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Written by Mark Dewar
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Wednesday, 01 September 2010 00:00 |
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Alas, someone up in central cooling, in keeping with gridiron tradition, seemingly has popped the bubble on the brunt of Kansas’ late-summer heat.
And here we go.
 As the 2010 high school football season kicks off beginning Thursday (see inset box for the full Week One schedule), Sun Country returns a single state champion from the 2009 ranks in reigning Class 4A state-champion Miege.
One thing is for certain amid all the natural and wonderful pre-season wondering: Miege will not repeat as 4A state champs, as the Stags make the move up to the 5A ranks through district play and what the Stags hope is beyond.
Also competing in 5A will be Blue Valley and St. Thomas Aquinas, while St. James Academy and brand-new Blue Valley Southwest take to the gridiron in 4A.
All five Shawnee Mission high schools, along with Blue Valley North, Blue Valley Northwest and Blue Valley West, clash in the state’s largest classification, 6A.
Below, The Sun asked the head coaches of each of our 13 teams for information regarding his team and league this season.
Here is how each of the coaches responded:
School – Bishop Miege
Coach – Tim Grunhard
Years head coach – Fifth.
Years head coach at school – Fifth.
Overall record last season – 12-2, Class 4A state champions.
League place – Third.
How do you look at the upcoming season? – “We need to play together. We have some new faces in new places.”
Top returning players (offense) – QB Max Shortell: 144/250, 57.6% Comp., 2,524 Yards, 29 TDs, 11 INTs, 1 PAT, 114.48 QB Rating. Shortell was 4A All-State first-team QB, honorable mention All-EKL; OT Phil Ford: Two-year starter at OT. Ford was unanimous All-EKL OL, honorable mention All-State OL; RB Mark Thorson: 44 carries, 383 yards and 2 TDs rushing, along with 4 receptions, 66 yards, 1 TD.
Top returning players (defense) – DL Shane Ray: 131 tackles, 32 TFLs, 15 Sacks, 4 Forced Fumbles, 1 Fumble Return for TD. Ray made the US Army All-America Combine, second-team All-EKL DL, honorable mention 4A All-State; LB Keenan Savage: 57 tackles, 3 TFLs, 2 tipped passes, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble rec.-1 TD. Savage was an honorable mention All-EKL LB; DB Stanton Webber: 93 tackles, 9 TFLs, 6 tipped passes, 2 INTs, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble rec. Webber was an honorable mention All-EKL LB.
What will the keys to success be for your team? – “The key to our season hinges on senior leadership.”
League race (excluding Miege) – “1. Gardner-Edgerton; 2. St. Thomas Aquinas; 3. Blue Valley West; 4. Blue Valley; 5. Blue Valley Northwest; 6. Blue Valley North; 7. Blue Valley Southwest.”
School – Blue Valley
Coach – Eric Driskell
Years head coach – First.
Years head coach at school – First. Driskell is in his 15th season in the Tigers program.
Record last season – 5-7.
State place last season – Class 6A state semifinals.
How do you look at the upcoming season? – “It is our quest to get better each and every day and give all of our opponents our very best effort every night.”
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Written by Mark Dewar
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Wednesday, 01 September 2010 00:00 |
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Thursday
SM Northwest at SM East (SMNDS)
Friday
Olathe East at SM North (SMNDS)
SM South at Olathe Northwest (CBAC)
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Written by Mark Dewar
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Wednesday, 01 September 2010 00:00 |
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Exhaustive? No.
All-encompassing? Absolutely not.
But rest assured of this much: For the teams these Sun Country high school players listed below represent, their play will prove pivotal to their team’s ultimate fortunes in the 2010 campaign.
Call them vital cogs.
 Along with The Sun’s analysis, a rival league coach weighs in for fans with a brief scouting report on each performer on our list.
All of the players are seniors, save for Blue Valley High School running back Justin Fulks, a junior.
