Council Grove has set a litany of school marks and milestones. A young, one-win team in 2021, the Braves stand at 6-1 with four shutouts in ‘22. Council Grove has already clinched the first home playoff game in school annals. Holden Ziegler, moved from fullback to tackle just before the season, holds the school single season pancake block record. Ethan Burton is the all-time leader in receiving yards. Loup Charlier has the single year extra point mark. Jay Johnson is tied for single season tackle for loss record.
And Council Grove has accomplished all these feats without two key seniors. The week before the season started, 6-foot-3, 265-pound Jaxon Buchman was not cleared to play football because of a medical issue. Plus, receiver Anthony Monihen was not able to participate. Still, they have both remained close to the program.
“I couldn’t be more proud of those two guys and how they have helped our team from the sideline this year,” coach Butch Hayes said. “It’s a credit to them, and what kind of character those two have.”
Buchman had twice earned the team’s award as the top lineman. Monihen was a key offensive piece in 2021. They have helped Council Grove play for the District 2 title Friday in Osage City.
Both Council Grove and Osage City are 6-1, 3-0. Osage City features three-sport all-stater Landon Boss, the starting quarterback who holds an Emporia State offer. Osage City, with excellent infrastructure, has more than 50 players. The Indians graduated multiple two- and three-year starters. Osage City has three new offensive line starters.
Boss has completed 85 of 136 passes for 1,184 yards with 12 scores against three interceptions. He has rushed 84 times for 918 yards and 14 TDs. Boss paces the defense with 66 tackles, 12.5 for loss. Junior Cooper Parsons has delivered a solid year with 56 stops and 447 rushing yards.
“Boss is a kid that is leading it,” Hayes said. “He’s probably one of the best defensive players in the state, I think. He’s a beast.”
Both teams have a key one-score win against Humboldt. It will also decide the Flint Hills League title. This matchup has occurred every year since 2003. Osage City has won five straight in the series. Council Grove won three one-score games versus Osage City from ’14-16. In ’19, Hayes took over as coach. The Braves lost, 18-13, when its pass on the game’s final play fell a foot short of the receiver. The teams are 9-9 against each other in FHL play.
This fall, Buchman, known for his leadership, has still gone to practice every day, attends the pregame coin toss and served as a student coach.
“It just devastated him,” Hayes said of Buchman. “Both those guys, they have gone through the grind of losing, and they always been those guys that we model our program after.”
Because of Buchman's injury, Council Grove had a hole at tackle. The Braves moved Ziegler from fullback to tackle. Junior Connor Garver (5-9, 250) has taken over the on-field line leadership role. Buchman is among those who has helped Garver.
“That was maybe a big sacrifice for Holden, because he is a big, athletic kid,” Hayes said. “He has that dream of being a fullback and being a running back and all that kind of stuff. But we said, ‘Hey man, we need you at tackle, that’s where we need you.’ And he said, ‘OK coach, wherever you need me, I will do it.’”
In Week 4, Council Grove delivered its signature 20-14 home win against Humboldt. Hayes said the end of the game is the most exciting moment for him this fall. The crowd was loud. The Braves stopped Humboldt in the final seconds to secure the win. Then, the fans, including younger kids, rushed the field, a rarity at the high school level. Hayes realized the Braves “had something special.” Afterward, the fans waited in the background for Council Grove to engage in its standard postgame talk.
“They are celebrating, jumping up and down,” Hayes said.
In previous years, Hayes said sometimes Council Grove had a player became disappointed when he wasn’t getting the ball enough or not seeing enough snaps on defense. That’s not the case in 2022. The Braves keep players rotating. Plus, Council Grove bounced back from its 45-16 non-district road loss to Marion in Week 6. Marion went up 24-0 early. The Braves focused on alignment and staying in position and came back with a 42-6 win against Eureka last week, a performance that Hayes called dominating and its best of the fall.
Sophomore Ace Monihen has enjoyed a huge turnaround with 880 yards with 10 scores against two interceptions. Burton has 807 all-purpose yards. Council Grove has 6.7 yards per play. The Braves have an average score of 33-9, while Osage City is at 42-18. Osage City has made seven straight playoff appearances.
“Just watching our players make those extra blocks,” Hayes said. “Those downfield blocks, that extra effort, getting to the ball on defense. We didn’t see a lot of that really prior to this year. We are seeing more blocks downfield. Nobody on this team really cares who is making the play. It’s just a team first mentality. They just want us to be successful.”
Last year, Osage City was second in 2A with 43.4 points a contest. This year, the Indians have a similar offensive output. Osage City has delivered 8.5 yards per play. Junior Logun Fager has stepped in at center. Gantenbein said Fager “has done a really nice job.” Junior Bowen Rumold has played guard. Junior Chase Williams plays tackle.
Senior Dalton Rush is at guard, and senior Mason Gibson made the change from center to tackle. Mason had started at center the last two years and is Osage City’s most experienced lineman.
“We kind of went into the season with this configuration,” Gantenbein said. “Kind of projected it. Obviously, we had to get into practice to see how well it would mesh, and fortunately, it’s kind of played out kind of how we anticipated that it would, and those guys have stepped into those roles.’
In Week 6, Osage City defeated Humboldt, 42-34. Humboldt ran 71 more plays, Osage City 32. Gantenbein, 81-55 in 14 years with the Indians, couldn’t recall a game where Osage City was on the low end of such a big disparity. The Indians ran one offensive play in the third quarter.
“It was frustrating from an offensive perspective, because when we did get the ball we had some success offensively,” Gantenbein said. “But they did a good job of keeping the ball out of our hands.”
Seniors Breckin Bowin and Weston Dunbar combined for seven catches for 171 yards against Humboldt. Overall, they have 39 catches, six for scores. Bowin, a competitive powerlifter, played defense in 2021. Dunbar received an opportunity to play some defense in ’21 after an injury to a teammate. He had a strong finish. Dunbar loves football and would like to play in college. Senior Kaden Kirkpatrick is a steady contributor. Junior Jess Reece has moved out to receiver as a jet sweep threat.
“Pretty well-rounded player,” Gantenbein said of Bowin. “He is not the biggest kid in the world, but he’s not afraid to mix it up.”
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