There is only one thing that Otis-Bison head coach Travis Starr and B&B Baileyville head coach Steve Tiernan agree on for sure: Saturday’s Eight-Man Division-II state championship game will be a tough, hard-fought game.
The Falcons enter the game, which starts at 11 a.m. in Newton, with a 12-0 record, while the Cougars are 11-0.
“I expect (B&B) to be a tough, physical team,” Starr said. “They just have no weaknesses. It should be a great game.”
Both teams average over 200 rushing yards per game. The Cougars lead with 263.2, and the Falcons sit at 201.9.
“They have a tough offensive line that can open up holes for their backs,” Starr said. “They have good athletes on both sides of the ball.”
The Falcons’ rushing attack is two-pronged with junior fullback Cody Heiman, who has 570 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns, and junior tailback Mitch Engleken, who has rushed for 583 yards and 13 TDs.
“Heiman is a great full back,” Tiernan said. “He will go out of his way to run you over. (Engleken) is just fast. He made the state track meet in the 100 meter dash.”
Tiernan said that this is B&B’s third year in a row to go to the state championship, but his experience doesn’t mean as much as his team’s.
“We have a few sophomores playing,” Tiernan said. “You know, some people say ‘you’ve been there before,’ but it doesn’t matter what it’s like for me.”
The Falcons haven’t had to take to the air much this season, averaging only 58 yards per game.
However, Tiernan said that if they need to throw the ball, quarterback Eric Huerter is more than capable, even though he missed a month of playing time.
“(Huerter) is a junior this year,” Tiernan said. “He is a very good athlete. He actually missed about a month of games after an injury and a couple of forfeits.
“He has played very well in the playoffs.”
Tiernan said that he expects Otis-Bison to play smash-mouth football.
“I expect a lot of power football,” Tiernan said. “They will pound the ball and use their big running game to set up a few play-action passes.”
The Cougars rely on three running backs to power their offense — Michael Hlavaty, Patrick Piper and Dylan Wissman.
In Otis-Bison’s sub-state game against Ashland, Hlavaty injured his ankle.
“Mike just has an ankle sprain,” Starr said. “He is not at 100 percent right now, but he is getting better day-to-day.
“He will definitely start, at least on defense. I’m not sure if he’ll be at 100 percent, but he will be ready to play.”
If Hlavaty is limited to defense and special teams, than the Cougars will lean on the Piper-Wissman duo that accounted for 182 of 254 rushing yards and three of the four scores.
