Thursday afternoon will feature a matchup of two teams with a big contrast in state title game experience.
Gunter has now made it to AT&T Stadium five of the last seven seasons, winning two championships.
Poth, meanwhile, is back in the state title game for the first time since 1968.
Here are the key players and storylines ahead of the 3A Division II State Title Game on Thursday at 3:00.
Gunter Tigers (15-0)
Head Coach: Jake Fieszel (16th season; 194-29 record)
Distance from AT&T Stadium: 63 miles
2022 Playoff Results
Bi-District W Forfeit vs. Cedar Hill TLC
Area: W 48-7 vs. Jacksboro
Regional Semifinals: W 40-6 vs. Palmer
Regional Finals: W 31-7 vs. Holliday
State Semifinals: W 21-20 vs. Canadian
Key Players and Storylines
A year after Franklin ran away from Gunter for a 49-35 victory in the 3A Division II State Title Game, the Tigers are back in the state title game for another bite at the cherry.
However, it didn’t come easy.
Last Friday, the Gunter football team was involved in an unnerving incident where a FedEx truck hit their team bus while travelling to their state semifinal game. Fortunately, no Gunter players or coaches were injured in the incident.
Just hours after that incident, Gunter proceeded to edge Canadian in a thrilling state semifinal. The Tigers won the game with just 17 seconds remaining as quarterback Walker Overman found Ivy Hellman for a 10-yard touchdown.
However, on Thursday, expect the Tigers to run the ball early and often from their pistol option offense.
Overman (1,087 passing yards, 534 rushing yards, and 18 total touchdowns) will conduct the offense, while Ivy Hellman (668 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns), Ashton Bennett (310 rushing yards and six touchdowns), and Ethan Sloan (731 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns) will be among the running backs that will receive the majority of the carries.
If the Tigers do go through the air, look for Cannon Lemberg to be their preferred target as he has 475 receiving yards and six touchdowns on the season.
Defensively, the Tigers have shutout four of their opponents this season and have held five others to a touchdown or less. Throughout the season, no team has scored more than 21 points on the Tigers, so Poth will have its work cut out if it wants to move the ball consistently in this game.
Gunter head coach Jake Fieszel said that his team’s discipline and familiarity with their defensive positions has allowed them to find success all season long.
“I think the key has been all of our guys understanding their job and role within the defense,” Fieszel said “This enables them to play fast and go make plays.”
Up front, Fieszel said defensive end Brayden Hinton is expected to make some plays in the backfield against Poth’s run heavy offense. In addition to Hinton, he’s also looking for Bennett to have a big day from his middle linebacker position on defense.
Poth Pirates (14-1)
Head Coach: Jeff Luna (7th season; 72-13 record)
Distance from AT&T Stadium: 302 miles
2022 Playoff Results
Bi-District: W 65-0 vs. George West
Area: W 42-34 vs. Boling
Regional Semifinals: W 55-13 vs. Taft
Regional Final: W 12-6 vs. Tidehaven
State Semifinals: W 51-28 vs. Harmony
Key Players and Storylines
It has been a historic season for Poth.
With Franklin vacating Region IV by moving up to 3A Division I, the Pirates took full advantage, advancing to the state semifinals for the first time since 1969.
Once there, the Pirates dispatched of Cinderella Gilmer Harmony 51-28 behind five touchdowns from its running back Matthew Bunn.
Bunn and quarterback Zane Raabe, who had three touchdowns himself against Harmony, have been the catalysts for Poth’s offense all season long.
Raabe leads the team in rushing with 1,812 yards and 31 touchdowns, while Bunn is not far behind with 1,607 yards and 31 touchdowns of his own.
It has been a breakout season for Raabe, who just switched over from the running back position during the offseason.
“Zane has done a great job running our offense all year long,” Poth head coach Jeff Luna said. “We had some growing pains early in the season but eventually he found his groove. Zane doing what he has been able to do from the QB position has made it hard for opposing defenses to make Matthew Bunn their focal point.”
When the Pirates go through the air, and they’ve only done so 98 times this year, look for receiver Gabriel Silansky to be the primary target. He has caught 25 of the 62 completed passes Poth has on the year.
With skill talents like Silansky and Bunn supporting Raabe, Luna said it’s important that Raabe doesn’t try to be the hero on Thursday afternoon against a talented Gunter team.
“He’ll have to play his game and not try to do too much; he has a great supporting cast to depend on,” Luna said. “He will have to play with confidence, trust his reads, and push the ball down the field when he gets the opportunity.”
Defensively, Poth only gave up 56 points during the regular season, which included an impressive six shutouts.
Aidan DeHoyas and safety Seth Drzymala are among the playmakers the Pirates possess defensively as they each have four interceptions on the season.
Final Thoughts
Don’t expect the ball to go through the air much in this game as Gunter’s pistol option takes on Poth’s run heavy offense.
With two stout defenses and two offenses intent on running the football, Thursday afternoon could very well turn into a war in the trenches as these teams battle for the 3A Division II State Title.
Gunter will be favored because of their recent title game experience, so Poth will need to play a clean game in order to give itself a shot at the victory down the stretch.
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