Unlike in Hollywood, sequels during the high school football season are never planned, but they sometimes seem inevitable.
That’s the case Thursday at Happy State Bank Stadium, where for the second straight season, Gruver and Muenster will clash in the Class 2A Division II state semifinal kicking off at 6 p.m. The winner will go to the 2A DII state championship game Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. at Arlington’s AT&T Stadium.
Gruver and Muenster, both 12-2, have been on a collision course, whether its been preordained or not. Both teams return tremendous amounts of talent from last season and have lived up to expectations so far this season.
Expectations have been high at Gruver since day one, and coach Kurt Haberthur isn’t surprised that his team is still playing – and winning – in December.
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“It was a goal and it was a lofty goal at the time that we set it,” Haberthur said. “The guys knew that we had a lot of development to do, us as coaches and them as players. This is a different team than last year and we just had to find different strengths and get stronger in some other areas we were weak in. By a lot of blessings we were able to be here again.”
Last year’s team set a high standard with a 14-1 record, the only loss coming to Muenster, who won the state championship the next week. Many of Gruver’s key players returned this season, providing the foundation for more potential playoff hardware.
That meant the Greyhounds didn’t need to do as much teaching during two-a-days as in prior seasons.
“The guys returning all knew the schemes and the adjustments we do with things when teams are giving us a certain look,” Haberthur said. “When guys know that coming in you don’t have to reteach it. If you do, you don’t have a different concept of it.
“I think defensively us getting into our run sets and passing lanes and all the fundamental things with what an offense is trying to do to us and the questions of how we react to that and get ourselves to the ball, that took the longest for us to get developed. We graduated a really good offensive line last year and developed some new guys not just scheme-wise, but how to block it and finish it in the correct stance. The little things which go into offensive line play take a lifetime to develop.”
It helped that the Greyhounds had a plethora of skill players returning as well. Quarterback Briggs Satterfield has been the focal point of the offense, completing 68 percent of his passes, throwing for 2,510 yards and 35 touchdowns, while also leading the team in rushing with 953 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Satterfield gets support on the ground from Dax Conyers and Emmanuel Valverde, who’ve combined for 1,000 yards rushing, and receivers Brock Butler and Mason Lankford both have over 700 yards apiece this season.
Yards were tougher to come by in last week’s region final against Stratford. Gruver rallied for a 19-14 victory, avenging a 40-27 loss to Stratford in a District 1-2A Division II matchup in the regular season.
It was yet another indication of how much tougher things get for teams the deeper they get into the playoffs.
“I think any time you have to fight for the win it makes you stronger the next time you play,” Haberthur said. “We’ve had several games where we’ve gone out and scored a lot of points and won by a lot without having to fight for four quarters. Having to play a game where we had to come back from being behind late develops your mental toughness and resiliency and all the coaching cliches that go with it.”
Muenster has more or less been in the same boat as Gruver in the playoffs, as the Hornets have seen closer games as the postseason has progressed. Last week was their closest game of the playoffs, as they got past Lindsay 28-14.
As a defending state champion, Muenster has gotten used to getting every team’s best effort this season, but with an experienced roster, the Hornets have been up to the task.
“I knew we had a lot of coming back from a team that won a state championship, but as a coach you don’t want to sit there and act like you’ve got nothing to work for and the kids don’t need to worry,” Muenster coach Brady Carney said. “You don’t want to assume anything and we just want to get the most out of these kids each day. We’re fortunate to get back to this far.”
When they were this far last year, the Hornets faced Gruver in Childress with a trip to the state championship game on the line. The Greyhounds entered the game undefeated but Muenster got out in front early and never let up in rolling to a 49-26 victory as the Hornets cleared their penultimate hurdle on the way to a state championship.
With so many familiar faces returning on both sides, Haberthur knows exactly what’s facing his team.
“They’re very similar to what they were last year,” said Haberthur of the Hornets.” A lot of the same guys are back. Their quarterback, receivers and all their backs are back and several of their linemen. They’re similar with their schemes and where they’re trying to hit you.”
Quarterback Casen Carney returns to lead Muenster’s offense, having thrown for 2,368 yards and 34 touchdowns with only two interceptions with a 73 percent completion percentage. He’s also the team’s leading rusher, averaging a staggering 11 yards a carry in running for 1,570 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Carney has a strong collection of receivers to throw to, as Garrett Hess, Dustyn Croft and Maverick Bayer all have well over 500 yards receiving this season with a combined 28 touchdown catches.
The big difference in last year’s meeting between the two teams was that Muenster had big starts to both halves and forced Gruver to play catch-up. That script proved to have a happy ending for the Hornets.
“I felt last year we jumped on (the Greyhounds) early, and they battled back and never had any quit in them,” Carney said. “We came out in the second half and we really opened it up. It doesn’t surprise me to see Gruver back because like us they had so many underclassmen playing significant roles and they’re really good athletes.”
With the exception of their kicker, everybody who was responsible for the Hornets scoring points in last year’s meeting with Gruver is back this year. It’s a measure of what Gruver is up against again, and of what kind of effort the Greyhounds are going to have to give on both sides of the ball to have a chance to advance to Arlington.
“We’ll have to get lined up right early and make sure we don’t let the game get away from us before halftime,” Haberthur said. “Last year it was close then right before the half they reeled off 21 straight and that kind of shocked us out of the water. When you’re playing this deep it doesn’t really matter who you’re playing.”