Just before kickoff of Emporia High’s matchup with Highland Park Friday night, a full moon peeked above the tree line to east of Welch Stadium.
For coach Bill Lowe and the rest of the Spartans, it could have been a sign of things to come.
Even though the Spartans came away with a 27-12 victory — their fifth straight — the Emporia High football team left a lot to be desired against the lowly Scots (1-5 overall, 1-3 Centennial League), as the Spartans turned in one of their most inconsistent performances of the season.
“I’m not really happy at all,” Lowe said. “Give Highland Park credit, because they fought and they were focused and they came ready to play, and that’s something that we didn’t do. We were fat and happy and everybody was telling us how good we were, and we just thought we could show up and win. We learned a lesson.”
The attitude following the game was like that after a loss, as the Spartans, who improved to 5-1 on the season and 5-0 in the Centennial League, expected more of themselves a week before district play and a matchup with mighty Wichita Heights.
“It was a lack of focus. People didn’t come to play,” senior fullback Clint Drake said. “We had been told all week that we were going to roll over them, and sometimes that happens when that’s all you’ve been told. But we can’t make excuses about it. We just didn’t come to play.
“We can’t play like that and expect to beat Wichita Heights next week.”
Highland Park couldn’t have asked for a much better start.
After Emporia High received the opening kickoff, sophomore quarterback Taylor Euler mishandled a handoff on the third play from scrimmage, and the Scots’ Endra Ducksworth recovered the fumble at the Spartans’ 32-yard line.
Four plays later, Highland Park running back James Caraway took a handoff around the right side and sliced through the Spartan defense for a 25-yard touchdown run less than three minutes into the game. Dack Barnett blocked the extra-point attempt, making it 6-0.
After an Emporia High drive went three-and-out, Highland Park struck just as quickly as they did the first time when Scots quarterback Cortney Caraway tossed a screen pass to James Caraway, who broke several tackles and took it 70 yards down the left sideline to make it 12-0 midway through the first quarter. The Scots’ two-point conversion attempt failed.
“It (Highland Park’s start) didn’t shock me. I knew they were capable of that and that they’ve got good speed,” Lowe said. “I could just tell that we weren’t in it. We didn’t have any enthusiasm and attitude that we need when we step on the field.”
Despite the early deficit, the Spartans were able to rally, answering Highland Park’s two scores with a 79-yard drive capped by the first of Edd Noonan’s two touchdowns when he ran it in from nine yards out to make it 12-7.
After forcing a Scots three-and-out, the Spartans went on another scoring march, this time on a 55-yard drive highlighted by a 30-yard run by Noonan on third-and-10. Noonan later scored on a six-yard run, giving Emporia High a 14-12 lead it would not surrender.
The Spartans scored on their third straight possession when Euler ran from the 7 to the goal line, fumbled the ball and Mark Kolmer jumped on it in the end zone to make it 21-12 after Robert Keisler’s kick.
After giving up the two early scores, the Spartan defense clamped down, allowing the Scots to gain just 87 total yards the rest of the game after Highland Park gained 100 yards on its first two possessions.
However, the EHS defenders were anything but pleased with their effort.
“We’re 5-1 yeah, but that was our proving game, and we didn’t prove anything out there,” junior defensive back Brandon Childs said. “We wanted to prove we were a good team, and we found out that we’re just an average team.”
Emporia High added to its lead midway through the third quarter when Euler hit a wide-open Billy Malone streaking across the field for a 20-yard touchdown pass to make it 27-13 after Keisler’s kick was wide left.
The Spartans’ final touchdown, combined with the play of the EHS defense, put the game out of reach for the Scots, as they never threatened again.
“It feels good, but it’s not the kind of win that we wanted,” said Childs, who finished with two interceptions. “We have to do a lot better.”
Helping Emporia High crawl out of its early-game funk was Drake, who rushed eight times for 35 yards in the first half after running for just 10 yards on five carries in the previous five games combined. Drake finished with 56 yards on 13 carries, while Kolmer had 67 yards on eight carries and Noonan had 118 yards on 15 carries.
“It was nice to get the ball, and it felt good,” Drake said, “but I can’t really focus on me right now when the scoreboard says just 27-12. We had so many turnovers inside the red zone, and that just kind of makes it feel like we lost this game.”
Emporia High was penalized nine times for 55 yards while the Spartans also fumbled four times inside the 25-yard line, losing three of those fumbles to prevent possible scoring drives.
“It was mental mistakes that we can fix in practice,” Drake said. “He (Lowe) didn’t really yell at us or tell us what we did wrong, because we already knew.”
With Wichita Heights (6-0) invading Welch Stadium next Friday night, Lowe said he hoped the poor performance against Highland Park opened his players’ eyes a little.
“We’ve got to come to work on Monday and be focused on getting back to basics and doing the little things right. We had no emotion, no enthusiasm, no focus, and maybe I have to do a better job as a coach,” Lowe said. “It doesn’t matter who you’re playing, you’ve got to have that same intensity and desire.”