Overcoming Itself
By Michael Ashford
Originally published 10:00 a.m., September 22, 2007
Updated 10:00 a.m., September 22, 2007
It was a big win on the scoreboard Friday night for the Emporia High football team over Topeka West, but not so in the hearts and minds of the EHS players and coaches.
Though the Spartans defeated the Chargers, 34-7, several instances of what coach Bill Lowe called “undisciplined” play caused the Emporia High sideline to feel a little bit of unease following the victory over winless Topeka West.
“I don’t care what the scoreboard says — I’m more concerned that we’re disciplined and do things right,” Lowe said. “There were a lot of little things that we didn’t do right that maybe people don’t see but make a big difference in championship games. I just didn’t think we played like a championship team tonight because of some undisciplined things we did.”
Despite rolling up 331 yards of offense — led by senior running back Edd Noonan’s 197 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground — Emporia (3-1, 3-0 Centennial League) was plagued at times by an inability to bear down and halt Topeka West drives.
Topeka West (0-4, 0-4) matched Emporia’s first-down total (15) and converted on 11 of 17 third-down opportunities. The Chargers also converted a fourth down on a fake punt and had another drive kept alive by an EHS roughing the passer penalty.
“We didn’t do as well as we could have done,” said junior linebacker Ryan Black, who recorded two sacks on the night. “There were some mistakes, and we all have to step up. We have to practice harder and keep improving.”
Regardless, the game never really was in doubt.
After Emporia took a 7-0 lead on its first drive thanks to a 14-yard TD run by Mark Kolmer, the Spartans’ Andrew Laib came up with his second big play on special teams in as many weeks on Topeka West’s next drive.
After Emporia held the Chargers to a three-and-out, Topeka West lined up to punt from its own 3-yard line. The snap back to punter Andy Mariani bounced several times on the turf before Mariani could pick it up, and by that time, Laib already was bearing down on him 8 yards deep in the end zone.
Mariani tried to pick up the ball, but Laib ripped it out of his hands as Mariani hit the turf, and Laib recorded a touchdown to help make it 14-0 a week after blocking a punt against Washburn Rural.
“That was a big play. Andrew Laib did a nice job there, and I’m proud of him,” Lowe said. “We really work hard at blocking punts and we spend a lot of time on it, so it’s nice that it pays off.”
West showed its only real signs of life two possessions later, cutting the Emporia High lead to 14-7 when Mariani, West’s quarterback, ran it in from 6 yards out. West’s only score of the game capped a 16-play drive that saw the Chargers convert 4 of 5 third-down chances and pull off a fake punt on fourth-and-9 when Mariani hit Tyrell Brown on a pass that went for 20 yards.
“We couldn’t get them off the field on third down, ... and we knew the fake punt was coming, and we had it protected down the middle,” Lowe said. “The guy just threw it two inches over our heads. That’s the part of being disciplined. If we sit on that, we pick that off.”
Emporia High answered right back to slam the door on what little momentum the Chargers had built, as it took just three plays for the Spartans to cover 67 yards thanks mostly to a 50-yard TD scamper by Noonan that put EHS up, 21-7, after the extra point.
“The line opened up a great hole and all that was left was one guy. I just had to beat him, and that’s what happened,” Noonan said. “We knew we had to score, and that (the touchdown run) kind of put their confidence down a bit.”
Emporia High passed just once after halftime, content to push the ball down the field with a steady dose of rushes from Noonan, who gained 135 yards in the second half. Noonan scored his second TD of the night on Emporia’s first possession out of the break on a 2-yard run that made it 28-7, and EHS quarterback Taylor Euler capped the scoring on a 17-yard TD scramble with 3:12 left in the game to put Emporia ahead 34-7 after the extra point failed.
“We just wanted to keep the ball on offense as long as possible and run the clock,” Noonan said.
With the victory over Topeka West, the Spartans now can focus their attention on a slightly more formidable opponent, as a dangerous Shawnee Heights (3-1, 3-1) squad visits Welch Stadium next Friday for a Homecoming showdown.
“They (Shawnee Heights) are a very good football team,” Lowe said. “We’ve got to get our kids’ attention and have them realize that we’ve got to be focused and we’ve got to do the little things right if we want to beat people like that.
“I’m happy that the kids are trying hard, but we’ve got to correct some things if we want to be a championship team.”
Emporia 34, Topeka West 7
Friday at Welch Stadium
Topeka West 0 7 0 0 — 7
Emporia 14 7 7 6 — 34
First Quarter
Emp — Mark Kolmer 14 rush (Blaze Witten kick)
Emp — Andrew Laib fumble recovery in end zone (Witten kick)
Second Quarter
TW — Andy Mariani 6 run (Andrew Sanders kick)
Emp — Edd Noonan 50 run (Witten kick)
Third Quarter
Emp — Noonan 2 run (Witten kick)
Fourth Quarter
Emp — Taylor Euler 17 run (kick failed)
GAME STATISTICS
TW Emp
First downs 15 15
Rushes-yards 45-80 38-273
Comp-att-int 8-14-2 3-7-0
Passing yards 103 58
Total plays-yards 59-183 45-331
Fumbles-lost 3-2 1-0
Penalties 4-18 2-20
Punts-avg. 1-39.0 2-33.0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — TW: Demetrius Brown 22-43, James King 5-29, Darius Stewart 6-10, Nikolos Giancana 1-3, Tegan Seitz 1-1, Andy Mariani 10-(-6). Emporia: Edd Noonan 19-197, Mark Kolmer 7-47, Taylor Euler 10-28, Corey Bacon 2-7.
Passing — TW: Mariani 7-12-2 81, Seitz 1-2-0 22. Emporia: Euler 3-7-0 58.
Receiving — TW: Giancana 2-35, Jermaine Adams 3-32, Tyrell Brown 1-20, Stewart 1-13, Josh Gray 1-3. Emporia: Harrison Stone 1-32, Brandon Childs 1-22, Kolmer 1-4.
Punting — TW: Mariani 1-39.0. Emporia: Childs 2-33.0.
Records — Emporia (3-1, 3-0 Centennial League). Topeka West (0-4, 0-4).