Madison and Chetopa both enter Friday’s game with unbeaten records, but neither team entered the season with this matchup circled on their schedule.
Actually, the game wasn’t even on the schedule.
After Madison’s game against Wichita Home School fell through, the Bulldogs were searching for an opponent. A couple of weeks ago, Madison contacted the Green Hornets to see if they wanted to play. Chetopa was set to play Tyro Christian at the time, but Coach Sean Price believed playing a team the caliber of Madison would be best for his team in the long run. Fielding a young squad, Tyro Christian was willing to reschedule the game as a junior varsity contest.
So now Chetopa’s homecoming game will be against a Madison team that is ranked No. 1 in 8-Man Division I and boasts two state championships and a record of 128-25 since 2000.
“I asked the captains what they wanted to do and they said, ‘Coach, let’s play them. We want them,’” Price said.
“I want to see our kids compete against the best in the state,” Price said. “Who’s better to do it against than Coach (Fred) McClain and Madison? They’re kind of the measuring stick for everyone in 8-Man. It would be easy to not play the game and keep our record intact, but our kids aren’t afraid of that. We want to play the best.”
The last-minute addition to the schedule was voted as the statewide game of the week by the readers of Kpreps.com. Top-ranked Madison will travel to face a Chetopa team that cruised through its first three games before winning a 72-54 shootout against Uniontown last week.
Before the Uniontown game, 8-Man Division II’s Green Hornets had played only six quarters of football through three games because of the lopsided victories.
Running the spread offense, Chetopa quarterback Philip Moses has completed 45 of 71 passes for 863 yards and 14 touchdowns.
“They like to stretch the field on you a little bit,” McClain said. “You got to be conscience of that, because they like to go over the top.”
Chetopa also has been successful on the ground. Junior Derrick Cassell has rushed for 634 yards and 14 touchdowns on 64 carries.
Senior Austen Sanders has been Chetopa’s top receiver with 22 catches for 549 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Madison opened the season with quality wins over Baileyville B&B and Marais des Cygnes Valley. The Bulldogs, who have battled injuries this season, faces another big test against Chetopa. Running back Dallas Thompson has been out with a strained knee, and quarterback Sage Blubaugh broke his wrist during last week’s win over Flinthills. Thompson may be able to return this week as a kicker, but Blubaugh may be out for the season.
The Bulldogs will turn to Dustin Stutesman, who started five games at quarterback last season.
“He came in the game the other night and took off just like he did through the first five games of last season,” McClain said. “We’ll be OK at quarterback. We’re going to miss Sage, there’s no question about that, especially at safety and as being a team leader. But we’re real pleased to have a backup quarterback with experience.”
Owen Reed remains a key in the Madison rushing attack.
“Reed is phenomenal,” Price said. “He’s a big running back, and he’s also a very good defensive end.”
Both schools are expecting a big crowd in Chetopa.
McClain said he was honored to see the 8-Man matchup voted as the statewide game of the week. It is the second time this season the Madison fans have helped shine a spotlight on the small school.
“We have great fans,” he said. “For an 8-Man school, we have a great following and we sure appreciate that.”
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