The Class 2-1A District 6 title is at stake when Olpe travels to Humboldt on Thursday.
Both teams are already in the state playoffs. The Eagles and Cubs are in a three-team district with Yates Center, which both teams have already beat. But the game will still mean plenty to the Eagles and coach Chris Schmidt. As the Lyon County League’s only 11-man team, they haven’t had any kind of championship to play for yet.
“We’re gonna go after it,” Schmidt said. “I think winning the district means a lot to the kids, and the second thing is, it automatically makes you have a home game the first round of the playoffs. So that’s big motivation there, to be able to play at home automatically.
“So we’re definitely going to give it everything we got, and hopefully we get out of it without injuries, knowing we’re going on anyway.”
Last week’s 49-0 win over Yates Center just continued Olpe’s nonstop run of dominance. The Eagles, who are 7-0 because of a cancelled game against Maranatha Academy two weeks ago, have allowed double-digit points just once all season. They’ve scored 365 points and have allowed 36.
The second half against Yates Center featured an opportunity for Schmidt to rest his starters, and nine different Eagles carried the ball. Josh Lambert ran for 74 yards against the Wildcats, and Cole Krueger rushed for 52.
Humboldt (6-2) is on a six-game winning streak since dropping their opening two games. The Cubs dismissed Yates Center 40-7 two weeks ago and defeated West Elk 56-38 in a nondistrict matchup last week. Quarterback Andrew Whitaker and tailback Thad Wells lead the Cubs.
“They’re a run-oriented team,” Schmidt said. “They can pass the ball, but they definitely want to come at you. They run a lot of option and veer stuff, so the quarterback’s a good runner, and of course the tailback is, too, pretty good. He reads the option stuff real well, the way he looks on film and watching him play.”
Schmidt said after the win last week that he felt like the Eagles needed to be challenged.
“At this time, I’m happy with what we’re doing,” Schmidt said. “We’ve had some games where we haven’t been pushed as much here recently. So I think we’re improving, but I think this game will be a good indication of where we’re at.”