Subjecting themselves to a rugged non-league schedule in an effort to prime for the postseason, the Chanute Blue Comets got what they wanted in a Week 3, 27-14 win over the visiting McPherson Bullpups.
“They were a really good team,” Chanute head coach Clete Frazell said. “They’ve got 85 kids out there in pregame and they’ve done their work in the weight room. They had a bunch of 6-foot-4, muscled-up clones out there. But we played really good football. That’s the caliber of opponent we’d see in the second round of the playoffs. That’s what we wanted to see.”
Kris Harding II had one of his most efficient days ever as the Blue Comets’ gunslinger, tossing for 212 yards and two scores with no picks on 15-of-20 passing.
“We needed to have a game like that from him,” Frazell said. “McPherson gets a lot of pressure on the quarterback and generates a lot of pressure. So our gameplan was to get the ball out fast. And we needed him to make good post-snap reads on flat defenders. And it worked out pretty well. It was one of the best allaround games I’ve seen from him. The efficiency was just phenomenal.”
Eliott Stephenson has established himself as a big-play threat for Chanute, hauling in three catches for 84 yards and a touchdown.
“He’s just getting better and better,” Frazell said. “He’s playing soccer too and I don’t know how he does it. He’s putting the miles on his legs. But he’s flourishing because he understands the game and understands how to get open. He’s really just a crazy, gifted athlete — fast and strong and big.”
Chanute’s defense kept McPherson to 268 total yards of offense — the Blue Comets outgained the Bullpups with 375 yards.
Nathan Wilson led the Blue Comets with six tackles while Stephenson added five.
“The defense was very good,” Frazell said. “They struggled to establish a run game and every team wants to do that every game. They had a couple of big plays on blown coverage. We’re not giving up hardly any yards this year. We just give up a few big plays. Outside of those, we’re giving up nothing. We just need to be more disciplined.”
With Friday’s win, Chanute stands at 3-0 and looks like a true contender in Class 4A as the midway point of the regular season nears.
“We’ve got a good team and the biggest thing is that we’re winning games on Friday because we take our preparation seriously,” Frazell said. “We can’t think that we’ve arrived. We’ve got to keep preparing like we have been and don’t start drinking the Kool-Aid. What got us here was attention to detail and doing things the right way.”
Up next
Chanute, which played its first two games on the road before Friday’s home-opener, stays in friendly territory in Week 4 as it takes on Nemaha Central, the two-time defending Class 2A state champions.
“I’ve been watching film on them and they’re phenomenal,” Frazell said. “They don’t like a 2A team. They’re big upfront. They’ve got a very good quarterback who will run the ball 30 times a game, or more. He’s pretty gifted. They’ve got players at every position. It’s going to be a challenge and a big test.”
