By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

Four years ago, then-Hill City assistant coach Faron Kraft talked with first-year Ringneck head coach Chris Shank. Kraft, now the head coach at Ness-Dighton, was impressed with freshman Luke Owen.

"Coach Kraft told me that when he was a freshman that kid is going to be one of your studs when he is a senior," Shank said.

At first, Shank was uncertain. Owen displayed talent off the field, including taking the lead in the school's musical. In football, though, Owen saw little playing time his first three seasons.

"I was kind of Luke, he is a good kid, but I didn't know if would pan out the way he did," Shank said.

This season, Owen has been one of the key contributors for Hill City and made arguably the biggest play in Ringneck football history in Week 7 against Kensington-Thunder Ridge. Owen knocked down the potential game-tying 2-point conversion pass with no time left and sealed a 40-38 Ringneck victory.

On Thursday, Hill City defeated Triplains-Brewster 22-18 and secured the first trip to the state playoffs in school history.

"It's just a huge impact on this community and it will be here forever," Owen said.

The Ringnecks, 15-5 since they moved to the eight-man ranks, completed their best regular season since 1997 and finally earned the long-awaited postseason bid. In Shank's tenure, Hill City has been close each year, including a 48-42 loss to Thunder Ridge in 2008 and a 14-12 defeat versus Plainville in 2007. This fall, Hill City earned two close wins for the berth, an achievement that Shank called "hard to believe." Hill City didn't win a game for several years earlier this decade and allowed the most points in Kansas in 2005.

"They have a lot of people that have come through here and didn't get it done, a lot of great athletes that didn't make the playoffs," Shank said. "For these guys to be the ones to do it, I just can't tell how proud us coaches are for them and the people for sticking with us."

For Shank, it marks his first playoff berth since he was a junior at Buhler in 1997. That year, the Crusaders went to Salina South and suffered a big loss. Shank will look to have a different result when Hill City travels to powerhouse Clifton-Clyde (8-1) tonight. Clifton-Clyde, ranked No. 2 in Eight-Man, Division I in the statewide media poll, is the defending state runner-up and is 40-5 in the past four years. Senior quarterback Brayden Broomfield leads Clifton-Clyde with 2,152 total yards, including 1,240 on the ground.

Hill City is paced by its two veterans, junior quarterback Reggie Jordan and senior middle linebacker/guard Clinton Johnson. Jordan has 2,280 total yards (1,425 rushing) and is responsible for 31 touchdowns. He set career highs for carries (46) and yards (274) versus Triplains.

"He has got a great never-say-die attitude," Shank said. "He has got the heart of a lion. He knows each and every single week that the opponent's game plan is to stop him. He still comes back and picks himself back up. The great thing about him is he is such a hustler."

Johnson leads an improved defense with 118 tackles after he collected 134 last season. Hill City, though, which lost four of his top seven tacklers from 2008, including all-state linebacker Dylan Vap, has seen improvements from a strong supporting cast, including senior end Anthony McDonald (13 sacks), senior Justin Helberg (5 interceptions, 4 receiving TDs), sophomore Adam Pfeifer (60 tackles), senior end Blake McKeever (four blocked punts) and Owen.

They've helped Hill City outscore opponents 362-130 after they allowed 272 points in 2008. Hill City's 142-point defensive improvement ranks second among all area eight-man teams; Otis-Bison leads with a 300-point difference; Triplains-Brewster ranks third with a 130-point difference, according to preppowerindex.com.

"Our defense has been one of our bulwarks this year," Shank said of the 5-1 scheme that features Johnson as the lone linebacker.

Owen has seen a big jump, statistically, from 2008. As a junior, he had 36 rushing yards, 10 tackles and no sacks and no passes defensed. This season, he has rushed for 264 yards, third-best on the team, has 43 tackles, two sacks and two passes defensed, tied for the team-high.

"He showed a lot of heart," Shank said.

Owen's best game came against Thunder Ridge, a win that virtually assured the Ringnecks a playoff berth. Owen carried eight times for 59 yards, both season-highs.

"Getting that many yards and getting that many handoffs was a change, but I loved it," he said. "I loved the feeling of running through those holes, seeing people behind me, even breaking some tackles."

Owen defended two passes, including the critical final play. Thunder Ridge scored on the final play of regulation to cut Hill City's lead to 40-38.

"It was close; I was scared," Owen said.

On the 2-point conversion, Owen played safety. He saw Thunder Ridge senior quarterback Cade Rietzke toss the ball to right corner of the end zone.

"Right when he was about ready to catch it, I threw my hand up," Owen said.

The ball dropped and Hill City picked up the critical win. Two weeks later, the win against Triplains-Brewster clinched the playoff berth -- and Owen's play in history.

"That's a memorable thing. It's just awesome," Owen said.