By NICK McQUEEN

nmcqueen@dailynews.net

Beating a team like Bushton-Quivira Heights twice in one season is -- in itself -- a remarkable feat.

For the Victoria prep football team, last week's nail-biting 56-50 home win over the Thunderbirds has the Knights looking like they can accomplish anything.

Getting the one-up twice on a recent Eight-Man, Division II powerhouse like Quivira Heights has proven to be a spark plug in the Knights'11-0 campaign.

Victoria, though, isn't looking to stop with just a pair of signature wins.

"It's nice to win that game, but being in the sub-state title game is even better,"  senior lineman Gus Pfanenstiel said. "And, that's what we're focused on. We're excited to be there."

Last week's thriller has the Knights one step closer to the ultimate prize -- the state title.

First things first, a 3 p.m. sub-state matchup at 10-1 Moscow, the "new kid on the block" in the eight-man playoffs.

"We get one more game and we're at state," Victoria senior running back Evan Koerner said.

"We're not going in too overconfident, but going in confident and strong. We're going to play our best -- like it's our last game."

So far, that win-or-go-home attitude has yielded perfection, one of the most potent teams in all of eight-man football, and a cohesive unit that is looking to make program history with an unbeaten run to the state title. Doing so would make the 2008 Knights the second team in the last 20 years to finish with an unbeaten state title. In 1988, the Knights finished the regular season unblemished and rolled to a 2A state title.

"That has just been talked about a little bit," Pfanenstiel said. "It's something we're shooting for, but we just have to remember it's one game at a time."

A trip to the state title game won't come easy for the Knights as they make a near 4-hour bus trip to Southwest Kansas to take on a Moscow team that has burst back onto the scene the last couple seasons.

Moscow last was in this position when it won a state title in 1978, the last time it won back-to-back playoff games.

The Wildcats brought with them another look at the spread option offense, something the Knights have become familiar with this season -- facing Quivira Heights twice.

"We've watched them on film, so we have a little bit of a feel for what they going to do," Koerner said. "But again, it's hard to judge -- it's the sub-state championship game."

The two teams have been nearly similar in their paths to Saturday's matchup. Both have been dominant in some games and have been challenged in others. Moscow started the season with three straight blowouts, blanking a trio of teams before falling 50-8 to Div. I Deerfield, which up until last week, was unbeaten. Since that loss, the Wildcats have reeled off seven straight wins, including last week's 32-30 come-from-behind win at Rozel-Pawnee Heights, the only common opponent. Moscow scored 24 points in the fourth quarter on the road to claim the win after trailing 16-0 at halftime. By comparison, Victoria put up a 72-46 impressive win over Pawnee Heights, one of four ranked opponents the Knights were able to get past this season.

"You can't judge anything by who beats who," Koerner said. "Teams have off nights. We've played Pawnee Heights and honestly, we beat the heck out of each other. (Moscow) went in there and won by two, but you can't really judge that. They're going to want the win just as much as we are."

Koerner is one of multiple threats out of the backfield for the Knights. His 78 carries for 537 yards and 12 touchdowns is third best on the team behind senior quarterback Jordan Ottley (144-1,201-21), and senior running back Blake Klaus (135-1,143-16). The three have led an impressive run game that has helped boost a 47 point-per-game squad. Junior back Austin Roth (45 carries, 263 yards) adds another threat out of the backfield. Similarly, Moscow has averaged 42 points per game, holding its opponents to 14, while Victoria has given up 17 a game.

"We've been solid on both sides of the ball," Pfanenstiel said. "Our line and our backs are pretty well on the same page all the time. That's the way it's been on defense too."

In last week's win over Quivira Heights, the two teams exchanged offensive blows through the entire game, before the Knights came up with a big stop at the end of the game, which came down to the final minute. A quarterback sack, something the Knights have done frequently this season, took the driving Thunderbirds out of Victoria territory.

Senior Brenton Hoffman, who recorded the sack, now has 17 QB sacks on the season, part of a defensive unit that has 25 tackles for loss this season, and that doesn't include sacks (34 on the season). Hoffman stayed in Quivira Heights quarterback Darren Siemsen's hip pocket last week, and the Knights could face a similar challenge in Moscow senior Taylor Roop in the Wildcats' spread attack. Roop rushed for two touchdowns in the win at Pawnee Heights on Saturday and completed three passes for successful 2-point conversions. Moscow's other threat out of the backfield, senior Anthony Hernandez, rushed for 133 yards and two scores on 21 carries in the win, scoring the go-ahead touchdown in the final quarter.

"They like to spread the ball around too," said Pfanenstiel, who has 41 tackles (4 sacks, 8 TFL) this season. "They're pretty much a balanced run, pass offense with some speedy backfielders. They are pretty fast and their line is pretty good."

A win Saturday for the Knights would not only put Victoria in next week's state title game, but it would be the 70th win for the senior class, which has been playing football together for nine years, according to Pfanenstiel. Since fourth grade, this group of six seniors has amassed a 69-9 record.