‘They believed in themselves’
By Michael Ashford
Originally published 02:10 p.m., November 8, 2007
Updated 02:10 p.m., November 8, 2007
When looking back at the Emporia High football team’s 2007 season, there is little doubt the Spartans will be remembered for one game.
Emporia High 34, Junction City 33.
Though there are nine games during the regular season, that one game ended up defining the entire season for the Spartans.
The upset over then-undefeated and third-ranked Junction City did more than cap Emporia’s regular season with a victory over the Blue Jays for the second year in a row.
In sending shock waves across the state, Emporia won six games for the second consecutive season, became the Class 6A District 5 champions and reached the State playoffs for the first time since 2002. This from a team that just two years ago was coming off back-to-back 1-8 seasons.
About the only thing the victory over Junction City didn’t do was give the Spartans the Centennial League championship. Junction City finished with a 7-1 record against league opponents, while Emporia ended with a 6-1 record versus Centennial League foes.
The Centennial League is set up to where only the first six league games count in the final standings.
“It was like the Junction City game didn’t even count,” EHS coach Bill Lowe said. “It’s hard to tell guys it didn’t count when you go out and win over an undefeated team.”
Still, there was nothing that could take away Emporia’s victory over the Blue Jays and what it meant to the program. It also represented another step in the right direction for the Spartans, who under Lowe have improved in each of his three seasons.
“We took another big step in getting to the playoffs,” Lowe said. “Being able to win the District, no matter how it gets done, if you’re District champions, that’s big. This was our last year in 6A for a while, and it’s nice to go out with a District championship and make it to the playoffs in 6A.”
The Spartans overcame heavy graduation losses and some schematic changes to finish with a 6-4 record this season, which ended with a 42-34 playoff loss to Wichita Southeast.
The year began with a 28-10 loss at Blue Valley West, a team that ran the table this season and sits at 10-0 heading into the State quarterfinals this Friday.
The Spartans bounced back from the season-opening loss by rattling off three straight dominating victories.
EHS opened its home schedule with a 35-15 victory over Topeka High and then traveled to Topeka to take on rival Washburn Rural.
Scoring Trends
In a 35-0 shutout over the Junior Blues, the Spartans started a positive trend that would continue throughout the season.
The Spartans blocked a punt against Rural that eventually led to a Spartan touchdown. It was the first of four blocked punts for EHS on the season, with the other three blocks coming from sophomore Mark Kolmer. All three of Kolmer’s blocks were returned for touchdowns, and EHS scored another TD on a botched snap on a punt in a 34-7 victory over Topeka West a week after the win over Rural.
After his blocked punt against Junction City allowed Harrison Stone to score a touchdown that helped the Spartans pull off the upset over the Blue Jays, Kolmer said the kicking game was a point of emphasis every week in practice.
“Coach Lowe always tells us, ‘We’re going to win a championship with a blocked punt,’” Kolmer said.
Emporia’s shot at a league championship took a big hit in Week Five, as the Spartans ran into the power-running game of Shawnee Heights and its running back, Austin Flohrschutz. Flohrschutz ran for 247 yards and two touchdowns to help the Thunderbirds to a 14-13 victory at Welch Stadium.
EHS had a chance to tie the game late after the second of Edd Noonan’s two touchdown runs, but a missed extra point ended the Spartans’ threat.
Emporia got back to winning with a laugher the next week, running roughshod over Highland Park in a 62-18 victory.
District Play
The next week, EHS began District play. Making the State playoffs appeared to be a tall task, as Wichita Heights, Manhattan and Junction City joined the Spartans in creating one of the toughest Districts in the state.
Emporia felt good about its chances for a half against Wichita Heights, as Emporia went into the locker room at halftime up, 14-7, having successful countered the high-octane Falcons offense thanks to turnovers and a ball-control ground game.
In the second half, things changed. The Falcons scored on their first four possessions in the third quarter to blow past the Spartans, 35-14, putting EHS in an immediate District hole.
