Greyson Tempel brings a lot to the table, even drawing parallels to being a high school version of college football’s reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel.
Tempel, a multipurpose quarterback, leads the host Garden City High School Buffaloes into tonight’s Western Athletic Conference opener against the Great Bend Panthers. Kick time is 7.
“They’re a very talented team,” Great Bend head coach Bo Black said of Class 6A Garden City, which enters tonight’s game with a 1-1 record, just like the Panthers. “They have the Johnny Manziel of high school football (in Tempel), and he’s a pretty special player.”
The conference’s leading rusher, Tempel put up a WAC single-game most 212 yards in a season-opening 32-27 road loss to Bixby, Okla., two weeks ago. He then followed it up with 135 yards in a 35-34 triumph last Friday night at home over Woodward, Okla.
“He has some good legs, and he has some very talented receivers around him,” Black said of Tempel. “He throws extremely well and has good release. He’s a very special quarterback.”
This is the same Tempel who put up Manziel-like numbers against Great Bend last season during a 45-28 Buffaloes triumph, accounting for 453 yards in total offense. He finished with 276 yards on the ground, rushed for four touchdowns and threw for two more.
It was Great Bend’s lone loss through its first six games a year ago.
“They’re, by far, the best team that we’ve played,” Black said of the Buffs. “They can run and throw and they’re well-balanced.
“They have a lot of talent and they’re a very, very good football team.”
Tempel has averaged 243 yards passing. His top receivers thus far have been Mitchell Hernandez, who has 10 catches for 227 yards, and Caleb Tramp, who has 10 receptions for 200 yards.
The 5A Panthers, embarking on their first road game of the season, are coming off a 21-14 loss to 4A Ulysses last Friday night at Memorial Stadium. They opened the campaign two weeks ago with a 35-7 romp past 3A Hoisington.
“I thought, defensively, we played good enough to win,” Black said, “and offensively, we really struggled to find our identity.
“If we could have come up with a couple plays last Friday, it would have been a different ballgame. We have to make some plays and find some things that we can be successful at.”
Panthers quarterback Bryce Beck and running back Johnny Allende combined for 191 of their 220 rushing yards against Ulysses — Beck rushing for 96 and Allende totaling 95.
But run-minded Great Bend sorely needs to balance things up with an improved passing game. Through the first two games, Beck has completed only 9 of 28 passes for 81 yards, although his receivers have had several drops on catchable balls.
“They played extremely well,” Black said of the duo. “That’s really what we’re going to find, running the ball against eight- and nine-man boxes.”