November 27, 2015
Malden set for its Class 2 championship clash with familiar Lamar
This time, they know what to expect. They for sure know what Lamar is all about. It may not vault them to a shocking win later today, but it's destined to not catch the Green Wave by surprise.
By Chris Pobst - Standard Democrat
sports@standard-democrat.com
High school football teams like Lamar seem to take on a mythical presence about themselves.
Their success can be intimidating to some and when the Tigers are the next team on the schedule, the grandeur of Lamar football has the ability to get inside the heads of opponents.
That may have been the case a year ago when the Malden football team lost its semifinal matchup to this team. The essence of Lamar may have been too much, or, not properly handled.
This time, they know what to expect. They for sure know what Lamar is all about. It may not vault them to a shocking win later today, but it's destined to not catch the Green Wave by surprise.
"We know they're the gold standard for Class 2 football, but they strike no fear in our hearts," Malden senior Nick Thompson said. "We played them last year and we know they're human. People around this area tend to make it seem like they don't have to play football just like everybody else. We know they have a great football program, great coaching, but they'll have to earn every bit from us."
Malden tries to knock off the four-time defending state champions today at 4:15 p.m., at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis for the Class 2 state championship. Both teams enter with an unblemished record of 14-0.
"It's the main goal of any high school football team, to get as far as you can go," Malden senior Chapen Riley said. "I feel, now that we're here, we're still not done. It's not a 'get to the state championship and everything else is a bonus.' You want to get there and get a win. I'm more determined now than I ever have been."
Though thought of as a life-long dynasty, Lamar's terribly impressive rise has been a fairly recent one. Before its first title in 2011, the Tigers won six district championships with three combined playoff wins that followed.
Since then, Lamar, the No. 1 ranked team in Class 2, has just five losses in five seasons and none of them have come from a Class 2 school. They are undefeated in state championship games.
"There's a mystique about Lamar, but rightfully so," Malden coach Joel Wyatt said. "When you've done what they've done there's going to be a little sense of what I call them, 'the King Kong's of Class 2.' Playing them last year definitely has helped and we've stressed to them since Saturday they put their pants one leg at a time, they bleed, they sweat just like we do. We've got to get over the factor of them just being an untouchable."
Friday is Malden's first state championship appearance since man walked on the moon. They lost to Aurora 13-6 in 1969 and playing Lamar during last year's semifinal has been the closest they've come to reaching another title game until now.
"You learn what's expected of you in a big game," Senior quarterback Chapen Riley said about playing the Tiger last season. "Big games around here don't come around very often, but I think that prepared us for the bigger stage. It definitely is going to help us out on Friday playing the same team and we're familiar with them now."
Aside from racking up titles of late, Lamar's familiarity with high school football fans stems from its unique offensive approach. They run a Spinner Double-Wing formation with two quarterbacks side by side and the snap alternating between Matthew Whyman (Jr., 5-11) and Stuart McKarus (So., 5-11).
Though stacked with slingers, the Tigers rarely throw. McKarus has handled most of the passing situations going 22 for 34 for 466 yards and four touchdowns. Whyman is 2 for 2 with 64 yards.
The Tigers have scored 50 points nine times this season and average 49.6 a game and most of that wealth is found on the ground.
Split mainly between the two quarterbacks and running back Danny Embry (Sr., 5-10, 190), the Tigers have 4,638 rushing yards with 73 touchdowns. Embry leads the pack with 1,300 yards and 25 scores followed by Whyman (900 yards, 16 touchdowns) then McKarus (833 yards, 15 touchdowns). Those three have at least eight yards per carry each.
Wyatt said besides their offensive look, what makes Lamar dangerous is their speed.
Junior Luke Hardman (5-11, 175) is Lamar's fourth-leading rusher with 482 yards on 39 attempts. Junior Anthony Wilkerson (5-11, 170) is their leading receiver with eight catches for 227 yards and two scores. Whyman, Hardman and Wilkerson made up 75 percent of Lamar's 4x100 relay team that was last year's Class 3 state runner-up.
"I've seen this on film and they're the fastest team they've had and that's saying something," he said.
While their offense impresses most, Lamar's defense gets overlooked.
The Tigers have allowed 18 combined touchdowns and an averaged of eight points. 6-0, 185-pound senior Jed Stahl leads the team with 153 tackles and four forced fumbles. Tanner Phipps (Jr., 5-8, 165) is a 106 tackles with six interceptions. Cooper Lucas (So., 5-11) leads the team in sacks with 7.5.
"Everybody talks about Lamar scoring 50 or 60 points a game, but do you look on the other side where their opponents have zero or six," Wyatt said. "That six is against Lamar's two's or three's. They're always in the right spot and they always run to the football."
After rolling through an undefeated regular season, the Green Wave, Class 2's fourth-ranked team, have slowed its dominant ways of late. They won their first 11 games by an average margin of 33 points but have since got by Caruthersville (42-33), Cardinal Ritter (50-44 in 3 OTs) and Palmyra (24-21). They've averaged 47 points a game topping 80 once.
Though the blowouts have subsided and Lamar expects to be its toughest challenge, Riley doesn't see much of a need trying to alter an offense that's worked so far.
"We're going to go about it just like we do every week," Riley said. "Coach Wyatt does a good job of game planning and presenting us with a plan that we're going to have to execute. We've been doing a good job of that all season."
Nick Thompson (Sr., 6-0, 225) leads Malden's ground game with 1,495 yards and 28 touchdowns. He's followed by his half-brother, Kylus Thompson (Sr., 5-10, 155), who's rushed for 789 yards and eight touchdowns. Tyler Currie (Sr., 5-7, 151) has 740 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Riley (Sr., 6-3, 203) has thrown for 1,950 yards and 30 touchdowns. He's been accurate as well throwing 109 completions on 166 attempts (65 percent) with three interceptions.
His favorite target, Kylus Thompson, has 53 catches for 936 yards and 14 receiving touchdowns. Senior tight end Zach Gray (6-3, 230) has 25 catches for 485 yards and nine scores.
Riley and Kylus Thompson have developed quite the pair of late. Thompson, who transferred from Cape Central after his junior year, has 18 catches for 346 yards and five touchdowns from Riley during the last three games.
"We try to take advantage of defensive mistakes so when teams line up or give me a little more cushion than most teams do, why try to take advantage of it," Kylus Thompson said. "When I get the ball, I try to make plays."
Now associated with Lamar and what it brings to the table, the Malden football team has a sense of what it's getting itself into this time around. Nick Thompson, the team's captain, had a first-hand look last season and he's using that experience to influence his teammates.
He admitted his team was 'star-struck' last season, but in his mind the fascination of Lamar is gone. All that's left to do now is play the game.
"We're not prepping any different, we know who we're going to play," he said. "That's putting more fuel to the fire when it seems like they can't be beat. All you can do is fight, play your hardest every down and let everything else take care of itself. You just hope you come out on top. But if you don't you know you left everything out on the field and that's all you can do."
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