Mankato-Rock Hills coach Sam Meyers understands his Grizzlies are the perceived underdog entering Saturday’s Eight-Man, Division I state championship game against Ness City in Newton.
Ness City started the season ranked second and moved to first after Week 1. The Eagles have rolled through their schedule and haven’t had a contest within 30 points. A senior-laden Ness City group has outscored opponents 599-62, easily the best scoring defense in the classification, en route to a 12-0 start.
Rock Hills (11-1) received votes in the preseason poll, narrowly qualified for the postseason and then beat two-time defending state champion Madison in the sub-state championship game last week.
However, Meyers is OK with not being the favorite.
It marks the first time Rock Hills, in its sixth season of existence of a consolidation between Mankato and Jewell/White Rock, and Ness City, in its third year of eight-man football, have ever made the state title game.
“I think all indications would say that we are the underdog,” Meyers, 53-31 in eight years with the Grizzlies, said. “I think our kids play better when they feel like they are the underdog. I think there has been a lot of situations this year where we weren’t considered the favorites and so that role isn’t anything new to us, but we approach the game trying to eliminate all of those external factors as far as the records and the stats and the crowd and the location.”
Ness City went 5-5 two years ago in the first year under coach Chris Bamberger, a former Jetmore standout and Kansas State University linebacker. Bamberger played under Kevin Ayers at Jetmore, who has won three state titles in his career and is now the Sharon Springs-Wallace County coach.
Last year, Ness City improved to 8-2, but had multiple injuries at the end of the season. This year, the Eagles have stayed healthy and have won their last two contests by the mercy rule. It marks the first playoff victories for the Ness City program in 14 years and the first time in school history the Eagles have ever won back-to-back playoff games. Many of the Eagles have started since their sophomore year.
“I don’t know if you ever really expect this situation,” Bamberger said of the team’s big jump in the last two years. “You keep grinding and you hope that eventually things pay off for them and I hope they continue to do that.”
Ness City has experience at every position, including senior quarterback Koltyn Ratliff, who has completed 48 of 74 passes for 647 yards with a 12/2 TD/INT ratio. Senior running back Garrett Flax has 126 rushes for 1,075 yards, while senior Dalton Gantz has 120 rushes for 1,001 yards.
“As a coach, it’s never really hard to find things that you do wrong,” Bamberger said. “It’s pretty easy to nitpick and it’s really been a thing this year. They do so many things right, but the key is
continuing to improve and always putting a better team on the field each week. The kids have always kind of went about it that way.”
Rock Hills collected two quality wins against Thunder Ridge (62-16) and Hanover (26-0) but lost 42-24 to Clifton-Clyde in Week 5. Rock Hills’ district included Osborne, Pike Valley and Clifton-Clyde all in playoff contention in late season. Senior Clay Cosand leads Rock Hills with 182 carries for 1,508 yards and 33 scores, while sophomore Joel Broeckelman had 134 carries for 1,425 yards and 35 scores.
Rock Hills has been solid in ball control as well. They have forced 32 turnovers and have kept mistakes to a minimum.
“I think that was a great wakeup call for our kids on what they needed to do and how they needed to play and it really put the pressure on them from that point on,” Meyers said. “Another loss would have kicked you out.”
Since the loss, Rock Hills couldn’t afford another defeat. They defeated Pike Valley 52-28 in Week 6 and earned a 56-6 win against Osborne in Week 9.
In the playoff games, the Grizzlies defeated Peabody Burns 72-26, Marmaton Valley 76-48 and Madison 36-20 last week. Meyers said the team hasn’t played cautiously since the loss, especially in the playoffs.
“I think from that point on, they really turned up their game and really started to find out what they could do when they really pushed their limits on their potential,” Meyers said. “Then they have hit the playoffs and I think they have approached the games in the playoffs with a very mature attitude. I think that has really helped them considerably.”
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