By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

LA CROSSE -- Film study for the Smith Center coaching staff begins on a Saturday night, a week before the Redmen's next game, when head coach Roger Barta and assistants Brock Hutchinson and Tim Wilson start to break down film.

All of the coaches come in the next day, along with several people Barta says "are knowledgeable about the game."

"We have eight or nine or 10 people on Sunday and no matter how long it takes," Barta said. "I am just blessed that they are willing to work that hard. They do it because they love kids."

For Friday's contest against No. 2 La Crosse, Barta's staff prepared a 20-page scouting report which included formations, play tendencies and down and distance breakdowns. The game plan was the foundation in a 32-14 win for No. 1 Smith Center.

"We were so well trained," senior Kris Lehmann said. "We were ready for the game. Our coaches put together a great scouting report for us and I think we knew what they (La Crosse) were going to do before they did."

Smith Center improved to 11-0 and extended its winning streak to 65 games, one shy of the all-time winning streak in the state. Pittsburg/St. Mary's-Colgan has the record at 66. The Redmen will face Meade (10-1) Friday with a chance to tie the record. Meade defeated Ellis, 20-8.

La Crosse finished the year at 11-1, the second time in three seasons the Leopards lost to Smith Center in the sectional. Leopard senior Marshall Musil, a University of Oklahoma commit, was held to 31 total yards on 13 touches. La Crosse finished with 205 total yards.

"I probably didn't have as good of a game plan as I should have," La Crosse coach Ryan Cornelsen said. "Just couldn't move the ball. I thought our defense played well enough to win. Offense just couldn't get anything rolling."

Musil entered the game averaging 155 yards per game and 13 yards a carry. La Crosse, which averaged 50 points a game in its 11 wins, was held to its lowest point total of the season.

"They seemed to know where the ball was going," Musil said. "That's their coaching. It's just great coaching. They executed well. They didn't just stuff me. They stuffed all of us all night."

Smith Center used two big plays to take an early 14-0 lead. Senior halfback Joe Osburn, who averages 15 yards a carry, broke an 88-yard TD run down the right sideline on the game's second play. After a Leopards' three-and-out, Smith Center drove 80 yards in five plays.

Junior halfback Colt Rogers (game-high 149 yards) capped the drive with a 66-yard run. Smith Center led 12-0 at the 6:51 mark of the first quarter.

"Breaking the big play definitely weighs hard on their defense," Lehmann said.

La Crosse caught a break after another three-and-out when Rogers fumbled a punt at his own 8-yard line and the Leopards recovered. Three plays later, senior quarterback Jeremy Garcia hit senior Corey Torrez for a 7-yard touchdown pass. La Crosse wouldn't score again until 3:09 remained in the game.

"Brock Hutchinson is our D-coordinator and he really put together a great defensive plan," Barta said. "They did some things that we knew they would do in certain situations and our kids played it just like they were taught and our coaches coached them well."

Smith Center had several defensive keys, including tracking Musil. The senior had one yard on five first-half touches and had one play of more than seven yards overall.

"They attacked him," Cornelsen said. "I'm not going to lie. They came after him and stuffed him. He is a big part of our offense, but I thought the kids around him stepped up and played well, just not well enough."

On a fourth-and-1 from the Smith Center 35 early in the third quarter, Lehmann tackled Musil for a 1-yard loss and forced a turnover on downs.

"We knew that No. 2 (Musil) would take us to the ball every time, so we just used that as a key," Lehmann said. "Wherever he went, we pretty much followed him. Ninety-nine percent of the time, he took us to the ball, so that is what paid off for us."

"We had some definite keys that we were conscious of and they turned out to be true," Barta said.

Asked if he had seen a team so prepared, Musil responded, "2006 Smith Center," a team that beat La Crosse 46-0, one of three defeats in Musil's last three seasons.

La Crosse also had trouble with a 20-mile wind that made passing difficult. Senior quarterback Jeremy Garcia, who completed 64 percent of his passes entering Friday, was 5-for-12 for 52 yards.

"We had a lot of throwing in there, but the wind made us completely one-sided," Cornelsen said. "We are not good enough to be predominantly run. We need to be balanced and I don't want to make excuses. We should have been able to throw it no matter come rain, come wind. We have to be able to throw it and we just couldn't get it done."

Down 24-6 late in the third quarter, La Crosse faced a fourth-and-6 from the Smith Center 12. Garcia looked to pass, but was under pressure from Redmen senior Trevor Rempe. Garcia's pass to Torrez was knocked down by senior defensive back Ethan Eastes.

Smith Center put the game out of reach with several clock-chewing fourth quarter drives and a 33-yard TD run from Joel Osburn. In the final seconds, the Redmen fans started to chant "65, 65, 65."

"This is an ideal situation that we have at Smith Center and I am really blessed to have that kind of help," Barta said. "People are not afraid to spend time."