Varsity Kansas - The Blog

Not sure if this is really a curse, but if I were South Central (located in Coldwater), an 8-Man Division II team, I’d feel cursed by the playoff gods.

Not one of South Central’s players have played in the playoffs until this season, but to get to their first playoff game last night (Tuesday), they had to travel to Cedar Vale, which is a 350-mile round trip. Coldwater is in southwest Kansas but is the farthest west team in the east side of the bracket.

Coach Matt Smith did his best to make the trip seem not so long.

 ”We stopped in Harper, took a restroom break and then ate lunch in Wellington and then at Southwestern College… we hung out and watched practice for an hour and got off the bus. That helps when we don’t have to be for four to five hours (straight).”

Smith said his team was a little sluggish, but this is their first trip to the playoffs and they handled it.

Well, they have an even longer distance to travel on Saturday when they go to Hope, for a 430-mile round trip. It just keeps getting worse and worse for this team.

“I’m working on an itinerary right now,” Smith said. “I’m trying to figure out who I can call, what’s between here and Hope, what’s some place to stop where someone in the coaching fraternity will be kind to let us hang out for an hour, hour and a half. We’ve got a 4 p.m. game, so we’ll leave at 7:30 or 8 in the morning and stop in hutchinson or McPherson for lunch.”

It’s a crazy situation for this team to be in, but that’s life in 8-Man.

OK, I’m not sure if this is dangerous or not, just opening up this thread to fans of these two teams. (I’ve been warned that open threads on the WE Blog — our editorial page blog — tend to get nasty) But I know there’s plenty of you interested in this game, judging by the number who have commented on an earlier post.

I’m also not sure what else you guys can say about this game. It should be an outstanding game between two stellar teams. Echoing an earlier post — too bad it happens in the second week of the playoffs. But whoever wins will go far in the playoffs.

I’m thinking of wussing out and not picking a winner because both are so good, but, for argument’s sake, I’m taking Garden Plain.

Let the comments begin.

Well, the first night of playoff football is over, as are the soccer quarterfinals.

In soccer: Congrats to Heights, which beat Southeast, Kapaun which won at Liberal (which had beaten Kapaun twice earlier this season) and McPherson, which is still unbeaten.

In football: Conway Springs beat Collegiate, Buhler beat Abilene, Andale handled Goodland as Garden Plain did the same to Medicine Lodge. Smith Center demolished Plainville as expected.

With Hesston’s win over Sterling, we now for sure have Saturday’s matchup between Garden Plain and Hesston, which you readers have been commenting on for several weeks. Should I give you your own thread? I think I might.

Andover Central was upset by Wellington. This was quite a game. Andover Central was hurt by not having Spencer Glenn for the first half (he had an injured elbow), but I don’t know how much it would have helped. The Jaguars made so many crucial errors on special teams, with turnovers. They nearly made a comeback, but Wellington took advantage of several key plays.

Mulvane is still perfect after beating Rose Hill for the second time this season. Huldon Tharp was the man — again. What can’t this kid do?

I was at the Andover Central game and so was Bryce Brown, watching friend Jaydan Bird (who got the boot off but still didn’t play) and several other friends from the Jaguars. One of the funniest things I’ve seen happen this season is a young kid from Andover Central was taking cell phone pics of Bryce as he talked to a group of kids. Unbelievable.

I’ve had a few questions on the Q&A forum, so this is just a reminder that if you’ve got a question, you can send it to joanna@varsitykansas.com or duane@varsitykansas.com or write it on the blog. That forum is on its way out because we’re trying to send all traffic this way to The Blog.

Here’s one from the forum that came today:

Is the state of high school football so bad in Wichita that none of the teams were in the top 10 at the state level? I think I saw NW at 7-1 listed in the “others” section. How will the cities basketball teams fare in the state rankings? Any top 5 teams (boys and girls) in the city?

Eddie deRoulet, Houston, TX 10/30/07

 Wichita has definitely struggled on the state level in football. There have been some good teams in recent years — Heights last year, Bishop Carroll for the last few years, Northwest is up there pretty consistently, as well. But Wichita just hasn’t had those dominant teams as it had during the years when Southeast and Kapaun were ruling football.

