Photo by Adam Vogler
Emporia High's Mark Kolmer dives into the end-zone for a touchdown during EHS's 31-13 homcoming win over Seaman Friday, Oct. 3.
Emporia High has been playing its best football for the last game and a half — which is a good thing, because the Spartans will likely need to be on their game to get a win in Manhattan on Friday.
The Indians didn’t play their best football last week, but still got an ugly 13-3 win over Shawnee Heights, which ran Manhattan’s record to 5-0 on the year. It’s the Indians’ best start since 1997 and their best under 10-year coach Butch Albright.
Scouting Emporia
It sounds like a broken record, but here it is again: If Emporia’s offensive line is opening holes — like it did last week, when Mark Kolmer ran for 198 yards against Washburn Rural — the Spartans are very likely to win.
The running game is key not only to the EHS offense, but also the defense — because, last week’s performance notwithstanding, the Spartan defense has had trouble stopping the run itself for most of the year.
Last week, the O-line — whose starters include tackles Cody Yevak and Jordan Barr, guards TJ Heins and Lorenzo Serna and center Danny Goodman — was unstoppable, which made Kolmer unstoppable.
“I don’t think any team in the league can stop us with our power (formations),” quarterback Taylor Euler said after last week’s game. “We haven’t used it much this year, but we brought it out tonight. It’s almost our bread and butter. Mark’s a great running back, and our line’s probably one of the best in the state.”
Expecting nearly 200 yards out of Kolmer every week is a stretch, but he’s now healthy and looking like what Emporia desperately needed — a back who can carry the load — to find some of last season’s magic. As the dive component of the triple option, Kolmer is the shortest distance between the line of scrimmage and 10 yards upfield.
With two more interceptions last week, the EHS defense continued its knack for generating turnovers. Euler, playing at safety for the second week in a row, made a great interception on a tipped pass, and Josh Maguire picked off a downfield up-for-grabs ball.
Scouting Manhattan
The Indians love to run — even though Shawnee Heights held them to just 49 yards last week — and their main weapon is junior running back Derek Campbell.
Campbell was a second-team All-Centennial League pick last year as a sophomore. He had just 40 yards last week and has missed one game because of a violation of team rules, but was averaging more than 100 yards per game prior to that absence. He’s also a returning first-team all-leaguer as a special-teamer. Other key offensive players include quarterback Blair DeBord and receiver Cale Miller. Miller played for the first time this season in the Indians’ fourth game against Topeka West after recovering from a lacerated liver, and caught four passes for 112 yards.
A running team foremost, this Indians offense has also been noted for their increased success at hitting the occasional big play-action pass.
“That Campbell kid... has been running really physically this year,” said Seaman coach Blake Pierce, whose team lost to Manhattan three weeks ago. “Last year, he was a little less physical runner. This year, not only does he have the speed and the moves, but he knows when to run over you, too. ...
“And I tell you what they do well, too, is when they smell blood, they go for the throat. We had ’em down early, and didn’t score when we had an opportunity to, and it was like, that’s all they needed. They just need a little momentum, and they scored 21 straight points on us in the second quarter.”
The Indians’ defense features senior defensive tackle Adam Rogers, a second-team all-league pick last season as an end.
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