CHANUTE — All that’s left is the thumb as the Chanute Blue Comets won their fourth straight SEK League football title on Friday night, beating the Labette County Grizzlies, 35-6.
“It’s awesome and it’s such a testament to the guys,” Chanute head coach Clete Frazell said. “When these guys came in as freshmen and sophomores, they weren’t the key pieces, yet. But they trusted what we were asking them to do and what the program is all about. This is one of the most physical groups we’ve had. We have some guys that have some freakish numbers in the weight room. They’re just tough as nails. It’s a really fun group, too.”
Both squads entered the game undefeated in league play, making Friday night’s regular season finale a de facto SEK League Championship.
“Our kids played hard tonight. I know the Labette County kids did too, but we had aggression and physicality,” Frazell said. “They’re just a tough group. Across the board, the guys up front were just so strong and physical. It was a fun night to watch them.”
The Grizzlies had won three straight games going into the night, but the loss was a regression in an otherwise resurgent campaign.
“We never got off the bus,” Labette County head coach Sean Price said. “We didn’t show up tonight. I don’t know what happened to the team that’s been here for three weeks. We weren’t physical. We just did not show up. We had kids give great effort. But we played passively tonight, and it killed us.”
Chanute’s defense limited Labette County to 207 yards of total offense — 67 came on a touchdown run from Jamaal Jackson against the Blue Comets’ JV platoon. Jackson, Labette County’s workhorse back, never got going.
“That was a key for us,” Frazell said. “We’ve stopped the run against some really good teams this year. We shut down McPherson in the run game. We shut down Nemaha Central. It wasn’t any different for us tonight.”
Chanute amassed 360 yards — 189 on the ground and 171 through the air against a stacked Grizzlies’ front.
“They had so many guys in the box so they took away most of our running game,” Frazell said. “We could only run two plays. They put pressure on our quarterback, so we had to utilize our quick game. We had to get the ball out.”
Kris Harding II completed 13-of-21 passes for two scores. Eliott Stephenson caught six balls for 103 yards, while Landen Bilby and Nathan Wilson each had touchdown grabs.
Quinton Harding tallied 158 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
“They lined up and did whatever,” Price said. “There wasn’t a secret. They just whipped us at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.”
Price was taken aback at Friday night’s outcome as he felt his roster was locked in leading up to the league title showdown.
“We had a great week of practice and the kids were focused,” Price said. “There wasn’t a peep in the locker room before the game. We just didn’t show up, physically, and it ended us.”
As for the Blue Comets, the win came fresh off an overtime loss to the Pittsburg Purple Dragons. Chanute has lost two games this year — in the two games that followed, the Blue Comets outscored Independence and Labette County, 76-14.
“Our guys are pretty disappointed after they lose. Sometimes, I wonder where they’re at, mentally, as a team,” Frazell said. “Both times, we’ve responded well. They know we’re a better team than we showed in both losses. They’ve shown attention to detail and prepared the right way to take care of business.”
Up next
Chanute will host Paola in the first round of the KSHSAA 4A playoffs.
“We’ve faced adversity and had to handle things that aren’t ideal,” Frazell said. “Some of it is self-inflicted with frustration and penalties. We even had some of that tonight. Those types of things ended our season last year. If we can clean it up, we’ll be all right.”
As for Labette County, it’ll hit the road to face Sumner Academy in Kansas City.
“We can go win a game if we show back up,” Price said. “I guarantee it. We will win a game.”
