By TYLER HENRY
Little Apple Post contributor
After eliminating Clearwater in a 78-34 week-nine shootout, the Rock Creek Mustangs will bring the state’s top offense to the round of 16 for a Thursday tilt with Hesston.
Dalton Whitworth was in exceptionally rare form against the Fighting Indians, breaking school records for single-game completions (44), passing yards (577), and passing touchdowns (7).
Despite an easy victory in the box score, Rock Creek found themselves on the back foot early and had to battle their way back to their dominant form.
“I liked how we were able to respond to adversity,” Mustang head coach Shane Sieben said. “At this point in the season you’re playing good teams, there are no easy games left so getting our kids used to handling that and seeing them respond to that challenge was great.”
Rock Creek will now turn their attention to a Hesston squad that enters this contest at 6-3 after bouncing Marysville 34-14 last week, with an impressive resume to boot.
The Swathers have just three losses in 2022, one to 9-0 Kingman, one to 8-1 Wichita Collegiate, and one to 7-2 Pratt.
Of those three combined opponent losses, two came at the hands of an Andale juggernaut that hasn’t lost a single game, regular season or otherwise, since 2018.
“Hesston has a lot of weapons,” Sieben said. “They’re big up front, they have a good running back and their quarterback is really good. A couple of our guys have played 7 on 7 with him and he can really spin it. They have a lot of ways that they can attack you and a lot of motions they can use to get you looking in the wrong spots.”
The Swathers come into this contest balanced on yardage but rely on establishing the run game to stretch the field and open up opportunities for their playmakers to get the ball in space.
“They want to run the ball and they’re good about running the sweep in a variety of different ways,” he said. “They run a lot of motion with different looks and they present some real challenges up front with a physical line that executes well.”
Should this game turn into another shootout, Rock Creek still holds the top total offense in Class 3A, averaging over 485 yards per game, along with the only offense to post over 300 yards a week through the air.
That potent air raid could prove deadly against a Swather secondary that surrendered more yards through the air each week (185) than all but two 3A programs in 2022.
Despite the mismatch, Rock Creek will stay true to their identity as they have all year, regardless of who lines up across from them.
“A lot of what we do will be based on what defenses give us but whether a team is good against the pass or not probably isn’t going to deter us from passing,” Sieben said. “We’ve got a lot of weapons and we’re going to find ways to get those guys the ball.”
With an opportunity to advance to the 3A quarterfinals for a second straight season, the Mustangs are preparing for a war on Thursday night, and Rock Creek expects a fierce battle with the Swathers.
“Our confidence and energy are really good right now,” Sieben said. “Our kids have played really well and they believe in each other. We’re confident but they know that it’s going to take a great week of preparation to put themselves in a position to play well on Thursday. Hesston has a very good team and we’re preparing for a dogfight.”
Kickoff between the Mustangs and Swathers is set for 6:30 pm on Thursday at Rock Creek High School, with the winner advancing to the 3A quarterfinals to take on Andale (9-0) or Pratt (7-2).