KJCCC football teams ready to take the field
KJCCC archrivals Hutchinson and Butler find themselves in similar situations as the 2018 football season approaches.
Both schools posted good records last season, but each narrowly missed doing so much better.
Butler (8-3 overall, ranked No. 15) finished in a tie for second last season in the league at 5-2, but a 7-0 loss to Iowa Central in the Grizzlies’ final game might have cost Butler a postseason appearance.
Hutch did go to a bowl game, the Salt City Bowl, but fell there to Eastern Arizona, 48-34.
At Friday’s KJCCC football media day at Newman University, both coaches, Tim Schaffner of Butler and Rion Rhoades of Hutch, lamented those late missed opportunities.
“When you look back at eight very distinct plays that changed the season, it leaves you scratching your head wanting more,” Schaffner said. “And of course, we had to wait nine months to get it going, and here we are.”
Rhoades said the Blue Dragons are hungry for redemption as well.
“The No. 1 fix for us is taking better care of the football,” he said. “We turned the football over at an alarming rate last year.
“At one point, we were 6-1 coming into the Butler game (the visiting Grizzlies triumphed, 38-10). We did have some injuries, but when it got to a couple of tough games, we just didn’t take good care of the football, and that hurt us. That’s normal; that’s what makes the difference in most games at any level.”
Even Hutch’s bowl game was bittersweet, Rhoades said.
“It would have been nice to win it,” he said.
Season-openers are less than a month away, and the urgency is not lost on either coach.
Butler will get an immediate opportunity to avenge the season-closing loss, kicking off the season at Iowa Central on Aug. 25. In the 2017 game, Iowa Central returned an interception 56 yards for the game’s only score just 11 seconds before halftime.
During his opening remarks, Schaffner made mention of the high number of close games in conference last season.
“The conference is a grind,” he said. “Our deal last year is we gave away non-offensive touchdowns in three games — eight of them in two (games). If we didn’t do that, maybe the coin flips the other way.”
He said the Grizzlies’ main strength is on the offensive line.
“(Returners) Zach Ingram and Jaden Rosenthall both started 10 games (in 2017),” Schaffner said. “Hopefully they’ll provide leadership, because the people they’re going to be lined up against and going against are monsters.”
Butler will have a new quarterback, with two redshirts from a year ago — Trae Self and Andover High product Chase Oberg — under consideration.
“They’re green, but it was nice to watch them mature into their position,” Schaffner said.
Rhoades, who returns seven offensive players who started at one time last season, said injuries hurt Hutch.
“Hopefully, the experience of the guys who filled in at those positions will prove to be helpful this year,” he said.
“It’s a fine line between winning and losing in this conference.”
The Blue Dragons begin their season Aug. 23 at home against Ellsworth.
In other news from the KJCCC Media Day:
New KJCCC commissioner Carl Heinrich presided over the proceedings, replacing Bryce Roderick, who retired in the spring after a 15-year run at the helm of the league. Heinrich, who spent the past year as assistant commissioner, began his duties July 1.
“It’s been a learning experience,” he said. “I think the quality of the league (in football) is going to be the best.”
Many of the coaches paid tribute to Coffeyville coach Aaron Flores, who underwent a double lung transplant to stem the chronic problem that has plagued him for years, dating to his time at Butler as offensive coordinator. He missed some games last season because of it.
“It was kind of off and on how well I was doing,” he said. “Doing well at times, sometimes it’s a struggle, but since the transplant, things have been going really, really good.”
He said the operation has given him a new lease on life.
“Not taking things for granted, taking advantage of every opportunity of being able to go out and do things with my family, my kids, our players, our friends,” he said. “Just trying to live it to the fullest.”
Schaffner said: “To see Aaron, for those of you who know the story, it’s amazing. We’re bitter rivals right now — there’s no question about it — but just knowing what Aaron went through, it shows you there’s more to this than winning games. That’s a good dude, and it just tickled me when I saw the first pictures of him coming out of surgery. It looked like 1989 ‘Flo’ when he was playing at Butler.”
Rhoades: “(Friday) is special for a lot of reasons. We’re all excited about the upcoming football season, but when I saw Coach Flores walk in, man, it really put everything in perspective. This guy is special in a lot of ways. He means a lot to his team, his coaches and his players; but he means a lot to me and he means a lot to the other coaches in this conference.”
KJCCC preseason coaches poll
(2017 finish in parentheses)
1. Independence (first)
2. Garden City (tied for second)
3. Butler (tied for second)
4. Hutchinson (fourth)
5. Dodge City (eighth)
6. Highland (tied for seventh)
7. Coffeyville (fifth)
8. Fort Scott (tied for seventh)