ALTAMONT — Walloping their way to a share of the SEK League title, the Labette County Grizzlies routed the Chanute Blue Comets, 35-14, on Friday night.
Labette County and Chanute split the league crown with the Grizzlies’ win.
“I’m really proud of our program,” Labette County head coach Bradley Argabright said. “It’s been a goal of ours all season to win a league title. I know we’re co-champs, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that we put together a complete game on a night we needed it. We also clinched the No. 2 seed, so I’m just so proud. We’ve held together all season and now we’re playing our best football going into the playoffs.”
The Grizzlies flat out dominated the Blue Comets on Friday night, rushing for 255 yards and earning a running clock in the fourth quarter — both of Chanute’s touchdowns came against Labette County’s JV lineup.
“We won the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball,” Argabright said. “We ran the ball well and really established the run. We came out of the half and dominated the third quarter to get that running clock. And we took care of the football. Coming off of five turnovers last week, that was a major key this week. Especially in the rain, hats off to the kids. The kids made plays tonight.”
It was the second week in a row the Blue Comets delivered a lackluster performance after getting shut out by Pittsburg in Week 7.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” Chanute head coach Clete Frazell said. “We weren’t a good football team tonight. Labette County got after us and we did not respond very well. The last two weeks, we’ve had a lot of panic for whatever reason. We’re not executing. So now we’ve got to get back on track and try to win a playoff game.”
A few injuries and regression in the trenches has made Chanute vulnerable on the ground. Over the last two weeks, Chanute has surrendered over 500 rushing yards.
“It’s a lot of youth and not doing our jobs out there,” Frazell said. “That’s part of our issues. We’ve had some kids banged up. But we’re just not playing hard enough right now to win football games. And we’re missing tackles.”
Chanute’s offense also struggled throughout the night. Both of Kris Harding II’s passing touchdowns were to Bo Small as the clock ran in the final quarter.
“A lot of it was just miscues. We didn’t get off the ball and attack enough, and we weren’t aligned correctly in certain formations,” Frazell said. “We just didn’t play a sound football game. We made mistakes up front and had trouble getting our running game going. If you can get that going, everything else works. Between penalties and bad snaps, we stalled ourselves out a few times.”
Chanute rushed for 115 yards and passed for 100. Harding II completed 9-of-19 passes while Asher Love had 86 yards on four carries.
Argabright praised the Grizzlies’ gameplan on defense for limiting the Blue Comets.
“Our scheme tonight was really solid and I was proud of our back end,” Argabright said. “Our defensive backs and linebackers just played lights out. Everybody held the line of scrimmage. We limited their passing game. Our effort on defense really shined. We’ve got to keep bringing it.”
Deontae Fields led Labette County’s rushing attack with 156 yards on 17 carries with a touchdown.
“He’s been a huge, integral part of our team this year,” Argabright said. “He’s playing really good football in place of Jamaal Jackson. Now, his confidence is growing. Tonight, his first contact is two yards and he’s carrying guys seven yards. All those extra yards matter. We always need positive plays and he gives us those. And he’s been elusive with his speed.”
Kegan Bates, Aaron Wyrick and Barrett Hestand each added rushing touchdowns. Wyrick was 4-of-7 passing for 53 yards and touchdown pass to Nolan Nash.
The share of the SEK League title for the Grizzlies is the school’s first crown since 2017.
“What I’m most proud of is that the kids never faltered. They led us all summer,” Argabright said. “Our goal since Day 1 of me being an interim coach was to win a league title. They performed really well all season. A lot of our coaches stayed on and have made big impacts on the team. It’s nice to be playing great football right now. Everybody is bought in.”
Up next
Chanute earned the No. 7 seed in the KSHSAA 4A East playoffs and will host No. 10 Louisburg on Friday.
“These kids aren’t used to losing very many games,” Frazell said. “We knew we were still a good seed before this week. There was a big mess in the middle of the standings. We had an opportunity tonight and just didn’t get it going. Our confidence is down. Now we’ve got to find a way to go win a playoff game.”
Labette County earned the No. 2 seed, meaning the Grizzlies will stay at home at least until the state semifinals if they keep winning.
“It’s guaranteed three games at home for us,” Argabright said. “That’d take us down to the final four. And we’re 4-0 at home and we feel good about playing here. We know we’ll have the support from our community. We relish playing in Altamont. We can’t wait.”
The Grizzlies host one-win Bonner Springs in the first round on Friday night.
“They play in a very good league. We know it’s a long trip for them to get down here,” Argabright said. “We’ll get on the film. It’s an opponent we don’t know anything about. But we’ll get ready to work.”
Labette County and Chanute could meet again in the second round of the playoffs if both teams win in the first round.
