Coyotes Punch Ticket To State Title Game

The Potter-Dix Coyote Football team makes the last stop on their historic run on Friday, when they face off against the Cody-Kilgore Cowboys at Ron and Carol Cope Stadium at the University of Nebraska-Kearney on Friday at 6 p.m.

Potter-Dix comes into the matchup ranked number 1 in D6, with Cody-Kilgore ranked number 2. Both teams are undefeated at 11-0, but that’s where the similarities end.

The Cowboys have scored 768 points and given up 184, while the Coyotes have scored 691 while giving up 217. The numbers show the Cowboys as a high scoring team with a shut down defense. Potter-Dix is also a high scoring team with a stingy defense, but not at the level of Cody-Kilgore.

The Cowboys do not do much in the air, only attempting 51 passes and gaining 537 yards and 13 touchdowns thorough the air. Potter-Dix throws much more, with 155 attempts and 1,578 yards and 42 touchdowns this season. Potter-Dix rushed for 2,831 yards and 46 touchdowns, with Luke Kasten gaining 1,105 yards and Jared Anton gaining 999 yards. Cody Kilgore rushed for 3,731 yards and 78 touchdowns, led by Cactus Millar with 1,193 yards and Peyton Sterkel with 920 yards.

Defensively, the Cowboys had 44 tackles for loss, 70 quarterback hurries, 20 interceptions and 25 fumble recoveries. Comparatively, Potter-Dix had 98 tackles for loss, 148 quarterback hurries, 23 interceptions and 12 fumble recoveries.

Cody-Kilgore plays a slightly tougher schedule than Potter-Dix, and the game in common to look at is the Cowboys 72-28 win over Wallace in the semifinals. Potter-Dix opened their season by defeating Wallace, 47-22. Not quite the dominating fashion as Cody-Kilgore, but a victory in the first game of the season, and the Coyotes’ most challenging game of the season prior to their match-up with Spalding Academy.

Last year, Cody-Kilgor manhandled Potter-Dix in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs, shutting out the offense until the game was way out of reach in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys were bigger, stronger and faster than the Coyotes, and were able to key on Luke Kasten and grind the Potter-Dix offense to a halt.

This year, the Coyotes vowed to not let that happen again, and with vigorous off season workouts and weight training, the Coyotes returned as a bigger and stronger team. Also, the emergence of sophomore Brayden Kasten taking the majority of snaps at quarterback has added diversity to the offense. Teams keying on Luke Kasten this season continually were burned by runs by senior Jared Anton, and catches by senior Thomas Muldoon and junior Zachary Rotert.

The Coyotes need to be able to disrupt the Cowboy’s running attack if they are to win this game. With their veteran presence and outstanding defensive backfield, look for Potter-Dix to crash the edges and contain the running game, and force passes where their outstanding backfield can take advantage and pull down interceptions. The Coyotes have a very opportunistic defense with athletic players, and if they can knock the Cowboys running game off-track, they will have a great chance to win this game.

With the diverse offense of Potter-Dix, which is not totally reliant on Luke Kasten combined with their fast and disruptive defense, the Coyotes have a great chance to put down the Cowboys. It will most likely come down to conditioning and who wins the fourth quarter that will determine this year’s NSAA D6 Champion.