By Staff
CONWAY SPRINGS – The Inman football program has done it, they accomplished a major goal of the season on Friday with a 23-6 win on the road at Conway Springs, they have qualified for the Class 1A state Championship game for the second season in a row!!
“I am so proud of our entire team for the way we battled tonight,” noted Teuton head coach Lance Sawyer. “To be able to beat quality programs such as Smith Center and Conway Springs in back-to-back weeks shows how far the Inman program has come. But we are still win away. A lot of these players played in the state championship game last season, and they were determined to make it back and finish what they started.”
In beating Conway Springs, Inman not only got a revenge victory on their only loss of the season, but they also beat a team with a rich history of playoff success and ranked number seven in Class 1A coming into the playoffs. This gave the Teutons two very solid wins over two very solid programs with rich history as they defeated Smith Center in the quarterfinals the previous week.
Ranked eighth in Class 1A coming into the playoffs, the Teutons are now sitting at 11-1 for the season as they prep to battle third ranked St. Mary’s for the Class 1A State Title next Saturday, November 26 in Hays. St. Mary’s will bring a 10-2 mark into the game and have momentum as they have defeated both number two ranked Pittsburgh Colgan, 36-12, and number one ranked Centralia, 46-16 in their quarter and semi-final games.
The Teutons put two scores on the board in the first quarter on runs of four and six yards by Tanner Heckel and Kellen Schrag, giving Inman an early 16-0 advantage.
After Conway Springs drove down and scored on a one yard run in the second quarter, the Teutons took a 16-6 lead into the halftime break.
Inman had the lone second half touchdown when Tanner Heckel broke loose for a 27-yard sprint to the end zone near the end of third quarter, giving the Teutons the final 23-6 score for victory.
The two teams fought an even game according to the stats as Conway Springs managed to roll up 267 yards on 59 offensive plays while the Teutons recorded 243 yards on 48 snaps. While it appeared the Cardinals ran well against the Teutons with 49 carries for 189 yards, their top rusher Braden Kunz, who gained over 2,100 yards on the season at 8.0 per carry, was held to just 116 yards on 32 carries or just 3.62 yards per tote.
Speaking of his defense, coach Sawyer added, “We knew going in that we had to stop Conway’s top runner Braden Kunz. I thought our defensive line was outstanding and our linebackers flowed fast and hit hard. I think the biggest difference between this game was our tackling. We missed very few tackles throughout the game and if they broke through, Tanner Heckel and Harrison Brunk were always there. It is hard to single any one person out for playing well since it was an entire team effort. The kids brough great energy throughout the game.”
The numbers told the defensive story as six Teutons recorded double digit tackles for the game with the majority of the stops being team efforts as the number of assisted tackles accumulated way more than the number of solo stops.
Zachary Martisko had a monster game being in on 17 stops with just one being a solo stop, Eli Brunk had 13 tackles, Tanner Heckel and Dominic Nuese-Rasmussen each had a dozen, Harrison Brunk made 11 and Josiah Buller chipped in with 10. Samuel Shober and Kellen Schrag came close to double digits on defense with eight and seven stops each.
Offensively, Tanner Heckel led the team from his quarterback position as he completed five of nine passes for 39 yards while running for 85 yards on 12 carries. Samuel Shober covered 51 yards on 11 totes and Josiah Buller ran for 49 on eight carries. Harrison Brunk was on the receiving end of four passes for 30 yards while Shober had the other reception.
Concluding his post-game reflections, Coach Sawyer said, Offensively, we looked really good. Our offensive line did a great job creating gaps and our backs did a good job of getting tough yards. Josiah Buller, Sammy Shober, and Kellen Schrag did a great job carrying the ball while Tanner (Heckel) continues to show how good of a player he is.”
Gametime for the Class 1A State Championship in Hays will be a 1:00 p.m.
INMAN TEUTONS at Conway Springs
SCORING: TEUTONS – 16-0-7-0=23; Conway Springs – 0-6-0-0=6.
1st Quarter:
TEUTONS (9:09): Tanner Heckel on a 4-yard run (2-Poing Conversion was Good – Tanner Heckel Run) 8-0
TEUTONS (1:24): Kellen Schrag on a 6-yard run (2-Point Conversion was Good – Tanner Heckel Run) 16-0
2nd Quarter:
Conway Springs (00:00): Scored on a 1-yard run (2-Point Conversion Failed) 16-6
3rd Quarter:
TEUTONS (1:13): Tanner Heckel on a 27-yard run (Kick by Felix Farnebo was Good) 23-6
4th Quarter:
No Scoring
TEAM STATS:
TEUTONS: 1st Downs – 16; Total Offense – 48 for 243; Passing – 4/8 for 30; Rushing – 40 for 213, 3 scores; Fumbles – 0/0; Penalties – 4/40; Time of Possession – 22:23.
Conway Springs: 1st Downs – 16; Total Offense – 59 for 267; Passing – 5/10 for 78; Rushing – 49 for 189, 1 score; Fumbles – 0/0; Penalties – 3/25; Time of Possession – 25:37.
TEUTON INDIVIDUAL STATS:
Passing: Tanner Heckel – 5/9 for 39.
Rushing: Tanner Heckel – 12 for 85, 2 scores; Samuel Shober – 11 for 51; Josiah Buller – 8 for 49; Kellen Schrag – 6 for 18, 1 score.
Receiving: Harrison Brunk – 4 for 30; Samuel Shober – 1 for 9.
Defense: Zachary Martisko – 17, 1 solo; Eli Brunk – 13, 3 solo, 1 for loss; Tanner Heckel – 12, 2 solo; Dominic Nuese-Rasmussen – 12, 1 solo; Harrison Brunk – 11, 3 solo; Josiah Buller – 10, 4 solo; Samuel Shober – 8, 2 solo; Kellen Schrag – 7, 2 solo; Zaden Johnson – 4, 1 solo; Dawson McConnell – 2; Felix Farnebo – 1; Eli Gillespie – 1.
(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)