Week 8 preview with audio streaming links

Garden City (4-3, 1-0) vs. Hutchinson (4-3, 1-0); 7 p.m. kickoff (6:30 pm pregame on 99.9 FM KWKR with Mike Pilosof and Ross Miller)

Live Audio Streaming: https://www.westernkansasnews.com/kwkr/

Play the man, not the helmet; that’s been the rallying cry for Garden City Head Coach Brian Hill this week.

“Everyone gets caught up in that it’s Hutch; and there’s definitely an intimidation factor there.”

That intimidation might be warranted-after all the Salthawks have beaten the Buffs 10 straight times. The last time Garden City knocked off a Randy Dreiling team? Does the name Dave Meadows ring a bell? 1999.

When Meadows left, the Buffaloes grip on a once, one-sided series favoring Garden City, faded away. During the same time, Dreiling’s teams were building one of the most successful dynasties in Kansas High School football history.

What’s transpired over the past 10 years is incredible: Nine championship game appearances and seven titles. They also became the first team in state history to win six straight. Not bad for a program that sniffed the postseason only once since 1969 before Dreiling’s arrival in 1997.

Hutch reminds you of the clumsy teenage boy at the prom with no date, only to come and find him some years later running a multi-million dollar corporation. The Salthawks were considerably the laughing stock of 5A and 6A football for more than three decades. Well, who’s laughing now?

2013 has brought with it a new challenge for Coach Dreiling: Injuries, and plenty of them. The Salthawks have lost nine players to anything ranging from a concussion, to a separated shoulder to the vaunted broken leg. Call them the walking wounded, but Dreiling offering up no excuses:

“Other guys have to step up,” Dreiling said. “It’s been pretty hard this year because some of these guys don’t know what they’re doing; they’ve never played some of these positions, and now we’re asking them to. It’s tough.”

One thing is for sure: The veteran Hutch coach won’t get any sympathy from Hill, who’s dealt with his own array of injuries the past two seasons.

The good news for Hill is that some of his guys are back, including senior running back Jacob Norquest. But it couldn’t save the Buffs in a 16-point loss on the road to Maize last week.

“It was frustrating to watch,” Hill said. “Everything that we did wrong are things we went over in practice, and for some reason, we still couldn’t execute.”

The loss washed away the euphoria of three-straight wins; two of those on the road. Now the Buffs are in a true, win-or-go-home scenario. A loss, seemingly ends a once promising season. A win, sets up another Hatchet match up next week with potential playoff implications.

Scott City (6-1, 1-0) at TMP (2-5, 1-0); 7 p.m. kickoff (6:30 pm pregame on 94.5 FM Mix 94 with Adam Kadavy)

Live Audio Streaming: https://www.westernkansasnews.com/mix94/

The Scott City Beavers will look to win their fourth straight game, and more importantly, go 2-0 in district play as they face the TMP Marian Monarchs at Lewis Field Stadium in Hays.

Last week, the Beavers were part of a defensive battle that saw them winning 14-0 over the Hoisington Cardinals. Scott City got both scores late in each half, the latest on a one-yard plunge by Paco Banda to put the game away. The Beaver defense was solid all night limiting the Hoisington ground game to only 60 yards, well below their 230 yard per game average, and didn’t allow the Cardinals to get past the Scott City 30 yard line.

TMP recorded their first shutout in 10 years with a 49-0 pasting of Russell in Russell last Friday night to snap a five-game slide. The Monarchs are 2-5 on the year, and also 1-0 in district play. TMP Marian used a balance once again of their rushing and passing game to lead them to a 42-0 halftime lead. Running back Nick Schmidt rushed for three touchdowns and Max Megaffin passed for three more in the win, as they put up their most points since 2011.

It’s Senior Night in Hays for the TMP-Marian Monarchs. Scott City leads the all-time series between the former MSAA foes 14-8-1. The Beavers have won the last seven meetings against the Monarchs.

Holcomb (4-3, 1-0) at Lakin (4-3, 1-0); 7 p.m. kickoff (6:30 pm pregame on 1030 AM KBUF with Kirk and Jacob)

Live Audio Streaming: https://www.westernkansasnews.com/kbuf/

The Holcomb Longhorns enter the second week of district play at 4-3 on the season and, more importantly, 1-0 in their district. This week the Longhorns travel to Lakin to take on the Broncs, who are also 1-0 in district play. Both teams are coming off impressive wins, with Holcomb rolling over Southwestern Heights 48-0, while Lakin blasted Cimarron 41-0.

The Longhorns relied on big plays and turning turnovers into points; the Broncs relied on their powerful running game, riding the 337 yards of senior Gage McAtee on their way to a team total of 426 yards rushing. McAtee has now rushed for 1068 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. The Bronc defense totaled 8 sacks on the night and now has 15 sacks for the season.

The winner of this showdown takes the lead in the 3A-District 16 race. Kickoff from Lakin is 7:00 p.m., with the pregame starting at 6:30 on KBUF.

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