November 11, 2009

4A
What To Watch In the East
I'm on the Miege bandwagon, have been since Week 2 or 3. I'm staying on. They trounced an undefeated Holton team 38-14 in the second round Friday. Miege played 5A and 6A teams all year before district play and more than held their own. They will be tested at Louisburg this Friday, then they're shoe-ins for state.

How the West Will Be Won
I would say Rose Hill (10-1) at Buhler (10-1) is a whale of a ballgame, and it is in a way, but the winner is just going to have to deal with Andale at sub-state, a team neither put together a good enough effort against during the regular season. So while this game is extremely intriguing, I wonder how much it really means in the wider scheme of the 4A playoffs.

I cannot get over the fact Buhler is completely dominating everyone they play, with the exception of Andale, which handled them. I just can't figure it out. I can understand Andale beating Buhler, but by 13 after building a 21-0 lead? Andale is becoming legendary, especially after supplanting Wellington once again. Wellington used to rule this area of 4A with an iron first. Their reign is offically over.

Incredibly, Buhler's 64-26 win over previously undefeated Hugoton was predictable. The western half of the state just hasn't been able to compete on the state level in recent years. Buhler led 43-14 at halftime. I still believe in this team. How can I not? They're unstoppable, as long as they're not playing Andale. I feel like I would have a better hold on how good Buhler is if they had played Wellington or Rose Hill during the regular season.

Meanwhile, Rose Hill, which played Andale tougher than Buhler in a 26-15 loss earlier this season, beat Abilene 24-8 at home Saturday to earn the quarterfinal berth at Buhler.

Buhler won at Abilene 56-13 in Week 2.

I'm telling you, I can't figure it out. Buhler is incredible on offense this season. Rose Hill, however, will be the second-most physical team Buhler has played this season. That certainly means something for this game.

Andale, meanwhile, is in the driver's seat. They host Hayden, which they lost to 20-12 at home in sub-state last year, but which they beat 29-28 at Hayden in 2007 on a last-second field goal. Hayden is a four-loss team this year, and even though they're quality losses to teams like Manhattan and Emporia, Andale is going to win this game going away.

Then, they'll play Buhler or Rose Hill, programs they have dominated in recent years. Overall, I'm not sure how interested I should be in Class 4A. It's Andale all over again, isn't it?