8-man schedule a welcome change for Hornets

By Rod Haxton, editor

Over the past two seasons, Dighton High School has the distinction of playing in one of the toughest football districts in the state.
They had to go up against Class 3A powerhouses Scott City and Norton, along with Goodland tossed in for good measure.
The result was an 0-6 record in district play - but a lot of valuable experience.
“You could say that we came away from last season with a sense of unfinished business,” says second year head coach Faron Kraft.
It could be said that 2009 was a tale of two seasons for the Hornets, who were combined with Ness City in the final year of a cooperative agreement. The former Titans rolled to a 5-0 start, outscoring their opponents 258-46 during that stretch. They finished the year with four consecutive losses during which they were outscored 147-13.
“It was a tough way to end what started out as such a great season, but we also learned a lot along the way,” says Kraft. “When you compete against programs like Scott City and Norton you gain a better idea of what it takes to compete at that level.
“After playing those two teams there’s certainly no reason for us to fear anyone on this year’s schedule.”
Of course, this year’s schedule will be completely different for the Hornets. They are no longer combined with Ness City, so Dighton will be playing in eight-man Division II. The first four games are against opponents from the Western Kansas Liberty League and they will finish up with five district playoff contests.
A confident Hornets squad is looking to build on last year’s successful start with an explosive offense led by junior runningback Guy Fullmer (5-9, 165) who rolled up 1,304 yards last season. He averaged 7.72 yards per carry while scoring 17 touchdowns.
“There’s nothing fancy about Guy’s style. He’d just as soon stiff-arm you and run over someone,” says Kraft. “He likes to play physical.”
That’s in contrast to senior fullback CJ Shaffer (5-7, 165) who only had 211 yards last season, but is looking for much bigger numbers in his final campaign as a Hornet.
“CJ is looking phenomenal right now. He does such a good job of making tacklers miss with his quickness and his ability to juke them,” says the Dighton coach.
What has impressed Kraft most about his fullback is his field of vision.
“There can be a pile of guys in front of him and he seems to find a little seam to break into the open field. Once he’s in the open field he’s hard to bring down,” notes Kraft. “He and Guy have two completely different running styles and it’s going to be tough for opposing teams to make the adjustment.”
Dighton’s strong running attack will take some of the pressure off sophomore quarterback Ryan Kuhlman and allow him more time to settle into his starting role. He’s struggled some with the passing game and was overthrowing receivers during Friday’s scrimmage.
“The good news is that his arm strength isn’t a question,” says Kraft. “And he ran the (triple) option very well. The triple option and veer will be a big part of our offense. We’ll mix those in with cross-bucks and counters.”

Questions on Defense
The team’s scrimmage was an opportunity for a few players to “seal the deal” while others didn’t perform as well as expected.
Because he’s been focusing so much attention on offense, Kuhlman hasn’t had much opportunity to hone his skills as a defensive back/safety.
“He got a lot more reps (in the scrimmage) and played extremely well,” says Kraft. “On some running plays he came up and filled the hole well and on pass coverage he’s been in the receiver’s hip pocket. That gives us more confidence in his one-on-one coverage.”
Freshman Ben Speer (6-1, 190) played well on both sides of the ball. He showed good hands as a receiver, but the coaching staff was even more impressed with his blocking.
“In eight-man, an end who can seal the defensive end and allow us to get to the edge is worth his weight in gold,” says Kraft.

A Quick Start
The Hornets should be favored to win their first three games of the season against Triplains-Brewster, Golden Plains and Weskan, setting up a showdown with traditional eight-man power Tribune on Sept. 24.
That will be the first of three critical games, followed by Ashland and Moscow in district play.
Ashland is a pre-season favorite in district play coming off a 9-1 season. Moscow, despite a 4-5 record last season, are also considered a playoff caliber team, according to early forecasts.
“We have a lot of confidence in what we can do this season,” says Kraft. “The important thing for these boys is to keep in mind that we have unfinished business. We didn’t like the way last season ended and we have set some pretty high goals for ourselves this time around.”