By Jim Henry
jhenry@joplinglobe.com
CNC League champion Galena and runner-up St. Mary’s-Colgan, after rolling to first-round playoff victories Tuesday night, resume postseason play today with afternoon contests.
The Bulldogs journey to Osage City and the Panthers play host to Moundridge for 2 p.m. kickoffs. After wrapping up undefeated district championships on Oct. 29, the teams are playing their third game in 10 days.
“You make sure your legs are underneath you,” Galena head coach Beau Sarwinski said. “Fortunately we’re healthy. Mentally we have to be ready to go and do our job. If everybody does their job and knows their assignment, I think we can have some success. If not, it will be trouble for us.”
Galena at Osage City
Osage City, 3-6 a year ago, has improved to 7-3 and is led by quarterback Jordan Tice.
He rushed for 301 yards and three touchdowns in the Indians’ 37-14 first-round victory over Central Heights, boosting his season totals to a Class 3A-high 1,936 yards and 27 touchdowns.
“They run a pistol offense like Joplin does,” Sarwinski said. “They will fake a handoff, then the quarterback will go off tackle or try to get outside. He has nice speed. He’s as good of a back as we’ve seen this year.
“He’s going to throw it a little bit, but he likes to scramble. If you don’t wrap him up and tackle him, he’s going to get you. We’ll have our hands full. Teams that have beaten them have been able to slow him down.”
Galena climbed to 10-0 with its 53-8 triumph over Erie as Cody Clark and Troy Albright ran for two touchdowns apiece and quarterback Jacoby Martin passed for 136 yards and a score.
Albright has rushed for 844 yards and 10 touchdowns and caught 16 passes for 310 yards and four scores. Clark, who has scored a team-high 16 touchdowns, has averaged almost 10 yards per carry with 660 yards on 67 attempts and 10 scores. He has 13 catches for 303 yards and three TDs.
Martin has completed 69 percent of his passes, connecting on 71-of-103 attempts for 1,405 yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions. Colton Leet has 28 receptions for 616 yards — 22 yards per catch — and five touchdowns.
Albright also tops the defense with 106 total tackles, and Clark has 84 stops. Zach Gougler and Codie Perry both have 62 tackles, and Perry has five quarterback sacks.
Today’s game is believed to be the first meeting between the Bulldogs and Osage City.
Moundridge at Colgan
By contrast, St. Mary’s-Colgan and Moundridge have met several times in the postseason.
“They’ve always given us a good ball game,” Panthers head coach Chuck Smith said. “Last year we were ahead 14-7 when they fumbled late in the game, and we scored to go up 20-7. They played us really well.
“They have a couple of all-league linemen, a new coach. I think they do some of the same things.”
Two first-quarter punt returns ignited Colgan’s 41-6 first-round victory over Sedan.
“We scored 14 of our 21 points before the offense hardly got to play,” Smith said.
“We had a minute and a half of offense in the first quarter. Time of possession can be a misleading statistic. I’d rather put points on the board and let them have the time of possession.
“I thought we played OK. I think we have a good team. The east side of the state is pretty tough. I think there are some tough games coming up, including Saturday.”
The Panthers have averaged 363 yards on offense — 240 rushing and 123 passing. The defense, meanwhile, has yielded 91 yards per game on the ground and 54 through the air.
Austin Riggs has rushed for 627 yards and 10 touchdowns in eight games. He’s also averaged almost 23 yards and scored one touchdown on punt returns. He has 13 total TDs.
Quarterback Jesse Watt has hit 49-of-73 passes for 964 yards and 16 touchdowns, and Tyler Jeck leads the receiving corps with 21 catches for 516 yards and seven scores.
Jeck also has eight takeaways on defense — five fumble recoveries and three interceptions. Andy Farmer has intercepted seven passes, and Christian Smith has four fumble recoveries.
