Tony Dudik continues to play down the significance of Central’s upset victory against Blue Springs South at Noyes Field.

“I’ve been blessed to be here 23 years. Some guys do that in about 12 or 15,” said Dudik of his 100th career win as a head coach.

But make no mistake about the milestone’s importance to his players.

“It was a big thing all week with the guys,” Central quarterback Ryan Wallace said. “We were talking about it; it was special. We wanted to make sure we went out there and took care of business.”

Wallace orchestrated a burgeoning offense to more than 500 yards of offense against the Jaguars, a Class 6 state finalist twice in the past three years.

The victory suddenly turned a slow-starting Central team into a .500 club that now looks like a factor in its conference and district. The Indians won only two games overall in 2008, none in their return the largest of four tiers in the Suburban League.

A host of talented juniors helped rejuvenate the program, especially after the team celebrated with fans following last week’s dramatic overtime win.

“If anyone wasn’t having any fun after the Blue Springs South game, they’re having fun now,” said Wallace, who ran for a touchdown to go with 215 passing yards against Blue Springs South.

Central goes for the Lee’s Summit sweep tonight when the Indians match up with the Lee’s Summit Tigers (1-3). Central beat Lee’s Summit North in Week 3, and the hope is to bookend that against the Tigers to earn a three-game winning streak.

Mostly, Dudik wants the Indians to move past the emotions of last week’s win — but not to forget them.

“I kind of compare everybody’s mind to a computer,” Dudik said. “Save it in your file, and then later on down the road, you can pull it up and it’ll be a lot of fun.”

Grand matchup

Hamilton hasn’t lost a Grand River Conference game since the first half of the 2007 season.

Winners in 18 of their past 20 in the GRC, the Hornets often haven’t been challenged in that span. They have no choice but to expect a test tonight from Class 2 rival South Harrison.

“We haven’t had any problems motivating them in practice; that’s for sure,” Hamilton coach Dave Fairchild said.

Hamilton and South Harrison enter with identical 4-0 records and the only undefeated ledgers in GRC play. The matchup likely will determine the

conference champion.

In addition, South Harrison — just outside of the AP’s Class 2 rankings — and Hamilton, Class 1’s No. 2 team in the polls, should figure out a lot about their postseason potential.

“I think we’ll have a better idea where we’re at after this game,” Fairchild said. “We think this certainly will be a measuring stick.”

Rollercoaster of victory

East Buchanan coach Kevin Bryan believed his team dominated the first half last week against Lathrop — except for the first quarter interception Carl Brunner returned for a Lathrop score.

Then a long punt return sparked a run of three straight touchdowns for the Mules in the second half. Suddenly, East Buchanan found itself fighting to avoid an upset.

“One minute you’re elated at how your players are playing and what’s happening,” Bryan said. “Then the momentum switches, and you can’t figure out why or how to stop it.”

Quarterback Seth Plackemeier doubled his touchdown pass total during the fourth quarter of that game with long scores to Cory Bower.

With only two TD tosses through three weeks, Plackemeier hit Bower on strikes of 65 and 45 yards to help East Buchanan win 28-27.

Bower’s first score came on a busted play that saw Plackemeier roll out, and Bower slowly leaked down the field. On the second, a cornerback bit on an underneath route only to leave Bower open behind the defense with 3½ minutes remaining.

East Buchanan’s defense held from there and improved the Bulldogs to 3-1 — a mark that included a one-point win in the first week against West Platte.

“We could easily be 1-3 as 3-1, but we’ve found ways to win,” Bryan said.

Assistant sports editor Ross Martin can be reached at rossmartin@npgco.com

AREA GAME OF THE WEEK

South Harrison at Hamilton

❯❯ WHEN — 7 tonight

❯❯ BROADCASTS — 100.1 FM (KKWK)

❯❯ RECORDS — South Harrison 4-0 (4-0 GRC), Hamilton 4-0 (3-0 GRC)

❯❯ PLAYERS TO WATCH — South Harrison: Freshman LB Austin Vandivert contiinues to impress, recorded 11 tackles, 1 of 3 South Harrison interceptions last week in win against Maysville. Hamilton: Junior QB Keagan Prather only has 22 pass attempts, 2 interceptions with Hornets rolling over opponents thus far.

❯❯ NOTES — Matchup marks pivotal point in GRC race with teams holding only unbeaten marks in conference play ... Hamilton’s best test came Week 3 in 37-7 win against Braymer. South Harrison survived Week 1 in 26-0, at time seemingly upset, of Princeton ... Hamilton has allowed only 20 points this season, 13 against King City Week 2 ... South Harrison yielded only single touchdowns to Gallatin (49-8, W), Maysville (39-6, W) ... Hamilton took GRC crown last year with unbeaten mark. South Harrison finished 3rd.