Ryly Jane Hambleton: Change in plans working for Titans
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Mark Fritch decided to ditch the preseason plans he had for Michael Burrus.
“We said we were going to keep him under 20 carries a game until district play and then let him loose,” said Fritch, the Papillion-La Vista South coach. “I guess we got ahead of that philosophy a bit, but he can really do a lot with the football.”
Those best-laid plans for Burrus were because he was injured last year after just four games — and 1,029 yards.
1. Creighton Prep (5-0) 1
2. Millard West (5-0) 2
3. Omaha North (5-0) 4
4. Elkhorn (4-1) 6
5. Papillion-LV South (4-1) nr
6. Millard North (2-3) 3
7. Omaha Westside (2-3) 5
8. Millard South (3-2) 7
9. Grand Island (4-1) 8
10. Bellevue West (4-1) 9
Class B Pvs
1. McCook (5-0) 1
2. Beatrice (5-0) 2
3. Omaha Gross (5-0) 3
4. Lincoln Pius X (4-1) 5
5. Aurora (4-1) 6
6. Schuyler (5-0) 8
7. Ogallala (5-0) nr
8. Waverly (4-1) nr
9. Ralston (3-2) 4
10. Crete (3-2) 7
Class C-1 Pvs
1. Norfolk Catholic (4-0) 1
2. Hastings St. Cecilia (4-0) 2
3. Pierce (4-0) 3
4. Boys Town (5-0) 4
5. Syracuse (4-0) 5
6. Chadron (4-0) 6
7. Grand Island CC (4-0) 7
8. Gothenburg (4-0) 9
9. Wahoo (3-1) nr
10. Gordon-Rushville (4-0) nr
Class C-2 Pvs
1. Stanton (4-0) 1
2. Elmwood-Murdock (5-0) 2
3. Plainview (3-1) 6
4. Creighton (3-1) 3
5. Wakefield (3-1) 7
6. Hartington CC (3-1) 5
7. Kearney Catholic (4-0) nr
8. Cambridge (3-1) 4
9. Blue Hill (3-1) 8
10. Archbishop Bergan (3-1) 9
Class D-1 Pvs
1. Howells (4-0) 1
2. Clarkson (4-0) 2
3. Elwood (4-0) 3
4. Clearwater/Orchard (4-0) 4
5. Freeman (4-0) 6
6. Overton (3-1) 7
7. Burwell (4-0) 9
8. Franklin (4-0) 10
9. Bancroft-Rosalie (3-1) 5
10. Silver Lake (4-0) nr
Class D-2 Pvs
1. Elgin (4-0) 1
2. Ewing (4-0) 2
3. Bruning-Davenport (4-0) 3
4. Humphrey St. Francis (4-0) 4
5. Hampton (4-0) 5
6. Hayes Center (4-0) 7
7. Shickley (4-0) 9
8. Anselmo-Merna (4-0) nr
9. Pope John (3-1) 6
10. Dodge (2-2) 8
The senior running back picked up where he left off, once the Titans turned him loose. He’s been a workhorse the last three weeks, rushing 97 times for 664 yards. That’s 6.8 yards per carry.
His most recent outburst, 243 yards on 39 carries, helped Papillion-La Vista South earn what might be the biggest win in the six-year history of the school. The Titans rallied to upend Millard North 21-7 and vault into the Class A ratings at No. 5.
“He’s athletic and quick. And we’re finding out that he’s got a gift for not getting hit hard this year,” said Fritch. “He makes them miss early or not get a full hit on him.”
Fritch said the victory over Millard North and an earlier one over Lincoln Southeast were the fruition of a philosophy he used when the Titans started their program in 2003.
“We talked about Lincoln Southeast, Millard North and Creighton Prep because, in our opinion, those are the top three teams in Class A from the standpoint of tradition,” he said. “That’s who we want to compare ourselves to as we evaluate our program.
“That’s why we made such a big deal out of coming down to play Lincoln Southeast. That’s a proud tradition and it was motivation for us to play well.”
Top-ranked Creighton Prep isn’t on the Titans’ regular-season schedule, but the playoffs could give Papio South the chance to meet all three of its motivational giants this year.
“We’ve been waiting six years for something like this,” he said. “We said this was a big game in our program’s history. We haven’t been particularly lucky in our district assignments in the past, so our kids know these district games are really important.”
In addition to now sixth-ranked Millard North, the Titans also have to contend with No. 3 Omaha North, No. 10 Bellevue West and contender Omaha Burke in their district.
Fritch said Burrus’ explosiveness was a key in the second-half comeback by the Titans.
“They went three-and-out to start the second half and punted. On the first play, Burrus raced 85 yards to score,” Fritch said.
That gave the Titans a 14-10 lead, but more heroics were needed after Brandon Williams capped a Millard North drive with an 8-yard scoring run in the final period. Burrus got just enough on fourth down and on the next play, he clipped off 51 yards to the Millard North 6-yard line. Two plays later, he scored the winning touchdown on a 3-yard run.
“It was amazing to watch the game momentum trade places all through the second half,” said Fritch. “We were in trouble, and in a matter of seconds, he’d gone 51 yards to get us in position to score.”
Freeman force
Freeman senior Elliott Mencl may not be the workhorse Burrus has been, but he did more than enough to spark the Falcons to a 64-14 win at Deshler to improve to 4-0 and No. 5 in Class D-1.
“He had four touches for 150 yards in the first quarter,” said coach Theron Troxel. Mencl finished with 205 yards on 13 rushes. “He had touchdown runs of 69 and 55 yards. It helps when you get that kind of start.
“Plus, they fumbled their first play and we recovered it and had a short field.”
Freeman capitalized when Ryan Busboom scored on a 1-yard run.
Those three quick first-quarter touchdowns gave the defense the cushion it needed in dealing with Deshler’s spread offense.
“The defense is catching on and doing a nice job understanding what we want out of them,” said Troxel. “Deshler runs an offense a little different than what we’re used to. They put out four receivers every play.”
That forced Troxel and his assistants to tinker with the Falcon defense.
“We were racking our brains to figure out the best matchups. We moved Jordan Pella from defensive end to linebacker and go into cover,” he said. “Taylor Mackichan and Matt Nieveen are our normal safeties, so they didn’t have to change much. The linebackers — Busboom, Mencl and Pella — had to adjust a little more.
“But they’re good athletes and make the coaches look good.”
Ryly Jane Hambleton at 473-7314 or rhambleton@journalstar.com.
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Billy wrote on October 13, 2008 1:28 am: