By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

Joe Osburn started his high school career in Weskan, the state's smallest school with football. Weskan, which has just 36 students in its sophomore through senior classes, went 5-22 the last three seasons, including an 0-9 record this fall.

Weskan, like many small western Kansas communities, faces a decreasing population and might consolidate with a larger school in the coming years.

Before the 2007 season, Osburn and his family decided to move to a larger, more stable community with a longtime football tradition: Smith Center.

Osburn's father, Robert, took Smith Center coach Roger Barta's math job after Barta retired and became the school's cross-country coach, and Osburn joined the Redmen football program.

"The main reason is that (Weskan's) school is real small, and we wanted to get out of it before it shut down and it's not looking too good right now," Osburn, a senior halfback, said Tuesday afternoon during practice.

Osburn played little on the Redmen's dominating 2007 squad that outscored opponents 844-20 as Smith Center won its fourth straight Class 2-1A state championship. This year, after Smith Center lost nearly every starter, Osburn, with 942 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns, has been one of many players that has stepped in and thrived for Smith Center's offense.

"He is just a quick, fast kid, and you can't get a shot at him," Barta said. "He is shifty. He is a good one."

Smith Center returned just three offensive players, including one lineman, tackle Justin Nixon, that saw consistent time last fall.

The Redmen haven't slowed down, averaging 50.6 points per game, the No. 1 ranked offense in 11-man football, according to preppowerindex.com. Smith Center has outscored its last six opponents 343-20.

"I think the kids are playing better, and I think we have improved," Barta said. "It's a process for us.

I think we basically got more confidence as the year went along, and that made us a little bit better.

I really think it has been an every-day process. I think every day, we get a little bit better."

The squad, 10-0 and on a 64-game winning streak, will face the No. 2 offense in 11-0 La Crosse on the road Friday in a Class 2-1A sectional. Game time is 7 p.m.

La Crosse, led by senior running back Marshall Musil, a University of Oklahoma signee, is averaging 50 points a game. The Leopards' team speed is superior to every team they've played -- except Smith Center.

"I would say they are definitely equal in speed," La Crosse coach Ryan Cornelsen said. "I don't know if there is any other team in the state that can equal the two of us. Head to head, they are as fast as we are."

'Pretty solid'

The Redmen, who have six running backs with at least 350 yards rushing, ranked behind La Crosse in offensive production before its 73-20 win against Salina-Sacred Heart on Saturday, a contest that set Smith Center's season-high for points.

Smith Center ran for 595 yards in its wishbone offense, consistent production that has yielded 4,768 rushing yards and 9.5 yards per carry this fall.

"Their fakes are so good," La Crosse senior linebacker Jeremy Garcia said. "I remember going back to my sophomore year. I hardly knew who had the ball. That is what they do really well. They hide their fakes, and they hide the ball really well."

Junior halfback Colt Rogers, possibly the team's most experienced player, leads the team with 1,439 yards and 18 touchdowns after he collected 837 as a sophomore. Rogers has emerged as a vocal leader, offensively and defensively.

"He is just a great competitor," said Barta, who is 286-58 in 31 years. "He is among the top competitors that we have ever coached. Intense and likes to compete."

Rogers, 5-foot-7 and 150 pounds with 4.6 speed in the 40-yard dash, collected 264 yards and three touchdowns on nine carries versus Sacred Heart and has 707 yards in his past five games. Many of his yards have come on cutback runs -- and all of his production has come behind a rebuilt offensive line.

"Everyone has stepped up," Rogers said. "The whole team."

"We can run about anywhere on our whole line," junior center Logan Tuxhorn added. "We are pretty solid up there."

'Got our snaps

down now'

Nixon, the team's 350-pound senior tackle, was the only returning starter. Past that, the Redmen's new line features Tuxhorn at center and sophomore Van Tucker and junior Dillon Corbett as guards.

Nixon and senior Cody Tucker start at tackle, while seniors Kris Lehmann and Kalen Mace are ends.

"We probably had to coach a little more, but that is why you do it," Barta said.

"That's the fun part of it. Last year, those kids started for three years and there wasn't much to do, just get them to the games."

After a slow start that yielded a 22-20 win against Norton in Week 3 -- the closest game in the winning streak -- the line has been more consistent in the last six weeks. The Redmen have scored at least 40 points in every contest since.

"Once we got to the Ellis game (in Week 6), I thought we started playing pretty good together," Tuxhorn said. "We just had to be confident in ourselves. We knew the offense pretty well. We have been doing it since we were in the seventh grade. It's pretty stuck in our minds."

Tuxhorn, who started the year at guard, was involved in one of several position switches. Senior Trenton Terrill opened this fall at center before he suffered a knee injury in the first series versus Norton. Tuxhorn had been practicing as the backup before Terrill's injury, but it took awhile to get adjusted on the snap exchange. Tuxhorn had to remember to wear just one glove (on his left hand) so he could snap the ball easier.

"We didn't know it too well (against Norton)," he said. "We got our snaps down now."

Barta also settled on senior Travis Rempe as the team's starting quarterback after Rempe and senior Ethan Eastes switched back and forth in the first three games.

Eastes, who fumbled three times on seven carries, exclusively plays defense at cornerback, while Rempe starts on offense.

"I just didn't think we had the consistency out of that position," Barta said. "So I made the decision, and it's been really good for us. ... The neat thing is that they both accepted it and went with it, and it has been good for us."

'Probably the most

athletic guy'

Probably no player has had more change than Osburn. While the Redmen run the same offense since middle school and always play 11-man football, Osburn came from eight-man football in Weskan.

Osburn said the Coyotes mainly ran out of a base I-formation, didn't watch much film and didn't have enough players for a full scrimmage -- the opposite of the Redmen. The wishbone was a new offense.

"The guys from Weskan didn't like it (the move) too much," Osburn said. "I thought it was a good move, moving somewhere where we could get some more looks from other colleges and come somewhere where we could help out a team I enjoy playing for this team."

Osburn averaged 13.7 yards on 16 carries in 2007 and began to see more reps by season's end.

The athleticism and speed was evident; Osburn won the high jump at the Hill City track regional and was on the Redmen's 1,600-meter relay team that finished second at state last spring. Barta calls Osburn the team's fastest player.

"When he came here, we knew that he had great ability and he was probably the most athletic kid on our team," Rogers said.

The 175-pound Osburn leads the Redmen in yards per carry (15.4) and delivered a huge game against Osborne in Week 8 with 296 yards on eight carries.

He had four touchdowns, including three on runs of 63 yards or longer.

"You could see the talent there," Barta said. "But he still had some things to learn, the way we do things. He has developed and matured, and the more he learns, the better he gets."