Sixty-five points, 423 yards passing, two receivers with more than 160 yards. The Northern Heights offense looked last week like a unit that’s really begun to click.
Of course, that offensive output came against now 0-5 Lyndon, and this week’s game against West Franklin — a team that dropped its first game to Mission Valley last week in a battle of the Flint Hills League undefeateds — should prove more challenging for senior quarterback Kenneth Bronson and the rest of the Wildcats.
“(It’s) our Homecoming,” Heights co-head coach Tad Hatfield said. “Be a big one, big victory to get if we can pull it off.”
Hatfield thought defense would be the main thing the Wildcats would have to work on for this week, and the 28 offensive points Lyndon scored would agree with him. But the Wildcat offense is looking like it can outscore just about anyone.
Bronson is the league’s best passer, and his ability to occasionally run the ball has made a big difference for Heights this year. He added 84 yards rushing in last week’s win over Lyndon, including a 50-yard TD run, and has a team-leading 298 rushing yards for the year to go with 1,413 yards in the air.
Senior Roman Murray and sophomore Nick Mendez have emerged as reliable threats in the passing game and were the other stars of the win over Lyndon. Murray caught eight passes for 178 yards and four touchdowns; Mendez snagged seven balls for 162 yards and two TDs. For the season, Murray has 35 catches for 569 yards, putting him on pace for a 1,000-yard regular season.
Heights will have to contend with a West Franklin team that’s allowed just over 15 points per game. Justin Simms is the Falcons’ leading rusher, with 391 yards on 59 carries. Quarterback Collin Brady will get some carries, too. Though Brady doesn’t throw that much — just 59 times on the year — he’s completed just under 56 percent of his passes. He’s also one of the Falcons’ leading tacklers as a linebacker and is a big-play threat in their return game.
West Franklin coach Chuck Lee said slowing down the Wildcats isn’t as simple as stopping the pass, because they’re also running the ball effectively. In addition to Bronson’s rushing totals, sophomore Cody Britton has 221 yards on the year.
“We’re practicing a couple of different things, and once Friday night starts, we’ll see how it works and adjust on the go,” he said.
Lee said the Falcons need to make the most of their offensive possessions.
“Because they’re gonna score some points,” he said. “We just hope they don’t score too many.”