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| Khadre Lane. LJWorld. |
Regular Season Team Stats (league rank)
Rushing Offense: 193.4 (6th)
Passing Offense: 151.6 (4th)
Total Offense: 345 (4th)
Rush Defense: 163.9 (5th)
Pass Defense: 71 (1st)
Total Defense: 234.9 (1st)
Individual Season Stats (through Sectionals)
Passing Yards
Kyle McFarland: 1,563, 18 TDs
Rushing Yards
Kyle McFarland: 718, 7 TDs
TJ Cobbs: 674, 14 TDs
Joe Dineen: 495, 9 TDs
Demarko Bobo: 261, 4 TDs
Receiving Yards
Tye Hughes: 588, 9 TDs
Chris Heller: 261, 2 TDs
Blake Winslow: 202, 2 TDs
Khadre Lane: 154, 2 TDs
Sam Hearnan: 110, 1 TD
Tackles
Corban Schmidt: 104
Keith Loneker: 87
Joe Dineen: 62
Stan Skwarlo: 50
Cody Stanclift: 46
Sacks
Blake Winslow: 7.5
Keith Loneker: 6
Fred Wyatt: 6
Cody Stanclift: 4
Interceptions
Demarko Bobo: 4
Kyle McFarland: 4
Joe Dineen: 3
Blake Winslow: 2
Defensive Touchdowns
Demarko Bobo: 2 (2 ints)
Carson Bowen: 1 (int)
Joe Dineen: 1 (int)
Cody Stanclift: 1 (int)
Blake Winslow: 1 (fum)
****The two numbers that stand out for me about Free State on defense are the six defensive touchdowns they've recorded and the mere 71 yards per game they gave up through the air during the regular season. The Firebirds are extremely difficult to pass against. Their secondary, made up of Kyle McFarland, Joe Dineen and Demarko Bobo, has been the league's best this season and I think that's been apparent to anyone who's seen them play. The defensive touchdowns show just how dangerous and explosive they are as a defensive unit.
****Offensively, Free State is about as balanced as they come. This is a matchup nightmare for opponents because there's not one area to key on when playing the Firebirds. With basically three players over 500 rushing yards you never know who's going to be taking the ball out of the backfield. Their receiving core is also stellar and all of their receivers have big play potential.
SM West
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| AJ Verdini. Elaine Ferguson. |
Regular Season Team Stats (league rank)
Rushing Offense: 251.8 (1st)
Passing Offense: 96.4 (6th)
Total Offense: 348.2 (3rd)
Rush Defense: 145.3 (3rd)
Pass Defense: 106.4 (6th)
Total Defense: 251.8 (2nd)
Passing Yards
AJ Verdini: 1,030, 9 TDs
Rushing Yards
Brett Sterbach: 1,862, 20 TDs
Tory Powell: 375, 5 TDs
Andre Maloney: 245, 1 TD
Steffon Ward: 200, 1 TD
Receiving Yards
Andre Maloney: 464, 9 TDs
Joel Spiller: 316
Tackles
Max Bullard: 96
Marquan Osbey: 96
Rashaun Owens: 80
Cooper Arner: 67
Joel Spiller: 63
Sacks
Max Bullard: 7.5
Lee Spight: 5
Austin Chambers: 3
Jordan Neff: 2.5
Rashaun Owens: 2.5
Interceptions
Kez Demby: 3
Andre Maloney: 3
Ben Lake: 2
*Rob Rice: 2
Joel Spiller: 2
Defensive Touchdowns
Cooper Arner: 1 (int)
Marquan Osbey: 1 (int)
Joel Spiller: 1 (int)
*Injured, will not play.
****As the Vikings prefer, they gain the majority of their yardage on the ground. Running back Brett Sterbach is 138 rushing yards away from becoming the first non-Olathe North running back to eclipse the 2,000-yard rushing mark in a single season. As I've stated on Twitter, the line on this game might as well be those 138 rushing yards. If he hits it there's a good chance SM West is the victor. If not, it probably means the Vikings aren't running the ball the way they'd like, which doesn't bode well for their chances in this one.
****The biggest difference I've seen in SM West this season, when compared with the previous three or so years, is how much better they've played on the defensive side of the ball. It's not a mistake that they finished the regular season ranked second overall (behind Free State who finished atop the league in defense). SM West is extremely aggressive on defense and it's paid dividends all season.
