Menu
No place like home for McCook Road Warriors
Don't knock the McCook High School varsity football team if you see the Bison jumping up and down Friday afternoon.
For only the second time this season, the Bison players and coaches will take a short bus ride from the Senior High School to Weiland Field for football action Friday night, Sept. 23. For just the second time this season, the McCook squad won't face a Friday 500-mile round trip bus excursion.
McCook will see the friendly confines of Weiland Field for just the second time in the regular season Friday, as the Bison host Grand Island Northwest. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
The McCook squad faced a grueling first month of the 2011 schedule, with three trips to the Nebraska panhandle sandwiched around a home date with arch-rival Aurora. The Bison battled through the tough schedule to earn four straight wins -- the first time since 2008 that McCook has started the season 4-0.
Bison head coach Jeff Gross and his squad is overjoyed to have a home game this weekend.
"Absolutely. It's going to be very nice to not have to get on that bus," Gross said.
McCook High School don't have classes Thursday or Friday due to parent-teachers conferences. Coach Gross said his players will have a chance to "sleep in" both days and perhaps let their bodies catch up from a tough four-week stretch that saw the Bison travel to Scottsbluff (Aug. 26), Alliance (Sept. 9) and Gering (Sept. 16) -- all 500-mile round-trip bus rides.
"It probably came at a pretty good time because we are a tired team," Gross said. "I wouldn't say we're a beat-up team, because we're fairly healthy. But the fact that you've gotten home at 3:30, 4 in the morning three out of the first four weeks, that builds up on your body. I think this break (parent-teachers conferences) is coming at a really good time for us."
Misleading Northwest record
Gross knows the Vikings are a much tougher team that a 1-3 season record might indicate.
Northwest battled defending Class B state champ Crete tough in the season opener in Grand Island. The host Vikings led 16-14 late in the first half before the top-ranked Cardinals scored 26 unanswered points in a 40-16 decision.
Northwest traveled to Lexington in week two, and the Minutemen nipped the Vikes, 22-20. Northwest returned home two weeks ago and claimed their only win, a 46-26 rout over Seward -- a team that pushed powerhouse Aurora to the limit in the season-opener before losing 21-13. The Vikings took a long trip to the panhandle Friday, Sept. 16, dropping a 31-21 decision to Alliance a week after the Bison came back to top the host Bulldogs, 31-20.
"They had Crete down in the first half," Coach Gross said of Northwest. "Regardless of the final score, the fact that they were able to hang with them as long as they did, and actually have the lead, speaks volumes for them. Number two, they beat a Seward team that I thought looked very good against Aurora week one.
"Last week they were ahead of Alliance, 14-0, and had the chance to take a 21-0 lead. Without a miscue that would have been the case.
"They're a dangerous football team. We were neck-in-neck with Alliance for the better part of that game. We understand the level that (Northwest) is capable of playing.
Big, strong quarterback
The Vikings operate with a huge front line anchored by senior tackle Tanner Roth (6-1, 230). Northwest has a double rushing threat with senior quarterback Dylan Krosschell (6-0, 210) and junior running back Kyle Bockman (6-0, 205).
"Northwest is loaded with returning starters," Coach Gross said. "Last year they were almost all sophomores; this year they're almost all juniors.
Their quarterback (Krosschell) is a big, physical kid, a 215-pound wrestler, a shot put and discus thrower in track. Pound-for-pound, he's probably going to be one of the strongest kids out on the football field. To see that type of kid playing quarterback is a little bit different. When he's running the ball we have to know we've got to be sure tackling, sure-handed and get a good grip on him."
Gross said the Vikings will spread the field on offense, but they still like to run with their two big backs.
Krosschell isn't afraid to throw the football, as he has attempted 39 or more passes in three of Northwest's games so far this season.
Great all-around win
The Bison put together a strong all-around effort at Gering last Friday in the shutout win. McCook totaled over 300 rushing yards and kept the Bulldogs out of the end zone with a tough defense that put constant pressure on Gering sophomore quarterback Dillon DeMott.
The Bison have a balanced rushing attack, led by fullback Justin Terry with 345 yards on 48 carries, an average of over 7 yards per try. Running back Jake Schlager averages 7.3 yards per pop with 292 rushing yards on 40 attempts. Quarterback Matt Chitwood is averaging 6.5 yards per attempt with 313 yards on 48 carries.
Chitwood is a 50-percent passer, completing 18 of 36 attempts for 280 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Junior Cody Wudtke is McCook's leading receiver with 8 catches for 133 yards. Schlager had three catches for 80 yards, and junior tight end Matt Collicott also has 3 receptions.
Not looking ahead
The Bison are ranked second behind Crete in the latest Associated Press Class B state poll. Coach Gross said his team will not overlook anyone on the schedule. The Bison head man knows Northwest will be poised to earn a big upset win Friday night.
"Northwest is looking -- as I told the kids, they're looking for that signature win. They're looking for a win over somebody that can make people stand up and take notice," Gross said. "No disrespect to Seward, but that wasn't that win, or if they would had beaten Alliance or would have beaten Lexington, that wasn't that win.
"They're looking for a win against an Aurora, a McCook, a Crete. So they're going to play awful hard and they're going to be fired up and they're going to stay with it with as long as they can. It's our job to make sure that we match their intensity level down after down."