The HDN  will  head to Victoria this week for a key eight-man matchup between Otis-Bison and Victoria, both 7-0 in Eight-Man, Division II. Victoria is ranked No. 1 in the state in the statewide media poll, while Otis-Bison stands fifth. The Cougars have enjoyed one of the biggest turnarounds in the state this season under head coach Travis Starr. In Starr’s first four years, Otis-Bison finished 12-24, including 2-7 last year. This season, the Cougars have outscored teams 406-110 and have the state’s highest-scoring offense.

Among the 36 Kansas teams that remain undefeated heading into Friday, Otis-Bison has the biggest turnaround. They are +5 in the win column, while Eight-Man, Division I Lebo has moved from 3-6 to 7-0. In the 11-man ranks, Class 5A Hays High School is 7-0 after a 4-5 finish last season under head coach Ryan Cornelsen.

Otis-Bison is the fourth straight area school or team that plays area schools to experience a big turnaround in the eight-man ranks. However, the Cougars are the lone ones to do it without a coaching change or a change in classifications. Truly an incredible season in Otis-Bison.

The turnarounds:

Sharon Springs Wildcats (2005-2006): Sharon Springs went 7-3 and 5-3 in 2003 and 2004 before they slipped to 3-5 in 2005 under former coach Jim Howard. Then, Kevin Ayers, a former Winona-Triplains player who turned Jetmore into a state power, moved back home to be near family and took over the Wildcats. Sharon Springs instantly changed, seeing a +8 improvement in 2006 with an 11-1 record. The next year, they went 13-0 and won the Eight-Man, Division II state championship. Sharon Springs was 7-3 last season and Ayers, hurt by injuries to his top two players, is 5-2 this year.

Ayers is the fastest coach in Kansas history to 100 wins, breaking Holton head coach Brooks Barta’s record. Ayers has won three straight championships at two schools. Former LB/FB Tyler O’Connor called Ayers “the mastermind” while WR/S/KR/PR and Shrine Bowl pick Taylor Elder, currently starting for Garden City Community College, said the team never would have won state without Ayers. Many coaches consider Ayers the gold standard in eight-man coaching.

Bushton-Quivira Heights (2006-2007): The Thunderbirds also had a coaching change when Jeff Savage, one of the smartest minds in high school football, came to QH. Savage, who was the head coach of the Kansas vs. Nebraska All-Star Game this past summer, had coached at the collegiate level and multiple high schools. In 2006, QH was 1-8 and was outscored 413-118.

The next season, under Savage, the Thunderbirds had a +8 and finished 9-3, outscoring opponents 546-222. That season, they defeated Victoria twice, the last team to beat the Knights in the regular season. Victoria head coach Doug Oberle has often said his players have to outplay QH’s because Savage will outcoach Oberle.  The turnaround made QH one of the top teams in eight-man, a perch they have left since.  In 2008, QH went 9-2 and outscored opponents 492-186. QB Garrett Siemsen earned all-state honors as  the Thunderbirds lost 56-50 to Victoria in the postseason in one of the greatest games some have ever seen.

Savage left in the off-season for Central Burden and has quickly turned them into a strong team (QH has started 5-2 under John Phelan, a former Thunderbird coach). Central Burden, which hasn’t reached the postseason since the mid-90s, has been one of eight-man football’s worst teams. Then, Savage has arrived. The change, just like at QH, has been dramatic:

Central-Burden:

2006: 2-7, outscored 232-384

2007: 0-9, outscored 64-421

2008: 2-7, outscored 191-353

2009: 5-2, outscoring opponents 343-145

This year, Savage has mainly had the turnaround behind his son, sophomore QB Bo Savage, who has completed 110-of-179 passes for 1,555 yards and 28 touchdowns against seven interceptions. Savage threw for 7 TDs in a 70-20 Week 7 win against Oxford.