Dylan Admire
OL
Blue Valley West
Rivals.com lists Admire as the No. 6 prospect in Kansas among the Class of 2011.
Ask around Blue Valley West football, and the 6-2, 264-pounder carries a reputation for a program-boosting work ethic to go along with his strong understanding of leverage. He has very good feet.
He was a second-team All-Sun offensive lineman in 2009.
A rival East Kansas League coach says: “Dylan is a really physical player that plays from whistle to whistle.”
Ian Allen
LB
Blue Valley
In a busy junior campaign, Allen sparked the Tigers amid their season rebound from 1-6 to the Class 6A state semifinals courtesy of his 121 tackles.
He also registered a pair of quarterback hurries along with three sacks. He also intercepted two passes.
Allen proved the lone underclassman on the All-Sun Defensive first team.
Those in Tigers circles rave about the “great motor” with which this hustling senior plays.
A rival East Kansas League coach says: “Ian is hard-nosed and athletic.”
P.J. Debey
WR
Blue Valley
Despite his underclassman status at the time, the 6-2, 212-pound Debey still provided plenty in the way of leadership to the Tigers a year ago in the improbable 5-7 finish and Class 6A sub-state game run that followed that ugly 1-6 start.
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Written by Mark Dewar
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Wednesday, 01 September 2010 00:00 |
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Blue Valley North senior Jack Sock, the reigning three-time All-Sun Singles Player of the Year, is the first-ever Kansan to compete in a professional Grand Slam tennis event.
 Sock earned a spot in the main draw of the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., by winning the USTA Boys National Championship at Kalamazoo, Mich.
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Written by Mark Dewar
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Wednesday, 01 September 2010 00:00 |
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As he winds his way through his 10th season leading the Blue Valley West High School football program in 2010, Jaguars coach Scott Wright ranks as the longest-tenured coach among the East Kansas League’s football mentors in terms of continuous service at his present school.
 His Jags, 3-6 last season, face a stiff test at 7 p.m. Friday when they travel to Gardner-Edgerton to open the new campaign with the Trailblazers.
Gardner-Edgerton finished as state runner-up in Class 5A last season.
Q. How time flies, Coach Wright. Blue Valley West opened in August of 2001, and as you enter your 10th season, you are now the East Kansas League’s elder statesman in terms of head coaching service at his current school. In short, what have you figured out about yourself and about this whole business of coaching high school football during that stretch?
A. They say time flies when you are having a good time, and that would be the best way I could describe the 10 years. I have become deeper in my resolve that high school football is a wonderful way for young men to grow into men of character. It is to that end that my focus will continue to be.
Q. Your Jaguars captured the Class 5A state title in 2007 in memorable fashion with a perfect 13-0 record. If you could bottle any one aspect of that team and see to it that every future team you coached could take a small dose, what trait would that be?
A. That group cared very deeply about one another. They were also a model of team-first athletes.
Q. Blue Valley West finished 3-6 last season, yet the Jaguars are receiving a whole lot in the way of love from the preseason rankings. Are those preseason accolades warranted in your mind? And while we’re on the subject, what are your thoughts in general regarding high school football rankings?
A. I have always felt rankings, especially in the preseason, were for the fans of the game. The most awesome thing about sports is it truly gets settled on the field. In our case, every Friday night the team gets the opportunity to compete. At the end of the season, the record tells the story!
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Written by Mark Dewar
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Wednesday, 25 August 2010 00:00 |
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Three high school head football mentors in fresh positions. Three teams.
One very common bond.
That being the clear fact that all three – Blue Valley Southwest High School’s Bill Lowe, Blue Valley’s Eric Driskell and Shawnee Mission North’s Dennis Grayless – display, no make that ooze – a winning mindset.
 Granted, the timing and taste of each’s magic elixir will vary this season, along with how it ultimately gets stirred, at brand-new Blue Valley Southwest, Blue Valley and SM North, respectively.
