Spartan football faces tough slate
5 EHS opponents made ’07 playoffs
By Joey Berlin
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
To coach Bill Lowe, Emporia High’s opening football game on Sept. 5 against Topeka High is the only one that matters right now. One game at a time, all that jazz.
But while Lowe preaches and drills that focus into his players, EHS fans might look at the Spartans’ schedule and be tempted to take it a few games at a time. Mentally, they might skip over a game here or there. Because whether Emporia High can make a second straight trip to the state playoffs is likely to depend on how well they make it through the jagged teeth of what Lowe calls the toughest slate of games he’s faced as a coach in a long time.
“We could be a much improved, much better team,” Lowe said, “but our record might not indicate that.”
Five teams on the Spartans’ schedule reached last year’s state playoffs, including their first three opponents. The other four teams finished a combined 7-29 last year, and two of them are starting fresh with new coaches.
Lowe said he didn’t want to make it sound like he was making preemptive excuses should Emporia High find the going tough this year. But it’s safe to say that if EHS is in the 5A playoffs this November — following last year’s 6-4 season and first-round loss to Wichita Southeast in the 6A postseason — then the Spartans will have earned it.
Emporia begins its season by taking on Topeka High at Welch Stadium. The Trojans, who had finished 2-7 in both 2005 and ’06, grabbed a spot in the 6A state playoffs last year, losing to Olathe North in the first round to finish 4-6. T-High lost its offensive star from last season: running back John Babb, who ran for 1,146 yards and scored 12 touchdowns.
“They really have most of their kids back except for (Babb),” Lowe said. “But he’s about all they lost. They’re gonna be experienced. This is (Coach Walt Alexander’s) third year, and they really have things turned around in the right direction. They’re gonna be a scary bunch the first week.”
In Lowe’s mind, Hayden and Junction City are likely to be projected as the top two teams in the Centennial League — and the lucky Spartans get them in weeks two and three of the season.
EHS travels to Hayden on Sept. 12 following a 2007 season in which the Spartans didn’t face the Wildcats. Hayden finished 10-2 last year, losing to Andale in the 4A quarterfinals. Hayden’s key returners include All-Centennial League dual-threat quarterback T.J. McGreevy, a junior, as well as three senior defenders who joined McGreevy on last year’s league first team: defensive end Scott Simons, defensive lineman Corey Ingenthron and linebacker Michael Peterson.
The Spartans return to Emporia the following week to face Junction City (9-2), which lost in the 5A quarters to Goddard last year. The Bluejays will bring back senior second team all-league quarterback Ty Zimmerman, as well as senior linebacker Andre Briggs and specialist Chris Toombs, also second-teamers. Five other returning Bluejays were All-Centennial honorable mention.
“Right off the bat, I mean Hayden and Junction City back to back, I mean that’s definitely (tough),” he said. “Hayden’s gonna be tough, because we haven’t seen ’em for a couple of years, and they’re very good. ... The biggest key is just, we gotta take care of Topeka High first, and then worry about the next one.”
If there’s an “easy” part of the EHS schedule, based on 2007 performance, it might be the four-game stretch that begins when the Spartans travel to Washburn Rural (1-8) on Sept. 26. That game is followed by matchups against Seaman (7-3) at ESU, a road game at Manhattan (4-5) and a home game against Topeka West (0-9). Seaman bowed out in the first round of the 5A playoffs last year, losing to Great Bend 38-14. Topeka West will work at the direction of new coach Chris Perry, who replaces Warren Seitz.
Like a good coach, though, Lowe cautions against overlooking a team like Washburn Rural.
“They’ve improved a lot, and they’ve got most of their kids back,” he said. “There’s certainly nobody on there that we can look past at all.”
Closing the EHS schedule will be a road game against Salina Central (8-4) and a home date with Salina South (2-7). While Salina Central’s Mustangs reached the state semifinals last year, losing to Bishop Carroll, South will be in its first season under new coach Chip Sherman, who won three state titles and logged 20 straight winning seasons at Platte County High School in Missouri.
Keeping focused on the next opponent isn’t something Lowe thinks will be a problem for this group of Spartans — even if that opponent seems like an easier game, on paper, than the one the following week. If the Spartans maintain that focus, they might still be playing in mid-November.
“Our philosophy has always been, just play this game, and this play, and this down, and never look ahead,” Lowe said. “And we just have to keep continuing to do that.”
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