Before the Coffeyville Golden Tornado even had their first practice of the season, coach Murray Zogg identified the team’s goal as winning a state championship.
It was a pretty lofty goal for a team that lost in the second-round of the playoffs last year and for a program that previously had never advanced to a state semifinal game.
Yet Coffeyville is one win away from meeting Zogg’s preseason expectations. The ‘Nado (12-1) will face the Buhler Crusaders (12-1) for the Class 4A state championship at 1 p.m. Saturday in Salina. Both schools will be vying for its first state title in football.
“It kind of started with the way last year ended,” Zogg said. “We had a really good football team last year, and we lost in the second round to a team we really felt like we could beat … We knew we had about everybody coming back. If the team could just work together and take care of some discipline issues, I just knew this team had the talent to go all the way. And, here we are. We made it, and now we just have to finish the deal.”
Coffeyville has gotten to this point behind an abundance of speed and athleticism. The entire 4x100 4A state championship relay team from this spring plays significant roles for the ‘Nado football squad.
Senior wide receiver and defensive back James Newton, who is being recruited by Big 12 schools, has 49 catches for 828 yards and six touchdowns. Darron Deffebaugh has 26 receptions for 836 yards and nine touchdowns. LaDarrius Johnson has rushed for 1,550 yards and 26 touchdowns on 178 carries. Destin Downing has rushed for 934 yards and 20 touchdowns on 97 carries. All four players have had plays go for more than 60 yards.
“You start watching film on Coffeyville and the speed they have gets your attention immediately,” Buhler coach Steve Warner said. “We know we have to be ready to play a team with a lot of athletes and a lot of speed.
“They have big linemen and their quarterback does a nice job, but their speed is what you have to try and slow down. They have speed at running backs, speed at wideouts, speed at linebackers, speed in secondary, speed at tight end. They have a lot of speed.”
Coffeyville senior quarterback Nathan Finley has passed for 2,201 yards with 21 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
“He’s really come a long way,” Zogg said. “He’s only played quarterback about a year and a half. His freshman and sophomore year, he was a tight end and outside linebacker … He shared some time with a senior last year as a junior. He really showed some ability last year in the district and playoffs. His work ethic and leadership are so instrumental to our football team. His enthusiasm is contagious for the rest of our players.”
Coffeyville’s only loss of the season came 42-12 to Class 5A’s Pittsburg, which dominated on the ground. The Nado felt like they exorcised those demons with wins against traditional running teams, Baldwin and Paola, in the 4A playoffs.
“Because of what happened to us against Pittsburg, there weren’t too many people around giving us much of a chance against Baldwin,” Zogg said. “They were a big, physical, smash-mouth team, and everybody talked about how we couldn’t stop the run against Pittsburg. Our defense was tired of hearing it, so they were just really motivated it with that game. After that, our kid believed that we could beat anybody.”
Yet Coffeyville knows it faces a challenge against Buhler.
The Crusaders are on a six-game winning streak since falling 28-21 to Andale on Oct. 18. They have knocked off several good teams in the playoffs, including the defending state champion Holton Wildcats.
“After we lost to Andale, I thought we became a better team,” Warner said. “I thought that game made us better. I felt like the Ulysses game was huge for us. Going in, I really thought they had a chance to win the state championship. We won that game 14-7. Then when you beat Hayden and Holton, you’ve given yourself an opportunity to win it.”
Buhler’s offense is led by senior running back Riley Allen, who has rushed for 1,777 yards and 23 touchdowns despite missing three games with an injury.
“Against Holton, he came out the very first play of the second half and goes 60 yards for a touchdown and set the tone for the rest of the game,” Warner said. “His highlight runs look great, but some of the things he does is best is when he gets three yards when there’s nothing there. We’re still able to move the chains, because he’s finding ways to fall forward and get us three or four yards. Those are the special runs, I think. His highlight reel is awesome, but those three or four-yard runs are what I like.”
Sophomore quarterback Jace Williams has passed for more than 1,000 yards.
“Their quarterback is a big, tall kid,” Zogg said. “He’s got a cannon for an arm. He can throw the ball deep. You want to stop Riley, but you have to respect their passing game. It will be a formidable challenge for us to stop their offense. They can do ball control and let time run off the clock if they need to, and yet they can score in one play as well.”
Defensively, the Crusaders are led by Henry Hickert, who set the school record with 14 sacks.
In order for Buhler to win its first state title, it will need to put some pressure on an electric Coffeyville offense.
“You want to limit the big play,” Warner said. “They’ve really lived on the big play whether it’s on offense or defense. You want to make them grind it out on you. That score can go up pretty fast if you give up a big play on them.”
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