Little River head coach Kevin Ayers collected his 200th career win in an Eight-Man, Division I state quarterfinal victory against Chase County. Ayers is the lone coach in Kansas eight-man annals to capture state titles at three schools. He picked up crowns at Jetmore in ’01 and ’03, Wallace County in ’07 and Little River in 2020.
Additionally, Ayers took second with Wallace County in ’13 and with Little River in a loss to Meade last fall.
Last week, Little River defeated Burlingame, 48-0, and reached its third straight championship game. Ayers moved to 201-45, including 11-1 with the Redskins this season. After win No. 200, Ayers stopped and reflected a little on “how lucky and blessed” he’s been during his career.
“Incredible assistant coaches, and then just the communities that I have coached in and how they have supported our program, supported what we do in the summers,” Ayers said. “And then schools, administration, it just made me very grateful and very thankful, because I have been so blessed for so long, it really doesn’t seem real sometimes to look back and think about, have so many good memories.”
Ayers recalled three wins that stand apart on the “emotional roller-coaster.” The first came in Week 6 of 1999. Jetmore defeated Ashland, 66-60, in eight overtimes. That remains the most OTs in an eight-man game in Kansas history, per the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. The second was the remarkable 76-68 state semifinal win against Canton-Galva last season, the highest scoring game Ayers has coached.
The third was the 2020 state championship, which remains among the more memorable title games in Kansas history. Little River defeated Leoti-Wichita County, 70-58, the most combined points ever in an eight-man final.
“I can remember just emotionally having nothing left,” Ayers said of the Ashland and Canton-Galva victories. “And after that game in 2020 against Wichita County, emotionally I had nothing left.”
On Saturday, top-ranked Leoti-Wichita County (12-0) and No. 2 Little River (11-1) rematch at Newton’s Fischer Field. Just like two years ago, start time is 3:30 p.m. Division I was very deep this fall with six squads ranked as high as No. 2 at some point. However, these were the two favored teams in August when Little River was ranked first and Wichita County second. Little River has six overall titles with 2020 the only one since 1999.
“It was highs and lows, and highs and lows and highs and lows, and it was exactly what we talk about with our kids,” Ayers said. “… You get so excited, you score and you are on cloud nine, and you are on defense, and like, ‘All right, let’s get them stopped,’ and then of course, they were so talented offensively, and they march right down and score.”
Wichita County, a Kpreps Potential Breakout Team this summer, was 6-3 last fall. The Indians had never made a state championship before 2020. Wichita County has tallied 738 points. The eight-man state record is 764, set by Osborne in 2016. The Indians have significantly focused on defense and developed the “Land Shark” mentality. Wichita County, under coordinator Haydon Parks, have lowered its scoring defense from 38.1 points a contest last season to 10.3 this year.
“It’s really exciting, especially for these boys,” Wichita County coach Brant Douglas said after a 76-30 semifinal win against Hill City. “They have kind of been overshadowed by that 2020 class for their whole lives. That 2020 class was big, but these guys I think showed tonight they are a pretty solid team, too, so I am really proud of them.”
Douglas “learned a lot” from the 2020 state championship game. Wichita County is his first head coaching position. He’s 46-9 and already the most successful football coach in Wichita County football annals.
“Just don’t make the game bigger than it is,” he said. “It’s hard when no one in Leoti’s history had ever been there, and it is an important game, and it’s something you will remember for the rest of your life, but don’t make it bigger than it actually is. And just make sure you play your game. And if that’s good enough to win it, that’s great … The other team is obviously a great team, too, and they happen to win it, just make sure you left whatever you can out there.”
The squads likely have the leading candidates for classification offensive and defensive player of the year. Wichita County senior Erhik Hermosillo started on defense in 2020, the Indians’ only remaining starter from that team.
Hermosillo has 3,100 yards of offense and 61 offensive scores. The 5-foot-8, 140-pound Hermosillo is known for waiting patiently behind the line for a hole to open, like former NFL back Le’Veon Bell.
