Over the past few seasons, Stratton football has become quite familiar with 6-man rival Cheyenne Wells.
Since 2016, the two teams have met in the playoffs five times, four of which occurred in the semifinals. In three of those meetings, Stratton/Liberty came out on top to advance to the state title game. Last fall, the squads went head-to-head in the 6-man championship that saw Cheyenne Wells earn a decisive, 62-21 victory.
The Eagles have been waiting for that rematch all summer long, and they won’t have to wait much longer. Stratton kicks off its 2022 season with a road game at Cheyenne Wells on Friday night.
Second-year head coach Jesse McConnell knew exactly what he needed to do to prime his boys for that fight. Their mindset was already there.
“I was the assistant under Coach (Toby) Kechter,” McConnell said. “I’ve coached the defense here and this will be my seventh year, so I was pretty well-prepared coming into the season and understood what needed to get done in the offseason.”
Defeating the Tigers, of course, won’t be an easy task. Stratton won all but two games during the 2021 season, and both setbacks came at the hands of Cheyenne Wells. The Tigers lost their No. 1 rusher in Cade Mitchek, but bring back a senior quarterback to lead them.
The Eagles find themselves in a familiar position after saying goodbye to their top running man Charlie Clapper and will rely on junior quarterback Charlie Tagtmeyer — who threw 657 yards in 2021 — for guidance.
After a couple of seasons headlining his offense, he’s well-equipped for the job.
“I’d say I’m more experienced and now I understand what we’re trying to achieve here,” Tagtmeyer said. “Now I can tell players what I want them to do and what I see rather than being the freshman that was being told what to do.”
The Eagles offense, which relies heavily on the run, will need to step up to match the production that left with Clapper and the 1,585 yards he amassed during his senior year. This season, they’ll most likely look to senior running back Alex Cruz (523 rushing yards), junior running back Stockton Fye (424 rushing yards), junior running back Riley Shean (325 rushing yards) and junior running back Cyler Notter (279 rushing yards) to fill that hole.
After all, it doesn’t matter how Cheyenne Wells handled them in 2021. This is a brand new season, a clean slate, and the Eagles are ready to get down to business. After all, there’s no better feeling than playing under the small-town Friday night lights.
“It’s pretty amazing knowing that everybody at the game knows you personally and that after the game, you will be ridiculed by everybody in the town,” Tagtmeyer said.
