STOCKTON – Stockton’s district title and first playoff berth since 2002 started with a Week 5 close win versus a Thunder Ridge team that has now lost 15 straight contests and a message from ESPN commentator and former Kansas City Chiefs coach Herm Edwards.
Stockton was 3-29 since the start of the 2013 season and 0-5 this fall before a six-point home victory versus the Longhorns. Since then, the Tigers added three straight wins, including a complete effort in a 66-20 home victory against Lakeside on Thursday night.
Stockton scored the final 40 points, and the game was called with 10 minutes, 48 seconds left in the contest. It marked the second time the Tigers had won by the 45-point margin since Week 8 of the 2012 season. Stockton was a former power in the ‘90s.
“It’s huge,” second-year coach Phil Conyac, a Tiger alum, said. “It’s a pretty long drought here the last 14 years, especially after what they went through in the ‘90s, all of the success that they had then. I played here late ‘70s, early ‘80s right before it really got going good.”
The victory moved Stockton to 4-5, 4-1 in Eight-Man, Division II, District 5 play, one of the more open districts in recent history. Entering Thursday, no playoff spots were decided and five teams were in contention.
“Best we’ve played all season,” senior Joel Green said.
Lakeside, which ended a 19-game losing streak when district play opened, dropped to 3-6, 3-2. The winner of Thursday’s contest was guaranteed the district title.
“I was four years old the last time we went, so it feels pretty good,” Green said. “Whole community likes it, I think.”
Stockton will play Wallace County, 6-3 and ranked No. 5 in the classification, in the first round of the playoffs next Tuesday. Wallace County has made the playoffs every year since 2006, now the longest current run in eight-man football after Victoria’s run of 14 straight years ended last week.
Among the eight-man playoff qualifiers, Stockton and Hutchinson-Central Christian (8-1) broke the longest playoff droughts. Central Christian, previously a club team, hadn’t made the playoffs since 1996. As well, Wakefield and Oxford are in the postseason for the first time since 2006.
“Excited,” sophomore quarterback Brady Beougher said. “We haven’t been in the playoffs in 14 years. Blood is pumping, it’s going to be nice, especially on home field.”
Lakeside, Sylvan-Lucas (6-3, 3-2) and Northern Valley (4-5, 3-2) all tied for second, but the Knights won the head-to-head.
Lakeside will travel to Dighton, 9-0 and ranked No. 3, next Tuesday. District 5 was the only Division II district that didn’t have a champion already decided entering Week 9. Lakeside missed junior Drew Cunningham, its top running back, because of injury last Thursday.
“That made them a little more one-dimensional and had to change things up,” Conyac said. “Probably weren’t as big a challenge as they would have been a week ago (with Cunningham).”
Stockton had just 58 points in its four pre-district games versus Division I squads and Pike Valley, ranked in Division II. Then, Stockton fell, 58-18, to Sylvan-Lucas to open districts.
“We knew our first four games were boogers playing up a level and playing a couple of contenders,” Conyac said. “And that was the same thing we did last year. They are preseason games, you try to get your stuff in.”
Senior Brayden Winters fractured several bones in his hand in Week 1 and was ineffective for the next month. Several other starters missed the Sylvan loss. During this time, the coaches saw Edwards’ message on TV.
“Are you interested or committed?,” Conyac said, recalling Edwards’ line. “And we iPhoned it off the TV and played it for the kids. I don’t think we have that many committed yet, but we are darn sure a lot more interested.”
In the four wins, Stockton has scored 54, 54, 74 and 66 points.
“Since then, execution has improved every week,” Conyac said. “Desire.”
The Tigers’ balanced set of skill players all contributed versus the Knights. Stockton averages 36 points a contest but has permitted 44 a game. SSWC has an average score of 31-18.
“I think we are hard to defend…,” Conyac said. “I can put five guys out there who can run and catch, and we can spread the field. Brady can get the ball out about as fast as anybody.”
Winters tallied 19 carries for 105 yards and three scores, and helped Stockton pull away in the second half. He leads the team with 109 carries for 648 yards and 12 scores.
“Brayden started off the season slow, but now he is one of our biggest threats with the speed he’s got, and our offensive line is doing great right now,” Beougher said.
Beougher finished with 10 carries for 74 yards and three TDs, and completed 7 of 15 passes for 158 yards and a pair of touchdowns with no turnovers.
Beougher has delivered a solid season with 109 for 240 passing for 1,649 yards with a 25/9 TD/INT ratio. Stockton had 15 turnovers and is plus-4 in turnover margin. The Tigers were minus-5 in turnover margin last year.
Senior Kian Coffey is 6-foot-5 and one of the state’s top triple jumpers. He ran cross country last season and came out for football this year. In the first half, he had three catches for 61 yards and a score, and returned a kickoff 61 yards for another TD. Coffey has 29 catches for 774 yards and 12 receiving scores.
“Fastest guy on the field every game that we’ve played,” Beougher said. “He’s just amazing.”
“He gets out in the open, no one is going to catch him,” Green added.
Stockton led 26-6 before Lakeside closed to 26-20 after a 1-yard run from senior Austin Stroede and a 22-yard scoring pass from senior quarterback Dawson Johnson to his brother, junior Peyton.
Stroede collected 120 rushing yards on 20 carries and two scores. Stockton limited Johnson to minus-18 rushing yards, 7 of 22 passing for 85 yards with one interception.
“Defensive line has really come along this year,” Beougher said. “We’ve had a couple of guys been gone, were hurt, and we have really filled in, but now we have got everybody back, and we are super strong.”
The INT turned the game late in the first half after Stockton bumped its lead to 32-20 on a 26-yard reverse score from Green. Beougher picked Johnson at the Stockton 11-yard line with 33 seconds left and returned it to the Tiger 23.
With 11 seconds remaining, Beougher was under pressure and threw a 40-yard pass off his back foot to Green, who had sprinted behind the defense. The play gave Stockton a 38-20 lead at the intermission.
“When there’s two guys coming at me, it’s more of just a ‘throw it as hard as I can,’ and hope and pray,” Beougher said. “Try not to get sacked.”
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