To put the season-opening game between the Madison Bulldogs and the Baileyville B&B Falcons into perspective, Madison coach Fred McClain offers an auto racing analogy.
“This kind of reminds me of NASCAR,” he said. “They open up with the Daytona 500, a pretty big race in their schedule. We open up with Baileyville, a pretty big game in our schedule. And then you play the rest of the season. And as the season goes on, that first game becomes less important and other things become more and more important. But on our schedule, it’s kind of the Daytona 500. I’ll tell you that.”
Kansas high school football fans seem to agree. Tonight’s game at Baileyville between the 8-Man Division I’s top-ranked Bulldogs and 8-Man Division II’s top-ranked Falcons was voted the statewide game of the week by the readers of Kpreps.com.
After all, the game matches two of the state’s best 8-Man programs of recent history. Madison won the 8-Man Division I state championship in 2011 and Baileyville B&B has won three 8-Man state titles since 2008. The Falcons enter this season coming off a 13-0 record and 8-Man Division II state championship in 2012.
“I’m sure it will be an electric atmosphere,” B&B coach Justin Coup said. “This game is going to be awesome. People have already called me and asked what time they can start tailgating. I told them we have to have school out of here first, so at least wait until 4 p.m.”
The Falcons won last year’s season opener, topping the Bulldogs 34-22 at Madison. Since then, Madison has kind of had the 2013 game marked on its calendar.
“I think it’s really good for our program, because it creates a lot of excitement all year,” McClain said of opening the season against a high-quality opponent. “In our winter conditioning and agilities and weights, a lot of that we don’t get started until a week before Christmas some times. This year, by Thanksgiving we started rolling, and I think that has a lot to do with who you play in the first game. As we go through the rest of the year, I think it keeps the tempo up.
“Win, lose or draw, I think we’re a better football team for playing such a quality opponent. I think it just makes us sharper in everything we do.”
Last year, Madison opened the season as a young squad after graduating several all-state caliber players from the 2011 state championship team. The Bulldogs enter this season as veterans. Madison boasts five returning starters on offense and six on defense from last year’s team that finished 10-2.
Madison even has two quarterbacks with starting experience. Dustin Stutesman led the Bulldogs to a 5-1 record last year before suffering an ACL injury. Sage Blubaugh stepped in and also led Madison to a 5-1 record.
McClain said Thursday morning that a decision wouldn’t be made on who would start at quarterback until later Thursday. Either way, Madison’s coach knows he has at least two capable quarterbacks on his roster.
“This year to start the season with two quarterbacks who have starting experience, you can put your head on the pillow at night and relax a little as a coach,” he said.
Madison returns several other key players, including all-state lineman Hayden Serrer and all-state running back Dallas Thompson. Linebacker Gavin Beyer and safety Blubaugh are back after intercepting nine and seven passes, respectively, last year. Defensive end Owen Reed forced five fumbles and registered five sacks as a sophomore.
Baileyville also brings back several top players, returning four starters on each side of the ball. Receiver Cameron Haug and quarterback Dustin Rottinghaus both earned all-state honors in 2012. Rottinghaus completed 89 of 159 passes for 1,323 yards and 16 touchdowns, while rushing for 599 yards and 18 touchdowns. Haug caught 38 passes for 599 yards and seven touchdowns.
“(Rottinghaus) has done a really good job for us,” Coup said. “He’s a vocal leader. He gets us in the right positions during our hurry up offense. That’s what experience does for you. But he has seven seniors alongside him who also have been good leaders. I’ve really been impressed with our seniors and their leadership.”
Tonight’s game is important for both teams. But back to McClain’s NASCAR analogy, there will be plenty more to play for in the coming weeks at Madison and Baileyville. No matter the outcome, both teams will try to build off the season opener to make a run at another state championship in their respective classes.
“That’s the thing we’re looking forward to the most,” Coup said of how this game will prepare his team for the rest of the season. “We’re not going to find many teams much better than Madison. We’ll play some good teams, but not really any great than Madison. Win or lose, our team is going to get better in Week 2.”
This entire season is extra special for the Falcons as it will be Baileyville B&B’s final year as a high school. It will consolidate with Nemaha Valley High School after the school year.
Mark Schremmer covers high school and college sports in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma for The Joplin Globe newspaper.
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