Kansas Pregame Feature: Galena looking for deep playoff run
By: Robert Falkoff
For Kansas Pregame.com
Posted: November 4, 2009 - 2:07 PM

In Galena, the month of November means high school playoff football.

The 3A Bulldogs established a happy trend when they marched through the playoff door in 2004 and have never looked back. This year's appearance marks Galena's sixth consecutive trip to the playoffs and the question now revolves around how far these Bulldogs can go. After brushing past Erie 53-8 in an opening-round game on Nov. 3, the Dogs were eagerly anticipating the quick turnaround for their Nov. 7 second-round matchup against Osage City.

“Our kids have really stepped us this year,” said coach Beau Sarwinski, who has presided over a 10-0 team that has a couple of signature victories over St. Mary's Colgan and Riverton. “I give a lot of credit to our coaching staff and to the kids for playing as hard as they possibly can. They've had a never-say-die attitude this year.”

Galena's 2009 season was best symbolized by the 36-34 comeback win over St. Mary's Colgan in Week 2. That's when Sarwinski knew he had a team of true battlers.

“We're leading that game by a couple of touchdowns and they storm back and go ahead 34-28 with 50 seconds left,” Sarwinski recalled. “We march down to score in the last minute and then get a two-point conversion to beat them. In our conference, they've been the king for the last 10 years. To beat them, with the way we did it, that's when our kids really started believing they could play with anybody.”

The Bulldogs got past another key barrier with a 21-20 win over rival Riverton on Oct. 16. Two succeeding blowout wins took them to the playoffs with a wave of momentum.

“With Riverton, we're four miles apart and it's a huge rivalry game,” Sarwinski said. “It's just one of those games where it doesn't matter what your record is. Every year, it's an emotional game because it's a year's bragging rights on the line.”

Galena has relied on strong leadership from its senior class. One of those seniors is running back/middle linebacker Troy Albright, who makes his presence felt on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

“Troy sets the tone for us because he's such a physical player,” Sarwinski said. “If he's carrying the ball, he's hard to bring down. And as a middle linebacker, he's hard to block and doesn't miss tackles very often.”

The Bulldogs have showcased a balanced offense with senior quarterback Jacoby Martin at the controls. Opponents that try to load up against the run have found that Martin is capable of burning them with the pass. Returning starters Cody Clark, Colton Leet, Codie Perry, Alex Gilbert, Cody Goodman and Zack Gougler have also left their mark over the course of the season.

Last year, Galena finished the regular season 7-2 before defeating Cherryvale to reach the second round of the playoffs. The Bulldogs were then taken out by eventual runnerup Silver Lake, but now hope they can equal or better the 2005 Galena team that made it to the third round of the playoffs.

“Everybody has a good team once you reach the playoffs, so you have to take advantage of your opportunities and not turn the ball over,” Sarwinski said. “We just want to take care of the football and be a solid defensive team that tackles well and keeps people in front of us. If we can do those two things, we'll see where that takes us.”