By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

SMITH CENTER -- When Smith Center opened up fall camp, head coach Roger Barta had a rarity in his 31 years with the Redmen.

"This is one of the few years that we come on the first day of practice, everything was open," Barta said. "All of the kids had a chance to do what they wanted to do."

Junior Logan Tuxhorn stepped in at two key places for Smith Center. On defense, Tuxhorn, the JV middle linebacker in 2007, replaced Brayton Gillen, an all-state player who is now at Sterling College.

Tuxhorn also became the starting center after Kirk Palmer graduated and signed with Butler County Community College.

"He stepped up early," Barta said.

Tuxhorn has been a key player on the offensive line that leads Kansas 11-man football in scoring offense at 50.6 points per game. But he has also been the leading tackler on a revamped defense that ranks second in Class 2-1A scoring defense (7.1 points per game), behind just Olpe.

No. 1 Smith Center (10-0), which has won four straight Class 2-1A state titles and has a current 64-game winning streak, will face No. 2 La Crosse (11-0) on the road tonight. Game time is 7 p.m.

"Defensively, it's just getting better and make plays and know what they are doing on offense," Tuxhorn said. "Just look back and see what (the program) has done in the past. We know what we are doing, we know we can do it. It's just a matter of getting in the weight room, being strong, getting our scouting reports and knowing them well."

Tuxhorn, who collected 24 tackles in spot duty on last year's 13-0 team that outscored opponents 844-20, has 90 total tackles in 10 games this season. He has 145 tackle points (a combination of solo and assisted tackles), one of three Redmen with at least 100 tackle points.

Tuxhorn's nine tackles per game is slightly ahead of Gillen's pace, who had 114 tackles and 167 tackle points in 13 contests last year.

"He is pretty fast," Barta said of Tuxhorn. "Brayton was a special player. He could see it and he was an exceptionally bright, smart young man. Logan is getting there. He is starting to understand what we are trying to do."

Tuxhorn is one of many Redmen players that are in their first year of starting duty. Smith Center returned just four starters, including two on defense, junior defensive back Colt Rogers (82 tackles) and senior linebacker Kris Lehmann (74 tackles). The new players have helped Smith Center pitch five shutouts.

"Our overall defensive team speed is fast," Rogers said. "We can run to the ball on defense. That is one of the things that we do really good. That really helps our defense."

Senior Justin Nixon, Smith Center's massive 350-pound offensive tackle, is in his first year of starting on the defensive line. Nixon has contained the run and collected 28 tackles.

"He always gets doubled or tripled," Barta said. "That is kind of what we want to happen because it frees up our linebackers. He is a big man and is pretty quick for his size."

Smith Center, though, will likely face its strongest test in La Crosse, a team that features speed that few in Kansas have.

Last Saturday, in a 38-30 regional win versus St. Francis, La Crosse continually got to the outside on sweeps. Senior running back Marshall Musil ran for 184 yards and has 1,247 rushing yards this season.

The Redmen, helped by Tuxhorn, have been able to contain several top running backs this season, including Ellis' Dylan Pfeifer and Norton's Terrell Lane. Their team speed may slow down Musil.

"I would like to think we could get to the edge," Barta said.