Pretenders and Contenders

It that time of the season many refer to as cutting time. Another word appears before cutting but I will refrain for the purposes of this blog post. Also for the purposes of this post, I will onlybe blogging about the teams that I have knowledge about.

Win or go home and for 8-man, win and go to the state title game.

Victoria will have a rematch with their friends Quivira Heights. The Knights and Thunderbirds have met six times in the past three years, the latter half of the games coming in sub-state playoff matchups. Both teams are ranked #2 and #3 respectively in 8-man division II polls. This game is a push because they are both so good and have been at this point before, obviously. Q. Heights might get the edge because they STOMPED Otis-Bison 42-6 to advance, and Otis-Bison DRILLED Victoria, 76-26. You do the math.

Quinter has steamrolled their way to play Clifton-Clyde on Saturday. If you haven't seen Quinter play, they are the biggest 8-man team ever - huge! Five players over 6'4"! And they more motivation than you could muster on your best day, playing for their head coach Greg Woolf who is fighting cancer. They have scored over 100 points in their two previous playoff games, allowing only 6 points. Clifton-Clyde made it to the 8-man Division I title game last year, so you know they are playoff ready. Quinter hasn't been this far before and the Eagles have.

The Redmen rule 2A. Everyone knows that. They have the championships and the winning streak to prove it but Meade, like everyone else in 2A, 3A, and probably 4A, would like to end the streak and grab their own title. Smith Center and Meade played last season to advance to the title game and SC routed the Buffs, 60-14 in Meade. Friday night at 6 p.m. the game will be in Hubbard Stadium, a not so friendly place for opposing teams. SC routed a very good Minneapolis team on the road, and the end result could have been a lot worse than 63-17 had Colt Rogers and Matt Atwood not fumbled in the endzone. Until the Redmen lose, it is their title to win and I don't see Meade, of all teams, stopping them.

The other side of the bracket, Ellis and Oakley will have a rematch from a week two, 14-0 Oakley win. From the people that were there, I was told that it was one of the most boring football games of the year. Defensive struggle all night, resulting in a two touchdown snoozefest. This one is a push as well for me because both teams have been playing very well lately (Ellis actually had a touchdown called back against Smith Center that would have snapped the streak) but Oakley has been deeper in the playoffs than Ellis has. Even though the game is in Ellis, I think Oakley takes it.

The two surprises of the season, Norton and Hutch Trinity will lock horns on Saturday. Expectations for Norton were high in the preseason with Terrell Lane and Zane Perez in the backfield but losses to Smith Center, Ellis and Scott City had people thinking they were just another wrestling school trying to be a football school. But now people are believing, especially after dispatching Beloit 42-20. Expectations for Hutch Trinity in the preseason were inconclusive. Nobody knew what they were going to do because usually they aren't very good, except on the basketball court. But that was then and this is a team that beat Conway Springs. Playing in Norton isn't easy, especially with a four hour plus road trip for the Celtics. Norton plays on.