The only football game in a 100 plus mile radius tonight will be in Wayland and Roth Field should be rocking when fans witness WACO against Audubon in an eight player quarterfinal matchup with a trip to the UNI-Dome on the line.
The Warriors are a perfect 10-0, winners of district six, and come in ranked fifth in the latest AP poll. WACO was dominant on the road last week by defeating Martensdale-St. Mary’s 50-8 in the second round where they out rushed the Blue Devis 305 to 62. The offense has averaged 43 points a game this fall and only gives up 14. Simeon Reichenbach is up to 1,255 rushing yards at 7.5 yards a pop and has reached pay dirt 21 times on the ground. Isaac Oswald has completed 50% of his throws for 789 yards and 10 touchdowns to no interceptions. Jonah Clark is the main target with 11 catches for 155 and three scores. Mason Miller paces an opportunistic defense with a state leading nine picks.
The Wheelers will make a three and a half hour trip east and they sit at 9-1, ranked sixth, and they finished second in district 10. They turned some heads last week with a 63-14 thrashing of Montezuma. Get to know the name Gavin Smith. The 6’1’’ 170 pound quarterback helps the Wheelers put up 54 points a night by doing damage with his legs and arm. The senior has been responsible for 54 of their 73 touchdowns this year while racking up 1,992 yards on the ground and 848 through the air.
WACO Head Coach Chad Edeker broke down what makes Smith the ultimate weapon. “He is a natural runner that can find holes and does a nice job of shifting to make positive plays. He took the first couple carries he had last week 60 some yards for a touchdown. You can’t give him a seam, because if you do, he will make you pay.” Carter Andreasen gets a lot of touches as well reaching the end zone 10 times on 712 yards rushing.
The chance to crack the final four begins at 7 p.m. in Wayland. Listen to the live play-by-play on AM and FM KCII, kciiradio.com, or the free KCII Mobile App with pregame set for 6:30 p.m. Our coverage begins with a special Thursday edition of the Football Friday Preview Show to analyze all quarterfinal action at 5:30 p.m.
Photo Courtesy of WACO Football