Collision Course

    The schedule reads Week 9: Fremont-Mills at East Mills.
    It doesn’t say both teams are undefeated and ranked in the top five in the state among Eight-Man teams.
    There’s no mention of each team averaging better than 60 points per game and more than 350 yards in quick strike offenses that rarely allowed either team’s starters to play into the second half of numerous blow outs.

    The schedule makers certainly couldn’t have known just how big of football game will be played Friday at 7 p.m. in Malvern when the No. 4 Wolverines host the No. 2 Knights  with the District 8 crown and, perhaps, a little bit of bragging rights on the line between these long time rivals.
    The winner gets the top seed coming out of District 8 and is guaranteed two home games if it wins its first home game in the playoffs. The Knights won the district last season and rode the momentum all the way to the state semifinals, falling to eventual champion Armstrong-Ringstead. The No. 2 seed would be guaranteed a first round home game but would likely head out on the road following a win.
    The district winner would likely face Coon Rapids-Bayard in the first round, while the loser would likely host Boyer Valley in its playoff opener.
    Fremont-Mills, winner of 19 of its last 20 games, defeated the Wolverines 56-20 in last season’s regular season finale and then followed that up with a 65-27 victory in the second round of the playoffs to end East Mills’ season.
    A look at the stat boxes for each team and their tendencies on the field reveal two high-powered offenses and two relatively different delivery methods for that offense.
    The Knights have overpowered District 8 this season, out-scoring opponents 475 to 66 with a physical  running game that has averaged 289.2 yards per game and a stingy defense that’s given up just 9.4 points per game with a rare combination of size and speed on both sides of the ball.
    East Mills’ offense is decidedly more balanced, perhaps leaning toward a more finesse passing game led by senior quarterback Luke Schafer. The Wolverine offense has averaged 161.7 yards on the ground and 292.6 yards through the air to score more than 61 points per game. Luke Schafer has thrown for 2,298 yards and a school-record 43 touchdown passes, while also adding 416 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground.
    Despite the seemingly speed vs. power match up the stats might suggest, East Mills coach Kevin Schafer isn’t so quick to chalk his team having a quickness advantage over the Knights.
    “They’re fast, too,” Coach Schafer said. “They’re big and fast. I supposed that’s why they’re probably the top eight- man team in the state. We’re maybe a little faster, but not a lot faster. They’re very physical. Every kid they play, from the starters to the kids off the bench, they’re very physical players.”
    The most physical of those players would likely be Fremont-Mills senior tailback Nate Meier. The 6-foot-2, 235 pounder has bullied his way to 858 yards rushing and 26 touchdowns on just 56 attempts this season.
    “From what I saw on film last year, because no one has stopped him this year, was teams that could slow him down were getting to him at or near the line of scrimmage,” Schafer said. “And then gang tackling after that. If he’s getting the first five yards down the field and getting to our linebackers and defensive backs without any contact, we’re going to be in trouble. He’s going to stiff arm you or run over you or run around you. He’s not just big, he’s fast. We’ve got to get to him early before he gets that head of steam.”
    Schafer also said quarterback A.J. Scarborough and running backs Josh Larsen and Logan Wood are just as dangerous with the ball in their hands.
    “And if you focus too much on the run, they might only throw five or six times, your linebackers and defensive backs give up big plays in the passing game,” Schafer said. “They pass for a high percentage and they’re big plays. Our defensive line is probably the key and our defensive backs reading keys before they come up to help is going to be important.”
    Fremont-Mills coach Jeremy Christiansen admits philosophies may differ on how each team wants to get the ball in the endzone but the coach knows who can prevent the other from just how well they do that will likely decide the game.
    “It is a clash in styles in a way,” said Christiansen. “Both teams have very good athletes. It’s going to come down to whose defense is more disciplined. They’ve got be disciplined against misdirection for us and we have to be disciplined in their screen game. It’s going to come down the the little things: special teams, turnovers, penalties, things of those nature.”
    After a 7-0 start that saw the Knights rarely challenged for a full game Christiansen said the Wolverines will be by far their toughest challenge. The coach calls the Wolverines the quickest team he’s seen this season and their senior quarterback the best he’s seen on film this year.
    “They’ve got speed at every position,” Christiansen said. “Their guardups and center are fast, when they pull they’re very explosive. They put up big plays and they’re quick. And he (Luke Schafer) puts the ball into places that make you wonder how it got there,” he said. “He’s a very special player. A special athlete whether it be basketball or track or baseball. And then he’s got weapons to go to. That makes for a dangerous combination.”
    Both Schafer and Christiansen admit Friday’s game has the makings of a “big game,” perhaps one of the biggest in Mills County in a decade. While Schafer is quick to point out he’s heard talk about the game for weeks now, he still thinks a potential playoff match  would be the “real” big game simply because both of these teams have already wrapped up their post-season berths.
    Big game in the regular season or the playoffs, Christiansen has no doubts both teams will give their best shot to take home the district title.
    “Does it change game plans (that we’re both already in the playoffs)?” Christiansen said. “Hopefully not. If one teams gets way up on the other, that may change something but I don’t foresee that happening. These two teams will probably go full bore and try and get the district title.”