4 November 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Great Bend football takes on Kapaun Mt. Carmel in the regional round of the 5A playoffs on Friday. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m. at Wichita Southeast High School.
The last time the Panthers and Crusaders met was in the 2021 season. Kapaun dominated that game 42-7.
The Crusaders have the better season record heading into this matchup, with just one loss against Northwest. This is Kapaun’s best season record since Coach Weston Schartz took over the program in 2020.
The Panthers are currently 6-3. However, their three losses all came within one touchdown of their opponent. They’ve also defeated two teams they lost to in the 2022 season in McPherson and Salina Central. The Panthers are planning to put up a fight against the Crusaders.
“One thing I know about our kids is they’re going to play their tails off. They play hard, every play, every snap, it doesn’t matter time, score. And they’re going to give everything they’ve got, and we’ll have to be that way tonight. We’re going to have to have some things go our way, and it’s going to be a beautiful night for football,” said Great Bend head football coach Erin Beck.
“You got to control the football, you got to stop them from big plays, and we can’t give them the short field. If we don’t give them a short field, we think we can win this football game,” said Weston Schartz, Kapaun Mt. Carmel head coach.
The last time the Panthers moved on from Regionals was in 2016. Kapaun has not made it to the Sectional Round since two seasons ago when they made a sub-state appearance.
Watch highlights from tonight’s game during Friday Football Fever on KSN News at 10.