On a blustery, cold night in Rossville last weekend, Humboldt football made school history after winning the sectional playoff game.
On Friday, more chances at history hang in the balance for the undefeated Cubs as they head back to a part of the state known for football success when they face the 9-2 Riley County Falcons.
The Falcons are members of the Mid-East League, a league that also holds perennial powerhouses Rossville and Silver Lake. The Bulldogs had won three state titles since 2014 and were raring to try for a fourth before the Cubs defense pitched a scoreless fourth quarter on their way to a win last week.
Silver Lake has won eight state titles and has played in 18 state title games. Riley County exorcised 22 years worth of demons last week when they beat the Eagles for the first time since 1996.
Those three teams have been mainstays at the top of state-wide rankings all season long while the Cubs cracked into that conversation much later in the season after back-to-back-to-back-to (you get the idea) blowouts boosted them onto the statewide radar.
Its true that Humboldt has played one of the easier schedules in the state. The Tri-Valley League was not great this year and the Cubs didnt even have to play the second-best team in the league (Caney Valley).
But despite weeks of lingering in honorable mentions, Humboldt has shown that they more than deserve to play for a chance at a state title.
Its not something that I think our players worry about, Humboldt head coach Logan Wyrick said. Its more the community and the town that gets upset. They come out every week and see how good this team is and when they dont get the recognition and the credit for what they think we deserve, they dont like it. It really shows the pride that they have in us.
That pride was on display last weekend where, despite the freezing cold temperatures, the Humboldt faithful pretty well filled the opposing bleachers in Rossville which is over a two hour drive away.
Its a credit to these fans, Wyrick said after the game. Theres not a better bunch of fans in the state.
On Friday, expect another full squad of Humboldt fans to make their way northwest, some on buses provided by the school one for students and the other for fans.
And it should be a good one. Riley County comes into the game with two-losses to Southeast of Saline and Silver Lake, two teams that the Falcons later beat in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
They feature a 1,000-plus yard passer at quarterback in Garrett Harmison and a 1,000-plus yard rusher at tailback in Mikey Waggoner. They combine for 40 touchdowns and if that wasnt enough, just like Humboldt, there are plenty more weapons waiting behind the stars of the offense.
Defensively, theyve been solid. The most points theyve given up all year came last week versus Silver Lake when they gave up 34 points in an overtime win. They have three shutouts this year.
Long-time Falcon head coach Steve Wagner is in his 35th year on the sideline for Riley County and was the head coach for both of their state championship appearances in 1988 and 1993. The desire to return to the state championship for the first time in 25 years will be high on the Falcon sideline.
But thats not to discount a Cub team laden with senior leaders who want nothing more than to permanently erase the zero next to their number of state title appearances.
