Sub State Preview: Class 4A-2A Defensive Stalwarts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And then there were four!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Kansas High School Football playoffs have just two weekends left. Each classification is down to four teams as we head into the Sub-State Round.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here is a look at five of the top defensive players from the six Sub-State games in Classes 4A-2A.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1322065' first='Logan' last='Taggart']</strong>, LB, 6'3”, 210, Andover Central, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Andover Central (10-) will face Buhler (9-2) in a Class 4A Sub State game. Taggart is the second-leading tackler for the Jaguars. The senior has recorded 72 total tackles through 11 games. He has been a bear in the backfield for opponents collecting TFLS like Winnie The Pooh collects honey. He has 11 tackles for loss notched on his belt. Taggart is currently ranked No. 105 overall. Andover Central qualified for the Class 4A Final Four by defeating Wellington 58-13.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1114755' first='Xander' last='Blasing'], </strong>LB, 6'1”, 190, Hayden, ‘26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hayden's tackles are distributed out as about as equal as it gets. They have a ton of guys in the 40-60 total tackle range. Blasing is a junior linebacker who has recorded 59 total tackles for the Wildcats. He is currently ranked No. 193 in the Kansas Class of 2026. Hayden (10-1) will meet Wellsville (11-0) in a Class 3A Sub State matchup. The Wildcats punched their ticket to the semifinal round with a 56-6 drubbing of Perry-Lecompton.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1398429' first='Korbin' last='Johnson'], &nbsp;</strong>WR/DB/LB, 5'11”, 185, Holcomb, 25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Holcomb Longhorns (10-1) will face undefeated Andale in the other Class 3A Sub State. Johnson leads the team in tackles with 93. He is a multi-sport prospect who also plays basketball and baseball. He has a nose for the football making two interceptions, two pass breakups, and one fumble recovery through 11 games. Holcomb advanced to the Sub-State round behind a 10-7 win over Scott City in one of the closest games played last week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1115716' first='Abram' last='Keim']</strong>, LB, 5'11”, 175, Nemaha Central, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Keim has recorded a “Ripley's Believe It Or Not” total of 142 tackles in 11 games. He is currently ranked No. 137 overall. He is a fast and mean linebacker who makes solo tackles in the open field. Nine of his tackles have resulted in lost yardage. Nemaha Central (10-1) next meets Council Grove (8-3) in the Class 2A Semifinals. The Thunder advanced to the Final Four in 2A with a 33-27 win over Osage City.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1229095' first='Grady' last='Gebhardt']</strong>, LB/DB, 5'7”, 160, Southeast Saline, ‘26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gebhardt is currently ranked No. 149 in the Kansas Class of 2026. Like Hayden, the Trojans have a balanced defense that includes 10 athletes with at least 40 tackles. Gebhardt has recorded 58 tackles this season down from his total of 104 as a sophomore. To be fair, he is carrying a much larger load on offense rushing for over 1,300 yards and 14 touchdowns in nine games of recorded stats. The Trojans 11-0 will face the Beloit Trojans (9-2) for a second time this season.  Southeast knocked off Hoisington 30-8 to advance to the 2A Sub-State Round and defeated Beloit 32-6 in a rain-postponed game earlier this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->