began his coaching career in the 1940s at Madison High School. “I told them that the field is named after an ex-Bulldog,” McClain said. “I said Coach Fischer is waiting for us. We just have to get there.” Well, Hill City (11-1) and Madison (12-0) have made good on their goals and will square off at 3 p.m. Saturday for the state championship. “The kids have been working hard for a long time around here,” Hill City head coach Chris Shank said. “I’m happy the team has been able to see the fruits of their labor.” And the Ringnecks’ journey to the state championship game has been a long one. Shank took over the program in 2006 after the team had won one game in the previous two seasons. He gradually upgraded the program, guiding the team to its first winning season in almost a decade in 2008 and its first trip to the playoffs last year. Now in Hill City's 100th year of football, Shank has the Ringnecks one win away from the state crown. “Hill City football has had some good teams, good players and good coaches over the years but not a lot of success overall,” Shank said. “I’m excited for the people who’ve been coming to these games all these years. It’s fun to see the signs all over town. Hill City has always been a great community in supporting the kids.” Hill City has made it this far with a dynamic offense and a stingy defense that has pitched four shutouts. The Ringnecks’ multiple-spread offense is led by senior quarterback Reggie Jordan, who has accounted for more than 3,000 yards and 54 touchdowns this season. “He’s a warrior,” Shank said of Jordan. “Whoever plays quarterback on our team will be the last guy to surrender. He’s a great athletic talent. People think he’s a finesse guy, but he’ll break tackles. “We are where we are because of him and other guys on this team with a refuse to lose attitude. I dread about thinking of life without him. He’s been running this offense for three years. I can’t heap enough praise on him.” Jordan has completed 67 of 122 passes this season for 1,025 yards and 15 touchdowns, while running for 2,245 yards and 39 touchdowns on 266 carries. He has tallied more than 7,600 yards and 110 touchdowns in his high school career. “Obviously, Reggie Jordan presents some problems,” McClain said. “When you’re on your pass rush, you better make sure you contain, because he can tuck it away and run. We can’t give their quarterback too many cracks.” Jordan has shown the ability to have success with his arm and his legs this season. He passed for 258 yards and three touchdowns in a 50-38 loss to Osborne in Week 5. In the second meeting between the two teams, Jordan rushed for 308 yards and two touchdowns as Hill City won 48-24. “My offensive philosophy is to get fast kids in the open field,” Shank said. “Whatever it takes to do that, we do it. Some weeks we throw a bunch. Some weeks, we come out and power it.” In either case, expect junior Adam Pfeifer to play a big role in the offense. Pfeifer has rushed for 598 yards and eight touchdowns, while being the team’s leading receiver with 31 catches for 378 yards and five touchdowns. Up front, Hill City is led by senior center and defensive lineman Eric VanLoenen and senior tight end and defensive end Tyler Bess. VanLoenen is a three-year starter at center and has 80 tackles and four sacks on defense this season. Bess is second in 8-Man in sacks with 12. The Ringnecks will face a Bulldogs team that will be trying for their first state championship since winning Class 1A in 1984. “We’re real excited, but we’re trying to keep it like a normal week of practice,” McClain said. “We want the kids to enjoy it, but keep their focus on the task at hand.” The Bulldogs have been focused all season, rolling through their opponents by scoring no fewer than 40 points in a game and recording six shutouts. “I’ve coached football a long time, and chemistry means so much,” McClain said. “This team has really good chemistry. We have good leaders in the junior and senior classes. They hold each other accountable. They play hard.” The Bulldogs haven’t played a close game this season as 33 points is their lowest margin of victory. “You don’t run the table unless you’re a good team,” Shank said. “They are fast and physical. They block well. They are very disciplined and very good at play-action fakes.” Madison’s offense starts with junior running back Kole Schankie. He rushed for 126 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s 51-18 win against Lebo. Born to run, Schankie has compiled almost 600 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns in the playoffs. “He’s a junior, but he’s kind of been the heart and soul of this team,” McClain said. “Kole’s put up great numbers, but he doesn’t really care about the numbers. He just wants the ball in the end zone. If it’s him, that ‘s great, but if it’s not, that’s great too.” His brother, Kale, has been a key to the defense, returning after an all-state season at linebacker last year. All-state performers Dylan Barnard and Shane Ballard, as well as quarterback Collin Kile also lead this talented Madison roster. “The offseason conditioning program was key,” McClain said. “We already had a good program, but they turned it up a notch this year. They were already working their butts off, but they decided they needed to do more.” That type of work ethic has Hill City and Madison battling for the state title. “I expect it to be a pretty entertaining game,” McClain said.
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