There will certainly be a sense of newness with this year’s 6A title game featuring two schools that were not in the preseason top five rankings and who have not reached a state title game in at least a decade.
Top-ranked Manhattan (12-0) will be making the program’s first state title appearance since 2001 and seeking its third state football title. The Indians were crowned Class 6A champions in 1988 and finished atop Class 4A in 1974.
Meanwhile, Gardner-Edgerton (9-3) will be searching for the school’s first-ever state football championship, having finished as Class 5A state runner-up in the program’s lone appearance in 2009 when future Kansas City Royal Bubba Starling quarterbacked the Blazers.
The Indians and Trailblazers will meet on Saturday afternoon at Emporia State’s Welch Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m.
Absent from this year’s contest will be perennial power Derby, which had its streak of reaching seven consecutive 6A title games end with a semifinal loss at Manhattan last week. Saturday will also mark the first time since 2011 that the west representative is not a member of the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League. Manhattan’s appearance in the title game is the first for a Centennial League member since 2008 (Junction City & Topeka Hayden).
Coach Jesse Owen has Gardner-Edgerton in the state title game in just his second season at the school after coming over from Olathe East. The Trailblazers finished 4-6 last season; ending with a 38-35 loss to Manhattan in the second round of the 6A playoffs. Gardner-Edgerton was a member of the western half of the 6A bracket in the prior two-year cycle (2020-21) and the tenth-seeded Blazers challenged second-seeded Indians before Manhattan kicker Grant Snowden connected on a game-winning 18-yard field goal with :05 seconds remaining.
Gardner-Edgerton enters the title game having won six of its last seven games after battling through consecutive losses to Mill Valley and Olathe North. The Blazers other loss was a 37-36 decision to Olathe South on the game’s final play.
“Super proud of the kids. It’s a resilient group,” Owen told PrepsKC. “I think our kids are mature enough to kind of keep the blinders on and keep their focus.”
Gardner-Edgerton is trying to become the first Sunflower League team to win the 6A state championship since Shawnee Mission East back in 2014. That Lancer team’s flexbone offense defeated Hutchinson, 33-14, under head coach Dustin Delaney.
Delaney will also play a key part in this year’s title game as part of the staff for Gardner-Edgerton. Like that Lancer team, the Trailblazers’ flexbone is powered by a big, physical offensive line and a standout group of backs led by junior Dawson Kindler. Kindler has rushed for a team-high 1,423 yards and 27 touchdowns, while classmate Dylan Butash has battled through injuries to add 657 yards and five scores.
Sophomore Bravin Powell-Brown can do multiple things on offense and has rushed for 542 yards and seven touchdowns, passed for 145 yards and two scores, and has 125 receiving yards and a touchdown.
“First and foremost, it’s just a group of unselfish guys,” Owen told PrepsKC about the Blazer backs. “They’ll do whatever it takes to help their team be successful. So, whether that’s carrying out a fake or blocking for their teammate, let alone running hard with the ball in their hands.”
“It’s an unselfish unit, they bring it every day, and they’re good at practice. They’re just very enjoyable kids to coach.”
When the Blazers look to throw, Conner Elder has passed for a team high 915 yards and nine scores. Tight end Austin Buie leads is a primary target with 396 yards and four touchdowns, while Colton Hawkinson has 322 receiving yards and two scores.
Defensively, Gardner-Edgerton is led by senior Andrew Kamtio’s 82 tackles, while Wellsville-transfer Kaleb Green has 66 stops including nine for loss. The secondary ahs been opportunistic with juniors Eli Porter (6 INT), Randy Singleton (5 INT) and Cameron Porter (3 INT), along with senior Eli Blazic (3 INT).
To reach the title game, the Trailblazers had to go through defending champion Blue Valley Northwest (28-19) and survive a close game against Blue Valley West (21-14) before blitzing Olathe Northwest (56-7) behind more than 320 rushing yards.
“I’m certainly happy for our community and sour school and I know our players are too,” Owen said.
On the other sideline, Manhattan coach Joe Schartz is in his 14th season leading the Indians. He’s posted an impressive 119-29 (.804) overall record during that stint, but the Indians have been eliminated by Derby five times in their past nine playoff appearances.
Manhattan opened this season at Derby and came away with a 26-23 overtime win. The momentum from that win has propelled the Indians to an undefeated season against a challenging schedule. With the departure of multiple schools from the Centennial League in recent year, Manhattan had to look elsewhere to fill its schedule. The result was a challenging slate against state contenders like Derby, Hays High, Wichita Northwest, and strong league opponents in Washburn Rural and rival Junction City.
In fact, the Indians defeated Wichita Northwest and Derby twice – once during the regular season and once in the playoffs. Manhattan topped Northwest 56-28 in the final week of the regular season, then 27-18 a few weeks later in the state quarterfinals. The Indians bested Derby for a second time last week, 28-23, to advance to the title game.
Senior quarterback Keenan Schartz, coach Joe Schartz’s son, directs the Manhattan offense that averages 405 yards of total offense and 45 points per game. The younger Schartz has passed for 1,344 yards and ten touchdowns, while rushing for 1,148 yards and 20 scores.
Joining Schartz in the backfield are seniors DeAndre Aukland and Jason Sanchez. Aukland has rushed for a team-high 1,182 yards and 18 touchdowns, while Sanchez has added 583 yards and 12 scores on the ground.
Jaxson Bowles leads the team in receiving with 368 yards and five scores, while Braxton Frey has a team-high 22 catches totaling 249 yards.
The Manhattan defense has been impressive this season allowing 15.5 points per game against some of the top teams in the classification.
Jaxon Vikander leads the team with 85 tackles including 16 for loss. Max Stanard has added 76 tackles, three interceptions and has 10 passes broken up. The Indian defensive line has lived in the opponents’ backfield with Bowles, Chris Dunnigan, and Ben Irvine also contributing double-digit tackles for loss. Irvine leads the team with four sacks.
The Manhattan defense has forced 23 turnovers.
A victory for Manhattan would set a school record for wins in a season besting the state-champion 1988 squad that finished 12-0.
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