Victoria vs. Q. Heights, Round 4

11/7/2008

By NICK McQUEEN

nmcqueen@dailynews.net

Victoria prep football coach Doug Oberle will be the first to tell you he has a great deal of respect for Bushton-Quivira Heights coach Jeff Savage and what he has been able to accomplish in such a short time with the Thunderbirds.

Oberle will also admit that when it comes to knowledge of the game, Savage probably has the upper hand heading into Saturday's matchup between Victoria and Quivira Heights. Kikcoff is 6:30 p.m. in Victoria. The Knights and the Thunderbirds are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the statewide media poll. The winner advances in the Eight-Man, Division II playoffs. The loser goes home.

"Whenever we play them, I tell the guys 'You have to go out and win this game, because (Savage is) smarter than me,' " Oberle said Tuesday, after his Knights defeated Rexford-Golden Plains 50-0, moving to 10-0 on the season.

That 10-0 mark included a win over Quivira Heights, a game where Victoria was able to give the T-Birds their only setback of the season.

The Knights' defense will see again Saturday Savage's spread offense that has yielded one of the biggest turnarounds in the state the past two seasons. When Savage took over in Bushton, the Thunderbirds were coming off a 1-8 season. In his first year, they went 9-3. That included a pair of wins over Victoria, the only two losses for the Knights, who coming off the 2006 state championship.

This year, though, the Knights got one back, handing the Thunderbirds their only loss of the season, a 42-28 win in Victoria in Week 3.

"We've fixed some things," Oberle said. "Last year, they really confused us up front. The guys got into their sets and understood what they were seeing in the field and our backs ran extremely hard against them."

In that game, Victoria had to battle back from a 28-12 deficit at halftime to claim the victory, and the Knights have since rolled off seven straight wins, with the closest game a 20-16 victory at Palco.

"They're a well-coached football team. He's got injuries and it doesn't seem to bother them," Oberle said of the Thunderbirds. "The kids that he puts in just continue to play hard."

Since the Week 3 meeting, Quivira Heights (9-1) has rolled, averaging 48 points per game using the spread formation. The Knights' defense, which has given up just 22 points in its last three outings, will be tested.

"We have to do a better job of containing their passing game (this time around)," Oberle said.

Just as it has all year, Victoria will look to its running game of senior running backs Evan Koerner and Blake Klaus and senior quarterback Jordan Ottley. Last week, the three combined for 390 of Victoria's 425 total yards, with Ottley scoring three rushing touchdowns and catching a pass from junior quarterback Garrett Dreiling, who provides the Knights' passing threat.

"It's going to be a challenge," Oberle said. "They're going to be ready for it, and I know we're ready for it."

Last season, this game ended the Knights' season, handing Victoria just its second loss, a 28-10 setback in Bushton. Quivira Heights went on to fall in the next round, 26-22 to eventual Division II champion Sharon Springs.