‘It’s Business Time’
EHS has daunting task in front of it as it faces Wichita Heights in 1st round of district play
By Michael Ashford
Friday, October 13, 2006
Forget last week’s sloppy win over Highland Park. Forget the 5-1 record. Forget the feeling of rattling off five straight victories for the first time in what seems like decades.
After all, none of that really matters anymore.
“Everybody knows that it’s business time,” senior receiver Billy Malone said. “It doesn’t matter what happened in the past. Everybody is 0-0. We need to focus and get a W.”
With the start of district play comes a new season of sorts for the Emporia High football team, and much like the beginning of the regular season when they faced Blue Valley West, the Spartans face an opponent with a high-powered offense.
Wichita Heights, the No. 2-ranked team in 6A, represents the first obstacle for Emporia High (5-1 overall, 0-0 district) when they take on the undefeated Falcons (6-0, 0-0) to open district play at 7 p.m. Friday at Welch Stadium.
“We see it as a playoff game and we have to keep winning to move on to state,” senior linebacker Dillon Cox said. “This is the first game of the playoffs right here, and we’ve got to win this game.”
The Falcons feature a passing attack as good as any in the state. Last week against Wichita East, Heights quarterback Cameron Kasel completed 26 of 42 passes for 321 yards and four touchdowns in a 34-28 win. Six Heights receivers caught passes, led by Daley Gunter’s nine grabs for 178 yards and three scores.
Simply put, the Spartan defense will get a stern test Friday facing an offense averaging 35.3 points per game.
“I think they’re probably a lot like the very first team we saw in Blue Valley West, and maybe Shawnee Heights,” defensive coordinator PJ Marstall said. “We think they’re comparable to Blue Valley West in throwing the ball, and they’re very much like the running game of Shawnee Heights. It’s going to be a challenge.”
There do appear to be chinks in the Heights armor, however minimal they might be.
The Falcons have been in three games decided by a touchdown or less and needed a last second interception to seal the victory over Wichita East last week. Also against Wichita East, the Aces forced Heights to become almost completely one dimensional on offense — the Falcons rushed for just 44 yards — which allowed the Aces to hang in the game until the very end.
Add in that Friday’s game will be the first time all season that Heights has traveled outside the Wichita city limits, and the Spartans believe they have a shot at pulling off the upset.
“We’re going to try and get some pressure on the quarterback so he doesn’t have much time to make as many throws as he has been,” Cox said. “Hopefully, it’ll work. We’re the underdogs. We don’t think so, but everybody else seems to think we’re the underdogs. That would be awesome if we could get a win here and keep moving on.”
But perhaps more than anything, the Spartans are focused on themselves and their own offense this week, as it could be Emporia High’s ability to keep the ball away from the Heights offense that determines which team walks away winners.
At least, that’s what Marstall hopes to see.
“Trust me, I am going to be cheering for our offense to get not more than four yards a play, but four yards every play,” Marstall said. “The best thing that can help our defense are those eight-minute drives by our offense so we can keep them off the field. If they don’t get on the field, or if we can get three-and-outs, that disrupts timing.
“It’s all about timing for them. That’s the West Coast Offense. A lot of these high school teams have gone to the shorter passing game, and it’s all about timing, timing, timing. If we can disrupt their timing, we’ll be in good shape.”
With the Spartan ground game averaging 208.3 yards per game — led by senior running back Edd Noonan’s 678 yards and 11 touchdowns on 118 carries —a game plan involving controlling the ball on offense and grinding out drives is Emporia High’s specialty.
“We’re just going to try to control the ball and use long drives to keep their offense off the field,” Malone said. “We want to shove it down their throat and keep them off the field.”
One thing the Spartans can’t afford to get into is a high-scoring, shoot-out type of game, EHS coach Bill Lowe said.
“If it’s a shooting match, we may be in trouble because they’ve got some weapons and some senior kids at their skill positions that are good players,” Lowe said. “But we’re going to try to not let it get into that kind of game. I’m confident in our defensive scheme and I’m confident in the way our kids will perform.
“Every game in high school comes down to taking care of the ball and keeping drives alive and not getting penalties. We’ve just got to be able to sustain drives and keep the ball in our hands instead of theirs.”
One thing is for sure: Should Emporia High pull off a win, it would have huge implications on the Spartans’ chances at a state playoff berth.
“The first game of districts is huge for anybody, because a win means you’re not clawing your way back from the bottom,” Lowe said. “It’s a huge momentum builder. It doesn’t mean everything ... but it would be huge for us because of who they are and where they’re rated and how good they are. A win would be big.”