In the interim, none of the three seem to show much interest in a whole lot of team lollygagging on this side of the victories while hiding behind their new status in their current roles.
Player excuses and foot-dragging, save for on sideline patterns, simply will not fly.
All three harbor visions of on-field success – and quickly, hopefully – while hitting the turf running for season No. 1 at the local helm.
From there, of course, their individual personalities and methods quickly take over.
You’ll find the quick wit, veteran calm and vast head coaching experience of Lowe, who is charged with bringing to life the upstart Blue Valley Southwest football program.
Note the quiet confidence alive inside another fresh head mentor who knows his program from inside and out in Driskell.
A ways up Metcalf Avenue, check out that seemingly boundless energy – and yes, positive energy, thank you – displayed by former Marines Corps drill instructor Grayless at SM North.
Let’s break it down, men.
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Written by Mark Dewar
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Wednesday, 25 August 2010 00:00 |
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Shawnee Mission East
Thurs., 9/2 vs. SM Northwest (SMN District Stadium)
Friday, 9/10 vs. Lawrence(SMN District Stadium)
Thurs., 9/16 vs. SM North (SMN District Stadium)
Friday, 9/24 @ Olathe North (ODAC)
Friday, 10/1 @ Lawrence Free State
Thurs. 10/7 @ Olathe Northwest (CBAC)
Friday, 10/15 vs. Blue Valley North (SMS District Stadium)
Friday, 10/22 @ SM West (SMS District Stadium)
Friday, 10/29 vs. SM South (SMS District Stadium)
Shawnee Mission North
Friday, 9/3 vs. Olathe East (SMN District Stadium)
Thursday, 9/9 @ SM South (SMS District Stadium)
Thursday, 9/16 @ SM East (SMN District Stadium)
Friday, 9/24 vs. Free State (SMN District Stadium)
Friday, 10/1 @ SM West (SMS District Stadium)
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Written by Mark Dewar
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Wednesday, 25 August 2010 00:00 |
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Area footballers make Rivals Top 15
Five Sun Country high school football players appear on the Rivals.com Kansas Preseason Top 15 list for the Class of 2011.
At No. 3 and 5, respectively, are a pair of Bishop Miege performers in defensive end Shane Ray (6-4, 221) and quarterback Max Shortell (6-6, 214).
Blue Valley West offensive lineman Dylan Admire (6-2, 264) rates sixth, followed by St. Thomas Aquinas running back Dagan Reed (5-11, 195).
Shawnee Mission Northwest defensive end Drew Goodger (6-5, 234) ranks No. 11.
Gardner-Edgerton, which joins the East Kansas League this season, boasts the No. 1-rated prospect in quarterback Bubba Starling (6-4, 193).
Starling also rates as No. 110 on Rivals’ 250 Prospect Ranking for the Class of 2011.
Aquinas-Gardner slated for ESPNU
The much-heralded St. Thomas Aquinas-Gardner-Edgerton football matchup at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 22 will be televised live on ESPNU.
The contest has been moved to Gardner-Edgerton High, which can better accomodate the game given the space necessary for a national television broadcast.
When the announcement came at Aquinas, “My first thought was, what a great thing for a player to be able to play on ESPN,” second-year Saints coach Mike Thomas said. “ESPN wasn’t around when I was in high school.
“Just to be in their spot is exciting, but it can’t turn into a distraction.”
Aquinas advanced to the Class 5A state semifinals last season.
The lone two Saints losses, including their state semifinal defeat, came at the hands of the Blazers.
OP’s Hinemeyer earns early honor
Lipscomb University senior outside hitter Meghan Hinemeyer of Overland Park is a member of the A-Sun Preseason All-Conference Volleyball Team.
The 5-11 Hinemeyer, who attended St. Thomas Aquinas and in 2006 was the East Kansas League’s Most Valuable Player, was a second-team all-conference selection last season for the Lady Bisons.
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