Last Chance
By Michael Ashford (Contact)
Originally published 01:27 p.m., October 18, 2007
Updated 01:27 p.m., October 18, 2007
Emporia High's Harrison Stone (86) and Brandon Childs will be among 13 EHS seniors that will play their last home football game on Friday against Manhattan.
One year ago, after getting physically dominated all game long by Manhattan in a 24-7 District loss, Emporia High quarterback Taylor Euler kept hope alive for the future of the Spartans’ football team.
“Maybe next year,” Euler said, “we win a game like this.”
Emporia’s chance at redemption — its chance at proving that it has become a bigger, faster, stronger football team — comes Friday, as the Spartans welcome Manhattan to Welch Stadium for Game Two of District play.
After EHS opened Districts with a 35-14 loss at Wichita Heights last week, Euler said the Spartans are eager to respond to the challenge before them, which for him began the moment last year’s game ended.
“Last year, they came out from the very first snap and they smacked us in the mouth, and we didn’t handle it well,” Euler said. “This year, we’re going to come out and try to attack them from the get-go and see how they respond to it. We want to come out and be the aggressors.”
Friday night, whichever team is most successful at being the aggressors will come away with a decidedly more rosy outlook on its season, while the other most likely will be treading water.
Both teams enter Friday’s game having suffered blowouts in their District openers — Manhattan (3-4, 0-1 District) lost 42-7 to Junction City — and neither team can afford to drop to 0-2 in District play and still hold more than the slightest sliver of hope of going to the State playoffs.
In a sense, then, both Manhattan and Emporia (4-3, 0-1) will be playing for their seasons, EHS coach Bill Lowe said.
“Both teams are fighting for their lives here to stay alive,” Lowe said. “I would expect a big game from both of us because if you want to go on, you’ve got to win this one.”
There’s not much denying that the Spartans know what they’ll be up against when the Indians roll into town.
Though Manhattan has lost three of its last four games, if history is any guide, the Indians will be a physically impressive squad — especially on both sides of the line — that emphasizes stout defense and a strong running game.
The crucial component for the second part of that equation for the Indians comes in the form of sophomore running back Derek Campbell. Already, there are rumors of Division-I potential with Campbell, and he has rushed for at least 140 yards in five straight games, including a 32-carry, 311-yard effort against Highland Park.
It’s no surprise that Emporia’s gameplan will be as simple as keeping Campbell under control, and the easiest way to do that, Lowe said, is to never let him on the field in the first place.
“As a team, we have to keep the ball out of their offense’s hands and be able to control the football and keep it away from them as much as possible,” Lowe said.
How the Spartans expect go about trying to accomplish that shouldn’t be a shock either.
Run, run and run some more.
“We were kind of being pretty boys in all the other weeks,” Euler said. “We’re going back to the old stuff. We’re going to go back to between the tackles playing smash-mouth football and keeping it on the ground.
“We’re going to come out and grind it out. Ten-minute drives are what we’re looking for.”
Easier said than done against what promises to be a big and fast Manhattan defense.
But if the Spartans want an example of how they hope to play Friday, all they have to do is look at the first half of last week’s game against Wichita Heights.
Emporia forced turnovers on defense and controlled the clock with a steady running game to take a 14-7 lead into halftime. It was enough to keep Heights’ explosive offense out of sync — at least for a half.
Though the Falcons came out and dominated the second half, Euler said if EHS could extend how it played in the first half of last week’s game into a full four quarters, the Spartans would find success against Manhattan.
“We had a great first half, and that’s what we’re going to try and build off of,” Euler said. “This is a huge game. You want to win for the seniors, you want to win for the coaches. Basically, you’re playing for your life because if you win this game, you get one more chance to get into the playoffs.”
Added Lowe: “The biggest thing is that we have to play with intensity on every single play. We have to play every play like it’s our last. Hopefully, we’ll come out with that attitude this week and play with a little more intensity and heart and soul.”
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