Leoti-Wichita County head coach Brant Douglas and assistant coach Haydon Parks have partnered together during the Indians’ run to the top of Eight-Man, Division I. The pair quickly reversed a long struggling program when Douglas took over as head coach in 2018. Douglas has run the offense, Parks the defense.
Since then, Wichita County is 39-9 with a state semifinal in 2019 and a state runner-up finish, the best season in school annals, the next fall. Wichita County allowed 17.6, 25.8 and 13.2 points defensively in Douglas’ first three seasons.
Last fall, Wichita County had an influx of first-year starters. The Indians still paced the classification with 55.8 points a game, though permitted 38.1. They finished 6-3. The Indians allowed at least 49 points in all three losses, including a 25-point district loss to Meade, the eventual undefeated state champion.
In the summer, Wichita County lost senior Isaiah Gerstberger for the season in a freak waterskiing accident. Gerstberger, a two-way starter at tight end/linebacker, finished third in 2021 with 46 tackles. He has remained one of the team’s top vocal leaders.
Wichita County was a preseason Kpreps Potential Breakout Team and entered ranked in the top-5. The Indians have started a dominant 5-0 and rose to No. 1 in a tightly bunched classification. That includes a quality 56-28 win versus Hoxie in Week 3. Last season, Wichita County split with Hoxie, including a 66-58 playoff defeat.
Wichita County, which leads all of eight-man in points per game since Douglas inherited the program, has another high-octane fall with 62 points a contest. The much-improved defense has allowed just 8.5 points a game.
Douglas said discipline and trust, bedrock principles formed in several ways, are key defensively. Plus, the school gained a new end zone camera, which has significantly helped scouting and preparation.
“Hoxie is a great team,” Douglas said. “Well coached and definitely disciplined, and they have some athletes that can make you pay if you are out of position. And that’s one thing, I think our defense looks completely different than last year, because they are assignment-sound.”
“And they are confident in making the tackle, even 1-on-1,” he added. “I think the main difference is we are more disciplined defensively, and we trust the guy beside us to do their job as well.”
On Friday, Wichita County travels to Meade in a marquee contest that has massive classification ramifications and will likely decide District 8. This could be the first of two meetings. Both are 5-0, 2-0 in district. This game has been highlighted for several weeks. Meade has won 20 straight games, the second-longest current run in Kansas football behind 3A Andale’s 43.
Last season, Meade achieved the biggest one-season turnaround in eight-man football in at least 15 years with a 13-0 mark. The Buffs finished second in the classification in scoring defense. After the season, Bryan Luetters went to nearby Liberal, and former assistant Clint Kuhns took over as coach. Meade has outscored opponents, 260-18, and is just outside the top-five rankings.
“They believe they are the best team on the field at all times, and their players play like that, so pretty impressive to watch,” Douglas said.
Meade took heavy graduation losses, including first team all-state players at quarterback, running back and line. However, the Buffs feature key all-purpose threats Grayden Stapleton and Brock Keith, along with 5-foot-8, 173-pound senior running back/linebacker Brayden Norris on defense.
Norris was highly considered for classification defensive player of the year ‘21. Keith, including cross country and track, has helped Meade win four state titles. He didn’t play football as a freshman and has still never lost a high school football game.
“He is not the biggest guy, but he runs really big,” Douglas said of Keith. “He breaks a lot of tackles. He can make guys miss. I mean, when he gets into the open field, he’s dang near impossible to catch from what I have seen. And the main thing I’ve been impressed with Meade by just watching them on film is they are the most physical team we have seen so far.”
Wichita County has well-known senior quarterback Erhik Hermosillo, who contributed 3,227 total yards and 49 scores as junior. This year, Hermosillo has 1,120 yards and 18 TDs accounted for. However, except in rare passing situations, he doesn’t play defense.
“Keeping him fresh as we get into the third and fourth quarter has really paid off,” Douglas said.
His brother, sophomore Khris Hermosillo, was expected to be a breakout player. He has emerged with 42 carries for 513 yards and 13 scores. Plus, he leads the defense with seven TFLs after a big freshman season on that side of the ball. Senior Cordell Brown has 32 stops and paced in tackles the last two falls. Khris is 5-foot-7, 160.
“He reminds me of some of Meade’s guys like Norris, in terms of just the aggressiveness and confidence that they play with,” Douglas said of Khris. “Like they are not scared of contact. To me, he looks for contact and does a great job, like he bounces off tackles, he reads the field well.”
Douglas is pleased with young players stepping up, including junior Colton Harbin (21 stops). As well, Douglas is happy with his team’s confidence, notably with the experienced returning corps.
“They weren’t always confident, especially in big games,” Douglas said. “And I think this year, so far they have been much more confident, and much more certain about what their job is offensively and defensively, and that’s definitely shown in our games.”
That discipline and trust begins with summer weights. Twenty-one of the team’s 25 players recorded at least 95 percent summer weight room attendance. Wichita County’s players are together all the time and attend camps throughout the summer. The Indians drive to the camps together and have long filmed all the football activity at the camps. Wichita County reviews the film and points out positive and correctable areas.
“All that film we watch and time we spend together, you just develop that trust that I know, I have seen it on film,” Douglas said. “I have seen it in the game and practice, I know I can trust the guy beside me to do his job, and he has to be able to trust me to do my job to be able to take some self-accountability there as well. I think our guys have done a great job.”
The end zone camera was purchased through money from the Tribe, the Indian booster/donation club that supports all Wichita County athletics.
“They are a great resource to have and very supportive,” Douglas said.
Junior Christopher Michel has 26 tackles, five for loss. Khris and Erhik are the youngest two of the four Hermosillo brothers; all have starred for Wichita County in the Douglas era. Khris has 22 tackles, seven for loss. Seniors Christian Marchant and Romeo Terriquez, sophomore Juan Tapia and junior Wyatt Gardner have been key, too.
The d-line are Khris Hermosillo and Michel. Tapia is the nose guard. Marchant and Gardner are at outside linebacker. Brown is the middle linebacker. Harbin and Terriquez play defensive back. Douglas likes to two-platoon, a rarity in eight-man, though a choice he notably made for his state runner-up squad.
“That’s helped tremendously as well,” Douglas said of the camera. “Just to see our blocking schemes and defensively what offensively they are trying to do to us, and just having that angle from the rear view or the front view instead of just the side view has been a great benefit for us in practice and in games.”
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