WELLINGTON, Kan.(KSNW) — It’s time for our Game of the Week for the regional round of the high school playoffs, and this week, we have two teams clashing for the first time in nearly five decades as the Wellington Crusaders get to host the Kapaun Mt. Carmel Crusaders.
“It’s a hyped-up matchup,” said Wellington senior wide receiver Grady Norris. “I’m sure both teams are excited to play this game. We just got to play hard and play our game, stick to what we’ve been doing all year, and maintain what we’re doing.”
Let’s begin with the 3-seed Wellington. They have reeled off seven straight wins after beginning the season 0-2. But this week might be their hardest challenge yet. Head coach Jeremy Meeks talked about the difficulties Kapaun presents.
“They’re a very good football team,” explained Meeks. “They’re they’re really good on defense. They’re really good on offense. They’re well-coached. The 5A runner-up [in 2023]. They do some things offensively you don’t see very much. They’re going to line up and just mash and mash. Defensively, they have a ton of speed flying around. So it’s it’s going to be a really good game. We’re going to have to play really well.”
Players we spoke with say that there are several things that Kapaun does that will present problems for the Crusaders.
“They play hard,” added Wellington senior quarterback Dusty Bannister. “You can see why they were runner-up at State. They play fast, they play hard, and they come together as a team.”
Kapaun entered their first 4A postseason as the West Region’s 6-seed, but just like Wellington, they only have two losses, and each of those was to larger 6A and 5A schools.
“It’s been pretty good. It’s just fun to play in the playoffs and just know what’s at stake,” mentioned Kapaun’s senior quarterback, Dylan Burr. “If we lose, we have to go home. So we have energy, we have concentration. It’s just a fun atmosphere, and it’s just fun to be around your teammates.”
In the past two weeks, kapaun has outscored opponents 111 to 7. However, the Kapaun players know not to overlook their upcoming opponent.
“They’re a spread team. They throw the ball a lot,” said Kapaun’s senior safety, Jackson Daniel. “So, our secondary is going to play a lot better than we have been. We’ve put in some new coverages, we’ve done some new things, we’ve worked on some new things. And I think I think we’ll shut them down and move on.”
Head Coach Weston Schartz isn’t expecting a blowout win against a talented Wellington team.
“They throw the deep ball, they have good running backs, they have a good defense. It’s a well-rounded team. It’s a team that we’ve been looking out for a while, knowing that we could probably face up with them. But they’re a really good football team. They live on the long ball. They throw it deep. They get a lot of long passes completed. We have to stop that. We got to pressure the quarterback, and we got to eat some clock with our running game.”