Blue Valley North vs. Derby (Saturday 1:00) - WATCH HERE
The Derby Panthers and the Blue Valley North Mustangs will meet in the Class 6A state championship for the third time in the past four seasons.
Blue Valley North won the crown in 2017, defeating Derby 49-42. The Panthers edged the Mustangs 24-16 in 2018.
Now, the two teams look to break the tie. Derby (8-2) and Blue Valley North (7-2) are set to face off at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 28 at Olathe’s College Boulevard Activity Center.
For Derby, this will be its sixth straight 6A title game appearance. The Panthers won in 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019. Dating back to 2013, Derby has won five out of seven 6A state championships under the direction of coach Brandon Clark.
The 2020 Derby squad fell 45-14 to 5A defending state champion Mill Valley in the season opener. The Panthers have won eight of nine games since then with the only other loss coming 36-35 to Maize on Oct. 16.
Derby enters on a five-game winning streak that includes a 40-20 playoff win over previously undefeated Lawrence and last week’s 62-27 victory over Junction City.
The Panther attack starts with the running game as they average 320.1 yards on the ground. However, Derby is not one dimensional as it also throws for 106.9 yards per outing.
Senior quarterback Lem Wash has been quite the dual threat, breaking the 1,000-yard mark as a passer and runner. Wash, who has verbally committed to play at Tennessee Tech, has completed 78 of 112 passes for 1,074 yards with 14 touchdowns and six interceptions. He’s also rushed for 1,182 yards and 17 touchdowns on 174 carries.
“His biggest asset is that he’s in command of the game,” Clark said. “He does a good job of getting kids in the right places and ready to go. When you have a quarterback who is calm and collected in the pocket and calling plays, your team becomes calm and collected.”
When Wash looks to hand it off, it’s usually to sophomore running back Dylan Edwards. The 5-foot-8, 155-pound running back has rushed for 1,663 yards and 25 touchdowns on 184 carries. He’s been gaining steam through the playoffs, running for 158 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Lawrence and for 252 yards and four TDs in the victory against Junction City.
“Dylan is one of the fastest kids on the field,” Clark said. “He’s also able to make people miss. He has great agility, and he’s not afraid to lower his shoulder. The biggest compliment I can give to Dylan is that he has only one speed. He goes full speed in practice, and that carries over to the game.”
Senior Reid Liston has been Derby’s top receiver with 32 catches for 453 yards and six touchdowns. Junior Drake Thatcher has added 15 receptions for 267 yards and five TDs.
Defensively, the Panthers are led by senior linebackers Jack Hileman and Coleson Syring. Hileman leads Derby with 91 tackles, while also recording three sacks and two interceptions. Syring is second in tackles with 89.
“Jack has been a rock of our defense,” Clark said. “He’s been a starter at the same position for two years straight. Coleson has also been awesome in the middle. Both are very physical, smart, and know the game plan.”
Senior linebacker Luke Steward has also posted 61 tackles with a team-leading five sacks. Junior defensive tackle Andon Carpenter has added four sacks.
The Derby defense will have its hands full with a Blue Valley North offense that has scored at least 30 points in each of the past four weeks.
In 2014, Andy Sims took over a Blue Valley North program that had won one game in the previous three seasons he combined. He directed the Mustangs to a 2-7 record that first season. Since then, Blue Valley North boasts a 45-22 record with three state championship appearances and one win.
The Mustangs will try to make it two on Saturday. To do that, they will look toward quarterback Henry Martin, who leads Blue Valley North’s spread offense. Martin has completed 230 of 327 passes for 2,522 yards with 29 touchdowns and only two interceptions.
“He’s a program player,” Sims said. “He’s a strong-armed kid. He’s a really good quarterback, and he works his butt off at it.”
Mekhi Miller plays the Mustangs’ “Christian McCaffrey role,” leading the team in rushing and receiving yards. Miller has caught 83 passes for 924 yards and 14 touchdowns, while rushing for 340 yards and four touchdowns on 62 carries.
“He’s a hybrid. We need someone who has the ability to run the ball but also catch the ball,” Sims said. “He’s the perfect fit for that. He could be the running back on someone’s team. He could be the main wide receiver. He could be a team’s quarterback. He’s that good of an athlete.”
Blue Valley North’s second leading receiver is Cole Stratton with 53 catches for 499 yards and three touchdowns.
The Mustang defense has held opponents to 21 points or fewer since a 31-28 loss to Blue Valley West on Oct. 16. The past two weeks, Blue Valley North has earned wins over Shawnee Mission Northwest (30-6) and Olathe North (30-20).
“Our defense has done a really good job the last couple of weeks,” Sims said. “We’ve held some high-power offenses down. I wouldn’t say we stopped them, but we held them down.”
A key to the Mustang defense is junior Dasan McCullough, who has already verbally committed to Ohio State. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound safety, who can be used all over the field, has registered 66.5 tackles with four interceptions and one blocked kick.
“He can do a lot of stuff,” Sims said. “We can put him at corner, safety, linebacker. He’s a versatile guy we can move all around.”
Ty Farrington leads Blue Valley North with 72.5 tackles. Owen Schenk has 45 tackles with six sacks, while Nikko Taylor has 41 tackles with nine tackles for loss and three sacks.
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