Class 5A football semifinal: Carroll at Eisenhower

The chance to play for a Class 5A football title comes down to Friday’s semifinals.

Here’s a closer look at the Carroll-Eisenhower game.

Class 5A

Carroll (10-1) at Eisenhower (7-4)

Carroll

Top players: OL Noah Johnson, sr.; RB Adam Theis, jr.; QB Jake Allen, sr.; QB Braden Howell, so.; DL Geoff Tholstrup, sr.; DB Evan Nichols, sr.; LB Drew Thome, sr.

Key stats: Nichols has six interceptions and is second with 58 tackles. Thome has a team-high 70 tackles, 21 tackles for loss. Allen, who might play, had 1,486 passing yards, 604 rushing yards before suffering a concussion in the first round. Theis has 1,027 rushing yards.

Eagles coach Alan Schuckman

Reaction to being in the semifinals: “It’s always good to be in the semifinals. That’s why the kids play the game. It’s why we coach it. The only thing better is playing in the championship.”

What has gotten you here: “It’s been a pretty resilient group. We lost Game 1 and everybody was kind of doubting our kids, thinking we had taken a step backwards. We try to develop them all individually on and off the field, and it’s really paid off this year because of all the injuries we’ve dealt with.”

What will it take to win: “We’re going to have to play a solid football game. We always preach not to turn over the football, not to give up big plays. It’s two things we have to do to get to the finals.”

What fans should know about your team: “I hope that what they see is kids who play for each other and not for themselves. That’s what I would tell them. This team this year really shows that because we’ve lost so many kids, and yet they’re not worried about their own egos. They’re worried about the team and doing the best they can for their teammates.”

Eisenhower

Top players: FB Joseph Weibel, sr.; QB Mason Madzey, jr.; DE Jake Daugherty, sr.; WR Brett Huelsmann, sr.; WR Kyle McGreevy, sr.; WR Drake Damon, sr.

Key stats: Daugherty has a team-high 110 tackles, 13 for loss and five sacks. Weibel has 1,008 rushing yards, Madzey has 875 passing yards.

Tigers coach Marc Marinelli

Reaction to being in the semifinals: “I feel extremely lucky. Our kids have been through so much. We didn’t win district. We lost a tough game to Goddard High. Our kids could have packed it up. We’re a 7-seed, playing a great Kapaun team. We could have been satisfied with the great improvement.… They focused on, ‘We’re here, let’s make a statement.’ ”

What has gotten you here: “It’s hard to pinpoint one kid. In these two (playoff) games, it’s been different people.… The refreshing thing to me is it has been a team effort. The offense has done just enough to score points and the defense has played great with great effort.”

What will it take to win: “The thing about Carroll is they just don’t beat themselves.… offensive line has phenomenal players. We have to play really, really well up front on the defensive line. We have to handle their movement offensively.”

What fans should know about your team: “You know, the crazy thing is — it blows my mind — our offensive line averages maybe 205 pounds, but we have given up one sack. That blows my mind. These guys play so hard. Some of it is Mason. He gets the ball out really fast. They’re probably the smallest offensive line in the playoffs. They take a lot of pride in that.”

This story was originally published November 18, 2015 at 2:59 PM with the headline "Class 5A football semifinal: Carroll at Eisenhower."