Clay Center is long known for farming and wrestling, vocations that, in ninth-year coach Todd Rice’s eyes, form toughness and grit.
“We talk a lot with our guys about giving a relentless effort, and then playing hard for each other,” Rice said. “And I think when you talk about Clay Center, sometimes we are not the most talented team, but our guys are willing to play really hard for each other.”
Last Friday, Rice saw those qualities on display in one of Kansas’ biggest upsets in the first full week of the state playoffs. In Class 4A, Division II, Clay Center defeated Nickerson, 21-20, on the road. The Panthers had been ranked fifth in the classification.
Clay Center tallied the game-winning touchdown with 12 seconds remaining on a 3rd-and-5 pass from 13 yards by senior quarterback Peyton Lane to senior Connor Last. It marked the first touchdown in ’17 for Last.
“Nickerson is a good football team,” Rice said. “Boy, they were on us, and our kids really had to dig in and rely on that toughness to hang in that game.”
Clay Center has enjoyed multiple teams over .500 in recent seasons but won its first playoff game since 1993. Clay Center bumped to 8-21 all-time in the playoffs and 7-3 this year.
“Had really good teams in the past, just have had really some tough draws on some of those years, and had those years where we’ve just had a lot of breaks go against us,” Rice said.
Clay Center has won its most games since a 7-3 season in ’06. The Tigers are 3-6, 4-5, 5-5 and 7-3 in the last four years and improved its offensive output each time. Clay Center averages 26.9 points per game, the best since 27.8 in ’06.
Clay Center is 4-1 in games within 16 points, 2-0 within eight. In the three previous seasons, the Tigers were 4-8 in games within 16 and 1-5 in games within eight, including a pair of overtime losses.
Seniors Garrett Craig and Holden Heigele have anchored the line, while senior Anthony Enneking leads with 25 catches for 343 yards and four scores.
“Our guys, they’ll just fight and keep hanging in there,” Rice said. “Each week we have different guys kind of step up and make plays. Just seems like these guys are really happy when somebody else has success.”
Senior linebacker Gavin Siebold and senior defensive end Gavin Ware rank second and third in tackles with 87 and 75, respectively. Both come from farming families, and Ware is preseason No. 1 at 195 pounds in Class 4A wrestling.
“Brings that much more work ethic to the field,” Rice said.
No senior has missed a game due to injury.
Clay Center is 1-3 at home and 6-0 on the road, a statistic the players are aware of. This Friday, the Tigers play host to 10-0 Scott City, ranked first in Class 4A, Division II.
“After (Nickerson), they asked if we could wear white jerseys and ride around on the bus next week,” Rice said.
Clay Center was one of several 4A squads to pull off a big win. Also in 4A-II, Burlington shocked Columbus, 22-21. In 4A-I, Labette County held off Paola, 34-7. Burlington (7-3) has tied the furthest advancement in school history with its fifth quarterfinals trip, second since ’87.
Labette County (10-1) has also tied its best showing with its third quarters trip and third all-time playoff win.
Rice admitted “people want to see fancy-looking offenses” but Clay Center sticks to its run-heavy triple option that has averaged 232 rushing yards a game. The Tigers have no starting offensive lineman above 210 pounds.
Lane, formerly a wide receiver, is in his first season as the starting quarterback. He is again the team’s leading tackler at free safety with 128 stops after 126 in ’16.
An all-state wrestler, Lane has completed 44 of 93 passes for 672 yards with a 4/10 TD/INT ratio. He leads the team with 139 carries for 816 yards and 14 scores.
Senior Caleb Mendum averaged 9.5 yards a carry in a reserve role in ’16. He has 73 carries for 649 yards (8.9 per carry) and seven TDs. Senior Levi Pfizenmaier, the fullback, tallied 821 yards as a junior and is at 649 yards with four TDs this fall.
“Most of his experience in the past was at other skill positions,” Rice said. “So the first couple games of the season we kind of struggled in our quarterback game, and he just really evolved with it.
“And probably something that is tough on him, too, is most quarterbacks only play one way, and Peyton, he is our leading tackler, and he is just never off the field,” Rice added. “Pretty special when you see that.”
Clay Center, similar against virtually every opponent, was undersized versus the Panthers.
Nickerson ran the ball on every play but one, an incomplete pass. Senior Peyton Kuhns had 27 carries for 163 yards and two scores for Nickerson.
Lane tallied 21 carries for 117 yards and two TDs, and completed 5 of 10 for 58 yards with a score and an interception. Nickerson outgained Clay Center, 293-267.
“It didn’t look good for most of the game, but these guys just hung in there,” Rice said.
The Tigers trailed 13-0 in the first half and 20-6 before Lane scored on a 14-yard touchdown run with 6 minutes, 10 seconds left.
“Our guys just kept encouraging each other,” Rice said. “And we knew how good Nickerson was, and what they brought to the table, and we said going in we had to just keep fighting, keep punching, keep working, fight through any adversity. Good things would eventually happen, and once we kind of settled in, then some good things started going our way.”
With around two and a half minutes left, Pfizenmaier recovered a fumble at the Clay Center 45-yard line.
“Levi from the middle linebacker position, just had a good read on it, and was just there to jump on it,” Rice said.
Clay Center, with just one timeout, steadily moved down the field and took advantage of a pass interference call.
“We worked those situations every week in practice, and we felt confident we still had time,” Rice said. “We could primarily run the football, and do what we have been doing and just a tribute to our coaches and our kids to be able to execute.”
The 6-foot-1, 160-pound Last was expected to be a two-way starter last season. However, he missed all year with injury. This fall, he has collected eight catches for 197 yards and a score. The Tigers had a sprint right pass called. Lane has a quick 1-2 read, stepped up in some traffic and found Last for the score.
Additionally, Lane’s dad, J.D., and Last’s father, Ben, are Tiger assistant coaches. The duo served as coaches all the way up through the ranks, including youth.
“Kind of adds a special element to it as well,” Rice said.
Use your Facebook account to add a comment or start a discussion. Posts are subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your Facebook name, photo & other personal information you make public on Facebook will appear with your comment.
