(Wayland) An 8-Player state quarterfinal will air on KSOM Thursday night. #5 WACO is 10-0 and hosts 8th ranked and 9-1 Audubon.
WACO head coach Chad Edeker says Audubon looks really good. “They play really good defense and do things fundamentally sound. Then all of a sudden you get on offense and Gavin Smith is going to run the ball at you and they are going to find ways to get him the ball and when they can’t Carter Andreasen is going to take the ball and run really hard with it. Like we’ve been telling our kids when you get to this time of year and there’s only eight team playing, everybody is good. You’re not going to find an easy game.”
The Warriors allowed only 197 yards in a 50-8 win at Martensdale-St. Marys last week. On the season they are giving up 14.2 points per game. “Jonah Clarke and Tyler Sutton are our defensive ends and we rotate nose guards between Tim Willits and Jon Rice. Those front four have done a great job of setting the line of scrimmage and controlling the line of scrimmage and not getting pushed back and letting linebackers run to the ball. Our three linebackers are Drew Diers in the middle and Taylor Sutton and Simeon Reichenbach on the outside. Those front six have done a really good job of controlling the run with allows our d-backs to concentrate on pass and that’s been our key all year.”
They’ve intercepted 22 passes and recovered 11 fumbles. Their offense runs through Simeon Reichenbach, a well built running back. “His legs are just thick. So when you hit him it is not an easy tackle and he’s always falling forward and he has very deceptive speed. I watch him on film and we’re like ‘Simeon can you run a little faster?’ and then you notice people aren’t catching him. They are taking angles and they are not getting to him. It’s a combination of power and deception and he does a really nice job running the ball.”
Reichenbach averages 7.5 yards per carry and has made his way to the end zone 21 times. Coach Edeker says they’ve transitioned from a passing attack to a run heavy approach and it has made all the difference.
WACO coach Chad Edeker:
