The biggest game remains for SM West - SM West is confident, but refuses to overlook Hutchinson and its dominant running game
CHRIS OBERHOLTZ -- THE KANSAS CITY STAR
Reaching the 6A state title game is reason to celebrate,
but running back J.D. Steffen (below) and the rest of
the Vikings know their biggest test is yet to come. Hutchinson's
running game features a pair of 1,200-yard rushers.
The Shawnee Mission West football team did last weekend
what it has done all season.
First, the Vikings won -- a 31-14 victory over previously
undefeated Lawrence Free State in the 6A state semifinals.
Then about a dozen of the players made a brief stop at
senior teammate Michael Sutyak's house, where they gather
every week to eat and watch highlights of the game on
television. And a few hours later they moved on because
the biggest game of SM West's banner season remains.
"The best feeling I've had playing football,"
senior Ryan Wingers said of the win. "But I told
myself real soon after that, 'We still have one more game.'"
The 12-0 Vikings meet 12-0 Hutchinson in the 6A state
championship this Saturday in Emporia, and less than 12
hours after their win last Friday, the players were back
on the field. Like every Saturday before it this season,
the Vikings arrived at 8 a.m. for wind sprints and then
a film session.
This week's feature film: two-time defending 6A state
champion Hutchinson, which will be making its fourth straight
state finals trip. Needless to say, the Salthawks boast
an edge in postseason experience over the Vikings, who
are making their first finals appearance since winning
the 1985 state championship.
"We don't tell the kids to be afraid because we
feel pretty positive about ourselves," SM West coach
Tim Callaghan said. "But we don't want our kids to
be overconfident, either, because that would be a mistake."
Hutchinson has won each of its first three playoff games
by 21 points or more. For the season, the Salthawks have
averaged 43.1 points and 431 yards of offense per game,
led by a pair of 1,200-yard rushers -- running back Romero
Cotton (1,241 yards, 20 touchdowns) and quarterback Wes
Kimmel (1,236 yards, 23 touchdowns).
The SM West players will watch four Hutchinson game tapes
in preparation this week, but they already know what to
expect.
"No one overlooks Hutchinson," Vikings senior
quarterback Blake Lawrence said. "If you do, you're
a little bit loony."
Lawrence expects his throwing shoulder, which he separated
while being tackled late in the team's state quarterfinals
win, to be "a step above where I was last week."
Despite the injury, Lawrence came up clutch for SM West
against Free State. After holding Lawrence, a senior,
out of the offensive game in the first half, Callaghan
turned back to Lawrence after halftime. The result was
the Vikings scored the final 17 points and won.
Lawrence iced his shoulder last week, he took ibuprofen,
and then he tried resting it. But nothing worked as much
as adrenaline.
"I think adrenaline just kind of took over,"
Lawrence said. "And that's something I'll probably
have to rely on this week to get over the pain."
And there should be no shortage of adrenaline Saturday.
