2015 Kansas High School Football 6A State Championship Game Preview Derby Panthers vs Blue Valley Tigers

Written by Charlie Beuttel 
Twitter: @charlie_cds3 

It’s championship week in Kansas with two great teams, Derby (11-1) and Blue Valley (10-2), advancing to the 6A championship game. Both teams won their semifinal games going away with Derby routing Lawrence Free State 35-14 and Blue Valley downing Olathe North 43-19.

The Kansas 6A Championship Game will take on Nov. 28th on the campus of Emporia State University. Derby will travel 93 miles from just south of Wichita for the game while Blue Valley is travelling 98 miles down Interstate 35 from Overland Park.

There are stars on both rosters with all hoping to continue their successful season and achieve the ultimate prize by winning the state title.

Derby
Derby scores 48 points a game but was held to just 35 points last week against Lawrence Free State. The leader of this explosive offensive is senior dual-threat quarterback Brady Rust (6’0″, 180 pounds). Rust ran for 135 yards, passed for 219 yards, and accounted for four total touchdowns. Another offensive weapon is junior wide receiver Kenyon Tabor (6’4″, 190 pounds).

The Panthers have given up just 20 points a game on average this year and have held their opponent to just 14 in their semifinal win. The two leaders of this lockdown unit are senior defensive end Ryan Stang (6’3″, 210 pounds) and senior defensive back Damar Simms (6’2″, 179 pounds).

Blue Valley
Blue Valley scores 38 points a game and put 43 points up in their semifinal win last week. The two leaders of the Tigers offense are senior quarterback Colton McCumber (6’0″, 183 pounds) and junior running back William Evans (5’10”, 187 pounds). McCumber threw for 179 yards and one touchdown last week and also had 30 rushing yards and ran for a touchdown. Evans had 189 rushing yards and one touchdown in the win.

The Tigers have allowed 20 points a game on average and limited Olathe North to 19 in last week’s win. The strength of this unit is in their defensive line. The leaders of the defensive line are senior Jeff Simeroth (6’3″, 230 pounds) and Carter Moravek (6’4″, 205 pounds). Blue Valley’s defense will hope to contain the big play making ability of Derby’s offense.

It will be exciting to see which team come out as champion in this highly anticipated 6A championship game.

Photo credit: derbyinformer.com; Derby QB Brady Rust