Oakley vs. Olpe (Saturday 1:00) - WATCH HERE
Oakley saw improvement in a 3-6 season in 2019. However, the results left Plainsmen fullback Hunter Scheck and his fellow seniors wanting more. Oakley had captured just eight wins in the last four years. That included five losses to Mid-Continent League rival Smith Center by a combined score of 224-20.
The Redmen had advanced to three straight title games and won two. Oakley had never beaten the Redmen in school history, including 13 straight losses since ’03. Since the summer, the Plainsmen resolved to be better in 2020.
It's yielded arguably Kansas’ biggest turnaround story and the first state championship game advancement in Oakley history. Under highly energetic and charismatic coach Jeff Hennick, Oakley has posted a 10-2 mark.
“Me personally and a lot of the other guys said, ‘No more. No more,’” Scheck said. “’We are going to win. We are going to keep winning.’”
Unranked in the preseason, Oakley will face Olpe (11-0) in the Class 1A state championship game Saturday afternoon at Fort Hays State University’s Lewis Field Stadium. Both squads are known for their defense. Olpe beat Lyndon, 14-12, in the state semifinals, its second one-score win versus Lyndon this season.
Oakley defeated Smith Center (20-0) and Inman (9-0) in the last two weeks. The Plainsmen lost to both teams in district play. Oakley has permitted 147 points with three shutouts.
“Everything we do, we have to keep straight, and then things go wrong, we just have to fix it, and don’t give up on each other,” senior lineman Jenson Schoenfeld said.
Olpe has allowed 35 total points and shut out six opponents. With a win, the Eagles would finish with their first undefeated season in school annals. Olpe is 1-3 all-time in state games with a championship in ’14 and runner-up finishes in ’76, ’08 and ’18. Coach Chris Schmidt is 130-33 in 14 seasons.
Both teams have solid kicking with Oakley sophomore Will Schmidt and Olpe’s Gabe Castillo. Olpe has balance with quarterback Damon Redeker pacing the team with 634 rushing yards. He has thrown for 985 yards and 22 scores.
Oakley took noticeable signs of progress en route to a 3-0 start. The Plainsmen beat Thomas More Prep-Marian (25-13), defeated Plainville (10-7) and Ell-Saline (34-7). TMP eventually finished 7-2 and Plainville 5-5. Oakley had lost to Ell-Saline in the first round of the ’19 playoffs.
Then on Homecoming, the Plainsmen fell, 39-13, to Inman in a key district game. Inman ran back the opening kickoff for a score. Oakley was minus-1 in turnover margin. The Plainsmen were 9 of 21 (43 percent) on third/fourth down, and Inman was 45 percent (5 of 11) on those key downs.
“We had the worst game we’d ever played of this year,” Schoenfeld said.
Later one evening, Oakley watched film of the contest. Senior running back Ethan Abell said the team knew “it wasn’t us.”
“Just everything about that game, it wasn’t right,” Abell said. “None of our attitudes were right. Our energy, we just were off.”
Abell said the team knew it could forget it and move on.
“Or we knew we were either going to stick here, and just not have a good season the rest of the year,” Abell said.
Oakley elected to keep moving forward. The following week, Oakley went to Smith Center and led early at Hubbard Stadium. However, Smith Center pulled ahead for an eventual 42-14 victory. Smith Center ran 17 more plays. Oakley was even in turnover margin.
Then, the Plainsmen rolled through four weaker opponents, all wins by at least 34 points. Oakley finished third in its district behind Smith Center and Inman. The Plainsmen had two linemen come back for its Round of 16 matchup at Sedgwick. Oakley won 27-24. The Plainsmen ran 19 more plays and was plus-three in turnover margin.
“We decided to pick ourselves up, and grow together,” Abell said.
In the quarterfinals, Oakley had its milestone victory in the Smith Center rematch. Oakley continued to milk the clock, ran 23 more plays and was plus-two in turnover margin. Abell rushed 37 times for 249 yards and three scores. He is the state’s third-leading rusher with 256 carries for 1,979 yards and 26 scores.
Oakley was 3 of 8 (38 percent) on third/fourth down, and Smith Center finished 1 of 6 (17 percent).
Last week, Oakley had a 21-play edge on Inman, according to the Plainsmen’s official statistics. The Plainsmen forced three turnovers, all interceptions. Oakley was 7 of 14 on third/fourth down. Inman finished 2 of 10.
“Oakley played better tonight,” Inman coach Lance Sawyer said afterward. “Oakley converted when it needed to.”
Oakley switched some personnel defensively for the second Inman matchup. Junior Christian Koch went from linebacker to line, and Scheck switched from line to linebacker.
“We have got so many talented guys,” Scheck said. “We can do just about anything, put anybody anywhere and still be successful.”
The offensive line has Schoenfeld, Koch, junior Jonathan Temaat, Eric Annis and senior 186-pound center John Stoecker, the smallest of the group. Defensively, Temaat leads with 69 tackles.
“John doesn’t get talked about a lot, but when John has had to sit out a couple of games, we’ve really struggled,” Hennick said. “John might not be the biggest guy. He might not be the strongest guy, but by golly, he’s our smartest guy up there, and he does it all for us, and it’s so much fun to listen to him call everybody out and to tell everybody what they are doing when a different front is there. I am so proud of these kids now. So fun.”
Scheck, the 215-pound fullback, had three rushing touchdowns all season before Sedgwick. In the losses, he combined for five carries for 21 yards. Versus Sedgwick, he rushed 17 times for 61 yards and two scores.
“The front five guys,” Scheck said. “It’s all them. If I did not have those front five guys, I would not have ran for what I ran. Those guys, they move (those defenders) out of there. They allow me to get my speed up, and to hit holes hard. It’s all five of those guys. They don’t get enough credit.”
In the semifinals, Abell finished with 27 carries for 111 yards, though Inman contained his outside runs in the second half. Scheck bulldozed his way up the middle, often right behind Stoecker, on dive plays. He delivered 19 carries for 89 yards and the game’s lone touchdown.
“All that outside stuff just wasn’t working,” Schoenfeld said. “We had to let Scheck, the absolute man of a backer, just put it right up the middle – and he took it so well. We work him hard a lot, and God bless him.”
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