Crest High’s Lancers are among the final eight teams in the Kansas Eight-Man, Division I playoffs. Two wins away from a state championship game berth are the Lancers.
But first things first. The Lancers have to deal with Lebo High’s Wolves tonight. Both teams are 9-1 going into the regional playoff contest.
Kickoff is 7 p.m. in Lebo.
Crest is back at the regional game for the first time since 2001. The Lancers lost at Pretty Prairie that year.
“It’s awesome to win a bi-district title but we know we still have work to do,” said senior defensive end Thomas Dietrich at Tuesday’s win over Cedar Vale/Dexter in Colony.
“We’re taking it one game at a time. Just like tonight when things didn’t go our way, we picked each other up. We had the heart and desire to win this one.”
In recent history, the Lancers and Wolves are 1-1. Last year, Lebo rolled over Crest 50-0 in the season finale. But the last time the Lancers were in Lebo, they beat the Wolves 51-32 to secure a place in the 2008 playoffs.
Both teams have one loss. It came at the hands of top-ranked Madison and by the identical score — 46-0. The winner of tonight’s game more than likely will face Madison in the semifinal round. Madison (10-0) hosts Central Burden (7-3) this afternoon.
“Lebo is a tough opponent. We have to shut down their triple option running attack. They are pretty balanced offensively but want to run the ball first,” said Crest head coach Brent Smith, who has the Lancers in the playoffs for the second time in his six-year stint at the helm.
“Our young men are dedicated to playing the best we can each game. We have eight seniors but there is a cohesion on this team from top to bottom.”
Smith pointed out on sophomore tailback Kyle Hammond’s 68-yard touchdown run Tuesday that it was freshman end Brock Ellis who had the key block to spring Hammond.
Lebo is powered by its strong junior class, including quarterback Trevor White. Austin Holmes is the junior starting tailback with sophomore Walker Davies as the fullback.
Alex Linsey is one of just four seniors on the Wolf squad. Linsey caught a key 67-yard touchdown pass from White in Tuesday’s 50-42 win over Downs-Lakeside.
Linsey and junior Thadd Barker are pretty good at offensive ends, Smith said.
“We’re comparable in size to Lebo. It comes down to doing what we do best — play strong defense and create offense from that with stops and turnovers. We move the ball well enough on offense,” Smith said.
“I’m confident in our kids to go out and play as we’ve played all season. If we do that, we have a strong chance of winning the game.”
Lancers challenge Wolves in playoffs
