War on 24 Revisited

From CJOnline:

SILVER LAKE — The history is impossible to ignore.
    Eight times in the last 12 years, Silver Lake and Rossville have waged their War on 24 showdown in the Class 3A state semifinals. Eight times in the last 12 years, Silver Lake emerged victorious — part of a run where the Eagles have made 11 trips to the finals in the last 12 years.
    There have been close calls (13-12 OT in 2002; 34-26 in 2004), blowouts (38-0 in 2010, 42-0 in 2007) and everything in between.
    Yet when the rivalry is renewed on the big stage once again at 7 p.m. Friday in Silver Lake, both coaches know that history is something that must be forgotten.
    “Prior to the game, I think it’s more of a big deal,” Silver Lake coach C.J. Hamilton said. “Once the game starts, it’s not even part of the thought process. You’re focused so much on what’s going on on the field and what needs to get done, you don’t really pay attention to the history of it. It all disappears.”
    Rossville coach Derick Hammes agreed.
    “The pressure of it enters both teams’ minds, I would imagine,” Hammes said. “But in terms of preparation and how it needs to be played and what a team has to do in order to win the game, the past doesn’t factor a whole lot into that. Every game is a new one.
    “I don’t think there’s a mental block of any kind, or an advantage for one side or the other. It’s simply a football game and each one is different.”
    The first meeting between the two this season certainly had a different feel to it. It wasn’t necessarily the outcome — a 24-14 Rossville win — that was unusual with the victory the second straight in the regular season over the Eagles that secured a second straight Mid-East League title.
Rather, it was the manner in which the Bulldawgs got the victory. Rossville shut out the Eagles for three quarters and held Silver Lake to just 215 yards of total offense, including just 66 yards on the ground.
    Silver Lake’s offense wasn’t at full strength in that contest, missing tailback Cody Renfro, and likely won’t be again in the rematch.
    The void this time could be even more noticeable as senior quarterback Ryan Matzke is expected to miss the game after being injured (knee, head) in last week’s 20-14 overtime win against Wellsville.
    Matzke has accounted for more than 2,700 yards of total offense this season, throwing for 2,098 yards and 24 touchdowns while rushing for 657 yards and 12 scores.
    Junior Cole Baird will take over for Matzke, moving in from his receiver spot where he’s caught 20 passes for 374 yards and two touchdowns. Baird caught at TD pass against Wellsville and ran in the game-winning score in overtime, but has attempted just two passes all season.
    “He just hasn’t had the reps,” Hamilton said. “Even when we got ahead in some of our games this season, we didn’t work him at quarterback because he had enough on his plate at receiver and playing offense and defense both. We didn’t want to burden him with the quarterback situation, too.
“It is what it is and we’re not the only team that’s ever had an injury in a key spot. You don’t know how they’ll handle the emotion and we’re playing a really good team. It’s not like we’re doing this at mid-season against somebody that’s trying to find themselves. Rossville knows who they are, what they’re about and they have a lot of confidence, as they should.”
While Silver Lake has spent the week re-tooling a bit, Rossville enters the showdown with its offense running at full speed. Tucker and Thatcher Horak combined for all eight touchdowns in the Bulldawgs’ 56-19 romp past Colgan last Friday, continuing huge seasons that have helped Rossville put up a whopping 635 points (57.7 per game).
    Tucker Horak, who ran for 192 yards in the first game against Silver Lake, rushed for 198 yards and five touchdowns and also returned an interception for a touchdown, while Thatcher returned the opening kickoff for a score and later caught a touchdown pass from Tucker.
For the season, Tucker Horak has rushed for 1,783 yards and 25 touchdowns, while throwing for 1,508 yards and 21 scores. Thatcher has added 880 yards rushing and 475 receiving, scoring 21 touchdowns.
    “This is a confident group,” Hammes said. “They’ve done this three times now and experience is such a big thing. We’re battle-tested as well. The two games with Centralia in the long run were great for us. Having Lake at the end of the schedule at the end of the year instead of the middle of the season was good. And then going on the road and playing in a different environment at Colgan was good for us.
    “Last year we really didn’t have those same kind of challenges. ... You can look at this year and say it’s been smooth sailing. But there have been things we’ve had to overcome — injuries along the way, an end of the season schedule with some great coaches on the other side. We’ve pulled together and answered challenges.”