Versatile Redington keeps Mulvane moving

Mulvane linebacker Cole Williams has a perfect spot on the sideline to watch the Wildcats’ high-powered offense, which starts with senior quarterback Ty Redington, so he had no problem breaking down Redington’s game.

“He can pretty much do it all,” said Williams, who has 149 tackles and five sacks. “He is always running, he can scramble around, he can make a play when there’s nothing there and he’s a good passer.”

Williams’ assessment of Redington’s skill is spot on.

Redington, who has thrown for 25 touchdowns and 2,568 yards, has led Mulvane (11-1) into tonight’s Class 4A semifinal. Mulvane plays host to Holton (12-0) at 7 p.m.

“I don’t know if we’re as far as we are without him,” Mulvane coach Dave Fennewald said of Redington. “He puts a lot of pressure on defenses. The thing he does is he throws completions. You can have a lot of stats and a lot of yards, but the bottom line is, do you throw completions? He’s able to move the chains.”

Redington, who threw for 2,296 yards and 28 touchdowns in 2011, is a dual threat. He has run for 608 yards and nine touchdowns, too.

He credits the Wildcats’ offensive system. Mulvane runs a spread offense that focuses on short, quick passes to move the ball down the field, while also being able to launch the deep passes.

“I wouldn’t want to play in any other system,” said Redington, who also plays baseball and basketball. “It’s so fun to play in, throwing the ball around and running. I wouldn’t want to play somewhere where you turn around and hand off 50 times a game.”

Redington threw for 425 yards in Mulvane’s 38-34 win over Buhler on Sept. 14. He accounted for all of Mulvane’s points, including the extra points.

But on Sept. 28, Redington hurt his foot.

“They called it a mid-foot sprain,” Redington said. “They weren’t really sure what happened. I had an X-ray to make sure nothing was broken, but there was bruising.

“I couldn’t do anything without it hurting.”

Mulvane’s next game was against visiting McPherson, the Wildcats’ only loss. McPherson won 35-30 – the five-point difference was because Redington couldn’t kick the extra points and Mulvane failed to convert two-point conversions.

Redington threw for 313 yards in the loss.

“In the McPherson game, I wanted to pull him halfway through the second or third quarter,” Fennewald said. “He refused to come out. I don’t think people realized how much it hurt. In our three district games and into the playoffs, his determination in practices has really blossomed.”

While Redington was hobbled with foot pain for about four games — he said he played virtually pain-free for the first time in the final regular season game — Mulvane’s defense blossomed.

The defense, led by 10 seniors, gave up 133 points in the season’s first seven games. In the past five, including three playoff wins, Mulvane has given up 21 with three shutouts. The Wildcats’ last two wins were 7-0 over Maize South, 15-0 over Buhler.

“We weren’t really clicking (offensively) the way we usually do,” Redington said of the past two games. “It’s nice to have that defense behind you and know that if you score seven or 15 points, you will still win.”

The defense has had a bit of a chip on its shoulder all season. While it loves seeing the offense’s success, there’s been a desire to show their worth on the defensive side.

“We’ve been trying to prove that we’re a pretty good defense,” Williams said.

And it is. Mulvane has nine interceptions, including Kolby Fennewald’s four. The Wildcats have 34½ sacks; Jarrett Price has nine sacks, Zach Haynes seven.

Dave Fennewald points to his decision to change to a platoon system two years ago. It’s tough to do outside of Class 5A and 6A because there’s fewer players. But it has helped Mulvane cut down on the fatigue that two-way players experience and it has helped by allowing players to focus on one position.

But the defense has simply gotten better.

“We’ve tackled much better each and every week. I think we’re really getting the football and rallying and gang-tackling,” Fennewald said.

“… You just have to keep getting better at this time. We’ve been preaching this from districts on. You have to keep getting better from this point on. We have to get better not only for this week but for the next week.”