One team is playing for its sixth straight title and its 10th overall. The other is playing in its second state title game.
The former is Bishop Miege, a 4A powerhouse. The latter is Andover Central, a school perhaps more known for basketball that went only 5-5 in football last season.
But that doesn’t mean that both teams don’t expect a competitive matchup when they face off in Topeka at Hummer Sports Park at 1:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
Miege enters with a 10-2 record and Andover Central enters at 11-1. And both head coaches, Jon Holmes for Miege and Derek Tuttle for Andover Central, know a tough regular season schedule helped prepare them for a run to the state championship game.
Miege plays in the Eastern Kansas League, with many 5A and 6A schools, while Andover Central plays in the Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail League, with several large 4A and 5A schools.
“I think what has helped us is our schedule the first eight weeks of the year helped prepare us for these types of games,” Holmes said of his Stags.
“We didn’t take any team lightly,” Tuttle said. “Many of our opponents in the postseason we were familiar with. That helped our mentality, and we just put up points on the board. Both Miege and our program play in tough leagues. If you survive the regular season, you’re prepared for success when you get to the postseason.”
Miege is led by quarterback Timothy Dorsey, who has throws for 39 touchdowns to an outstanding trio of receivers – Daniel Jackson, Philippe Wesley and Mack Moeller. Jackson has been the target on 25 of those touchdown passes, breaking the state record of 23 that stood since 2004.
But despite the Stags’ air attack, Tuttle knows his Jaguars can’t just focus on the air and not try to stop Miege on the ground where the Stags feature standout senior Brison Cobbins.
“Miege offense does get a lot of passing yards, but they also have a heck of a running game too,” Tuttle said. “Passing game-wise, there quarterback is really good for a junior. Offensively, they find ways to get the Jackson kid the ball; they are very creative.
“We have to know where No. 3 (Jackson) is; he is a huge challenge.”
The Jaguars are led by senior quarterback Shomari Parnell, who has thrown for over 2,100 yards and 22 TDs. Parnell’s two primary targets have been senior receivers Matthew Macy and Xavier Bell, who both have over 800 yards receiving and have combined for 21 receiving touchdowns.
“On offense, we need to take advantage of coverage,” Tuttle said. “Xavier Bell and (Matthew) Macy have combined for over 1600 yards receiving. That gives us two very good targets.”
Holmes knows his Stags will have to limit the Jaguars passing attack if his team is to take home its sixth straight state title.
“That is going to give us some trouble for sure,” Holmes said of the Jaguars passing attack. “I think it starts with their quarterback; he does a good job scrambling, does a good job moving around and getting the ball to those guys. That’s going to be something that our guys have to play really close attention to.”
Both teams know they will need to step up their games to take home the title.
“We talked about how the challenge gets a little harder each week,” Tuttle said. “As far as our game, we are also very pass-heavy, but we know we need to try to find a little more balance. We have to try and take what they give us.”
Holmes added that while his team is pass-heavy, he knows they will need to work on better balance to bring home another title.
“In our conference, you’ve got to be able to do that every week,” he said. “You’ve got to be able to run the clock out; you’ve got to be able to get first downs in the fourth quarter and you’ve got to be able to do it running the football.”
So who will win the title? You’ll have to wait until Saturday afternoon to find out.
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