5A Championship Preview
By: John Baetz of Kansas Pregame Magazine
Posted: November 27, 2009 - 10:36 AM

Hutchinson (12-0) vs. Gardner-Edgerton (12-0)

It's the question every high school football fan in Kansas has been asking all season - Can the Salthawk juggernaut be slowed down? Note, the question is not can they be beat, but rather, can a team be competitive with them.

The Salthawks have answered resoundingly in each of the last 12 weeks dominating opponents by an average score of 51-13. Along the way Hutch has dismantled one of the top teams in the country in KC Rockhurst, a team with a coach that collected his 300th win in McPherson, and a team with a quarterback who will play at Oklahoma next year in Bishop Carroll.

For Gardner-Edgerton the question has also been asked all season - Are the Blazers the team that can upset the Salthawks?

Legendary coach Marvin Diener has them believing it is so. In only four seasons with the Blazers, Diener, the winner of six state championships at Salina Central, has G-E in the title game, and the Blazers success has everything to do with it's dominant defense which has allowed an average of only nine points a game and pitched five shutouts last season.

The Blazer defense rose to the occasion last week holding the Aquinas offense to only seven points in the semi-final after allowing the Saints 26 points in week two of district play.

The Blazer defense will have to slow the Salthawks amazing running attack spearheaded by a big physical offensive line, bruising fullback Josh Smith and burner Deveon Dinwiddie, while the Blazer offense goes through the arm and legs of QB Bubba Starling, who Diener calls the fastest player he's ever coached.