HAYS — Olpe capped off a dominant defensive season in the most fitting way possible.
The Eagles’ D flexed their muscle one last time to complete a perfect season with a shutout, locking down Oakley for a 14-0 win in the Class 1A state championship game on Saturday at Lewis Field Stadium.
Olpe (12-0) held the Plainsmen to just 134 yards and six first downs as the Eagles notched their second state title in program history.
“We were just being disciplined and doing our jobs,” Olpe junior linebacker Ted Skalsky said. “We have some leaders, but, all in all, we all do our part. We have playmakers that do it, but we don’t have those playmakers without the other players doing their job.”
The Eagles gave up a staggering 35 points all season long, which is the fewest points allowed in the state in any classification this year. Saturday was the seventh shutout in 11 games played on the season for the Eagles.
“A lot of credit goes to coach (Terry) Smith, our defensive coordinator,” said Olpe head coach Chris Schmidt, who also guided the Eagles to a state championship in 2014. “He does a great job with these kids and they buy into it, and coach (Todd) Robert does a great job with the defensive line.
“Credit goes to the kids. They just do what they have to do. They play together as a team and it’s a great feeling.”
Olpe keyed on Oakley standing running back Ethan Abell, holding him to 69 yards on 19 carries. The Plainsmen finished with just 52 yards on 28 attempts on the ground.
“I think it starts up front with our linemen and doing a good job of cutting their linemen down and letting our second tier flow to the football,” Schmidt said. “They got two real good running backs, and I thought we did a nice job of crowding. They got a 10-yard gain here and there, but we didn’t let them have the big play, and that was big.”
Olpe junior quarterback Damon Redeker tossed a pair of touchdowns in the first half, and the defense took care of the rest. Redeker found a wide-open Kynden Robert on fourth-and-goal at the 2 with 4:41 left in the first quarter. The Eagles pushed the lead to 14 early in the second quarter when Redeker scrambled to find Gabriel Castillo for a 13-yard TD.
“I was just trying my best to keep the play going,” Redeker said. “My receivers got open so I can’t take all the credit for that.”
Oakley’s best scoring chance came late in the first half after Abell blocked a punt that gave it to the Plainsmen at the Olpe 49. Two runs by Abell put the Plainsmen in the red zone, but Oakley turned it over on downs at the 17.
Oakley only crossed into Eagle territory once in the second half, and it came on the last play of the game — a Will Schmidt 40-yard Hail Mary reception to the Eagle 40.
“Once we got in the second half and we got closer and closer to the end, we kind of took them out of what they wanted to do,” Schmidt said. “It was real important that we got off to a great start.”
Skalsky had a game-high 13 tackles while Garret Cole had seven. Jose Rios-Cortez recorded the lone sack of the game, while Cole, Weiss and Jordan Barnard each had a tackle for loss for the Eagles. Barnard help seal the game by picking off a pass with about three minutes left.
“We knew they were good up front,” Oakley coach Jeff Hennick said of Olpe’s D-line. “They’re good with their hands. When you don’t get to a backer, and you miss one block up front, everything turns bad really quick. I thought they did a good job defensively containing us and holding our game to what we didn’t want to happen.”
Redeker rushed for 119 yards on 20 carries while adding 86 yards through the air.
“He’s an athlete, so we kind of want to put him in that decision where he can make the pass, or if nothing’s there, he can run,” Schmidt said. “He did a nice job, especially in the first half of getting outside containment and causing them some trouble.”
Derek Hoelting caught four passes for 74 yards for Olpe.
Five Eagle seniors will go out on a high note — Robert, Castillo, Barnard, Christopher Olsson and Max Blaufuss.
“Every one of them means a great deal to our program,” Schmidt said. “Today’s a bittersweet day. Obviously it’s sweet because we won, but it’s bitter because I know those kids won’t suit up in an Olpe football uniform again.”
“If you’re going to go out, this is the way you want to go out.”
Oakley finished the season with a 10-3 mark, a seven-win turnround from a year ago.
"These kids did a heckuva job to get here this year," Hennick said. "... Just for us to be able to get here was something that these kids will remember for the rest of their life. The ride that they've taken the community and me and our staff on, they've brought pride back to Oakley. I hope that pride stays there."
OLPE 14, OAKLEY 0
Olpe (12-0): 7 – 7 – 0 – 0 | 14
Oakley (10-3): 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 | 0
Olpe — Kynden Robert 2 pass from Damon Redeker (Gabe Castillo kick)
Olpe — Castillo 13 pass from Redeker (Castillo kick)
Individual statistics
Rushing:
Olpe – Redeker 20-119, Robert 9-28, Hoelting 4-5, Olsson 1-1, Team 1-(minus) 1.
Oakley – Abell 19-69, Scheck 3-4, Schmidt 1-(minus) 3, Cain 3-9, Team 2-0.
Passing:
Olpe – Redeker 7-16-1 86 yards
Oakley – Cain 5-12-1 82 yards
Receiving:
Olpe – Hoelting 5-74, Robert 2-(minus) 1, Castillo 1-13.
Oakley – Cunningham 3-21, Schmidt 2-61.
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