De Soto and Basehor-Linwood is always one of the better games of the year in the United Kansas Conference and each team has usually been the biggest hurdle for the other to win the league crown.
Since the league formed in 2018, either De Soto or Basehor-Linwood has won the league title in each of the first six years. Last season, Topeka-Seaman became the only team not named De Soto or Basehor to win the league crown, as those three squads finished in a 3-way tie in which Seaman won the tiebreaker.
The Wildcats traveled to Basehor-Linwood last season and suffered a 21-7 setback and it is a loss that still sticks with De Soto head coach Brian King to this day.
“We just didn’t come ready to play and we didn’t match their physicality,” King said. “They came out and hit us and it took us a little while to respond. That game came down to physicality and if we are going to come out successful in this one, we are going to have to play physical for four quarters and play assignment sound. This is why you play football, for these type of games, and we are going to find out what we are made of.”
De Soto will host Basehor-Linwood at 7 p.m. with another United Kansas Conference title on the line. While it just week four, this is the biggest game on both teams’ schedule as both are currently undefeated in league play.
Basehor-Linwood coach Rod Stallbaumer and King have been a part of all these rivalry matchups and they know what is at stake — the same as its been every year.
“This is a huge game for us at this point in the season,” Stallbaumer said. “Coach King and his staff do a great job and DeSoto is always very well coached and will be one of the toughest teams every year on our schedule. They are very disciplined and aggressive defensively. They will send a lot of different pressure looks and run blitzes that try to get you off rhythm and out of your comfort zone.
“Their triple option offense forces you to be disciplined and physical on defense, if you don't win the line of scrimmage they will just wear you down, shrink the game and put points on the board. We are the only two undefeated teams in the conference so this game will go a long way to determining who wins the UKC. Just a really good early season test of where we are at this point.”
With there being so much familiarity between the two programs, scouting takes a back seat to some other things. It becomes more of an execution battle than figuring out what the other is going to do.
“It is always a good rivalry,” King said. “I know their staff really well and they get in the weight room and put in the work just like we do and there have been some great matchups. You know what each other is going to do. They do what they do and they do it well. We know what to expect, we just know we have to perform at a high level.”
King’s De Soto teams have won four league crowns in the last seven years but it hasn’t always been this way for the Wildcats. In 2013, King’s first season, the Wildcats ended the year 0-9 in what started a big rebuild process.
Since that time, King is now the winningest coach in De Soto football history as he recorded win No. 85 last week against Piper. He surpassed Ron Blackwood, who coached from 1973-1987.
“That really does mean a lot to me because of the people who have been with me since the start and the kids that have come through this program,” King said. “Coach Mark Gastelum installed the flexbone offense in 2014 and it has just taken off. All the program rushing records really can be attributed to him and those kids. Joel Thaemert and Lynn Hoffman have also been with me since the beginning and play huge roles in this program.
“After starting 0-9 that first year, a lot of time has been put in by our coaches and our kids buying in to what we are saying. Those 85 wins are a reflection of them and their hard work and not me. That is why it means a lot to me and is very humbling to pass Coach Blackwood’s mark.”
As for the game itself, Basehor-Linwood is hoping it won’t be adding to King’s win total Friday. Although the Bobcats defeated De Soto last season, it has been the Wildcats that won the four prior meetings and they are 10-11 all-time against De Soto.
Basehor-Linwood quarterback Carson Dixon and the Bobcat offense will try and get off to a good start, which is important against a De Soto team with a proven defense and a ball-control offense and will be one of the keys for the Bobcats.
In De Soto’s victory over Piper last week, the Wildcats allowed minus-6 yards rushing for the game so the Bobcats know it will be a task to move the ball.
“De Soto is one of the most challenging teams to prepare for, not just because of their offense which absolutely forces you to be disciplined defensively, but also their defense,” Stallbaumer said. “Offensively they do a great job threatening the whole field sideline to sideline and they manipulate your responsibilities with a variety of formations well. I think one of the biggest misconceptions about the flexbone is that it's a ball control offense, but it can be very explosive and often has more big plays than a lot of offenses as they get you out of position. So we have to really rep our adjustments and teach our kids in a week how to recognize and communicate our adjustments to be effective and that is difficult.
“Their defense is very similar in that regard. They are an attacking defense, they have very athletic defensive lineman that get off blocks well and their stemming and blitzing can cause a lot of confusion for an offense. Their secondary plays physical rerouting receivers and disrupting timing. Fortunately for us our defensive scheme and theirs have a lot of similarities so it is slightly easier for us to replicate in practice during the week compared to their offense.”
Dixon has been a leader for the Bobcats all season and is one of the reasons they are off to a perfect start. Dixon, who is in his second year at quarterback, has competed 75 percent of his passes this season and is the team’s second leading rusher.
In a win over Shawnee Heights last week, Dixon scored four touchdowns and has led a Basehor-Linwood offense that has been without all-league receiver Nate Martin, who went down with a collarbone injury in the season opener. Since that time, Nash Morrison has been his favorite target as he had over 100 yards receiving against Shawnee Heights.
“Carson has picked right up where he left off in 2024,” Stallbaumer said. “He made such great strides in year one as the starter and has continued that upward trajectory. He is reading the defense at a very high level and he does a great job of distributing the ball to our playmakers. Carson also added a dimension of his game in the running department. He was the first leg of our school record 4x1 this spring and we are seeing that speed this fall.
“Carson was elected one of our captains by his teammates and is an incredibly unselfish leader. He really cares about winning above any personal stats or accolades and I think his teammates pickup and respect that. He is one of the best decision makers we have had at the quarterback position, and we have had some really good ones over the years.”
De Soto has some offensive firepower of their own and is led by quarterback Ben Parks. The Wildcat junior has amassed more than 400 yards of total offense and seven touchdowns through three games.
The 3-back lineup of Will Morton, Brayson Rogers and Christian Dickinson have a total of 10 touchdowns on the season.
“Ben has been a phenomenal leader for our team and he is a kid that can do it all,” King said. “He is a great athlete and has good attitude. He plays several different sports and I think that is great to see as a coach. He is an athletic kid who can run well and can make the passes he needs to.
“All the kids have put in a lot of hard work since the summer and a lot of it is to play in games like this one. They are the best self-regulators that I have ever had here at De Soto and they have worked hard and done a great job.”
As for what happens on Friday, both coaches know execution will be key as to who comes out on top.
“Focus and intensity will be critical, especially on the road,” Stallbaumer said. “We will need to adjust quickly to the speed at which De Soto runs their offensive and defensive schemes, and we need to win the line of scrimmage. Getting an early lead would be helpful. If you allow them to get a lead and shorten the game with their running attack it makes things a lot more difficult. Finally, physicality will be critical to a winning effort.”
Playing physical football is what King has been preaching to his players all season.
“We definitely need to execute and we know it isn’t going to be easy,” King said. “We can’t be out-physicaled in this game. I know what is on the line and I know that our kids do as well. At the same time, we know it is just week four and we have to focus on us and focus on the process. This is a big rivalry game and we need to make sure we take a step forward and take care of what we can control. We know there are even bigger games after this week, so we need to make sure we are playing good football come playoff time.”