Riding on the tails of two straight victories, the Emporia High football players have felt pretty good this week in preparation for Friday’s matchup against Topeka West.
Senior defensive lineman Eric Dorsey just hopes the feeling is here to stay.
“We don’t want a let-down now,” Dorsey said. “We’re feeling pretty good, but we know we have to keep winning if we want to have a good season. We’re confident, but I hope we’re not overconfident.”
One thing is for sure, after victories over Topeka High and Washburn Rural, the Spartans are experiencing a dose of certainty not felt in quite a while, as it had been three years since Emporia High won back-to-back games. Needless to say, Emporia (2-1) enters Friday night’s 7 p.m. game against Topeka West (0-3) at Hummer Sports Park with an air of sureness rather than a mood of self-doubt.
“We feel confident, that’s for sure,” senior running back Edd Noonan said. “A let-down could happen, but I don’t think it will. We’ve all been working so hard in practice that I can’t see us taking anyone lightly.”
Even though Emporia High is still a team not used to winning, coach Bill Lowe said Wednesday that he felt his team had handled its newfound success with the right attitude and mindset.
“We’ve been focused this week in practice,” Lowe said. “We had maybe our toughest practice all year on Tuesday. I think the players realize that you have to play every down and play one play at a time every game if you want to win.
“It all comes down to attitude and mentality during the game — who is going to do what it takes to win?”
One concern that reared its head last Friday in the Spartans’ 14-7 victory over Washburn Rural was the fact that Emporia High was limited to a season-low 122 yards rushing, due in part to an injury to starting fullback, Craig Turner.
With Turner still questionable for Friday’s matchup with the Chargers, Emporia High offensive line coach Phil Thornton said that the offensive line must step up its play in order to get the Spartan running game flowing again.
“We’ve got to get better at blocking. That’s our single greatest concern right now,” Thornton said. “Right now, we’re not worried about anything else but ourselves, because if we play like we can, then our running game will succeed. It all about what we do, not anybody else.”
Noonan, who is averaging 106 yards on the ground per game this season, said a strong rushing attack Friday against Topeka West will allow for the Spartans to open up their offense a little more.
“When we get our running game going, that opens up the pass a little more,” Noonan said, “and when we get our passing game going, that’s creates more space for the running game. It goes back and forth, and it helps when we can get it going early.”
In Topeka West, the Spartans will face an opponent that scheme-wise might remind them of their first opponent of the season, pass-happy Blue Valley West.
Through three games, the Chargers have passed an average of 21 times a game, slightly less than Blue Valley West’s 28 pass attempts in its 21-14 victory over Emporia in the first game of the season.
But while Blue Valley West passed for 235 yards and three touchdowns against Emporia, Topeka West has had little to show for all its passes so far this season. Charger quarterback Andy Mariani has thrown just one touchdown pass as opposed to seven interceptions through three games this year, despite averaging 110 yards passing a game.
“They like to pass the ball in the flats and go for those big plays,” junior defensive back Brandon Childs said. “We’ve got to prevent them from breaking any game-changing plays, and if they do, we just have to jump back real quick and not let it get to us.
“We have to run fast, get to the ball and keep our assignments.”
Lowe points to Topeka West’s game last Friday against Junction City as an example of how dangerous the winless Chargers can be this week.
Junction City scored a late touchdown to make the final score 20-3, but Lowe said Topeka West — with players like running back Havier Robinson — had several chances to make a closer game out if it.
“Topeka West played Junction City real well,” Lowe said. “It was 14-3 up until the end of the game, and then Junction City scored again late. I think they’re a good football team, and they’ve got some dangerous people that can break it on you at any time.”
A win Friday would give Emporia High more wins this season than the last two combined. At the risk of sounding overconfident, Childs made it clear that the Spartans are excited about what a win would mean.
“That puts us right up at the top of the Centennial League with the other teams,” Childs said. “We’re going for 3-1 — 3-1 is a lot better than 2-2.”