“I really liked his game, so I tried to mimic that, and it’s been working so far,” Erhik said.
Little River senior Grant Stephens started at defensive end as a sophomore, then moved to linebacker as a junior, then back to defensive end this season. Because of injuries, Stephens has recently returned to linebacker. Stephens has 90 tackles, 33 for loss and 20 sacks; the latter two lead Kansas. Ayers believes he has never had a player with more TFLs and sacks. As well, Ayers believes Stephens is “almost even better” in the run game.
“He is so smart,” Ayers said. “Grant is a kid, he just gets football. Some kids know their position, know what they are supposed to do. Grant understands the entire defensive scheme.”
Just like last season, Little River is dealing with key injuries. Senior offensive lineman/linebacker Toby Jesseph suffered a broken foot against Chase County and will not play. Jesseph, known for his high character off the field, was the Redskins’ offensive line anchor and top tackler when he suffered injury. Little River has been banged up at other line positions, and switched senior Braden Young, the team’s leading receiver with 22 catches, to guard. Young had never played guard in his life.
“He’s quick, he’s fast, he’s physical, he’s smart and so super proud of that kid,” Ayers said. “He really bought into that, and he was a warrior in the trenches against Burlingame.”
Little River had to replace its three all-state offensive linemen, though brought back all its skill players. Senior Braxton Lafferty, a key player on the ’20 team and first team all-state in ‘21, paces the Redskins with 106 tackles. Offensively, Lafferty plays multiple positions, including quarterback, tailback and receiver. He has accounted for 36 offensive touchdowns and 1,861 yards of offense.
Senior Rylan Konen is at wide receiver and quarterback. He has thrown for 767 yards with 16 scores against two interceptions. Stephens has played a variety of positions, including tight end and fullback. Sophomore Ruxton Birdsong and junior Carter Stansbury are likely going to play interior line.
A hallmark of an Ayers’ team is mental toughness and comebacks. In the last three playoff runs, Little River is 5-1 in games decided by 16 points or fewer, including the ’20 title game and a 48-40 win against Chase County this season. Little River twice trailed versus Chase County and rallied after Jesseph’s injury.
“It’s definitely something that we talk about in our program a lot that there are going to be games and there are going to be times that swings happens and good teams make big plays,” Ayers said. “It’s going to happen, and how do you respond to that is really a big key into winning football games, and especially winning in big-game situations.”
For Wichita County, sophomore Khris Hermosillo has stepped up in the backfield with his aggressive, downhill running ability. Khris has 117 carries for 1,149 yards and 23 scores. The Indians have averaged 9.96 yards per play. Little River has averaged 9.6. Junior Colton Harbin is the Indian’s top receiver with 23 catches for 473 yards and eight scores. Junior Wyatt Gardner has 12 touchdowns on 76 touches.
Wichita County has received solid line play. Christopher Michel and veteran senior Cordell Brown are at guards. Junior Brandon Price has started at center, and sophomore Juan Tapia is at nose guard. Brown paced Wichita County with 76 tackles as a junior and has a team-high 74 this season. Wichita County, which often squib kicks, recovered a key onside kick against Hill City. The Indians have forced 39 turnovers this year.
“He really stepped up this year from last year,” Michel said of Price. “Playing JV, he took a big step up to the varsity level. Juan, he has been working his butt off. He is exciting to play with, and you just know he’s going to get it done.”
In many ways, 2022 Wichita County is much like the 2020 Indians’ squad. Both teams are highly experienced and senior laden with an electrifying quarterback. In 2020, Wichita County entered the state title game with an average margin of 58-9. Little River never trailed in the title, a game that featured 50 first-quarter points. The contest yielded 1,069 yards of total offense. Little River recovered an onside kick and ran one more play.
“It’s definitely a great chance to hopefully flip the script,” Douglas said. “And have a chance for that redemption, but we can’t use that as our only motivation, because they are a solid team, and we are going to have to play our best game to come out of there with a win.”
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