St. Mary’s has good reasons for optimism
By BOB LUDER
The Kansas City Star
Here’s one thing St. Mary’s football coach John Gresham can say with certainty.
The Trojans will be improved.
The Trojans lost only one starter, and Gresham believes last season’s 1-8 record was more a product of inexperience than lack of talent.
“We’ll definitely be better than last year,” he said.
A couple of the reasons for the optimism is the return of senior tailback Paul Baker and senior wide receiver and cornerback Kyle Willms. Also a welcome sight are two linemen/linebacker types in juniors Blake Scofield and Jake Rau.
Gresham said he’s also very excited about sophomore Henry Handley, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound sophomore who will play tailback and cornerback.
“We think he’s going to be pretty special,” he said.
Another reason for optimism is that St. Mary’s moves from Missouri Class 2 to Class 1.
The bad news is that the Trojans’ district includes Class 1 defemding state champion Orrick. The good news, however, is that two teams advance out of each district to the playoffs, and the other two district teams are Wentworth Military Academy and Braymer.
“A lot has changed,” Gresham said. “We got rid of a lot of the bigger schools we were playing.”
Indeed, St. Mary’s also is in a new conference. The Trojans will compete in the new Crossroads Conference with Lone Jack, Sherwood and Maranatha Academy. Additions for basketball are Barstow School and Lee’s Summit Christian.
“I’ve been in here long enough now that these are my kids now,” Gresham said. “We installed an off-season weight program that’s really helped the kids’ strength.”
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