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Over the years certain KCI Conference football rivalries have defined the conference.
They are the matchups that shape the conference championship picture.
This Friday, the most recent, red-hot rivalry takes center stage as East Buchanan (6-0) travels to Mid-Buchanan (6-0) in the “Battle of the Buchanans'.”
Far more than bragging rights are on the line Friday when these two rivals renew their feud.
Both teams are currently ranked in the Missouri Class 1 standings, Mid-Buchanan currently second and East Buchanan fifth.
The winner not only moves into the driver’s seat for a KCI Conference Championship but will also have the crucial head-to-head victory when it comes to District standings.
Right now, in the Missouri Class 1 District 8 standings Mid-Buchanan slightly leads East Buchanan as the top two seeds.
Before looking at what fans can expect come Friday night, we need to look at how we got here.
Since 2015, the year Aaron Fritz took over head coaching duties at Mid-Buchanan, the Dragons and Bulldogs have faced each other 11 times.
Far and away more meetings than any two other teams inside the KCI Conference.
The Dragons record against the Bulldogs with Fritz at the helm is 5-6, but Mid-Buchanan has won five in a row.
Before Mid-Buchanan’s five game winning streak, East Buchanan rattled off ten wins in a row dating back to 2009.
During these previous 11 meetings East Buchanan has scored a total of 297 points compared to Mid-Buchanan’s 296.
Every season since 2016 the two have faced each in the regular season before meeting again in District play.
Last season the two met with a District Title on the line with Mid-Buchanan emerging victorious 35-0.
East Buchanan head coach Dan Ritter is coaching in his third “Battle” and is looking for his first win in the rivalry.
Both teams enter Friday with something to prove.
East Buchanan comes in ready to proclaim themselves the top dawgs of the KCI Conference and a win over the reigning, defending champs would be the next and biggest step towards that goal.
The last time East Buchanan won the KCI Conference was 2017 when they shared the title with Hamilton.
“Mid Buchanan has been a powerhouse over the past three years. No one except Lathrop a couple years ago has taken them down,” Ritter said. “They earned the title last year as the best team in the KCI and will retain that title until a team can do something about it. If we, as a team, want to accomplish the things we want to accomplish this year, we are going to have to strip that title from them. To make it even harder, we are going to have to do it at their place.”
After graduating an influential senior class that helped lead the Dragons to their first ever State Championship game, many wondered what the 2021 season would bring for Mid-Buchanan.
That quandary was quickly answered when they rattled off six victories in row and now this group wants to shape their own legacy of success and Friday’s game is a critical one for that process.
“This game is obviously a big one for us,” Fritz said. “We get a chance to play against one of the best teams in all of Class 1, and a team that is one of the favorites to win the state title. This is a good opportunity for us to see where we are at as a team and to see how we handle playing in another big game.”
Both teams have taken similar paths to get here this season. Each has a plethora of blow out wins and both have recently been tested by other conference foes.
East Buchanan holding off West Platte 21-20 two weeks ago and last week Mid-Buchanan fended off a Hamilton comeback before beating the Hornets 21-19.
So far this season Mid-Buchanan has averaged 43 points per game compared to East Buchanan’s 34.
Both teams are led by dynamic quarterbacks in seniors Conner Musser (EB) and Rawlins Brant (MB)
Rawlins Brant (top) and Conner Musser (bottom) were key components in last seasons District Championship game and are leading the way in 2021.
Musser is more of the prototypical East Buchanan passing quarterback having thrown for 946 yards and 12 touchdowns this year.
Brant, is a hybrid run/pass quarterback, cut from the same mold as his predecessor Javan Noyes. He’s produced over 1,200 yards of offense and provided 24 touchdowns.
Both Musser and Brant love throwing to their reliable senior receivers in Carson White (EB - 285 receiving yards) and Caiden Bailey (MB – 271 receiving yards).
In the backfields are two featured running backs in Trevor Klein and Xavier Arambula.
Klein, a hard running sophomore, has rushed for 665 yards and scored 11 touchdowns.
Arambula, a speedy junior, has 353 rushing yards and scored five times.
Versatility best describes seniors Blake Hunter and Cru Conaway. Hunter has provided Mid-Buchanan with over 300 yards of total offense while Conaway has done the same for East Buchanan.
Defensively, Mid-Buchanan is allowing just six points per game while East Buchanan is giving up 14.
Both defensive units have been quite opportunistic this season with each causing 15 or more turnovers.
The leading tacklers for both teams are Cru Conaway (EB) with 50 and senior Cage Burns (MB) with 36.
If history has taught us anything, this could be the first of two meetings between the two rivals this season, making this Friday’s chapter of the “The Battle” even more important and both coaches know this could be their stiffest test of the season.
"We have got to make sure we stay true to who we are. We have to make sure we get lined up, play aggressive, play fast, play physical and have fun. They present a lot of challenges, so we have to make sure we take care of the little things so we can compete on each play." - Coach Fritz
"Our success will be dictated by ourselves, in my opinion. Will we rise to the occasion, or will we let the other team have their way? They are a great team with championship experience in both players and coaches,
so we better come to play physically and mentally." - Coach Ritter
Get your popcorn ready folks.
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