Scene that placed nearby elementary school on lockout has been cleared
14 September 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — This week, we have a special matchup between the second-ranked teams in 6A and 5A with Kapaun Mt. Carmel hosting Wichita Northwest.
Kapaun has run roughshod over their opponents in their first two games, outscoring Wichita South and Wichita East 115-43. Head coach Weston Schartz says this matchup will be a tough one for the Crusaders.
“They got players all over the place,” explained Schartz. “They got good young players, good juniors, good seniors. It’s a great football program. East High was pretty fast. There are a lot of teams out there, and I don’t think there are many as fast as they are. Northwest puts it all together. Disciplined, have a great defense, good coaches. A lot of those coaches used to coach with me over at West. I know they’re good coaches, and they’re a good football program.”
One of the reasons for the Crusaders’ success this season has been senior running back Omari Elias, who is looking to make it three straight seasons with 2,000 yards rushing.
“It’s become a bit of a rivalry game,” Elias said when asked about the matchup. “In our time as seniors, we’re 2-2 against them, and there’s kind of a lot on the line, you know. One of their guys over there said it’s personal for them, so it’s personal for us, too. We just want to go out on top, same as we would any other week.”
The Grizzlies have made a statement in each of their first two games against Bishop Carroll and Wichita Heights. But players and coaches know it’s a step up in competition this week against Kapaun Mt. Carmel.
“It’s actually a mental test for us to get ready for November,” said senior Wichita Northwest running back Cencere Thompson. “It’s one of those games where it’s just going to come down to who is more physical is going to win this game. We’re just going to have to come to practice this whole week, and our main focus and our main message is being the more physical team. Because Kapaun is going to pound the ball every time, and they’re going to try and get the best out of you, so we just have to be the more physical team.”
When Northwest head coach Steven Martin talks about this matchup, that he has a ton of respect for Kapaun.
“The test we’re going to get from these guys is just how physical we are on both sides of the ball,” added Martin. “There’s no qualms about it. Offensively, they’re going to run the ball right at us, and we’ve got to be tough enough to stick our nose in there and deliver and be physical with them. On the offensive side of the ball, they’re very physical on defense, and they’re going to play fundamentally sound. We’ve got to be able to match that with them as well.”