Miege, Chanute Ready for a 4A East Sectional Showdown

The overall 4A bracket is a brutal gauntlet to run and is packed on both sides with numerous teams capable of going all the way.   In the West, the vaunted passing attack of the Wellington Crusaders will fly into Andover for a dogfight with powerful Andover Central, who is coming off a state-runner-up finish a year ago. The winner will play either #1-seeded, one-loss Wamego or a dangerous (8-2) Buhler team.   In the top half of the bracket, the East teams have been pounding each other through the first two games of the post-season with #8-seeded Lansing upsetting #1-ranked Atchison in the regional round. They will face #5-seed Tonganoxie tonight, with the winner taking on the victor in the Bishop Miege-Chanute sectional game.   In this report, we will take a closer look at the latter game mentioned above, as it has all the markings of a classic post-season showdown.   The 3-7 Stags lost their first six games of the year, playing one of the more ruthless schedules in the state, and rolled into this year's post-season as the #15-seed. Chanute, on the other hand, is a scant 12 points away from being undefeated, as their only losses came in two close games earlier in the year. The last being a heartbreaking OT loss to Pittsburg, 41-35.   Both teams got stronger as the season progressed, setting up a critical playoff battle in Chanute tonight.   So without further adieu, let's zoom in on a couple of dangerous teams peaking at the right time in the post-season.   (3-7) Bishop Miege:   It has been an up-and-down season for the Stags as they lost the first half-dozen games of the year before edging Blue Valley North, 34-32, and then losing again in the regular-season finale to Blue Valley, before crawling into the 4A playoff opening round with a scary 1-7 record.   Nonetheless, Miege never threw in the towel and battled on. They pulled off an upset win in the first round over a powerful Louisburg squad, 21-14, before pounding Labette County in the regional round 34-6.   Labette County is the only common opponent between these two schools and the outcomes were as close to a wash as could be, as Chanute defeated them by almost the same score, 35-6.   Leading the team through the good times and the bad and slinging the rock all over the field in the process has been senior QB, [player_tooltip player_id='1370888' first='Marco' last='Rodriguez'], 6'5, 195, '25, who has passed for 2,297 yards on 187 completions in 375 attempts and fired 16 touchdown passes. he also rushed for just under 300 yards and 3 more TD's to give him 2,576 total yards and 19 touchdowns.   And, when he went to the air attack, it was usually to versatile playmaker, [player_tooltip player_id='352452' first='Teryn' last='Jackson'], 5'10, 175, WR/ATH, '25, who hauled in 52 passes for 700+ yards and added another 464 yards on punt and kick returns to give him 1,178 total yards and seven touchdowns so far this year. He saved his best game of the year for the playoffs, as he caught six passes for 130 yards, averaging 22 yards a reception and had a score, in the opening win against Louisburg.   The Stags have played in catch-up mode most of the year so didn't establish much of a running attack early on. However, with the offense hitting on all cylinders so far in the playoffs, they have developed a good enough run game to take the pressure off the pass. Last game, sophomore Vinny George, 5'9, 180, RB, '27 stepped up with 24 carries for 108 yards rushing and three touchdowns.   On defense, Miege features senior standout edge rusher and run-game destroyer, [player_tooltip player_id='716600' first='Finn' last='Cusick'], 6'3, 250, DE/LB. The senior ball-buster in the trenches has a quick first step with powerful hands that he uses to neutralize offenses off the edge.   The Stags are battle-tested and on a late-season roll, but they still have a daunting hurdle ahead of them when they roll into Chanute tonight.   (8-2) Chanute:   The Blue Comets have slowly but steadily ramped up their game this year and are currently playing some of their best football of the year as they host dangerous Bishop Miege in the sectional-round of the post-season.   In the opening round, Chanute got off to a great start, winning convincingly 44-14 over Paola; and then followed up the next week with a big shut-out win over Ottawa, 30-0.   Leading the way for the last two seasons has been standout, dual-threat QB, [player_tooltip player_id='1113456' first='Kris' last='Harding II'], 6'0, 185, QB, '26, a fluid field general who can beat you with his accurate arm, his legs or his instinctual feel for the game. With the opening two playoff games taking place in poor weather, he still passed for 200+ yards and ran for another 50 more and scored a pair of touchdowns in leading his team to a couple of critical victories.   When he flexes the air attack, it is usually to versatile playmaker [player_tooltip player_id='1632787' first='Eliott' last='Stephenson'], 6'2, 200, ATH, '25, who has hauled in 34 passes for 618 yards and six TD's, averaging right at 20 yards a reception. He also carried the ball 15 times for 180 yards and another score.   When the Blue Comets go to the ground game, it is primarily on the shoulders of RB/LB [player_tooltip player_id='1115435' first='Quinton' last='Harding'], 5'10, 185, RB, '25, who is a punishing runner with a low center of gravity and breakaway speed on offense and hits like a jackhammer on defense.   These guys are going to have to bring their A-game tonight when the Stags come to town. Look for a shootout as both teams feature high-octane offenses.   In conclusion, get out to southeastern Kansas and watch a couple of teams ready to do whatever it takes to continue the championship quest. And, as always, if you know of any players or teams "flying under the radar", give me a shout via DM on X.

The overall 4A bracket is a brutal gauntlet to run and is packed on both sides with numerous teams capable of going all the way.