History In the Making

The numbers speak loudly for Hutchinson football's place in history. Five consecutive state titles - matching old Lawrence High from 1989 to 1993, Midway-Denton from 1984 to 1988 and Smith Center, which completed the feat this season alongside the Salthawks. An 84.4 state playoff game winning percentage (27-5) -- bettered only by Midway (which hasn't made the playoffs since 2000) and better than august programs at Olathe North, Kapaun, Pittsburg Colgan, Silver Lake and Smith Center -- Hutch wins when it counts. Conway Springs is also solidly secure at the top. Hutch's 84.375 playoff winning percentage, to be exact, is slightly surpassed by the Cardinals (84.444, 38-7). And while Conway, with its Class 3A state title over Silver Lake in November, didn't win its fifth in a row, it was their sixth since 1998. Their four undefeated seasons from 2001 to 2004 gained them national recognition comparable to Smith Center's current exposure. Conway is now one of 10 programs in Kansas to have won six state football titles - a pretty large group, really. Nonetheless, six is the elite number, and Hutch is on the cusp of getting there. With five straight titles down, Hutch could complete the greatest run of football success in Kansas prep history next season by winning six in a row. Kansas' first five-straight champ, Midway, didn't make a sixth trip to state in 1989, and Lawrence High's bid for six straight ended in a 6A state title game loss to Tom Young and his Derby Panthers in 1994. Six straight is the elusive feat. But, strong feet gained Hutch that rare fifth title this past November. Junior fullback Josh Smith and the offensive line trampled an off-balance St. Thomas Aquinas defense. Aquinas - Hutch's ill-prepared opponent in the Salthawks' first 5A state title game - stood up straight and fell back off the defensive line all afternoon. The Salthawks didn't throw the ball once. Aquinas players looked thoroughly beaten trudging off the field after the game, wishing they were somewhere else. A 2008 season infused with Derby High's air-game intrigue ended with two titles being taken by south central Kansas teams which prefer slamming the ball down your throat. And don't flippantly write off Hutch's recent success as the result of being blessed with a bevy of the biggest, most experienced offensive linemen in the state. Entering the 2008 season, only one starter returned on the line - Brad Lambertus - and even he had to shift from left tackle to center, hardly a natural move. Justin Pitzer, Reed Woodworth, Evan Wilder, Ross Lovett and tight end Jordan Flynn were all first-year starters this season. The staggering success of Hutch's front line - was in spite of numbers that won't stagger you. Hutch's front five this season weighed 245 pounds less than Derby's and 180 less than Heights', yet which won a title? Pitzer weighed only 174 pounds. Even last year's line, which was slightly heavier than the 2008 edition, was dwarfed by last season's other top team, Goddard. The Lions out-weighed 2007 Hutch linemen Lambertus, Chaz Delaney, Chase Hartman, William Thacker and DeShaun Smith by 212 pounds, yet Hutch twice beat them handily. Conway also proved winning is about more than what's on paper. The Cardinals took their sixth title in 11 seasons with a much smaller offensive line than in yesteryear. Senior lineman Trevor Tarrant at 245 pounds dwarfed the rest of the Conway line - only one other surpassed 200 pounds, a far cry from when 300-pounder Caleb Handy and other college-bound behemoths plowed open holes for Conway runners in the early part of the decade. The Cardinals found ways to win. A 27-yard two-point conversion followed the game-winning touchdown in the title game. That Austin Pauly pass to Jaydan Bird came after three penalties and a botched snap. Their winning ways don't look to be fading - the Conway program, which coach Lelin George says has come to sustain itself, had two 300-pound sophomore linemen on the roster this fall, and junior quarterback Caleb Brill, 215-pound sophomore end Kayl Barkley and Austin Pauly, a sophomore starter at safety whose brothers played at Colorado State. All return. The proof is in the practice. Yes, having the hosses is necessary, but teachers and time are just as important. Both Hutch and Conway procure state-level success through simple beginnings. Their thriving programs take root amongst children in grade school, instilling offensive concepts, and they come of age in the junior high weight room. Of course Conway's Bird was a bit of an exception. Originally from Conway until fifth grade, Bird transferred back for his senior season, ending with a state title just like one of his cousins did in 1998. (That year was the beginning of the Cardinals' decade-long streak.) Not only were Bird's 2,427 yards on the ground the 12th best single season in Kansas history, but his 87 tackles from the middle linebacker position were essential. In two games this year against defending champ Garden Plain, Conway gave up 46 points, far fewer than the 77 they yielded in 2007, a direct result of Bird's presence. Hutchinson's 5'9", 201-pound fullback Josh Smith is the perfect example of a program player. Parents of other players for Hutch gushed about him after the title game in which he had stomped his way to 257 yards. Most comments weren't about that particular game, though, but rather the consistent excellence they had observed Smith display in the Salthawk program since third grade. It's arguable that no Salthawk ever entered the prep ranks as ready as Smith. As a sophomore last year, Smith stepped in on the first series of the season at McPherson after starter Romero Cotton went down with an ankle injury. Without their top player, Hutch didn't skip a beat. Smith started the next five games and performed as the most effective back in the state, the bill Cotton had been projected to fill. After being relegated to back-up again when Cotton returned full strength in Week 7 against Goddard, Smith filled his role, ending the year with 943 rushing yards. Smith again was given the opportunity to squawk after this year's season opener at Rockhurst. Despite a dubious fumble call in the third quarter against him -- after he had crossed the goal line with possession for a touchdown -- Smith made no complaints during or after the game. He waited his turn, and - it doesn't seem fair to the competition - he'll get another one next season. He and four Hutch offensive linemen return in 2009 - and don't forget Deveon Dinwiddie, another junior, who as a return man and slot back this fall was the lightning to Smith's thunder. History, if it is made, will be written by them.