A win at Keys would give Vian a perfect 10-0 record as well as the second-straight District A-7 championship for head coach Brandon Tyler's squad.
After an emotional 55-7 thrashing of highly-regarded Lincoln Christian last week, Tyler said the Wolverines won't have any trouble getting fired up again.
"That's a big motivation for our kids," said Tyler. "We have to get Lincoln Christian out of our heads and get to work on Keys, because this is a much bigger ball game. We don't want them to spoil what we've got a chance to do."
Keys also enters the showdown with an undefeated record. The Cougars are 9-0 overall and they've won 18-of-19 regular season games over the past two years with their only setback coming against Vian. Tyler believes the Cougars will be on a mission to redeem that 16-0 loss, much like Vian was last week against Lincoln Christian.
"The shoe's on the other foot now and they'll be trying to pay us back for beating them for the district title last year," said Tyler.
Keys is led by senior quarterback Zack Harbuck, who passed for 156 yards and two touchdowns before sitting out the second half of last week's 49-6 win at Talihina. The 5-9, 160-pounder has already rushed and passed for more than 1,000 yards this season.
"He runs the veer well and is very slippery and strong," said Tyler. "You see people try to tackle him and he comes out of the pile and goes score. He'll be one of the best quarterbacks we've seen because of his ability to run and pass."
Jayson Steeley (6-1, 165) has moved into the tailback spot and the Cougars have a quality receiver in Shelby Berry (6-0, 165). The offensive line is anchored by senior guard/tackle D.J. Fields (5-10, 300).
Keys is averaging just under 45 points per game, while the Cougar defense has allowed the second-fewest points (112) in the district behind Vian (19).
Among the key defensive players for Keys are free safety Keith Sumpter (5-9, 155), linebacker Kerry Hudgins (5-8, 175) and linebacker Michael Morrison (5-8, 190), who returned an interception 61 yards for a touchdown last week at Talihina.
The Cougars are the only team standing in the way of an undefeated regular season for Vian. The last Wolverine squad to do that was the 1995 team coached by Ray Jordan and led by Kenyatta Wright. That team went 9-0 and won a pair of playoff games over Inola and Morris before falling to Berryhill in the Class 2A state quarterfinals.
While the 1995 team was impressive, the current crew has been even more dominant while outscoring opponents 535-19. But even after last week's romp over a quality Lincoln Christian team, Tyler said he doesn't have to worry about overconfidence.
"We've done a pretty good job of avoiding that and everybody keeps us focused," said Tyler. "We can't afford a let-down now because we've worked too hard to get to where we are. Keys isn't going to lay down, so we're going to have to go out and play 48 minutes of football. With the kids we've got and the leaders we've got, I don't think that will be a problem. If you can't get up for a game like this, then you're in trouble."
Vian has been led offensively by tailback Vfastv Locust and quarterback Seth Sloan, who are both averaging more than 18 yards per carry. Locust has rushed for 1,536 yards and 32 touchdowns on just 84 carries. Sloan, who rolled an ankle last week against Lincoln, has run for 406 yards on 21 attempts in addition to completing 54-of-82 passes for 1,094 yards and 19 TDs.
Londell Taylor paces the receivers with 20 catches for 465 yards and eight TDs, while Locust has caught six for 176 and Timmy Hart 10 for 161.
Senior Garrett Ford is Vian's leading tackler with 66 stops this season. Nick Albertson is next with 62, followed by Justin Schaub (57), Pat Davis (43), Phillip Wright (40) and Jarrett Tyler (40).
