By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
GOWER - It's starting to sink in a little bit.
On Wednesday, the first day of December, the East Buchanan football team was still practicing, getting ready for yet another game.
This time, it's the Class 1 state football championship at Faurot Field on the University of Missouri campus in Columbia, where the Bulldogs (13-1) face Marceline (12-1) on Saturday at 3 p.m.
"Every day, it seems like more and more people come up to me and ask, am I ready for the big game?" senior quarterback Conner Musser said. "I tell them every time, 'Yeah, we are.' Just the way we've been on a role these last couple of weeks, just continuing to get better at practice and leading up to that big day...we're getting really hyped around here."
Wednesday would be the next-to-last practice of the season on the game field in Gower before the team departs on Friday.
For senior linemen Caleb McCartney and Trevor Rush, and the four other seniors on the roster, it's starting to sink in - these are the last practices. The last game of their high school football career.
"I mean, it's kind of like our Super Bowl," McCartney said. "Senior year, get to go to a state championship. Can't ask for much more than that."
"It's one of the best feelings ever," Rush admitted. "I mean, it's sad to see that it's our last game ever as brothers. We're doing our final practices, we're playing our final game. But then again, it's one of the best feelings there's ever been."
East Buchanan, winner of three district championships since 2014, finds itself back in a state football title game for just the second time in history and for the first time since 2004. It's been 17 years since the Bulldogs fell, 21-0, in their lone championship game appearance against St. Vincent.
Now, after winning a state-semifinal game for just the second time in program history this past Saturday, the 2021 Bulldogs are excited for their opportunity to give their school its first football title.
"I've never been anywhere near being as successful as this team has been," second year head coach Dan Ritter said. "So, we're just living it up and we're enjoying it, but we know we have to get to work if we want to go one step further. So, we're not taking it lightly and we're making sure we put in the time."
East Buchanan faces a Marceline team that's won three consecutive district titles and has been to four total state championship games - their lone win coming in 1986. Their last trip to the Show Me Bowl was 2013.
The Bulldogs and Tigers have met before - in the 2004 state quarterfinals. East Buchanan won that meeting handily on the road, 31-7.
Fast forward to 2021, and the Bulldogs expect a whale of a fight from a team seeking its first championship in 35 years, and a team that's won 10 straight.
"I mean, they're just stacked all the way around," Ritter said of Marceline, "with good quality Class 1 football players. And, if we're going to be able to compete with that, we better bring our A-game, because we know that they're good. They've got a quarterback that can fling the ball around. They've got defenders all over the field with a lot of good speed."
Marceline beat previously unbeaten Hayti, 31-30, in their state semifinal game on Saturday. The Tigers are led by senior quarterback Jacob Stallo, who's thrown for 1,964 yards and 16 touchdowns to 10 interceptions.
Stallo is also a threat to run the ball, racking up 488 rushing yards and seven scores on the ground. Senior running back Hunter Nelson has been a work horse in the backfield, rushing for 1,347 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Nelson also leads the team with 100 tackles on defense, including 13.5 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles. While coach Ritter believes his team will match up well with the Tigers, it's Marceline's ability to win close games as of late that stands out to him.
Marceline has won their last three games by a combined eight points, including back-to-back, one-point victories in their last two contests.
"I sure know they know how to win," Ritter said. "And they definitely know how to win close games. The fact that they won the last three games by a grand total of eight points tells you that they know how to win close games. So, if we want to take care of business, we're going to have to win one of those close games on Saturday."
The last time East Buchanan football was in a state championship game, most of this current team wasn't born yet. The last time the Bulldogs made a semifinal, the players were in middle school.
Now, in 2021, after being, perhaps, written off at times with an early October loss at Mid-Buchanan and a No. 3 seeding in the Class 1 District 8 bracket, the Bulldogs have reeled off seven straight wins and have made history by simply getting back to this big stage.
While the top priority is to win, there's something else East Buchanan's team wants to make sure they do. Particularly, those six seniors.
Take it all in. Have fun. Remember.
Andrew Mead, an all-district receiver from the 2004 state runner-up team, actually found Conner Musser after the Bulldogs' win over Thayer last week, and reminded him to do just that.
"After our win last week, (Mead) came up to me and he's like, 'Yeah. Soak this all in, because once it's gone it's going to be gone forever. Be the last one out here and cherish these memories, because you'll remember them for the rest of your life."
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.