Class 8-Man, Division I
East: No. 3 Burlingame (11-0) at No. 4 Osborne (11-0)
Burlingame is in the sub-state championship game for the second straight season. The Bearcats are 22-1 in the last two years with a sub-state loss to Hanover last year. The Bearcats have beaten opponents by an average score of 56-10 this season.
The Bearcats won the championship in 1972 and never reached the quarterfinals until last season. The team also had a semifinal showing in 1971. This year, Burlingame has shown great defensive improvement against a challenging schedule after graduating standouts Robert Hutchins and Paul Holt. Burlingame averaged 53 points a contest last year but permitted 21.
Junior quarterback Dalton Sporing has enjoyed another standout year with 1,305 passing yards and a 31/3 TD/INT ratio. He has also averaged 12 yards per carry, rushed for 1,220 yards and 30 scores. The Bearcats have averaged 8.6 yards per play with just five turnovers.
Senior Kosta Buterakos and junior Tristan Lee have enjoyed standout seasons, especially defensively. Buterakos has a team-high 114 tackles, while Lee has 110 stops and 14 TFLs. The Bearcats have forced 33 turnovers and are plus-28 in turnover margin. Burlingame has five defensive touchdowns, including four pick-sixes.
Last year, the Bearcats had 26 turnovers, were plus-17 in turnover margin and recorded 11 non-offensive touchdowns.
Burlingame has delivered a bevy of quality wins and won every game but one by the 45-point margin, including playoff teams Hartford (62-12), Lebo (46-0), Clifton-Clyde (66-20), Solomon (72-46) and St. Paul (58-12).
Osborne, expected a big improvement this season, has a veteran-laden team returning after a 4-5 season last fall. The Bulldogs, known for offense in recent seasons, have averaged 60 points a contest, tops in the classification. Osborne has permitted 17 points a game. The Bulldogs are known for their quick-strike ability, including seven touchdowns on their first 12 plays in a first-round playoff win against Clifton-Clyde. The Bulldogs scored the last 42 points versus West Elk last week.
Junior Denton Schurr has 1,594 rushing yards with 29 rushing scores. Senior Cullen Grabast has 1,272 rushing yards with 27 rushing TDs. Grabast has filled in at quarterback the last two games for senior Justin Burch. Together, they have a 9/1 TD/INT ratio. Osborne has forced 31 turnovers and is plus-26 in turnover margin.
Osborne defeated Pike Valley, 34-32, in Week 4, owns a 54-8 win against Solomon and 64-16 versus Clifton-Clyde. This is likely going to be a high scoring contest. Burch’s health is likely key for Osborne to provide another weapon.
Sporing, though, might be the most impactful player in the eight-man game, and the Bearcats’ defense has played great.
Burlingame 62, Osborne 58 (Nicholl)
West: No. 1 Spearville (11-0) at No. 2 St. Francis (10-0)
Eight-Man, Division I has enjoyed a solid year, especially at the top with Spearville, St. Francis on the west and Burlingame and Osborne on the east. All four teams have occupied the top four spots in the poll all season, while Spearville and St. Francis have been 1-2 in some form since the preseason.
St. Francis, in the sub-state title for the first since 2007 under then-coach Tim Lambert, has never made a football title game in school history. The Indians are 20-1 under second-year coach Rodney Yates in its third season in the eight-man ranks.
Spearville is 34-1 since the start of the 2014 season and is riding a 24-game winning streak, longest currently in Kansas.
The two teams have run through their schedules. St. Francis was tested in a season-opening 22-20 home win versus Sharon Springs-Wallace County but has cruised since. Meanwhile, the Lancers haven’t had a game closer than 30 points in the last two years. Spearville has a total score of 626-104, while St. Francis is at 505-44. The teams ran 1-2 in scoring defense, while the Lancers are second in offense.
The teams offer a bevy of star power, including Spearville quarterback Kolby Stein, running back Luke Heskamp and center Wyatt Strecker, a four-year starter. St. Francis has plenty of depth with quarterback Quinton Cravens, running back Taylor Rogers and lineman Trayton Doyle.
Stein has accounted for 24 touchdowns with 744 rushing and 577 passing yards. The speedy Heskamp has 1,103 rushing yards and 21 rushing scores. Junior Bailey Sites has returned from injury in the last month and tallied a pair of big scoring runs in last Saturday’s win at Central Plains. Spearville has four turnovers and is plus-18 in turnover margin with nine non-offensive TDs.
Cravens has improved as a passer and delivered an exceptional season with 1,447 passing yards, 73 percent completion rate and 22 scores against two interceptions. Rogers has 91 carries for 951 yards and 24 rushing scores. St. Francis has just two turnovers is plus-19 in turnover margin with four non-offensive scores.
Spearville defensive back Waylon Strecker was carried off the field at the end of Saturday’s playoff game; he leads the Lancers with five interceptions. St. Francis will likely test the Lancers’ passing defense.
Excluding Spearville’s 72-0 victory against winless Kinsley and St. Francis’ 57-0 win against Quinter – a team that hasn’t won a game in two years – the Indians have been a little more dominant on a per play basis.
St. Francis has averaged 10.44 yards per play and permitted 2.58. Spearville has averaged 9.66 yards per play and permitted 3.86.
Versus common opponents, the teams are each 3-0 with six big wins against common opponents in Hill City, Atwood-Rawlins County, and Ness City.
A major key could be how well the two play in the first quarter. Both teams have started fast, including Spearville with a 360-8 margin after the first quarter.
The biggest question is: Can St. Francis slow down Spearville’s single-wing offense that produces at a metronomically consistent elite rate? Spearville has tallied at least 52 points in every game, save a 38-6 win versus rival Hodgeman County.
Last year, the Lancers scored at least 46 in every contest, including 64, 58, 68 and 62 in the playoffs. In 2014, Spearville tallied at least 40 points in every game after Week 1.
Spearville 40, St. Francis 32 (Nicholl)
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