Now on the basketball side, Wichita is usually the place for talent. Of course, Southeast and East didn’t make it to state last year — still can’t believe that! — but they’ll both be up there this year. Northwest and Heights are definitely improved, Kapaun and North will be teams to watch, as well.

I don’t know if you are, but I’m ready for the start of the football playoffs. The only time of year that I enjoy more is the basketball postseason in March.

Before I get into my question for you, check out Bob Lutz’s story on Smith Center here. It’s an outstanding story and it shows just how amazing the team really is — hello, it lost its top two backs early in the season!

OK, onto my question: What I want to know is — what matchup are you looking forward to most?

I would bet most would agree that one of the most intriguing possible games is Hesston vs. Garden Plain in 3A. I saw this game last year and I would bet we’ll see it again. It’s a treat for any football-loving person.

McPherson and Bishop Carroll is another that sounds good. How about Hutchinson and, well, anyone that can make a game of it?

Tell me your thoughts as we head into our first night of football playoffs.

Three nights of football this week? Does it really get any better than this? (and if you’re a futbol fan, you’ve got soccer going on, too)

I’m looking for your predictions from some of these games on Tuesday night. Tell me what you think and why. By the way, for those making overall 4A predictions, remember that Topeka Hayden is in the west this year, not the east.

Here we go:

Wellington (6-3) at Andover Central (8-1)

Rose Hill (4-5) at Mulvane (9-0)

Abilene (6-3) at Buhler (6-3)

Collegiate (5-4) at Conway Springs (7-2)

Moundridge (6-3) at Minneapolis (6-3)

And for the lovers of the other football:

Southeast (13-5) at Heights (14-3-1)

Derby (12-5-1) at Washburn Rural (17-0-1)

Kapaun (15-3) at Liberal (16-1-1)

Topeka Seaman (11-4-2) at McPherson (18-0)

W. Trinity (13-5) at Independence (14-1-1)

Andover (13-3-2) at Buhler (15-3)

You guys have sure embraced this blog — loving that. So I picked through some comments, as I’ve done over the past few weeks, that were written on the blog over the past few days.

Check says: How about some props to Derby for their win. I havent seen any good pub in the Eagle on them all year and it seems like they are the biggest 6-A turn around so far this year.

This one made me laugh. I wrote a column about Derby after the second week of the season, then wrote another column about the Panthers in October. We also had them on the cover of our section after they beat East in the first week of districts. Derby’s got love, all kinds of love.

XCFAN2 says:

I agree with CCFan. If you weren’t Trinity, you had nothing to look at in the “preview”. Start times, state rankings. Please, i’ve been looking at those all year. The Wichita Eagle is a joke, as are these blogs.

Um, thanks. I think. Each season there is a group of people that are especially vocal — last year it was the Cheney football fans, for those who might remember. Well, in the fall of 2007, it’s the cross country fans. Sadly, the weekly cross country notebooks, our running rankings the four times that the coaches ranked them (including in Saturday’s paper) and running a preview for Saturday’s state meets were not enough. We’re always glad to hear from you, though, and that’s no joke.

 Brian Butler says:

Big boy, Id love to meet you and for you to say any of these classless things to my face. If the Browns do leave Wichita it would be more than warranted. There are only a handful of people that have ever assisted in helping them out of kindness. And with so much negativity running rampid……A couple of you people are pure jokes and cowards. Talk about how well Bryce is doing in the classroom. And just to let you know why he threw the ball in the stands that didnt cost them any points, because they connected on a two point conversion afterwards; he planned it when he saw all the little kids in the stands before the game and thought that they would get a kick out of it. Class or not? Let you tell it he should have gotten a 4.0 instead of a 3.58 GPA. Come on Bryce your have no class a 3.58 is dissappointing from such a phenomenal player. Keep hating. Say it to my face bigboy….Then get your hands ready.

The Browns have definitely taken heat this year, and I can understand Butler’s anger. I myself can’t quite understand why there is so much crap said against the two. Regardless, I wish Butler would have ignored this. He can’t win here. It’s the Internet and there’s so many places people go in anonymity to say the hateful things they think.

The best bet is to ignore it. You can’t win by arguing on the Internet, and too many times it gets worse, i.e., calling out someone to fight.

