CURTIS, Neb. -- Medicine Valley head coach Scott Johnsen sees a lot of similarities between Cambridge and Hemingford.
The Raiders beat Cambridge twice this season, including in last week’s 42-20 win in the first round of the Class D1 playoffs.
Now, unbeaten Medicine Valley will welcome the Box Butte Bobcats for a Class D1 second-round playoff game set for 4 p.m. tomorrow (Wednesday) in Curtis.
The most important trait shared between the Trojans and Bobcats is the physicality both play with.
“They’ve got big linemen and physical running backs,” Johnsen said about Hemingford. “They look a lot like Cambridge on film.”
Offensively, Johnsen said that the Raiders will be without starting quarterback Ryan Klintworth and starting lineman Austin Wolfe for Wednesday’s contest. Klintworth was injured in the Raiders’ Week 9 game against Bertrand, while Wolfe suffered an injury last week against Cambridge.
“It’s just that time of year where you start losing more bodies,” Johnsen said. “We’re hoping guys can continue to step up.”
Sam Heapy was an example of doing just that. The sophomore only attempted five passes against Cambridge last week, but threw an important 15-yard touchdown to Chase Newcomb on fourth down in the first half.
Johnsen said that Heapy has a simple job playing QB1: game management.
“We just need Sam to control things for us. We are still counting on Landon (Lenz) to carry the load and have two other backs who can come in and get touches too.”
Last week saw Lenz’ best performance of the season. The senior had 25 carries for 268 yards and four touchdowns, including three on runs from over 30 yards.
This season, Lenz has accumulated 1,450 yards and 26 touchdowns and has ran for over 100 yards in all nine of Medicine Valley’s games. All of those numbers lead the Gazette area.
With Wednesday being All Saints Day, it might be fitting to call Lenz the patron saint of running backs.
The gameplan against Hemingford won’t change much, according to Johnsen. Big plays might be hard to come by against a stout Bobcat defense, meaning the Raiders will need to stay patient and methodical when they have the ball.
“We just need to stay patient and execute,” Johnsen said. “We can’t be always trying to do the big play. We have to try focusing on getting five to seven yards on each play and keep the chains moving.”
Hemingford head coach Jordan Haas, a 2006 graduate of the school, has built up an eight-man power in the northwest corner of the state. Hemingford has qualified for the playoffs in each of the last six seasons, which includes a state title in 2014 and state runner-up finish in 2013.
Hemingford enters Wednesday’s contest on a seven-game winning streak, beating opponents by an average score of 38-17 during that stretch.
According to Haas, the Bobcats’ 1-2 start in 2017 was attributed to new players stepping into starting roles and developing an identity.
“It took us some time with the turnover we had. We were trying to figure out who we were.”
Since that 38-32 overtime loss to Ainsworth in Week 3, Hemingford has had the look of previous Bobcat teams that made deep playoff pushes.
“We’re a physical football team and have a big line,” Haas explained. “We like to run the football and play good defense.”
Hemingford averages 280 yards rushing per game and has found paydirt 34 times this season.
The Bobcats are led by Justin Davis, who has 1,289 yards and 18 touchdowns. Davis, however, injured his ankle during Hemingford’s Week 9 game against Dundy County-Stratton and will miss the rest of the season.
Conner Swanson stepped in last week to carry the Bobcat offense, as the senior ran for 160 yards and two touchdowns. Miles Davis had a 74-yard touchdown return on the game’s opening kickoff for Hemingford’s other score in a 22-14 win over Overton.
Swanson and Miles Davis have combined to run for 955 yards and 14 touchdowns this season, while Kage Jespersen is another Bobcat runner with over 200 yards (222).
With both teams missing key starters (Davis for Hemingford and Klintworth for Medicine Valley), Haas said the effects of a full season are hitting everyone still playing playoff football.
“I don’t think there’s a team out there that isn’t worn out, tired and sore at this point.”
Another challenge has been game-planning for an opponent just from film, according to Haas.
“It’s really difficult for me to game plan just on film. I’m a visual guy and I like seeing the players in person and getting to stand next to them to get an idea.”
From what Haas has gathered, Medicine Valley reminds him of another Gazette-area school.
“They do a lot of similar things as Dundy County-Stratton.”
With a 231-mile trip to Curtis on the schedule, Haas said his team likes the newness that comes with playing playoff opponents.
“We get excited. The playoffs allow you to play teams that you wouldn’t ever get to play. I used to wrestle and it was the same idea there. You get to go up against people you’d normally never get to wrestle.”
The Bobcats will break the trip up by departing for North Platte today (Tuesday).
“We don’t mind (long roadtrips),” Haas said.
Going up against a stable of running backs and a big offensive line, Johnsen said the Raider defense will be put to the test. Ultimately, however, Medicine Valley doesn’t need to do anything different from what’s been stressed all season.
“We just gotta continue to do what we’ve been doing,” Johnsen said. “We have to rally to the football and be aggressive all game.”
For Hemingford, Haas has identified three vital tasks his Bobcats must do to get a win in Curtis.
“First, we have to outplay them up front,” he said. “We have to move their guys around, use our size advantage and win battles.”
“Second, we have to play assignment football on defense,” Haas continued. “They run a lot of jet motion and if you make the wrong read then nine (Lenz) is gone in the blink of an eye.”
The last one is a piece of advice Haas was handed down during his formative years as a coach.
“I had a coach that said, ‘you gotta win the turnover battle, field position battle and have more big plays than you opponent,’ and I’ve always held that close to me.”
@gabegauthier1
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