Unbeaten Oakley up for the challenge

By CONOR NICHOLL cnicholl@dailynews.net

In a 2007 Class 2-1A sectional game, 11-0 Oakley faced 11-0 Smith Center, a juggernaut that hadn't allowed a point all season and had just started receiving national attention for its winning streak. Oakley senior running backs Aaron Racette and Kelly Younkin paced the talented Plainsmen and sophomores Ethan Jirak and Clem Fellhoelter played on the offensive line. Oakley had outscored opponents 431-59, yet Smith Center won the game, 56-0.

"I had no clue what I was coming into, really," Jirak said. "I just wasn't experienced on my part and they had the best line I have ever seen, and they just did everything perfectly that game."

Two years later, Jirak and Fellhoelter are now three-year starters, decorated linemen with all-area, all-conference and all-state honors. After winning seven games in 2008, Oakley retooled behind a senior class that includes Jirak, Fellhoelter, lineman Cody Stewart, quarterback Lex Parsons and running backs Tad Parsons and Kraig Siruta. Oakley is 11-0 and has outscored opponents, 421-34.

"I watch film now and I watch film back then, it looks like we are 10 times better," Stewart said. "I think we are more sound. I don't think we have people that point fingers to bring other people down. We all have our mindset on one thing and that's winning this year."

On Friday, Oakley will have another chance at Smith Center (11-0) when the Plainsmen travel to Smith Center for a 7 p.m. kickoff in a Class 2-1A sub-state championship game.

A win would propel Oakley into the first football state championship game in school history and end Smith Center's Kansas record and nation's-best (among 11-man schools) 78-game winning streak. A Redmen victory would give Smith Center a chance at a state-record six consecutive titles.

"I think it would be 6-0, 6-6, 9-6, it depends," Stewart said. "It depends how hard we want to play. I think that if you come watch us play Friday night, you will see a totally different football game (than 2007) because this is what we have been looking for since Day One of football practice."

Statistically, Oakley is considered better than Smith Center this season. Kenneth Massey, a Bowl Championship Series statistician, ranks high school teams at masseyratings.com. He ranks Oakley as the best 2-1A team in Kansas with a 1.16 rating. Smith Center stands third at 1.08. Massey gives Oakley a 55 percent chance to win Friday; Smith Center, 45 percent. Offensively, Lex Parsons has scored 10 touchdowns and rushed for 890 yards, while Tad Parsons has rushed for 1,116 yards and Siruta has picked up 1,016 total yards. Stewart has 10 sacks, while Jirak, who missed most of last season with a knee injury, has 17 sacks, the most in Oakley coach Randall Rath's 12 years.

"He has put a tremendous amount of effort into making himself the athlete that he is," Rath said. "He is a lot more explosive than he was last season. He is quick and he works on it. He has really good technique for a tackle."

Oakley finished 7-3 last season, its worst year since 2003.

"People not directly involved with the program were happy with the season that we had," Rath said. "We've had a standard of high expectations and it was very frustrating, the injuries that we battled all through the year."

This year, though, the Plainsmen improved behind a close-knit senior class. The group has played together since seventh grade and is together often off the field.

"No one is left out of anything," Stewart said. "Last season, you can definitely see who wanted to be on the field and who didn't want to be on the field."

"We lead a lot better than we did last year," Siruta said. "There is a lot more leadership."

Oakley has reeled off 11 straight victories, including a 3-0 win at Ellis last Friday. This weekend, Fellhoelter, who has played only offense since Week 3 because of an injury, could play both ways. The entire Oakley team is healthy and ready for another shot at Smith Center.

"Ellis was a really physical team," Jirak said. "So is Smith Center; they just have a much better tradition. We are the same, and we have to keep telling ourselves that."