Maize coach Gary Guzman is in his 29th season overall, 10th with the Eagles. Entering this fall, the Eagles were a collective 29-6 in the last three years. That included back-to-back state semifinal appearances, tied for the best advancement in school history.
In the previous three seasons, the Eagles were a combined 5-4 in games decided by 14 points or fewer, including 3-1 in contests by one-score margins.
This year, Maize is ranked third in Class 5A and is the lone 7-0 squad in 5A/6A football. The Eagles have four victories within 14 points, including a season-opening 20-6 victory versus Andover and a 34-27 win against Newton in Week 3. Maize has signature comeback victories the past two weeks: 42-38 against rival Maize South and 36-35 versus Derby.
“I have had teams that have gotten themselves down, and shut things down,” Guzman said. “This team just keeps battling, and that’s been an impressive thing with them so far. They could have easily folded against Maize South and Derby, and those are quality teams that can score points quickly and put a lot of points on the board, and even falling behind, our kids kept battling and believing in themselves and each other.”
Guzman said chemistry and toughness comes from several factors, including past success, hard work, belief in oneself and the system. Guzman said Maize has “a lot” of players that lead by example and hard work.
Additionally, the Eagles’ grit and attitude was heightened by senior running back Joshua Sanders, a first-year transfer from Wichita Heights. Last fall, Sanders was a Kpreps first team all-state 5A selection with 1,356 yards and 17 touchdowns.
The 5-foot-7, 180-pound Sanders highly stresses academics and carries a 3.9 GPA with 24 ACT. This year, Sanders has 1,578 all-purpose yards and 22 touchdowns. Sanders was named a regional finalist for the Boys and Girls Club Youth of the Year Award. He eventually earned first runner-up in the region.
“Probably Josh coming in this year, and his work ethic and his positive attitude I really believe has rubbed off on a lot of our kids,” Guzman said. “Not that we weren’t already that way, but he is that way. He is that way – and with the type of player that he is, and the way that he plays the game, I really think it’s been an impact on the rest of the players.”
On Friday, Maize travels to surprising Hutchinson (6-1) in a key Class 5A West AVCTL Division I matchup. A win gives Maize its best start in more than a quarter-century and its first conference title since ’03.
“He works very hard,” Guzman said of Sanders. “One of the hardest working players that I have probably ever coached.”
Hutchinson is 5-1 in games within two scores, including one-point victories at Garden City (21-20) and versus Maize South (34-33). The Salthawks were 2-7 each of the past two seasons. Maize won the last two contests, 49-0 and 55-14.
“I am always pleased with how we’ve handled adversity,” coach Mike Vernon said. “It hasn’t been easy the whole time. … The group has worked hard, and they have worked together, and there’s moments where it could have gone bad, but they stayed together and stayed the course.”
Vernon served a longtime assistant coach for Randy Dreiling, who captured seven state titles with the Salthawks before he went to St. Thomas Aquinas. Vernon orchestrated turnarounds with Inman and Nickerson before he returned to Hutchinson. Alec McCuan is the state’s fourth-leading rusher with 1,294 yards. Sanders stands tenth with 1,070 rushing yards behind a veteran Maize offensive front that returned four starters.
Hutchinson has received strong years from multiple players. Senior linebacker Jack Hawver has anchored the defense. Senior Jonathan Fan has played well on the offensive line, and senior David Waymire at defensive line.
“Things have to started to pay off,” Vernon said.
Senior 6-foot-7, 245-pounder Myles Thompson, a transfer, has taken over at quarterback. Sophomore Noah Khokhar has become an impressive all-purpose threat. Hutchinson has averaged 31.6 points per game and has already tallied 221 points. Last year, the Salthawks scored 175 points. Hutchinson was a collective 2-3 in games within nine points or less the last two years.
“We didn’t put them in the right position or the ball just didn’t bounce our way there,” Vernon said. “But there’s a lot of kids that were the tip of the sword there that were doing a lot of good things that led to the success that we are having now, and part of our DNA that we have.”
Maize has a bevy of well-known names, including linebackers Kyle Haas and Kendall Norrod and quarterback Avery Johnson. Haas has committed to Oklahoma State wrestling. Johnson passed for 645 yards with seven touchdowns in ’19. This fall, Johnson has thrown for 1,177 yards with eight scores against one interception. Maize has committed just three turnovers and is plus-7 in turnover margin.
Junior kicker Cole Segraves and Sanders have led an excellent special teams unit. Maize assistant Rocky Helm, the longtime head baseball coach, runs the Eagle special teams. Guzman said Maize spends substantial practice time on special teams.
Segraves is 9 of 13 on field goals, and 31 of 34 on extra points. Against Derby, he delivered the game-winning extra point with 2 minutes, 11 seconds left. Segraves kicked multiple touchbacks as Maize tried to go away from talented Derby back Dylan Edwards.
Sanders has averaged 7.9 yards per rush and has at least two rushing TDs every game. He also has 16 catches for 205 yards and a score, along with 86 punt return yards. Sanders has returned three kicks for TDs.
“He gives credit to other people,” Guzman said. “He’s not selfish at all.”
Guzman knew little about Sanders before he came to Maize. After Sanders completed the ’19 football season, the parents started to look into Maize. Guzman recalled the family visiting Maize in the spring ’20 semester. That marked the first time Guzman met Sanders. Guzman went to Hudl and watched film.
“First impression was pretty amazing,” Guzman said. “I was really impressed by him with his interests in the academics, with again his positive attitude. Right away you find out what kind of a kid he is.”
One time, Guzman addressed the team after a football game. He addressed multiple topics. Sanders reminded him not to forget to address academics.
“It’s who he is,” Guzman said. “And his grades reflect that, and all the academic accomplishments that he has had reflect that. It’s real. He’s just a great kid, and we have a lot of great kids on our team.”
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