Breaking down the D-1 state final
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By the Lincoln Journal Star
Here's a look at the keys to the D-1 state football final.
No. 1: The experience factor can’t be ignored. Howells coach Mike Speirs knows how to prepare teams for games in Memorial Stadium, with all the distractions. The Bobcats were among the contenders in Class C-2 the last two years and won six straight eight-man titles from 2000 to 2005, including a 46-6 win over Axtell in the ’05 game. That is Axtell’s only appearance in a championship game. Youth will be dominant. Axtell has six seniors on the team and just three among statistical leaders while Howells has eight seniors and counts heavily on its juniors.
No. 2: Axtell certainly has the edge in nail-biters. The Wildcats rallied to beat Maxwell in the semis, beat Clearwater/Orchard 40-36 with five seconds left and beat Newman Grove 28-20 and that’s just in the playoffs. “We’ve had some excitement. The three we lost, by two, three and eight points, all came down to the last minute,” said coach Kent Ropers. “Our kids have really played tough clear to the end. We put the two-minute drill in our playbook a few years back, and the kids understand we can execute and move effectively.”
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Spencer Fecht, Axtell
Fecht is a junior quarterback and cornerback. He has passed for 1,717 yards, connecting on 58.7 percent of his passes, and he’s run for 837 yards to lead the Wildcats to a 9-3 record.
Q: You aren’t the only Fecht on the roster. Is Trevor, also a junior, related?
A: “We’re second cousins. We have always hung out together. I don’t think I’ve ever had a class without him in it and we were always playing sports together.”
Q: The Wildcats lost to Howells in the 2005 state title game. Where were you?
A: “I was right there at the game and I wouldn’t have missed it. I was in eighth grade, but I wish I could have played. Some of the guys from that team have been calling us to encourage us and get them some revenge.”
Q: You’ve had a lot of close games this year and rallied to win in the quarterfinals in the last five seconds. How has that prepared this team?
A: “We haven’t lost any games by more than a touchdown. I think you learn more by losing a close game than from getting blown out or by blowing someone out. We lost our first two of the season and we could have won either of those. We’re just getting people to stick around to see the end of our games. It’s great to prove people wrong about us. After the first two games, nobody expected us to do much. The loss to Giltner kind of got us going and everything came together after that, and we’ve kept it rolling.”
Q: Do you consider yourself a passing QB or a running QB? With your stats, it could be either.
A: “Most of my running has been scrambling. Our line has done a great job this year keeping people out, but if they do get in, I can find a blocker to make something happen.”
Q: What do you expect from Howells in the championship game?
A: “(Clint) Belina is a really good running back. He’s averaging almost 200 yards a game, and they give the ball to him a lot. They’re going to run it right at us. They know it and we know it. It’s our job to stop it.”
” Ryly Jane Hambleton
No. 3: Howells has a big advantage in the running game. Clint Belina has rushed for 2,168 yards and 33 touchdowns. “Clint reads his blocks very well. We run a lot of sweep and he can read it and run it,” said Howells coach Mike Speirs. “When we played 11-man, we moved our tailback back a yard deeper to give him a better chance to read the defense, and we just left him at that depth this year.”
No. 4: Offensive challenges. Axtell has 15 interceptions, but the Bobcats throw the ball fewer than six times a game. “We’ve seen about the same defense every game, so our blocking is the same,” said Speirs. “But they are very athletic and explosive and can score in bunches.” Axtell is a spread team that relies on passing, but Howells has allowed just 57.3 yards a game through the air.
— Ryly Jane Hambleton
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sunshine wrote on November 20, 2008 5:50 pm:
Jim wrote on November 20, 2008 7:38 pm: