WAC up for grabs for HHS
By RANDY GONZALES
The game has conference and district implications -- and it's against their big rival.
Motivation likely won't be a problem for the Hays High School football team for Friday's Class 5A, District 6 opener. Great Bend comes to town for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Lewis Field Stadium.
"It's been this way the last two years, since I've been here," said Hays High coach Ryan Cornelsen. "It's been a big game.
"It's a rivalry; Great Bend plays extremely hard," he added. "It's a great matchup; it's going to be a battle."
Hays High (5-1 overall, 2-1 WAC) comes into the game after an impressive showing last week. The Indians led 49-6 at halftime in an eventual 56-14 win at Dodge City.
"We got to focus on the next three weeks," Cornelsen said. "You hope you gain confidence from it. ... Hopefully, we re-focus this week."
Great Bend (3-2, 3-0) enters the game coming off a 37-14 win over Liberal.
In the other district opener, Salina Central (5-1) will play Salina South (2-4).
Great Bend can hurt teams with both the run and the pass.
"They execute very well, they've got some good offensive linemen," Cornelsen said. "They line up in a lot of power formations, run right at you.
"They're always capable going back to the spread, doing what they've always done," he added. "I can't explain ... how many trick plays they've run throughout the year, how well they execute their style of offense."
Great Bend averages 298 yards in total offense, 182 rushing and 116 passing. The Panthers, who have played one fewer game than the Indians because of a Week 3 bye, are led by Josh Lopez, who averages 69 yards rushing per game.
"We got to stop the run, try to make plays in the passing game," Cornelsen said. "We've got to do a good job of tackling. We can't have missed tackles."
The Hays High offense leads the WAC in rushing, averaging 388 yards per game. Junior tailback David Cardinal leads the conference with 731 yards on the ground and has scored 10 touchdowns. Senior quarterback Austin Unrein is second in rushing, with 599 yards, and has nine TDs.
Hays High has the second-best scoring defense in the WAC, giving up 15 points per game. Great Bend has given up 20.8 points per game.
"It's by far the best defense we've seen all year," Cornelsen said. "It's probably the best defense we've seen since I've been here, other than maybe Hutch first year.
"They're extremely fast to the ball, they do a great job tackling," he added. "We know they're going to load the box."
What else would one expect from Hays High-Great Bend week.
"I think both schools always play with a lot of intensity this week," Cornelsen said.