Entering the midpoint of the high school football season, there already is a Western Athletic Conference showdown that is taking place.
Great Bend and defending WAC champion Dodge City clash tonight at Memorial Stadium. Kick time is set for 7.
“It’s safe to say that the winning team would have to be the team to beat,” Great Bend head coach Bo Black said. “We’ve won some conference championships, and the main thing, you know, is that we just have to get better.
“It will be a great challenge to play against a quality opponent at home. We’ve just got to continue to get better and get ready for the stretch run.”
Dodge City is 3-1 overall, including 1-0 in the WAC. Great Bend, which was idle in Week 2, is 1-2, 1-0.
Great Bend is coming off a 55-14 trouncing at the hands of the best all-class team in the state — Class 6A defending state champion and top-ranked Wichita Heights last Friday in Wichita.
“They’re very talented and a great opponent,” Black said, “and they could line up against 95 percent of the teams in Kansas and beat them 55-14.
“Our kids have done a good job of bouncing back and they’re ready for another big challenge, like we will face every week this year.”
Dodge City, coming off a memorable 2010 campaign under second-year head coach Dave Foster, was denied a shot at a state championship and an unbeaten season after losing to Heights in a state semifinal game after leading at halftime.
While linemen Jesse Trent (Fort Hays State), Bruce Campbell (Butler Community College) and Alec Schmitt (Garden City C.C.) have graduated, the Demons also lost dual-sport standout Rico Hogan, who transferred to Norman, Okla., for his senior campaign.
Yet, the Red Demons have some returning weapons as the top passing team and second-best running team in the conference.
“Obviously, it really kind of starts with Parker Davis,” Black said, “and they don’t hide the fact that it’s who they want to give the ball to.”
Davis has a WAC-leading 11 touchdowns and ranks No. 2 in the conference in rushing with 548 yards.
“At the same time, their quarterback (Taylor Murphy) is able to make some plays,” Black said. “If you key too much in on the Davis kid, they’ve also got some weapons at wide receiver, so it’s a big challenge defensively for us.
“They’re good. They lost quite a few linemen up front, but have replaced them with some kids that have done a really good job for them.”
Murphy leads the conference with 763 passing yards, including six scoring passes. He has completed 50 of 96 passes, and has thrown four interceptions.
“They know how to push the pace of the game, and they’ve got really good schemes,” Black said. “Coach Foster has done a great job there.
“They’re very good in their screen game, and they’re very good getting the ball out in the flat to their wide receivers. They’re just really a balanced offense.”
But Great Bend doesn’t want to put 11 men in the box, just to stop the run.
“If you want to key on Parker Davis, they can beat you in other ways,” Black said.
Dodge senior Trey Hallman has a team-high 12 receptions, to go along with 182 receiving yards, and Jordan Doan has a team-best 192 yards in 10 catches.
Dakota Duckett has 158 yards in 11 receptions, and Isaiah Bradshaw has 137 yards, hauling in eight passes.
The Panthers’ offense will have to contend with Demons lineman Todd Middleton, who ranks No. 2 in the conference with 36 tackles, second only to Garden City’s Brady Bean.
Dodge’s Brodie Waldman has 5.5 tackles for loss on the season while Hallman has registered 4.5.
Great Bend standout Jeremy Sigler, a two-way starter at linebacker and running back, ranks No. 4 in the WAC with 34 tackles, even though the Panthers have played one fewer game than their opponents.
GBHS quarterback Mitch Kottas has the top completion percentage in the conference at 54 percent (40-for-74). He has also thrown four interceptions.
The Panthers lost 21-14 to St. Thomas Aquinas in the season-opener on the road before beating Garden City 14-7 in their home and conference opener after Kottas threw a late scoring pass to wide receiver Jace Bowman from 19 yards out to complete the comeback.
Bowman was lost for the season after suffering a knee injury in practice, a few days after the Garden City triumph.
But wideout Mauricio Uribe has helped pick up the slack, totaling 14 catches for 199 yards and three touchdowns.