Pittsburg coach Tom Nickelson doesn’t track the Purple Dragons’ current winning streak in Southeast Kansas League play. Nickelson, though, is aware that Fort Scott is the last squad to beat Pittsburg.
“We just have the same goal every year to try to be SEK champs, and we know that if we lose one game, we are probably not,” Nickelson said. “That’s the goal, to go out and play your best every week.”
Pittsburg, the preseason SEK Leauge favorite, has won 16 straight league games and plays at Fort Scott on Friday. Fort Scott defeated Pittsburg, 41-20, in Week 3 of the 2012 season.
The Purple Dragons, ranked No. 4 in Class 5A, have opened the season with two league victories, 57-14 versus Coffeyville and 46-0 against Independence. Fort Scott stands at 2-0, too. Both squads finished 9-2 in 2014. Pittsburg has won nine of the last 11 in the matchup with a 41-0 win last fall.
“We have had some really epic games with Pittsburg,” 20th-year Fort Scott coach Bob Campbell said. “They and us have been perennially the top two teams in our conference, and it was a stretch there where we had the better of it, and they recently have had the better of it. It’s a big game for us. It’s a big game for our community, it’s a rivalry game. It’s a healthy rivalry in I think that both teams have a lot of respect for the other program.”
Fort Scott opened with a 24-7 victory versus Parsons and 50-14 against Spring Hill. Senior kicker Brody Southwell, one of the nation’s best, made statewide news with a 52-yard field goal last week. Southwell tied an SEK League record for field goals when he finished 7 of 7 with a long of 31 last fall.
“He is a weapon for us,” Campbell said. “We got down inside their territory, and we said if we don’t convert, we are going to go ahead, and give it a shot. It was very legitimate. It was from 52, and it had plenty of distance and was right down the middle. It was a big moment, very exciting for him. Very deserving. He is a hard worker and has worked diligently.”
Fort Scott graduated its quarterback, six of its top seven rushers and its top receiver. Senior Kaleb DeLaTorre has stepped up at quarterback, senior Carter Young, the lone rusher back with significant experience, has played well as the starter.
Senior wide receiver Marcus Stepps, the No. 2 target, has opened with two big games; Campbell called Stepps one of the best receivers in the area. Junior Josh Hudiburg is a returning starter at tight end, and the offensive line returns three starters.
“Played better in all three phases I felt against Spring Hill last week and know that we will have to do the same this week to compete with a very good Pittsburg team,” Campbell said.
Pittsburg has rolled behind a revamped offense after Alex Barnes graduated following 2,361 rushing yards and 28 scores last fall. The Purple Dragons tallied five touchdowns in the first quarter of Week 1, and had 39 first half points last Friday. In 2014, Pittsburg advanced to the Class 5A quarterfinals, its best team since 2004.
“I really like this team,” Nickelson said. “They had a terrific summer. This team really plays with an edginess, with a chip on their shoulder, because they have always been under that senior class that they had last year. That senior class was so much more than just Alex. … We lost 12-15 really good football players.”
“This group of seniors has been underneath them forever, hearing about how great those guys are, and when those guys leave, we will fall on hard times once it’s done,” he added. “Some teams I am sure that would just crush their ego and their morale. For these guys, it’s put a chip on their shoulder to try to prove everybody wrong.”
Last year, the Purple Dragons were primarily a power running team who could run toss smash behind the 215-pound Barnes around 25 times a game.
Now, Pittsburg has split the carries in a triple option look with senior quarterback Spencer Turnbull and senior fullback Dante Menghini, both returning starters.
“As great as Alex was, everybody knew where the ball was going, and now if they try to just take one person away, we will try to get the ball to somebody else,” Nickelson said.
Menghini collected nine carries for 127 yards and three touchdowns in Week 1. Senior tailback Sherrick Rogers has transferred back from Chetopa after he served as Barnes’ backup his sophomore year. Rogers has 14 carries for 229 yards. No one in the backfield has more than nine carries in a game. Nickelson lists a four to five player receiving corps that he believes can match up with any squad.
The 185-pound Rogers can hit the third level on the triple option. Pittsburg lets him get out wide and work in space.
“He is tough to tackle, he is pretty elusive,” Nickelson said. “He can start and stop real quick. He can turn on the jets and go. When he needs to, he can lower his shoulder, and that’s what we are working on.”
The 2014 offensive line returned every starter and weighed in the 230-250 pound range. This season, Nickelson said the offensive line is much smaller with the biggest lineman around 220 to 225 pounds. Every one, though, can run at least 5.3 seconds in the 40-yard dash and is strong for their size.
“It’s just a different team, a different line,” Nickelson said. “We do a lot more double teams, we do lot more combo blocking, down blocking. It’s all about angles on the triple option.”
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