By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Seaman rebounded from last week’s 42-31 loss to Centennial League rival Washburn Rural in style Friday night, keeping Emporia quiet all night long in a 57-6 Class 5A playoff victory at Seaman.
Fortunately for the Vikings they were familiar with league opponent Emporia, which Seaman had knocked off 22-6 earlier in the season.
Looking for a better performance in Friday's rematch Seaman got off to quick start on Camden Barta's 77-yard touchddown run..
The Spartans tried to keep the ball out of Seaman’s hands with read options and short passes, but the Vikings' pressure on the outside were able to make the Emporia offense uncomfortable, resulting in negative yardage on several plays.
“Our great week of practice carried over,'' Seaman coach Jared Swafford said. "Our guys have done a phenomenal job, honestly. It was nice for everything to come together. I think with the weather being what it was, we could've made any excuse, but we dealt with it. We had the best week of practices we ever had.”
The 77-yard TD set the stage for a big night for Barta, who passed for 243 yards and three touchdowns in the first half and finished the night with 318 passing yards, 87 rushing yards and five total touchdowns.
“Camden (Barta) is starting to get it,'' Swafford said. "Camden did a great job of reading coverages today. He popped off a couple of big runs for us as well. He’s doing a great job and we are really proud of him.”
Receivers PJ Vargas, Casen Stallbaumer and Brody Gormley hauled in the four total TD passes thrown by Barta, with the Viking receivers turning the passes into big gainers.
With injuries to running backs (Kaden Ireland & Aiden Polter), sophomore Jack Bloom has stepped up in a big way for Seaman. Bloom rushed for 37 yards and two touchdowns against the Spartans.
Seaman (6-3) will be back in action against Blue Valley Southwest (3-6) next Friday at Seaman.
SEAMAN 57, EMPORIA 6
Seaman (6-3) 14 22 14 7 -- 57
Emporia (1-8) 0 0 0 6 -- 6
First Quarter
Seaman -- Barta 77 Run (Wilhelm kick)
Seaman -- Bloom 1 run (Wilhelm kick)
Second Quarter
Seaman -- Vargas 17 pass from Barta (Wilhelm kick)
Seaman -- Gormley 32 pass from Barta (Wilhelm kick)
Seaman -- Stallbaumer 10 pass from Barta (Conversion good)
Third Quarter
Seaman -- Vargas 10 pass from Barta (Wilhelm kick)
Seaman -- Bloom 1 run (Wilhelm kick)
Fourth Quarter
Emporia -- Woydziak 16 pass from Geitz (Conversion failed)
Seaman -- Vargas 85 return (Wilhelm kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing -- Emporia: Geitz 16-24, Keys 11-59, Trujillo 3-9, Galbreath 1-5. Seaman: Bloom 14-37, Barta 4-87, Stallbaumer 2-6, Huston 2-5.
Passing -- Emporia: Geitz, 8-15, 45 yards. Seaman: Barta 18-22, 318; Huston 0-1, 0.
Receiving -- Emporia: Leeds 4-14, Woydziak 3-29. Seaman: Stallbaumer 6-116, Gormley 4-72, Vargas 4-44, Colley, 3-38.