Lebo coach Butch Jones can sum up his team’s season thus far in five words:
“It’s good to be back.”
Good to be 7-0 and bearing a resemblance to the Lebo teams that made 10 playoff appearances in 11 years before last year’s slide. Good to be back among the Lyon County League’s top teams, and in a position tonight to challenge the league’s current big bad bully, Madison, in a huge league and district game tonight at Lebo.
The Wolves have returned to some measure of their past glory, and they’d really like to hammer that point home with a win over the 7-0 Bulldogs.
“I hope we come out and give ’em a good ballgame,” Jones said. “Because obviously, they’ve controlled the district and the league for the last several years — other than Waverly, of course, won the State championship there (in 2006). But basically, they’re the team in charge for the last several years, and we’re hoping we can step up and compete with ’em.”
Lebo and Madison actually shared the LCL title in 2007, but last year, Lebo went south with a 3-6 season while Madison flourished, bashing opponent after opponent and winning the league title easily, then advancing all the way to the Eight-Man I State semifinals.
Madison is still the LCL’s team to beat until someone in the league knocks the Bulldogs off. But Lebo appears far more equipped to do it this year than last, when Madison rang up a 60-12 mercy-rule victory in one half of work.
Both coaches see the two teams as similar. Neither team is likely to get too tricky with the other; while Lebo runs Cole Brockelman, Devon Johnston and company at the Bulldogs, Madison will counter with the legs of Zach Fox, Zach Nowell and Kole Schankie.
“We have to continue playing the kind of defense we’re playing,” Madison coach Fred McClain said. “But we haven’t ran into the kind of speed Lebo presents us. So that’s gonna be a little bit of a problem for us, adjusting to their team speed. But I have confidence in our defense.”
It’s likely to be a test of that speed against Madison’s size.
“Obviously... Madison, they’re really bigger than we are,” Jones said. “Our team speed is as good as it’s ever been on the Eight-Man field. We’ve had faster kids, but our overall team speed is probably as good as it’s ever been. ...
“There’s not a whole lot of room for error. There’s not a lot of room for mistakes.”
Olpe (7-0) at
Yates Center (0-7)
The Eagles didn’t even have to show up last week, taking a 2-0 forfeit win because of the demise of Maranatha Academy’s season before it ever got started. As Olpe begins district play tonight, the Eagles will have to show up this time, but they’ll likely have to do little more than that. Yates Center isn’t just winless — the Wildcats have been shut out in six of their seven games. The closest they came to a win was a 15-14 defeat to Burlington on Oct. 9.
Chase Co. (5-2, 4-2) at Lyndon (2-5, 2-4)
This final Flint Hills League game for Chase County is a break between district games for the Bulldogs, who won their district opener 42-0 over Peabody last week and host Moundridge next week. Jesse Cole and Johnny Lang combined for 203 rushing yards in the win over Peabody.
Northern Heights (3-4, 3-3) vs. Mission Valley (6-1, 5-0)
Following last week’s 28-6 loss to Council Grove to open district play, Heights will have a lot of work to do to avoid ending up the whipping boy of their brutal district. The Wildcats face Flint Hills League leader Mission Valley tonight, then travel to Rossville next week — and Rossville just beat Mission Valley 53-6.
Hartford (3-4) at
Marmaton Valley (3-4)
Now that Hartford has finished its murderous three-game run against Crest, Madison and Lebo, the Jags can look to stop their four-game losing streak and salvage a winning record over the final two weeks. Marmaton Valley lost 60-34 last week to Southern Coffey County, which Hartford will host next week in the season finale.
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