But, Lowe said, the mood never dampened after the loss to Heights.
“We talked all the time about playing one play at a time and then get back to the huddle and play another one,” Lowe said. “That’s kind of the way the season went. We lost a couple and looked like we were out of things, but the kids just never gave up and never quit. That was huge.”
Emporia kept its playoff hopes alive the next week with a 21-10 victory over Manhattan at home to move to 1-1 in District play. The victory over Manhattan was the first since 1999 and allowed the Spartans to at least think about getting into the postseason, but a matchup with unbeaten Junction City loomed.
Oh, What a Night
In what became one of the more memorable games in EHS history, the Spartans rallied from a 33-15 deficit midway through the third quarter to upset Junction City, 34-33, to help punch their ticket into the State playoffs. Manhattan beat Wichita Heights the same night, giving EHS the District title and a home playoff game.
“The kids never got down and never quit, no matter what people said,” Lowe said. “They believed in themselves.”
Emporia’s dreams ended a week later, as Wichita Southeast and its two-headed rushing monster of Joseph Randle and Trezz Tillman ran over and around the Spartans defense to the tune of 386 yards and five touchdowns.
Emporia also lost Noonan to a leg injury late in the second quarter, and the Spartans never fully recovered, losing 42-34 in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs to end their season.
“It’s just a shame that it ended the way it did. We had things going and we were moving the ball,” Lowe said. “We kept fighting and about came back, but it was a little bit too late.”
Star-Struck
Despite the disappointing loss at home to close the season, EHS had several athletes step into the spotlight, while others simply built on what they already had established.
The Spartans saw the emergence of young players like defensive lineman Cord Stanley, center Danny Goodman, linebackers Kolmer and Sheldon Patton and defensive back Josh Maguire.
Meanwhile, the Spartans got some memorable efforts from their veteran players.
Harrison Stone replaced Billy Malone as quarterback Taylor Euler’s favorite receiving target, catching 18 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns.
Euler became more proficient in the passing game, going 40-for-89 for 604 yards and six touchdowns while throwing six interceptions. He also rushed for another nine touchdowns.
Linebacker Ryan Bass helped anchor the middle of the EHS defense and also spent time on the offensive line late in the year, while offensive/defensive lineman Troy Pierce and receiver/defensive back Corey Bacon provided leadership on offense and defense. Emporia as a defense intercepted 15 passes.
But it was the effort of Noonan that perhaps best typified the Spartans this season.
The senior back’s performance in the victory over Junction City — he carried the ball 43 times for two touchdowns and a career-high 206 yards in addition to playing every snap on defense and special teams — was good enough to earn him the Army Iron Man award that week.
For the season, Noonan rushed for 1,405 yards and 14 touchdowns on 235 carries. In three years as the starter, the Spartans’ workhorse grounded out 3,322 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns, making him one of the top backs in school history.
“His last three seasons combined just shows the kind of steady performer that he is,” Lowe said. “You just know what you’re going to get when you give him the ball. He probably exemplified our team — he never quit. The way he runs the ball, he never gives up and he never quits. He’s going to fight until he gets that extra yard.
“I think he kind of led the team with that attitude.”
The 2007 Spartans again raised the stakes for the next year’s team, getting another step farther than the previous team with a journey to the playoffs.
With a senior class of just 12 players, much of the Spartans’ talent returns next season, when EHS will drop from Class 6A to Class 5A.
After the loss to Wichita Southeast, Bass, one of the 12 seniors, had some advice for his now-former teammates.
“Get in the weight room and get ready to go next year,” he said.
Lowe echoed those words, saying the goal was to have a strong, quick, powerful team.
“The biggest thing is that we’ve got to get stronger,” he said. “If you look at the teams that win year in and year out, they’re strong and they lift and they get faster.
“I think this year’s team accomplished a lot. They set the bar a little bit higher for next season. We’ve just got to keep raising that bar.”