By SEAN BOSTON
Hutch Post
STERLING, Kan. — Sterling High School has run to a 3-0 start and climbed to No. 2 in the Kpreps.com Class 1A football rankings, setting up a marquee district opener Friday night at Ellinwood.
The Black Bears have their best start to the season since 1992 when they also started 3-0. The last 4-0 start was 1989.
Sterling capped non-district play with a 60-47 win over Inman last week in Sterling, a game that featured more than 100 combined points. Senior running back Zane Farney carried for 222 yards and five touchdowns, while senior Wyatt Newberry topped 100 yards for the third straight week. Kru Harris also returned a kickoff for a score.
“We knew it was kind of a possession-for-possession game and we needed to take advantage of that,” seventh-year Sterling coach Brent Schneider said. “Our offensive line played their best and most physical game of the year, and our kids never wavered.”
Farney has been at the center of Sterling’s fast start. The senior has rushed for 558 yards and 12 touchdowns on 60 carries and has surpassed 100 yards in every game.
“Zane is a special athlete, but he’s also just a very coachable kid,” Schneider said. “He wants success for the team. He’s unselfish, if our wings are the ones getting the yards or if Logan at quarterback is having a big game, he’s the first one to say, ‘Go to them.’”
Schneider said Farney has developed into a complete threat. “He’s always been able to make people miss, but this year he’s running away from people,” Schneider said. “We’ve played some very fast defenses, and Zane is breaking into the open field and pulling away. That’s scary for opponents.”
Sterling’s offense has been nearly unstoppable, piling up 1,163 rushing yards on 129 carries through three games, an average of 387.7 yards per game. Newberry has added 319 yards and four touchdowns, while quarterback Logan Isaac and wingback Jace Darnauer have also contributed.
On defense, junior Cameron Morris leads Sterling with 23 tackles and a sack. Maxwell and Newberry have 22 stops each, with Newberry recording two interceptions. Sophomore David Myers has been disruptive up front with 18 tackles, including four for loss.
Ellinwood (3-0) will counter with a punishing ground game of its own. The Eagles, coached by Brett Stindt, have opened with wins over Syracuse (38-0) and Herington (43-6) before blanking Osawatomie (21-0) in their home opener last Friday. They average 318 rushing yards per game with 12 rushing touchdowns.
Senior Austin Brack has been the workhorse, rushing for 455 yards and seven scores on 35 carries. He, like Farney and Newberry, has topped 100 yards in all three games.
“Ellinwood wants to pound it inside, and they’re a good, physical team,” Schneider said. “It’s going to be fun to see how some of our adjustments play into it.”
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Ellinwood. The game marks the start of Class 1A District 7 play, which also includes Hutchinson Trinity Catholic (2-1), South Sumner County (2-1), Conway Springs (1-2) and Medicine Lodge (1-2).