State Playoffs: Wichita Heights at Junction City

Wichita Heights has travelled to Junction City before. Before this season's district re-alignment, Heights and Junction had been in the same district for six years. Last year, Junction beat the Falcons at home, 28-12. This season, it's the same setting - at Junction City - but the stakes are different. Heights meets Junction on Friday for a sub-state berth. There are several reasons why this season's result may not follow last season's. Most of them reside on Heights' defense. Fourth-year starter Dorrian Roberts leads a Heights defensive secondary which is the fastest and quickest in the state. Senior college prospect Ian Knight leads a gigantic, physical, quick defensive line which harassed Derby High quarterback Jake Snodgrass two weeks ago like no other defense had. Not even Hutchinson's. Then, lost in the mix of defensive stars at Heights, Joey Barnes leads a solid corp of linebackers. There would be more talk right now of this year being Heights' year if only they had beaten East High in Week 7, as they should have. Heights' 28-21 loss to East tempered expectations of them to compete for state - expectations which had been gaining steam all season. The Falcons earned back the state hype in Week 9, though, when they throttled previously unbeaten Derby High 33-14. The fierce Heights defense gave up only one touchdown (the other was a kick return), which came very early in the first quarter after a Heights turnover deep in their own territory. Heights forced Derby into repeated holding penalties and false starts. How? Speed and more speed. "We didn't prepare well, didn't play well, and when adversity struck, we didn't handle it well," said Wheeler of the East High loss. "Remember, the game is still played by 17- and 18-year-olds." Which may be the only thing that could keep Heights from its first state football berth in school history. But don't forget that Junction City is hankering for a deep playoff run just as much as Heights. The school populated by Fort Riley kids has been waiting for stability to help its football program. A narrow loss at Goddard last fall was what kept them from their first sub-state berth in years. According to coach Randall Zimmerman, who is in his 15th season at Junction City, the team's radio announcer said Junction City football has never been 10-0. Zimmerman says one factor keeping them a perfect record deep into the season has been the incessant movement of players out of the program when their parents have gotten moved by the military. "We have a number of kids whose parents are gone, fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. That's something we have to deal with as coaches. It's a very special situation," said Zimmerman. He went on to say that the military had provided many of the families more stability of late, indirectly providing the program more stability. "Heights has a great defense and great special teams. The strength of their team, we believe, is their defense. They're so physically dominating up front, and their big kids are very fast," said Zimmerman. Junction City returns several offensive lineman, including 6'2", 270-pound left tackle Justin Aumen. Their 30-6 win over Manhattan in Week 9 is certainly convincing. One must remember that last year, Junction City was the favorite in 6A to give Hutchinson its biggest challenge on its way to state. Not Heights. What's at stake overall? The Wichita City League has not been to state since 1997. Heights offers the league its best shot, but going to Junction City is a tall order. "Our league catches a lot of grief," said Wheeler, who doesn't have a close relationship with City League's past greatness. He coached in western Kansas before beginning his resurrection project at Heights in 1999. "Hopefully we play well this weekend."