Inman is 23-2 in the last two seasons, the best two-year stretch in program annals. The Teutons advanced to the Class 1A state championship game last season, a first in school history. However, Inman was severely depleted in the title against Olpe.
Key linebackers Samuel Shober and Talon Welch had suffered season-ending injuries. In a state semifinal win against Sedgwick, standouts Kyler Konrade and Kendyn Blank also went out.
In the championship game, Inman posted 168 total yards, just 42 on the ground, in a 35-6 loss to Olpe at Fort Hays State University. Inman’s top rusher in the game was Dawson Mannebach, known for his line play throughout the fall.
Of the Teutons’ nine catches, eight went to either Harrison Brunk, Eli Brunk, Tanner Heckel or Dawson McConnell. In the summer, Inman coach Lance Sawyer, a Teuton graduate who has completely turned around his alma mater, knew Olpe had a historically great team, especially defensively. Olpe featured linebacker Ted Skalsky, a Top 11 all classes player.
But Sawyer would have liked to play the Eagles fully healthy. Sawyer and Heckel walked off FHSU’s field together. Heckel turned to his coach and said, “We are going to make it back, we are going to win this one next year.”
“I just wish we could have played at full strength,” Sawyer told Kpreps this summer. “Again, I don’t want to take anything away from Olpe. They were fantastic, and the Skalsky kid, you watched him in the Shrine Bowl, he is as good as there is out there right now. And so Olpe was fantastic, but yeah to be able to play that thing full strength – we just wanted the challenge of it. And it just kind of left a bad taste in your mouth, but we will get back. I think we have got some kids that are hungry to get back there and play that thing.”
A year later, Heckel’s prediction came true.
For the second straight year, Inman dealt with significant injuries. Heckel, Inman’s dynamic two-way athlete, returned to quarterback, a position he’d played for many years in the younger ranks. The Brunk cousins were as key players, notably at wide receiver.
Heckel missed five games with a shoulder injury. McConnell was out with a broken hand and especially missed the district loss to Conway Springs. Inman was healthy late in the playoffs and corralled two dominant run-heavy attacks.
In the state quarterfinals, Inman faced Smith Center in a game considered a toss-up. Inman defeated the Redmen, 28-6. In the semifinals, Inman avenged the Conway Springs loss with a 23-6 victory.
The question is: What can a healthy Inman do at state?
On Saturday, Inman (11-1) faces St. Marys (10-2) for the 1A finale at Fort Hays State’s Lewis Field. Start time is 1:00 p.m.
Neither team has won a state championship. St. Marys lost in ’83, ’99 and ’06 championship games. The Bears went 5-4 in 2A last season before dropping to 1A this fall.
St. Marys, with an experienced group headlined by senior quarterback Keller Hurla, was the Kpreps preseason No. 1.
The Bears opened 1-2 with losses to Rock Creek and Silver Lake before nine straight victories. In the semifinals, St. Marys defeated Centralia, 46-16, the classification’s lone undefeated team. A St. Marys victory also ties an 11-2 mark in 2009 for the school single-season wins record.
Hurla has a strong case for 1A’s best player. He also led St. Marys basketball to a 2A runner-up last winter and is all-state in four sports. Kyle Schenk, a former Shrine Bowler player with extensive college coaching experience, has turned around the Bears in his third season.
A three-year starting quarterback, Hurla has thrown for 2,253 yards and 24 touchdowns, and rushed for 1,178 with 22 TDs. St. Marys has scored 41.6 points per game. Three players, senior Kason Gomez, senior Abe Huaracha and junior Nate Hutley, have between 28 and 37 catches.
Sophomore Howie Rezac and senior James Rezac have paced the Bears with 61.5 and 64 tackles, respectively. Senior Josh Deiter has 5.5 sacks. St. Marys has a small senior class with seven players on the official school roster, but nearly all of them are key players.
“He’s just this unique athlete,” Schenk said of Hurla to Kpreps in the summer. “He does everything really well. Maybe not the best at everything, but he does everything really well, and his change of direction has been typically really, really good.”
Inman faced its first major hurdle with Heckel went down. However, Josiah Buller, who had never played under center before, stepped in at quarterback and admirably.
“He is one of the smartest players I have ever had,” Sawyer told Kpreps in earlier season.
Dominic Nuese-Rasmussen and Zaden Johnson have anchored both lines.
“He has been really good,” Sawyer said of Nuese-Rasmussen, a key lineman on the ’21 team. “Against Sedgwick (in Week 2), he took over in the second half.”
Inman rose to No. 1 in 1A, and then lost, 35-14, to Conway Springs in Week 7. However, the Teutons regained health down the stretch and allowed just 25 points in the last five games. Before the quarterfinals against Smith Center, Sawyer told Kpreps “this is as healthy as we have been all year.”
“Tanner, Josiah, and Dawson are back to playing both sides of the ball,” Sawyer said.
Last week, Inman held Conway Springs to 49 carries for 189 yards. Conway Springs junior Brayden Kunz rushed 33 times for 117 yards. Kunz rushed 34 times for 287 yards in the first meeting against Inman in a contest where the Teutons allowed 349 rushing yards. In the Conway Springs victory, McConnell assisted on two tackles. Zachary Martisko had 16 stops, one for loss, while Nuese-Rasmussen finished with 11 tackles, one for loss.
Overall, Heckel, a three-sport all-state athlete, has passed for 842 yards, rushed for 749 and accounted for 22 scores. Buller passed for 12 touchdowns. The Brunks have combined for 62 catches, 19 for scores. Martisko leads Inman with 120 tackles. Kellen Schrag has 28 tackles for loss, Eli Brunk has 25 and Johnson has 18.
“Dawson McConnell has really played well after coming back from a broken hand,” Sawyer said.
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