Somewhere high on the list of reasons why Emporia High is where it is right now — at 7-2 and preparing to host McPherson in the Class 5A playoffs on Friday night — you’d have to pencil in the Spartans’ dominance in the turnover war.
All season, the Spartans have taken the ball away a lot more than they’ve handed it over to the opposition. And some of those turnovers have been huge factors in a game, and/or come at a time when Emporia desperately needed a takeaway.
Take last week’s win 33-27 at Salina South to clinch the District 5 title, for instance. If Jacob Loucks doesn’t knock the ball free from South receiver Travis Dolan, and Collin Thomsen doesn’t recover it on the Spartans’ 30-yard line with 1:49 left in the game, does Emporia still go on to win? Given the troubles the Spartans had containing the running ability of South quarterback Jason Seibel, there’s a solid chance that they don’t.
“We can’t get three-and-outs,” EHS co-defensive coordinator P.J. Marstall says with a laugh, “so we have to win the turnover battle.”
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