One Step Farther
Olpe hopes deep run into this year’s playoffs doesn’t end tonight with St. Marys matchup
By Michael Ashford
Friday, November 17, 2006
Olpe — The Olpe football team has not been a stranger to the State playoffs over the years, but this could be considered uncharted territory in some ways for the Eagles.
Olpe will match up with St. Marys at 7 tonight in St. Marys in the semifinals of the 2A playoffs, which, by Olpe coach Mike Plunkett’s estimation, is as deep as the Eagles have been in the playoffs since the mid-70s.
“It’s a great thrill to get this far,” Plunkett said. “It’s been a long time since Olpe has gone this far. We’ve been fortunate enough to get in the playoffs a bit, but it’s been a long time since we’ve been this deep.
“It’s a really neat thing to happen for the coaches and players and the school and community. I think we’re all excited about the opportunity.”
At first glance, Olpe, with its perfect 12-0 record, appears to be a lock to make it to the State title game when matched up against 8-4 St. Marys.
But after starting the season 1-4 — all four losses came to playoff teams — St. Marys has rattled off seven straight wins to storm into the semifinals, capped by a 22-15 victory over perennial powerhouse Colgan on the road last week.
“When you look into that, that 8-4 season, they’ve lost to some powerhouse 3A schools,” Plunkett said of tonight’s foe. “They could just have easily lost no games or maybe one game. We’re not, or at least I hope we’re not, taking that record too seriously. They’re good.”
While St. Marys pulled off what could be labeled as a big upset over Colgan to get to the semifinals, Olpe advanced thanks to a 31-10 victory over upstart Lyndon last week after the Eagles trailed 10-7 at halftime.
After a first half highlighted by excellent play from Lyndon and marred by Eagle turnovers, Plunkett said his team settled down after halftime to take control.
“I thought both teams were ready to go, but I think Lyndon just came out and executed a little bit better with their defense versus our offense,” Plunkett said. “We were probably lucky to be down by only three points at the half.
“At halftime, we just talked about the things that needed to be done, and the kids came out an played a really solid second half.”
With only St. Marys standing in the way of a trip to Hays for the State title game, Plunkett said he knows his team will have to play better than it has all year long against a St. Marys squad that has greater size along the offensive and defensive lines.
Plunkett said the game might come down to the Olpe defense — which has allowed just 34 points in three playoff games — and its ability to slow down the St. Marys run game.
“Their line is as big as any line we’ve seen. They’re not fat kids; they look athletic,” Plunkett said. “We’re just going to have to step up, and our kids are going to be playing against bigger kids on the line, and we’re just going to have to throw our bodies in there and try to get them stopped.”