Just like Dad: Bruce wins Simone Award as KC area’s top high school football player
Following in his father’s footsteps but also blazing his own trail, Olathe North junior Arland Bruce IV has won the 37th annual Thomas A. Simone Award as the top high school football player in the Kansas City area.
The Eagles’ star quarterback was awarded the honor during a surprise assembly at his school Thursday. Bruce’s dad, Arland Bruce III, won the award in 1995, also at Olathe North.
Besides Bruce, other finalists for this year’s honor included Luke Grimm, a senior wide receiver/running back from Raymore-Peculiar; Jake Van Dyne, senior quarterback for Liberty North; and Tank Young, junior running back from St. Thomas Aquinas.
The winner was determined, as it is each fall, through votes from the Greater Kansas City Football Coaches Association, high school head coaches around the Metro and select members of local media organizations.
It’s been an exhilarating week for Bruce, who reported on Twitter several days ago that he’d received a scholarship offer from the Iowa State Cyclones. “So incredibly blessed to receive my first offer from Iowa State University!” Bruce said. “Thank you to all the people who have pushed me and shown me what hard work can do for you.”
More offers are no doubt on the way.
Olathe North (10-3) had a heck of a season this fall, and that was thanks in large part to Bruce’s efforts. The Eagles made it to the Kansas Class 6A state championship game in Emporia Nov. 30 but lost 63-26 to repeat winner Derby. Bruce rushed for three touchdowns in the title game, giving him 43 for the season with 2,487 yards on the ground. He also passed for 404 yards and five TDs.
The 2019 Sunflower League Player of the Year is closing in a couple of school records: 2009 Simone winner James Franklin’s career rushing mark and 2000 winner Darren Sproles’ career benchmark for rushing TDs. Already at 4,685 yards and 67 touchdowns, Bruce needs just over 1,200 yards and 13 touchdowns in his senior year to eclipse both milestones.
And even with that defeat against Derby, playing for championship rings marked a big step back to the spotlight for North, a former powerhouse that hadn’t reached a state final for nearly a decade.
“This meant a lot,” Bruce said after the Eagles’ semifinal win over Blue Valley on Nov. 22, “because we kind of had a state championship drought. To bring it back after nine years is a great feeling.”
Bruce’s dad, a cousin of former St. Louis Rams receiver Isaac Bruce, was an all-state running back who went on to play at Hutchinson Community College and the University of Minnesota, and then competed briefly in the NFL with the Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers.
The bulk of Arland Bruce III’s pro career — 10 seasons — was spent in the Canadian Football League with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Toronto Argonauts, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, BC Lions and Montreal Alouettes. He helped the Argonauts and Lions to Grey Cup championships.
This is the seventh time an Olathe North player has won the Thomas A. Simone Award. Along with Bruce’s father, other winners from Olathe North have included Josh Brewer (1997), Darren Sproles (2000), Maurice Mack (2001), Jim Bouknight (2002) and James Franklin (2009).
Other recent winners from around the Metro include current Kansas City Royals outfielder Bubba Starling (a former quarterback at Gardner Edgerton), K-State quarterback Skylar Thompson, former NFL quarterback Josh Freeman, and Drew Lock, the former Mizzou star from Lee’s Summit and this weekend’s starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium against the Chiefs.
Other Simone Awards were handed out this week, too. Here’s who garnered those honors.
- Frank Fontana Memorial Award (outstanding small-class player): Josey Meierarend, Sr., QB, Odessa
- Buck Buchanan Memorial Award (outstanding big-class DL/LB): Johnny Wilson, Sr., DL, Park Hill
- Bobby Bell Award (outstanding small-class defensive player): Garret Watson, Sr., LB, Platte County
- Otis Taylor Award (outstanding TE/WR): Daniel Jackson, Sr., WR, Bishop Miege
- Coach of the Year: William Lowe, Lincoln College Prep
- Nathan Stiles Inspiration Award: Brock Anderson, Blue Valley North, Sr., DL
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Tony Severino, retiring Rockhurst High coach
- Interscholastic League Offensive Player of the Year: Howard Brown, Jr., QB, Lincoln Prep
- Interscholastic League Defensive Player of the Year: Jermaine Hamilton-Jordan, Jr., LB, Lincoln Prep
The Simone Award was originally created in 1931 by Dr. D.M. Nigro and was bestowed until his death in 1976. The award was reinstated in 1983 by Anthony Simone and his wife as a tribute to their son, Tommy.
Past Thomas A. Simone Award winners
1983: Jeff Kelso, Park Hill
1984: Shawn Long, Grandview
1985: Craig Phillips, Lee’s Summit
1986: Tim Ryan, Rockhurst
1987: Kenyon Rasheed, Rockhurst
1988: Derrick Hart, Schlagle
1989: Jeff Handy, Blue Springs
1990: Kevin McIntosh, Hickman Mills
1991: Andy Murray, Blue Valley
1992: Nate Minnis, Blue Springs
1993: Jason Thoren, Lawrence
1994: Eddie Brooks, Blue Springs South
1995: Arland Bruce III, Olathe North
1996: Ladell Betts, Blue Springs
1997: Josh Brewer, Olathe North
1998: Sean Doyle, Rockhurst
1999: Brandon Shelby, Rockhurst
2000: Darren Sproles, Olathe North
2001: Maurice Mack, Olathe North
2002: Jim Bouknight, Olathe North
2003: Michael Keenan, Oak Park
2004: Chase Coffman, Raymore–Peculiar
2005: Josh Freeman, Grandview
2006: Zack Rampy, Blue Valley
2007: Nathan Scheelhaase, Rockhurst
2008: Blaine Dalton, Blue Springs South
2009: James Franklin, Olathe North
2010: Bubba Starling, Gardner Edgerton
2011: Evan Boehm, Lee’s Summit West
2012: Dalvin Warmack, Blue Springs
2013: Dalvin Warmack, Blue Springs[1]
2014: Drew Lock, Lee’s Summit
2015: Skylar Thompson, Fort Osage
2016: Julian Ross, Staley
2017: Ronnie Bell, Park Hill
2018: Graham Mertz, Blue Valley North
This story was originally published December 12, 2019 at 2:19 PM.