CL Fan says:

… Players like Marky Nolen, Joseph Randle and Chris Harper have benefitted from playing against the Brown Brothers and have gotten serious looks from major colleges. I take back my comment about “carrying Wichita high school football on their backs”. Instead, they are carrying Kansas high school football on their backs.

I cut out some of the stuff CL fan says — not a big fan of cussing on a high school blog — but I have to admit I chuckled when I read that Chris Harper and Joseph Randle have benefited from the attention the Browns have gotten.

The reason for my chuckle? Harper doesn’t need anyone bringing him attention. He got that all by himself thanks to his being 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, running a 40 in 4.38 seconds and having a 40-inch vertical. Randle’s the same way. This kid is talented and he’s impossible to miss. Didn’t need the Browns.

Again, thanks for all the comments on the blog.

Alright, let’s see how smart everyone is. Check out our printable playoff brackets here and let me know who you’re picking to play in each of the championships.

Playoffs start Tuesday for the smaller classes so get your picks on now.

By the way, this is an overall prediction list — not by game. I’ll do that on Tuesday for a handful of games.

So let me know — who are your favorites?

Hey, did you know there’s state cross country meets on Saturday? (Just thought I’d get that out of the way before I made any of our avid fans get mad yet again.) Check out Saturday’s paper for a story on Trinity boys cross country.

State volleyball started today. The Wichita area got shut out in Class 6A, but Newton is in the 5A semifinals. Andover moved on to the 4A semifinals (but has to face St. James. Not good). Hutchinson Trinity and Remington are in the 3A semis. Moundridge moved into the 2A semifinals without losing a game.

Onto Football!

Goddard’s in even though Kale Pick came back from missing 7 games with a broken thumb. Pick was outstanding, but Goddard’s defense was solid and the offense controlled the clock — thanks to three plays (iso, counter, sweep). Nice win for the Lions.

Northwest beats Maize. Sophomore Demarcus Robinson is an 1,000-yard rusher this season, rushing for 214 tonight. He also returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Larry Burnshire also had a nice night with three interceptions, running one back for a touchdown that turned the game around. Has this Grizzlies’ team found its mojo?

Derby handled Southeast in fine fashion. Jake Snodgrass had 164 passing yards and two touchdowns in the first half. Yikes. In the second half, Aaron Wilson had 101 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Yes, Southeast’s Joseph Randle ran for 244 with a score. He’s a stud, too. Both are in the playoffs.

Heights had one of the most disappointing nights, losing to Manhattan and missing out on the playoffs (Emporia beat Junction City). Heights led 10-0 at the half but lost when Manhattan made a late comeback. Frustrating again.

Carroll drove all the way to Liberal and won. Need we say more? That drive to Liberal is no joke. I’ve made it, I don’t like it.

Kapaun won at Newton and gets to play host to Great Bend. Not a great draw for a district winner.

North and Campus had nothing to play for, playoffs wise. But Grail Brewster had a nice night, rushing for 104 yards on 33 carries. Coach Tom Beason told our correspondent, Brooks Sealey, that Brewster’s the future of the program.

West played in another game that meant nothing to the playoffs, but Valley Center got a nice win, holding the Pioneers to minus-1 yards of offense in the first half.

If you’re interested in the brackets for 4A through 8-Man, check out our printable brackets. Go to Kansas.com and to the scores list. Class 5A and 6A will be up on Saturday.
And now the real season starts — the playoffs.

When Tony Johnson took over as South’s football coach in the offseason, he discovered that Marky Nolen was a special athlete. Over the past month, Johnson busily worked to get Nolen the Division I recognition he thinks the senior deserves. Now it looks like that time has come.

Johnson said today that in the past week, he’s heard from Oklahoma, K-State, Miami and  LSU. All are expressing interest in Nolen, a wide receiver/defensive end.

“I sent so much tape last month, I knew eventually someone would notice he’s a great player” Johnson said. “He’s raw. He’s never lifted weights… he’s so naturally strong and talented that if he is redshirted, he could be a force.”

Nolen still must qualify — he takes the ACT on Saturday and must pass two core classes in the spring to be Division I qualified.