Spartans hope to turn tables on Wichita Heights
By Michael Ashford
Originally published 02:44 p.m., October 11, 2007
Updated 02:02 p.m., October 11, 2007
Harrison Stone remembers walking off the field at Wichita Heights two years ago as a sophomore waiting for this Friday to come.
The Spartans had just been handed a 56-21 loss at the hands of the Falcons, and that didn’t sit right with the EHS players and coaches.
“We went down there and we felt like they ran the score up on us,” Stone said.
Before leaving Wichita that night, EHS coach Bill Lowe told his players to “look at the scoreboard and remember it the next time we come back here.”
Well, that next time is here.
Emporia will travel to Wichita to face the Falcons in the opening game of District play this Friday.
And you can bet Stone and his classmates — now seniors — have the score of the 2005 game on their minds.
“We’ll remember that,” said Stone, a wide receiver for EHS.
But the Spartans don’t even have to go back that far to remember the pain Wichita Heights has inflicted on the EHS football program.
Coupled with the lopsided loss two years ago is a one-point loss at home to the then-No. 2-ranked Falcons last year at home at Welch Stadium.
“We’ve got a lot to give back to this team because they’ve taken a lot from us,” Stone said. “We’re going to try our best.”
Giving Heights a taste of its own medicine certainly will be no small task for the Spartans (4-2, 0-0 District).
Heights (4-2, 0-0), while not quite as potent offensively as it was last year when quarterback Cameron Kasel was running the show, still has plenty in the tank to make it a scary matchup for the Spartans, Lowe said.
“They’ve got good speed,” Lowe said. “They’re the closest to Blue Valley West, as far as speed, than anybody we’ve seen.”
For those keeping score at home, Blue Valley West defeated Emporia, 28-10, to start the season.
However, because of the nature of Kansas high school football, it doesn’t matter what happened in the six games leading up to District play. Only District records determine which teams make the playoffs and which ones don’t, essentially meaning every team’s record is unblemished.
“It’s that time of year — it’s basically playoff time,” Lowe said. “Every game is like a playoff game now.”
Of course, it didn’t hurt that the Spartans got a big momentum boost last Friday in the form of a 62-18 victory over Highland Park.
Emporia scored touchdowns on its first four possessions and added another TD off a blocked punt to race out to a 35-0 lead less than a quarter and a half into the game against the Scots. After a 14-13 loss the week before to Shawnee Heights, the Spartans welcomed the chance at getting a big win.
“It definitely gave us some momentum,” linebacker Sheldon Patton said. “It helped our confidence ... and I think we’re playing pretty well.”
As such, the Spartans head into Friday’s game certain they have what it takes to leave Wichita as victors.
But it never hurts to mix things up here and there, and Stone said the team has tried adding new schemes in preparation for the Falcons. But, he added, if they can, the Spartans will go with what works best for them: the running game.
“I don’t think I’m going to disclose too much information, but we have a couple new plays we’re going to run again them,” Stone said. “But basically, we’re going to see how Edd (Noonan) does in the running game.”
So what will it take to return the favor to Heights and put the Falcons in a hole to start District play?
“I think it will take perfection,” Patton said. “We’ll just have to be perfect in everything we do.”