The Bishop Carroll Eagles haven’t had a lot of experience playing from behind in recent years.
Bishop Carroll, the No. 1 ranked team in Class 5A, is the defending state champion and owner of a 17-game winning streak. So it was unfamiliar territory when the Eagles were trailing Wichita West 10-6 at halftime last week. Bishop Carroll eventually rallied for a 20-10 victory.
“The game really was in question until late in the fourth quarter,” Bishop Carroll coach Alan Schuckman said. “We hadn’t been tested that way in a while … That’s the first time we had gone into halftime down since the 2011 state semifinal game. So it had been a while, but I thought our kids responded. They played with confidence and didn’t panic.”
The Eagles (4-0, 4-0 Greater Wichita Athletic League) expect another test when they face 6A's Wichita Northwest Grizzlies (2-2, 2-1 GWAL) at home. The game will be featured on Friday Night Live as it will be broadcast statewide on Kansas Cox 22.
Bishop Carroll turned the ball over four times against Wichita West. The Eagles graduated several key players from last season on offense, including all-state quarterback Zeke Palmer.
Running backs Tory Smith and Denzel Goolsby lead the Eagles’ rushing attack with 274 and 182 yards, respectively.
Defensively, Bishop Carroll has limited opponents to 14 points or fewer in each game this season. But Schuckman said he is expecting a challenge in defending the Grizzlies.
“I think they’re the most balanced team we’ve seen all year,” he said. “Our first four games were against pretty much run-oriented teams. Against Northwest, you have to be pretty balanced defensively … They’re as good as anyone we’ve seen this year.”
Wichita Northwest opened the season with losses to Kapaun-Mt. Carmel and Dodge City, but the Grizzlies have bounced back with consecutive victories over Wichita East and Wichita Southeast.
Deron Thompson leads Northwest’s rushing attack with 313 yards on 78 carries. Christian Sanders, the nephew of Pro Football Hall of Famer Barry Sanders, has rushed for 310 yards on 35 carries over three games. Sanders missed all of last season with a broken leg.
“He broke his femur in a preseason scrimmage last year,” Wichita Northwest coach Steve Martin said. “He’s having a tremendous comeback. He’s a special running back.”
Quarterback Erin Gaither has passed for 352 yards and one touchdown. Karol Williams is the Grizzlies’ leading receiver with 11 catches for 145 yards.
“We want to run the ball … We try to spread everybody out,” Martin said. “We try to set up our passing game with our run. We feel like our offensive line is doing a great job, and our play-action is starting to work well.”
The game will be broadcast live on Friday and then re-broadcast at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday and at 7 p.m. on Oct. 10.
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