Olpe thought it might have to go to the air a little more this year to move the ball. Instead, Linden Stueve emerged.
Moving from slotback to tailback this year, Stueve has been a revelation for the undefeated Eagles. He hadn’t played much tailback since junior high, and before the season started, Eagles coach Chris Schmidt tentatively projected him to be one of the Eagles’ starting receivers.
“But once practice started, I let him run a little bit, and kind of rotated three or four kids in that (tailback) spot, and probably after a week and a half, he just kind of showed me he was the guy,” Schmidt said. “I thought he ran hard, he read his blocks real well, and so we kind of made that decision... basically a week before our first game.”
The results through Olpe’s first four games: 605 yards on 67 carries, seven touchdowns and an average of 151 yards per game. It’s safe to say that Stueve, with a lot of help from the Eagle line that’s opening the holes, has adjusted well to becoming the Eagles’ featured back.
“The biggest thing is, last year as slotback, I’d get the ball maybe two, three times a game,” Stueve said. “And now at tailback, I’m getting the ball 15, 16 times. It’s just a lot more responsibility.”
Schmidt admits that this year he thought Olpe might end up throwing the ball a little more. Not only did the Eagles, last year’s Class 2-1A State runner-up, lose their top two running backs from last season, Cole Krueger and Josh Lambert, but they returned a capable passer in Matt Redeker and a playmaking receiver in Bradley Argabright.
But Stueve and his blockers have allowed the Eagle running game to keep churning out the yards. In last week’s 48-6 win at West Elk, Olpe ran the ball 40 times, including 15 by Stueve for 179 yards, and passed just six times.
“I still think those kids you can’t replace,” Schmidt said of Krueger and Lambert. “But we’ve got kids that I think have stepped in and rallied around each other. And besides Argabright, we did need another kid to step up and make some big plays, and Linden has provided us with that.”
Olpe will try to win its fifth straight game to open the season tonight when it hosts Sedan. The Devils are 0-4 and have lost each of their last three games by 41 or more points. Just like they did throughout last year’s regular season, the Eagles have blown through the early part of their schedule unchallenged.
“It’s tough to say right now — there’s so many good teams out there — to maybe say that we’re gonna be contending for the State championship,” Stueve said. “But we’re a good team, and I think (if) we play as good as we’re capable of playing, we should be there in the end.”
Madison (4-0)
at SCC (2-2)
Entering the start of Eight-Man district play, Madison looks as dominant as ever on the scoreboard. The Bulldogs mercy-ruled Marais des Cygnes Valley last week, winning 50-0 in a one-half game to post its third shutout of the year. During that half, the Bulldogs ran up 311 yards on the ground, led by Zach Nowell’s 107.
Hartford (3-1)
at Crest (4-0)
Hartford started out fast, with wins in its first three games before last week’s two-point loss to Waverly. But starting tonight, the Jaguars must take one last crack at navigating a tough Eight-Man Division I district. The Jags, who learned earlier this week that they’ll be reclassified to Eight-Man II for 2010-11, travel to face an undefeated Crest team that’s averaging 48 points per game. Hartford’s district also includes Madison, Lebo, SCC and Marmaton Valley.
Marmaton Valley
(2-2) at Lebo (4-0)
Cole Brockelman’s 362 yards on the ground for the Wolves rank him fifth in the state among Eight-Man rushers. Lebo will try to stay undefeated against a Marmaton Valley team that has a pair of 50-0 wins but lost to St. Paul last week 44-42.
Osage City (3-1) at Chase County (3-1)
Chase County looks as though it’s built to win ugly — the Bulldogs’ three wins have come by scores of 19-7, 13-7 and last week’s weather-affected 13-6 win over Northern Heights. Tonight, they’ll host an Osage squad that’s coming off a 39-12 win over Council Grove and has Jordan Tice, who’s been one of the state’s most spectacular backs. Tice already has 984 yards rushing this year, ranking second in the state.
Lyndon (1-3) at
N. Heights (1-3)
Northern Heights isn’t putting points on the board as it has been accustomed to doing in recent years. After managing a lone TD against Chase County, the Wildcats are averaging just 15 points per game, and only 19 in their three losses combined. Their top playmaker, receiver Nick Mendez, has 316 yards receiving on 25 catches. Lyndon’s top offensive threat is quarterback Derek Banzhaf, who has 434 yards rushing on the ground and 531 through the air.
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