The Timberwolves (3-4) upset No. 1 Topeka Seaman, 27-21, last week.

"We know very well the league they play in, and it's a difficult schedule," said Aquinas coach Randy Dreiling.  BV Southwest plays in the Eastern Kansas League, which included only Blue Valley schools this season.  "They're obviously playing their best football right now, which is what every coach wants.  We need to play our best to win."

Aquinas has reached sub-state in six consecutive seasons.

The Timberwolves and Saints met at this same stage last season.  Aquinas won, 41-19.  The Saints have won four in a row in the series, last losing in 2016, 30-27.

BV Southwest defeated Emporia, 36-14, in the first round of playoffs.  Each of the Timberwolves' regular-season losses was by double digits this season, but they allowed only 23 and 19 points to Blue Valley and Blue Valley North, respectively, the final two games of the season.

"Last week against Pittsburg, our defense had so many stops and made some plays in the backfield, and we're going to need that against Blue Valley Southwest," said Dreiling.  "This team feeds off its defense, so we need them to set the tone.  We just need to be physical and sound on both sides of the ball.  We're playing to reach the state semifinals, so this is exactly where we want to be."

After last week's 48-13 win over Pittsburg, the Saints are leading opponents in scoring on average this season, 28-27.

The Saints and their opponents are about even on third- and fourth-down conversions, the Saints leading by percentage, 46-41.

Aquinas leads in total offense per game on average, 336-298, but opponents lead per play, 5.9-5.3.

Senior back, Tyron "Tank" Young, last week surpassed 1,000 yards rushing this season for the third consecutive season (1,103).  Sophomore fullback, Sean Carroll, surpassed 500 yards rushing (507).

Senior defensive end, Cameron Penny, leads the tackle chart, following his performance last week with three sacks and three tackles for loss