It’s tough to say who saw it coming. Week after week, Hays High lurked in the shadows as an imminent threat to any opponent in their path. After a whirlwind regular season that saw the Indians nearly defeat 6A powerhouse Manhattan- a season that saw the four-time defending conference champions lose their title going 2-2 in the WAC- it’s tough to say anyone anticipated the historic run made by the 2024 Hays High Indian football team.

Tough to say, maybe- for anyone but them. Couch Crough and his Indians knew from the start that they had all the elements of a state caliber team. It just took some time and tribulation for them to find their way to a Class 5A State Semi-Final.

For Crough and his Indians, all it took was a shift in mindset- Hays High would no longer be hunted. It was their turn to go hunting.

“Most people just look at wins and losses, people that don’t really know what they are looking at see that we start 1-2 and they think we’re a team that probably isn’t going to be very good,” Crough said. “Anybody that follows sports in Kansas saw the caliber of the opponents we were playing. It really did make a difference.”

In the early weeks of the season, opponents in Derby and Manhattan, two of four in 6A finals, set them up for the postseason in more ways than one.

“It can go one of two ways when you put together a schedule like that. You can really get yourself in trouble in the postseason, getting such a low seed that you run into teams early enough that you can’t beat. Or- you play such competition that it really doesn’t matter who you run into, you played those types of teams before- or better teams- so you’re prepared.”

“We played a really tough schedule and it’s paying off now.”

In the regular season, the Indians suffered losses at the hands of Derby (40-7), Manhattan (34-30), Great Bend (21-0) and Liberal (20-19). A 4-4 record was enough to earn them a number nine seed.

Maybe nine was the magic number they needed to turn the tide in their favor, being that week nine was when they saw their season extend, a formidable opponent sent packing on their own home turf.

“We kind of had a shift in mentality after week eight. We had just lost to Liberal, we felt we should have won, had a really bad play late that got us beat. We got beat pretty bad by Great Bend the week before,” Crough explained.

“We realized we were playing on our heels a lot. Early on in the season, we were just in survival mode. Going through the WAC, we were the four-time defending champs getting everybody’s best shot every week. We felt like we were getting hunted and we were just doing everything we could to survive.”

For Hays High, it didn’t matter who the opponent was, entering week nine against No. 8 Andover. The two teams seemed to be evenly matched, both with 4-4 records. Week nine was the week the Indians decided to start making some noise for western Kansas. With a 31-0 victory, Hays High extended their season one more week, improving to 5-4 as they prepared to face a familiar opponent.

“When we were the nine seed, we told the kids that we’re going from getting hunted to going hunting. It changed the mentality of the way the kids’ approached things. We’re not going to sit back anymore, we’re going to go get after people,” Crough said.

The nine-seed placement, Crough shared, really worked out for the Indians, allowing them to sneak up on unsuspecting opponents. Especially, when the opponent is one you’ve seen once this season. Especially, when that opponent is a conference rival.

Waiting for the Indians week 10 were the Great Bend Panthers, WAC opponent and the first team to dethrone Hays as conference champions in four years.

The Indians scored first and were able to lead the No. 1 seeded Panthers through three quarters, 19-7, before they made their final attempt at the contest. Ultimately, Great Bend would see their season come to an end in a 14-19 loss to WAC opponent, 5A west underdogs, Hays High.

“Our run game and our defense did a great job of shutting down some of those things we saw the first time we played them,” Crough said.

Another game that the Indians always knew they were capable of taking, Crough alludes back to their first matchup of the season. Despite a 21-0 shutout, Crough believes that game could have been theirs, having not scored four times from within the five-yard line. The second time around, adjustments were made, mindsets were changed, and the Indians were on top.

“Everything went their way the first time we played them and the second time; we rallied up and everything went our way. We thought we had a chance no matter what to play with them and that was the difference- they played a little tight and we played loose because we had nothing to lose,” Crough said.

If a win over No. 1 Great Bend wasn’t enough to convince the state of Hays’ ability, a 28-0 shutout against Sectional opponent Hutchinson surely was. Crough is the first to acknowledge the strength of their opponents, a strong belief that their win over the Salt Hawks was in large part due to their ability to stop the ball against a team that runs well and often.

“We felt that if we could minimize their run game and try to slow it down that we’d have a really good chance. Our defense was amazing, we were able to get a stop and score early and we got up 14-nothing, at that point you could see Hutch on their heels and out of their comfort zone,” Crough said. “We ran the ball so well and took care of it and that really is the recipe in the playoff games, and we are really good at it.”

It seems as though throughout the entire season; the Indians were keen to information the rest of us were oblivious to. At 0-1, at 1-2, at 4-4- Crough’s belief in his team never wavered, and on paper, he had the stats to back it up. Though the wins and losses may not have fallen where they wanted, his team leaders remained consistent in their efforts all season, competing with and oftentimes surpassing opponents.

Senior quarterback Carter Graham has shown tremendous growth from the 2023 season, his biggest strength this year in taking care of the ball.

“He’s grown a lot as a decision maker,” Crough said. “His weakness last year was making poor decisions that hurt us in games.”

