Olpe football coach Chris Schmidt jokes that this weekend’s game against West Elk is a battle to see who will get a bigger plate at his family’s Thanksgiving dinner.
Schmidt is facing off against his brother-in-law, West Elk coach and Olpe alum Chris Haag, for the second time since both became head coaches. They served on the staff together at Olpe for a couple of years before Haag moved on, and Schmidt took over as Olpe’s head coach last season, when the Eagles managed a 15-8 victory over the Patriots.
“So we kinda know each other pretty well and know what each other runs,” Schmidt said.
For the most part, Olpe just hopes to continue on the dominant roll it has been on to start the year. On paper, the Eagles certainly figured to be very good this year — but thus far, Olpe hasn’t been touched, annihilating its first three opponents by a combined score of 157-28.
Haag’s West Elk team is in the same boat Olpe is in regarding scheduling. Both teams were members of the Lyon County League back when there were other 11-man teams in the league. Now, while Olpe is still officially in the LCL, both teams are basically independent for football, being forced to take some long road trips to fill out their schedule — like Olpe’s bus ride to Baxter Springs last week for its 49-8 victory.
“I’ve been kind of teasing our kids this week that whoever wins this game is the Lyon County 11-man champions,” Haag said.
West Elk is 1-2 after scoring its first win of the year last week, a 30-8 victory over Erie. Its top weapon offensively is wide receiver Taylor Lowe, who caught eight passes for 200 yards last week. For the year, Lowe has 395 yards on 22 catches. Quarterback C.J. Madison is a solid running threat, with 93 yards last week and 208 for the year on 47 carries. He’s been turnover-prone, though, with six interceptions and two fumbles (one lost). The Olpe defense — with incumbent All-LCL performers Josh Klumpe at defensive end, Alex Dreier and Josh Lambert at linebacker and Cole Krueger at defensive back — is likely to pounce on any such mistakes.
“They got some good athletes,” Schmidt said of West Elk. “They kind of spread you out and try to get the ball in those guys’ hands, kind of in a one-on-one situation. So we’ll have to do a good job of open field tackling, I think will be a big thing on our defense.
“Offensively, hopefully we can control the ball and continue doing what we’re doing, and get better at it.”
The key for West Elk, in Haag’s view, is matching Olpe’s physical play so the Eagles’ playmakers — like running back Krueger, receiver Bradley Argabright and tight end Klumpe — don’t get loose. Krueger put up 194 yards on the ground last week against Baxter Springs, and Argabright caught two TD throws from quarterback Matt Redeker. Argabright also intercepted two passes as a defensive back.
“They’ve got the whole package,” Haag said. “But if you can’t stop their running game, you’re not gonna beat ’em. And we’re gonna try to do some things up front, try to confuse them a little bit with their blocking schemes, and see if that can work.”
Defensive end Charlie Hall has six sacks already for the Patriots, and another lineman, Lucas Simmons, has three. Gus Allen is the Patriots’ top linebacker and tackler, with 30 stops this year.
The family ties of the two coaches go back quite a distance — Schmidt’s first year as an assistant at Olpe was Haag’s senior year there.
“It’s a special evening for us,” Haag said. “But I don’t think it’s something during the game, you don’t get caught up in (it). But I’m sure after the game, we’ll sit and talk a little bit, and kind of discuss both teams and how well we’re doing.”
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Posted by coble34 (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 5:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I really don't think this will even be a close game. I'm picking Olpe by 100.
Posted by create (anonymous) on September 25, 2008 at 6:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Don't forget another connection since you're establishing relationships. Chris Haag's sister is married to Olpe's Chris Schmidt. Luv u Chris Haag, but I gotta support my Eagles. Go Green!!!
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