Rossville & Wellsville Ready

From the Capital-Journal
By Brent Maycock

brent.maycock@cjonline.com

ROSSVILLE — Finally.

In a word, it sums up the emotions Wellsville felt after ousting Sabetha 31-14 last Friday in the Class 3A playoffs. It wasn’t so much the foe the Eagles had conquered, but rather the timing of the victory.

After playing in four state championship games from 1982-96, Wellsville had hit a playoff wall. From 2002-2014, the Eagles qualified for the playoffs 11 times yet couldn’t find its way back to the semifinals let alone the championship game.

Four trips ended in the first round. Another four stalled in the second round. And three ended in the quarterfinals — all at the hands of Silver Lake, including last year’s heartbreaking 20-14 overtime loss to the Eagles.

“We did not feel good after that Silver Lake game last year,” Wellsville coach Brad Burkdoll said. “We felt we controlled a lot of the game, but Silver Lake made some big plays to win it. It’s always tough this time of the year and for our guys to finally get over that hump and beat a very good Sabetha team was big. Our guys are on a mission this year and want to get to that state game bad.”

The roadblock standing between Wellsville (10-2) and its first title-game appearance since losing to Beloit in the 1996 3A title game is a big one, No. 1 and defending champion Rossville (12-0). The Bulldawgs enjoyed their own playoff breakthrough a year ago, finally getting past Silver Lake in the semifinals and rode the momentum to a 21-14 win over Scott City in the championship game.

Rossville hasn’t slowed down this year in its quest for back-to-back crowns. On pace to set a state record for yards per game, averaging 346.3 per contest, the Bulldawgs have worn the bull’s-eye well this season, handling even their stiffest tests with relative ease.

Rossville dominated the second halves of showdowns with Silver Lake and Nemaha Central to break free from tight games at halftime. In last week’s 42-32 win over Colgan, the Bulldawgs overcame two second-half turnovers and near flawless play from the Panthers to keep their undefeated season alive.

“We knew these tests were coming and the fact that we’re still alive, speaks volumes about the kids meeting those challenges,” Rossville coach Derick Hammes said. “We’re a veteran group who has been down this road before and that’s beneficial for us.

“We’ve had three turnovers the last two weeks and we’ve been very good through the course of the year of taking care of the football. We’ve got to clean that up because your opponent this time of the year will take advantage of those mistakes.”

Wellsville got the season off to a somewhat slow start, going 2-2 with losses to Prairie View (7-6) and Eudora (20-6). That might have been expected with the Eagles have to replace leading rusher Brett Osbern, quarterback Cole Silsby, their top-four receivers and their top lineman.

But starting with a hard-fought 14-7 win over 4A Division II quarterfinalist Santa Fe Trail in week five, the Eagles have hit their stride. Wellsville has allowed just 34 points in its past eight games, while putting up 383.

Zach Strawn has replaced Osbern as the feature back and run for 1,140 yards and 18 touchdowns, while quarterback Tony Dougan and tailback Daryon Winton have each added more than 450 yards on the ground and combined 17 touchdowns. Dougan has also thrown for 1,041 yards and 12 touchdowns.

“What I’m getting from coaches I’ve talked with who have played them, they really talk about their team speed,” Hammes said. “They said, ‘Be ready for it,’ and sometimes that’s easier said than done. We’re expecting a very athletic team that has many ways to move the football.”

Rossville showed its offensive balance in the Colgan victory as receiver Christian Roduner and running back Dawson Hammes combined for 179 yards rushing and two touchdowns with Roduner also catching a 35-yard touchdown pass. Hammes has now topped 1,000 yards on the ground (1,101) and Roduner is one of four Rossville receivers with at least 270 yards (574).

Tucker Horak led the way with 188 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, pushing his season total to 2,441 yards rushing and 41 touchdowns. With 1,900 yards passing, Horak is just 100 yards from becoming the first player in state history to rush and pass for 2,000 yards in the same season.

Despite all of Rossville’s offensive weapons, Burkdoll thinks his team matches up well with the defending champs.

“They remind me of our team,” Burkdoll said. “I think we can throw the ball a little bit, have a physical running game too just like they do. The thing that jumps out at me is their speed on defense, and we’re the exact same way. They’ve got athletes all over and that’s going to be a challenge, but our schedule gave us confidence knowing how well we played against the good teams we saw. We couldn’t ask to be playing any differently than we are right now.”