After surviving a 44-42 shootout last week against Hutchinson Trinity in the Kansas Class 1A state football quarterfinals, the Sterling Black Bears now face the Smith Center Redmen in the semifinals Friday night at Sterling.
Kickoff for the Sterling-Smith Center semifinal playoff game at Sterling is 7 p.m.
Smith Center, which survived a 22-14 contest against Moundridge in the 1A quarterfinals, brings an 11-0 record to Sterling. The Black Bears also are 11-0.
The Sterling-Smith Center winner will play the winner of the Rossville (10-1)-Jackson Heights (11-0) semifinal game Friday at Holton-Jackson Heights in the Kansas Class 1A state championship game Nov. 28 at Hutchinson’s Gowans Stadium.
Sterling coach Brent Schneider said the Black Bears are excited to be playing in the sub-state game.
“We expect a dogfight with Smith Center and expect an awesome crowd with a lot of energy,” Schneider said. “They are big and physical and have some special players on their team. They are well coached and play extremely hard.
“Their size is definitely their strength. They want to win in the trenches and own the time of possession. Our kids are ready to rock and we will continue to go about business as usual as we prepare throughout the week.”
Smith Center coach Mike Rogers said Sterling will be a good matchup for the Redmen.
“Sterling is a very talented team,” Rogers said. “They run their offense with great precision. All of their backs appear to be very good along with the quarterback and they have some good lineman up front.
“We will have to play well in order to have a chance to slow them down. We need to make them earn everything and not give up big plays. Offensively we will need to sustain drives and keep the ball out of their hands as much as possible. It’s a matchup of two teams who like to run the ball. It should be a great game.”
Sterling has outscored its opponents 539-213 this season and has scored 40-plus points in nine of 11 games.
Sterling features two 1,000-yard running backs. Zane Farney has rushed for 1,982 yards on 171 carries and has scored 37 rushing touchdowns. Wyatt Newberry has rushed for 1,017 yards and 14 TDs.
Farney has 10 100-yard games this season, including four 200-yard games.
Senior quarterback Logan Isaac has rushed for 385 yards and 10 TDs and has 179 yards passing. Junior Jace Darnauer has 390 yards rushing and 10 TDs.
Sterling rushed for 344 yards in its win over Hutchinson Trinity in the state playoffs — 128 by Isaac, 120 by Newberry and 56 by Farney.
The Black Bears’ defense is led by sophomore Jacob Lewis with 140 tackles. Newberry is a distant second with 86 tackles and sophomore David Myers has 82.
Sterling has rushed for 4,127 yards on 364 carries. Sterling has scored 77 TDs (71 rushing).
Smith Center has outscored its opponents 401-139. The Redmen have held all 11 of their opponents to 21 points and under with two shutouts.
Smith Center features a three-back attack, led by quarterback Parker Hutchinson who has rushed for 746 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also has passed for 566 yards with nine TDs and three interceptions.
Brant Wilson has rushed for 952 yards with 11 TDs. Riley Griffen Powers has rushed for 838 yards and eight TDs.
Cole McKelvey has 17 catches for 257 yards with six TDs. Reed Doane has 14 catches for 275 yards and two TDs.
McKelvey leads the Redmen defense with 77 tackles, followed by Ian Stansbury with 75, Wilson 71, Hutchinson 70 and Isaiah Haack 68.
Smith Center has four players each with four quarterback sacks. Doane leads the Redmen with 3 interceptions. The team has 13 interceptions.
State championship history: Smith Center has won 10 state football championships (1982, 1986, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2017, 2018). From 20024-2009, Smith Center won 79 straight games. At that time, it was the nation’s longest winning streak.
Sterling won the Kansas Class 2A state football title in 1982.
Ticket information: The Sterling-Smith Center playoff game is a KSHSAA postseason event, which means no athletic passes will be accepted.
General admission to the game is $6 for K-12 students and $8 for adults. Cash will be accepted at all gates.
Digital tickets via GoFan Digital Ticketing are also available if you wish to purchase online tickets.
Fans can access GoFan from a QR code or can copy and paste this link: https://gofan.co/event/
Kansas High School State Football Semifinals Friday night
Class 6A: Olathe Northwest (8-3) at Gardner Edgerton (9-2); Derby (8-3) at Manhattan (9-2).
Class 5A: Salina Central (10-1) at Great Bend (11-0); Lenexa-St. James Academy (10-1) at Basehor-Linwood (11-0).
Class 4A: Shawnee Mission Bishop Miege (6-5) at Labette County (9-2); Wamego (9-2) at Wichita Kapaun Mount Carmel (10-1), Wichita Heights High School.
Class 3A: Santa Fe Trail (11-0) at Topeka Hayden (11-0); St. George-Rock Creek (11-0) at Andale (11-0).
Class 2A: Osage City (10-1) at Seneca-Nemaha Central (11-0); Hoisington (10-0) at Gypsum-Southeast of Saline (11-0).
Class 1A: Rossville (10-1) at Holton-Jackson Heights (11-0); Smith Center (11-0) at Sterling (11-0).
Eight-Man I: Sylvan-Lucas (10-1) at Lincoln (10-1); South Central (10-0) at Hill City (10-1).
Eight-Man I: Axtell (10-1) at Hanover (11-0); Hodgeman County (10-0) at Victoria (10-0).
Six-Man: Tescott (9-2) at Cunningham (10-1); South Barber (10-1) at Weskan (10-1).
