By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Football coaches are always quick to preach the next-man-up philosophy to their teams while hoping they rarely have to use it.
But due to a rash of key injuries, Hayden coach Bill Arnold and his staff have had to rely on that next man up time and time and time again this fall, and it's a major reason why the Wildcats will take a perfect 12-0 record into Saturday's 12 p.m. Class 3A state championship game against 12-0 Cheney at Hutchinson's Gowans Stadium.
Hayden coach Bill Arnold, who has a career coaching record of 211-65, talks to Wildcat sophomore quarterback Connor Hanika during last Friday's 42-14 Class 3A semifinal win over Holton. [File photo/TSN]
"I would classify this group as very resilient,'' Hayden coach Bill Arnold said. "They've really bought into the next-guy-up mentality.
"We didn't really change a lot of guys' positioning. It was just the next guy that was on the depth chart was the one that stepped in and everybody just kind of pulled together and played.''
Hayden played without star senior running back Finn Dunshee for a full five games while the Wildcats also lost senior lineman Doug Peterson, senior receiver/defensive back Cooper Colboch and starting junior quarterback Jett Wahlmeier and sophomore linebacker Jackson McGivern missed the entire season.
But in the wake of the injuries, Arnold said the Wildcats did a great job of coming together and continuing to get the job done.
"They've just been real resilient in terms of coming to work every day and getting better,'' Arnold said.
Sophomore Kade Mitchell came through in a big way for Hayden with Dunshee sidelined while sophomore Connor Hanika stepped in at quarterback after Wahlmeier's injury and been solid throughout the playoffs.
Senior Finn Dunshee leads Hayden with 821 rushing yards on just 48 carries despite five games with an injury. [File photo/TSN]
Dunshee (5-10, 185) leads Hayden with 821 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns on just 48 carries and has caught 11 passes for 203 yards and three TDs while Mitchell (5-9, 165) has carried the ball 74 times for 769 yards and 14 TDs and senior Dom Ridley (5-8, 185) has 551 yards on 69 carries and junior Broderick Desch (5-9, 205) 473 yards on 91 attempts.
Hayden junior Jensen Schrickel scored a pair of touchdowns in the Wildcats' 42-14 semifinal win over Holton, including a 60-yard kickoff return. [File photo/TSN]
Junior Jensen Schrickel (5-10, 150) has been a jack of all trades for the Wildcats, including 34 pass receptions for 659 yards, 118 yards on five punt returns and 139 yard on three kick returns.
Schrickel has also carried the ball 17 times for 263 yards and has scored 10 total touchdowns.
Hanika (6-3, 165) has completed 24 of 39 passes for 389 yards and six TDs.
Senior Carter Charvat (54) has helped Hayden post a perfect 12-0 record while outscoring its opponents by nearly 38 points a game. [File photo/TSN]
Hayden, which has not had a game closer than 17 points, has outscored its opposition by a 46.9-9.0 margin while posting four shutouts.
The Wildcats will be facing a Cheney team that has averaged 41.2 poinfs while giving up 9.7 points a game with five shutouts.
Cheney snapped Andale's 57-game winning streak in the regular season and rallied from a 24-0 deficit to take a 28-24 semifinal win over the Indians last Friday.
Top players for the Cardinals include junior quarterback Josh Burdick and senior Jackson Voth, who tied a state record with 19 pass receptions in last week's win.
"You get to this stage, everybody's good,'' Arnold said. "Everybody's got that special player or that special group of players and I think we have that, too. It's just a matter of going out and not getting too wrapped up in the fact that it is the state championship game, but at the same time embracing it.
"Nothing's been routine, but at the end of the day I think we're still hanging our hat on what Hayden football's been about since I came here. It's a family-style atmosphere that you go out and compete and expect to win.''
