Wichita South improves to 2-0 by upsetting Heights (+video)
Coach Kevin Steiner has spent four years at South developing the mental aspect of his team. And after Friday night’s 16-6 victory over Heights, he couldn’t be more proud as he watched his team celebrate with fans.
“This win was about getting them to getting them to believe we can beat the top caliber teams,” Stein said. “We spend a lot of time drilling the mental aspect — we have the physical abilities — we just needed to continue to handle adversity and teach them how to do that.”
South is 2-0 and tied at the top of the City League standings with Northwest.
It was South’s first win over Heights since 2009. It didn’t matter to Tyreekus Birch, South’s junior defensive lineman. While the team was celebrating, Birch was overwhelmed with emotion.
“Last year they put 77 on us; tonight they told us we were just going to be a scrimmage,” Birch said. “We came out with a burn in our hearts. A chip on our shoulder. I held it in until tonight.”
That burn Birch held in was unleashed on the game’s most pivotal drive. It was third-and-3 inside South’s 10-yard line. Heights had been moving the ball down the field methodically for eight minuets and was nearing a tie. Once the ball was snapped, Birch was in the backfield and stuffed the running back for a five-yard loss before the pulling guard could reach him. Turnover on downs.
“It’s a mental game. When the ball was snapped, I saw the running back motion and I knew where the ball was going,” Birch said. “I beat him to the ball and we clashed.”
As the defense led by Birch continued to shutdown Heights’ offense, South’s ground game continued to wear down the defense. Quarterback Allen Bishop lead the rushing attack with 165 rushing yards. In the second quarter, Bishop broke loose on the left side of the field for a 39-yard touchdown run. Before halftime on a draw play up the middle, he ran for 52 yards that led to a 2-yard touchdown run by Torion Neloms.
“Heights usually just steps over us,” Bishop said. “This is a new feeling and it feels good. This is our year.”
Heights | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | — | 6 |
South | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 |
S – Garcia 16 FG
S – Bishop 39 run (Garcia kick)
S – Neloms 2 run (kick failed)
H – Ganther 12 pass from Haskins (PAT failed)
Individual Statistics
Rushing – Heights, Scott 28-134, Murphy 12-37, Garner 3-38. South, Bishop 17-165, Hudspeth 7-39, Neloms 4-4.
Passing – Heights, Haskins 3-9-43. South, Bishop 5-13-56.
Receiving – Heights, Scott 2-31, Ganther 1-12. South, Taylor 1-6, Turner 1-2, Bell 1-11, Hopper 1-21, Wells 1-16.
This story was originally published September 12, 2015 at 8:07 AM with the headline "Wichita South improves to 2-0 by upsetting Heights (+video)."