South Callaway to face uptempo East Buchanan

MOKANE, Mo. - When East Buchanan's offense is operating at hyper-speed, it is a guarantee time - and the football - will be flying.

South Callaway's defense has been a menacing maelstrom for opponents all season, and now its sights will be on slowing East Buchanan's offensive blur when this battle between state-ranked, undefeated Bulldogs plays out tonight in the Class 2 quarterfinals. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. in Gower, located southeast of St. Joseph.

Fourth-ranked East Buchanan (12-0) runs a no-huddle, spread offense modeled after the version Chip Kelly made popular on the collegiate level at Oregon and now in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles. East Buchanan almost exclusively relies on its passing game in averaging 50.8 points, reaching that sum at a dizzying tempo by attempting to run 80-100 plays per game.

"They're very super-fast paced, very Blair Oaks-esque from the last couple of years when we played them (for district titles)," South Callaway head coach Tim Rulo said. "They're going to snap the ball with 20-plus seconds on the play clock. Their quarterback is literally going to catch the ball and throw it out there as fast as he possibly can."

According to the game story in the St. Joseph News Press on East Buchanan's 50-34 victory last week at No. 9 Brookfield for the District 8 championship, junior quarterback Colby Rapp passed for 431 yards and five touchdowns. Rapp (6-foot-1, 175 pounds) was intercepted on East Buchanan's first series, but then directed four straight scoring drives.

"He slings it, probably threw it 40-plus times, I wouldn't doubt it," Rulo said. "He's had a game this year where he threw it over 50 (times). ... I'm really impressed with just his accuracy; I think he throws a really good ball.

"He's got a quick release and he's not a runner. This is truly the spread to throw the ball."

Rapp's main targets are a pair of tall junior receivers, Nate Griffin (6-2, 165) and Zac Johnson (6-1, 160). Griffin also put on an impressive performance against Brookfield, finishing with 12 catches for 177 yards and three touchdowns.

"(Griffin) is kind of the guy that looks a little more athletic, a little more flashy - maybe to go up and high-point the fade (route)," Rulo said. "(Johnson) seems to be more of the sure-handed, possession receiver that will go and run great routes."

Senior Ryan Kilgore (5-10, 170) will be the primary running back who lines up next to Rapp.

East Buchanan will arguably confront its harshest challenge of the season against South Callaway's harassing defense. Third-ranked South Callaway (12-0) is allowing a sparse 5.8 points per game and has scored a remarkable 10 touchdowns on defense - five interception and five fumble returns.

"At this point of the season, you just have to roll the dice and play the game," Rulo said. "... We're not going to change anything up, we're not going to come out with some crazy, new defensive scheme. We're going to play our style of football."

South Callaway answered its strictest test so far last week in a convincing 41-6 blitz of seventh-ranked Lafayette County for the District 7 title in Mokane. The Huskers were averaging 43 points per game entering the matchup, but South Callaway limited them to 159 net yards and a feeble 21 yards rushing.

Lafayette County senior quarterback Matt Gibson completed 13-of-25 passes for 138 yards and an interception, but was just 2-of-12 for 36 yards in the second half.

South Callaway is surrendering a meager 59.1 yards passing per game and has combined for 18 sacks, led by junior linebacker Dillon Stone's five. South Callaway also has 16 interceptions, with senior free safety Cory Hanger and senior linebacker Dylan Hare sharing the team lead with four apiece.

"We like our whole group right now; there's a good feel about it and they're playing with a lot of confidence," Rulo said.

Rulo explained a less-complicated defensive approach should result in less confusion when trying to counter East Buchanan's accelerated tempo.

"No matter what we do schematically, we need to keep it simple," Rulo said. "We need our guys ready, not running around. They need to feel very comfortable, "Hey, we're seeing this, we're going to go do it.'

"... We can't get away from what we do, we can't re-invent the wheel here in a week's time. It's not like we have all summer to practice against this (offense)."

If the brisk offensive rhythm was not enough for South Callaway's defense to consider, East Buchanan also has a disdain for punting - as in, it rarely kicks when put in a fourth-down situation. To the best of his knowledge, Rulo said East Buchanan has only punted three times this season.

"We're going to have to kind of retrain our minds a little bit," Rulo said. "We talk a lot about third down being the money down to get off the field. Well, no, you're going to have to play all four downs.

"Even if they're backed up and it's fourth-and-20, they'll still go for it."

South Callaway doesn't equal the number of plays East Buchanan calls, but it certainly has some sparkling offensive totals of its own. South Callaway comes into tonight averaging 57.5 points and 393.9 yards per game, including 296.4 rushing.

South Callaway amassed 399 total yards - 278 on the ground - against Lafayette County. Senior quarterback Troy Hentges threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Hanger and also scored on runs of 2 and 12 yards.

Hanger, from his slot-receiver position, added touchdown runs of 1 and 4 yards. Senior fullback Dakoda Ballard rushed for a game-high 98 yards on 18 carries and supplied a 7-yard touchdown run.

Rulo pointed out East Buchanan - which allows 17.4 points per game - will apply a lot of man-to-man coverage out of its base 3-5-3 defensive scheme. Kilgore will roam back and forth from an inside linebacker position to safety, and will be joined at that spot in the secondary by senior Elliot Fortney (5-8, 145). Griffin and Johnson occupy the cornerback positions.

With South Callaway making its first-ever quarterfinal appearance, Rulo wants his players to soak up what they've accomplished to this point.

"This is a really cool experience," he said. "You've got to enjoy the moments, you've got to enjoy every minute you're out there, even when it's cold outside. As I told the guys, "Hey, this is the first time in school history that we've been practicing on this day.'

"I promise you that all of those guys that graduated from those (previous South Callaway) teams wished they were still practicing, and there are a lot of schools that wished they were still practicing. Ultimately, we just have to embrace that moment."

South Callaway at East Buchanan in Gower, Mo. - Updates on Twitter: @FultonSunSports. Watch live online: www.ustream.tv/channel/18837380