In the 2023 season, Graham threw for 1307 yards with a 53.37 completion percentage, good for 17 touchdowns. A strong stat line diminished by 13 interceptions. One year and a few crucial weeks later, Graham is making strides at QB with a 55.80 completion percentage, 1166 yards good for 15 touchdowns with only three interceptions.

“This year, he’s done such a good job taking care of the ball,” Crough said, alluding to the 20 touchdowns he has played a part in. “If you can get a quarterback that’s doing that, you can win with that. He’s done an incredible job of leading and being a decision maker.”

“Pair that with our run game, which is really what we’re trying to do behind our big O-line, it makes it really tough.”

Leading the Indian run game is junior Holden Lind. This season, Lind has had a daunting task filling in for former Hays High running back Malik Bah. He has taken the pressure and looked at it as a privilege, notching 1363 yards on 228 carries good for 10 touchdowns. His efforts have aided the Indians to 25 rushing touchdowns this season, outscoring opponents’ six.

Alongside Lind, Ian McGuire has been a strong number two, tallying 748 yards on 120 carries for eight touchdowns. Graham rounds out the trio of Indians able to take care of the ball and propel their team, now, to a semifinal matchup.

“We’re playing to our strengths, running the football, playing great defense, taking care of the football. We’re able to do that because we are so good at running the football with our offensive line,” Crough said. “We knew early on that we were going to have a chance if we could just stay the course and believe in it. We knew we had a chance to be a special run game. That paired with great defense, it just gives you a chance to be in every game.”

The emotion behind the defensive line, Crough described, is Wyatt Kirkpatrick. Though the senior leads in tackles with 85 on the season, the success of the Indian defense cannot be deduced down to one player. The attitude, though, may just be courtesy of Kirkpatrick and his ability to show his heart in and out of every game.

Dalton Meyer, 2023 WAC defensive player of the year, has given another strong season to the Indians, logging 72 tackles (32 solo, team high) with four sacks and an interception. Tanner Geist, another name Crough credits Hays’ defensive success to, leads with eight sacks this season, 61 total tackles. Jaxson Chartier and Cooper Lindenmeyer round out the defense with more than 50 tackles this season, Lindenmeyer with two interceptions and a fumble recovery.

“Add all of those together, Wyatt, Dalton and Cooper are kind of the leaders of the defense, they’re starting to mold into positions around them. It’s a really hard defense to score on because they are hard to run on,” Crough said. “And when you have a good defense that’s hard to run the ball on, you make other teams one dimensional and we’ve been able to do well there.”

Though the Indians find their success in the run game, it is not to say that the passing game is beyond their ability. In fact, leading rusher Lind has shown his own versatility on the field with six receiving touchdowns on the year. Leading receivers in Jonathan Cano, notching 511 yards on 36 receptions, good for five touchdowns in his senior season. Despite early season injuries, junior Jarek Purdy has found his way to the top of the receiving leaderboard, second only to Cano. Purdy has tallied 217 yards on 16 receptions, good for two touchdowns.

“They’re a good one-two punch. When you run the ball like we do, there aren’t a whole lot of opportunities to catch the ball, but Jonny has been kind of our big play threat. When you run the ball this way, you get one on one matchups, and our guys have been able to win those. Other teams get so focused on the run game, when we find open receivers, we’ve been able to connect with them.”

Heading into this weekend, the Hays High Indians have the opportunity to further make history. Coach Crough is no stranger to a final four showdown, having been here just two years ago with the 2022 squad. In 100 years of the Hays High program, however, this season notches their fourth appearance in the final four (2022, 1993, 1984).

“It’s the same mentality. We’re going to continue to do what we are good at and hope that it’s better than what they’re good at,” Crough said.

Up against Goddard-Eisenhower, Crough fully expects his team to be challenged by a strong quarterback and receivers. Where Hays High is strong at running and stopping opposing teams run games, he believes the 9-2 Tigers will offer them a challenge they have yet to see in the postseason.

The Tigers are led by senior quarterback Derek Morgan, 141 for 207 this season with 38 touchdowns. With 2724 yards, Morgan currently holds a 68-completion percentage, averaging 19.3 passing yards per play, 247.6 yards per game.

Behind Morgan are receivers Carter Pabst and Hayden Nall. A team that relies heavily on their passing game, Pabst leads with 1560 receiving yards good for 26 touchdowns. Nall plays a strong role at No. 2 with 551 yards and five touchdowns. Goddard-Eisenhower’s running game is led by junior Brayden Pappas with 1179 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

In all nine competitions this season, the Tigers have put up at least 20 points with one passing touchdown in each contest.

“For us though, it’s the same thing. We’re coming into it with that mentality that we’re the underdog, we’re going to do what we do, try to control the tempo of the clock, of the game. We know that we’ve got our work cut out, but we are excited,” Crough said.

The Tigers will host the Indians Friday night at 7 in Goddard, KS. The winner will advance to the State Championship next weekend, taking on the winner of Friday night’s matchup between St. James Academy and St. Thomas Aquinas.

“This team is one win away from doing something that no other team in the history of Hays High football has ever done. If we can find a way to get this one, it’s going to be one of the more special things that’s ever happened in Hays High Athletics.