They’ve been the top two teams in the Kpreps.com Class 2-1A poll all season. So it is fitting that St. Mary’s Colgan and Meade have reached this point. The Panthers (12-0) and the Buffaloes (11-1) will square off at 1 p.m. Saturday for the Class 2-1A state championship at Lewis Field on the campus of Fort Hays State University.
Colgan will be making its first trip to Hays since 2007, but the ninth since 1999. During that span the Panthers won four consecutive state championships from 2000-2003 under veteran coach Chuck Smith. Smith has posted a 294-55 record in 31 seasons at St. Mary’s Colgan with five state championships.
Meade is under the direction of fifth-year head coach Scott Moshier who will attempt to win his 100th game on Saturday. The Buffaloes will be making their first state championship game appearance since winning the 2A crown in 1980. Meade was also victorious in the school’s only other state title game in 1972.
But don’t believe for a second that the Buffaloes will be intimidated by a big-game atmosphere. Meade has made deep playoff runs in each of the past two seasons before being eliminated by Smith Center, and the Buffaloes only blemish this season came 36-6 to powerful Canadian (Texas) to open the season. For a little perspective, the Canadian Wildcats have reached the Texas 1A state championship in each of the past three seasons, winning twice. They are currently 11-0 and will play on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Texas high school playoffs.
"We really feel like that season-opener helped prepare us for the upper teams in Kansas,” Moshier said.
The Buffaloes feature a run-heavy offense that has averaged nearly 50 points per game. Senior fullback Jaden Friesen leads the team with more than 1,300 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns.
Senior quarterback Kellan Hernandez is a versatile athlete who also eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark last week. Hernandez has rushed for 18 touchdowns, and has thrown for more than 450 yards and six scores. The Buffaloes have attempted only 56 passes all season, but their success on the ground has left opponents susceptible to play-action.
Sophomore Trevin Wiens adds more than 700 yards and 11 touchdowns to the mix, including 80 yards and two scores in the 44-26 semifinal win over Stanton County.
Meade’s strength may be up front where the Buffs feature linemen Manny Castillo (6-1, 220), Weston Kroth (6-0, 230), Blake Wornkey (6-2, 265), and tight-end Adam Gleason (6-3, 215).
The Panthers haven’t missed a beat since losing starting quarterback Nate Arnold (concussion) and back-up Sam Gilbert (broken arm) in the regular season finale against Olpe. Gilbert may be available to play defense only on Saturday, while Arnold, who just signed with KU for baseball last week, has been released for all activities but football.
That means that senior Andy Farmer will make his fourth consecutive start at quarterback after transitioning from the team’s leading wide receiver for the playoffs. Farmer, who served as Colgan’s back-up quarterback last season, has thrown for 291 yards and three touchdowns in the Panther’s three playoff wins.
"Andy's just a good athlete,” Smith said. “Good athletes do good things. He throws a good ball. He may not throw as good a ball as Nate or Sam, but he has good receivers and he's such a running threat."
Moshier agreed. “He's a good athlete. I knew he wasn't their starter, but he doesn't throw a bad ball at all. He has really good feet. Turning around and handing the ball off to one of the Smith boys is a nice option as well."
The ‘Smith boys’ are Colgan running back/linebackers Christian and Zach Smith. The twins have been explosive in all three phases of the game in this their junior season. Christian is the Panthers leading rusher with 1,015 yards and 15 touchdowns while averaging nearly nine yards per carry. Zach has contributed nearly 900 yards and a team-high 21 touchdowns in averaging 8.5 yards per attempt.
The duo also lead a Panther defense that has posted four shutouts and has surrendered less than eight points per game, with many of those coming after the varsity had left the field.
"They are very aggressive on defense,” Moshier observed. “They have 2A's No. 1 defense, without a doubt. And they score 40 points a game, so they're going to be very tough."
He continued, "team-speed wise, they're a lot like Canadian. They might not be quite as fast as Canadian, but they have more team speed than we do."
"They can hurt you in so many ways. We have to win the battle on special teams and control the ball. It will be a tall task. We will have to play our best football game in five years to have an opportunity to beat them."
Both teams are excited about the opportunity to play at the game’s highest level.
"After the game, the big cheer in the locker room was that we get another week of practice,” Smith said. “They feel good about being back for another week and having this opportunity."
Five players on the Meade team have fathers that played for either the 1972 or 1980 state champion teams.
Moshier, who played on Wichita East’s 1982 state title team, expressed to his team and his 12 seniors the unique opportunity they have in front of them on Saturday.
"I told them we have 48 minutes of football left. We have 48 minutes to make a lot of memories."
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