Sunflower League high school football team-by-team previews

Shawnee Mission East, featuring 17 returning starters, won’t be lacking experience as the Lancers attempt to build on a 9-2 record last season that ended in a Kansas Class 6A quarterfinal loss to Olathe North.

Senior Luke Kaiser returns at quarterback and will be a dual-threat option for the Lancers. He totaled at least 600 yards each through the air and on the ground last season.

“A lot of our offense will depend on how well our offensive line meshes, especially early on,” Lancers head coach Dustin Delaney said. “But we have a returning quarterback, and some new running backs that I think are pretty talented. They’re kind of a ‘thunder and lightning’ combo.”

The “thunder” part of that running back duo is junior Milton Braasch, a 205-pound power back who will be key in short-yardage situations. Senior Nigil Houston, billed for his speed, will also see snaps in the backfield.

Simon Bradley, a senior inside linebacker coming off a first team all-Sunflower League season, will lead East on the defensive side of the ball.

“We fell short last season, but our goal is always to compete for a state championship,” Delaney said. “We want to get back to that level this year.”

SM WEST

It was an inauspicious start to the football season for Shawnee Mission West last year when starting running back Jason Meeker, moments after taking his first carry 55 yards, broke his ankle. He missed his entire junior season, and West went 7-3, bowing out in the Kansas Class 6A state quarterfinals.

The Vikings are hopeful they will have a little better luck this season. Meeker is back and ready to lead West’s offense, which also boasts a new starting quarterback, Zach Witters.

“Zach didn’t start last year, but he got some quality time,” head coach Tim Callaghan said. “Pair him with our running backs, and we have a good wide receiver core coming back, and I feel pretty good about our offense.”

Meeker will share time with another running back who helped fill his spot last year — junior Kirby Grigsby. Israel Watson will lead the wide receivers group.

Defense could be a strength for West this season. Senior linebackers Montell Madlock, Cole Fletcher and Jay Hawkins will all return for their starting roles this season. Most of last year’s starting defensive line remains intact, as well, with Jahann Lamb, Blake Britney and Terrion Brewer all coming back.

“We have a really strong senior class, 23 of them this year,” Callaghan said. “They’re really talented, and know how high our expectations are. They’re ready for the challenge.”

OLATHE NORTH

Olathe North is no stranger to completely resuscitating a roster.

The team returned less than a quarter of its starters after a 2014 run to the Kansas Class 6A state semifinals. Despite the inexperience, 2015 yielded another sub-state appearance, and a 10-2 season.

This year, the Eagles will have to pull off similar magic. Two starters remain from that 10-2 group, and North will have to replace its starting quarterback, running back, receivers and most linemen.

“We had kind of the same situation (in 2014) — a couple of Division-I kids and a lot of kids who ended up playing in college all had graduated,” head coach Chris McCartney said. “Then the seniors kind of stepped up and bought in and played well. We’re hoping for that again this year.”

Safety/running back Deion Poindexter and lineman Wyatt Creek are the extent of North’s returning starters, and both are seen as leaders of this year’s squad, McCartney said.

Although the defense doesn’t return much, it has some experience. Malik Baynum-Brown saw quite a bit of time at cornerback, often filling in for injured players last season. Junior middle linebacker Ryan Huck also saw time as a sophomore, and could use his ball skills at the tight end position this year.

“Both of those guys will play big roles for us this year,” McCartney said. “Our schedule is brutal and it’s going to be tough for us to get a good (playoff) seed with that overall lack of experience. We’re going to have our character tested for sure. But we’ve been through this before.”

OLATHE NORTHWEST

Before the first snap of the season, Olathe Northwest coach Chip Sherman already has a special feeling for the senior class.

Sherman, who is in his fourth season at Olathe Northwest, has watched these young Ravens sprout their wings and grow into a formidable program capable of competing with the best in the Sunflower League.

Olathe Northwest is coming off a 6-3 season and looking to build on that success. It is a remarkable turnaround for a program that won only 22 games in 11 years.

“We feel we are making really good strides, building a program,” said Sherman, who previously built successful football programs at Platte County and Shawnee Mission East. “We have had back-to-back winning seasons. We are a program on the move.”

The Ravens return seven starters on offense and four on defense. It always helps a team when the quarterback returns and that is what Olathe Northwest has in Easton Crupper. Several of the offensive linemen who will protect him are Chase Hartquist, Conrad Kaminsky and Nate Oswalt.

“We had a really good offseason in every phase of it,” Sherman said. “The kids worked hard. They have high goals. We have a very challenging schedule, but everybody goes through stuff like that. It is going to be fun.”

For Sherman, part of the fun is watching how the senior class has grown as football players over the years to become competitive on a weekly basis.

“Those relationships and those times seeing them grow and improve are just gigantic,” Sherman said. “To me, that is a lot of the fun of this, building relationships and all those memories you have with them. That is the best part for me.”

SM NORTH

Shawnee Mission North head coach Ben Bartlett admits the school has had a “down streak” the past few seasons. But this year, he says, could be the one where North gets over the hump.

Although North finished 3-7 in 2015, its offense was its strength. The Indians’ season ended in the first round of the Kansas Class 6A playoffs against Lawrence, but they put up 36 points in the finale. Carrying that momentum into 2016 will be key, according to Bartlett.

“Our offense was very good last year, and we anticipate kind of continuing where we left off,” he said. “We’re working hard to shore up our defense and not allow as many points, because that’s what slowed us down previously.”

The Indians will return a couple of their strongest offensive pieces for the 2016 season — quarterback Will Schneider and running back Marcos Garcia, both seniors. Schneider passed for 2,460 yards and 19 touchdowns, and added 10 scores on the ground last year. Garcia ran for 761 yards and eight touchdowns, and will be one of the most important pieces to 2016, according to Bartlett.

Leading the defensive unit will be another pair of seniors, linebacker/safety Spencer Dubois, and defensive lineman Danny Presler.

“Both of those guys have really worked hard in the offseason, and could have big seasons for us,” Bartlett said. “Guys really look to them to lead, and with that leadership, I think our defense could be a lot better this year.”

OLATHE EAST

With only 10 seniors on the roster, Olathe East coach Jesse Owen enters his second season with cautious optimism.

“We have great kids,” Owen said. “I love our kids. They are doing all the right things. It is easy to go to work and coach hard for those guys because they are just good kids.”

Owen, though, understands some of the younger players will experience some growing pains. As a former standout running back at Olathe North in the mid 1990s and then later as an assistant coach at Olathe North, Owen knows the strength and reputation of the Sunflower League.

“There is an old adage that every sophomore you play, you are going to lose at least one game,” Owen said. “We are going to play about six.

“Our skill guys are all going to be sophomores this year. They are going to be good football players. Unfortunately, we got to throw them into the fire. They are going to have to learn extremely fast.”

Two seniors Owen is counting on are Ben Waldron and Ryan Strong. Waldron will play running back and defensive back and Strong will play on the line, primarily on offense

In all, Olathe East returns three starters on offense and four on defense.

“There is certainly more familiarity going into year two,” Owen said. “They are doing everything we ask them to do. Our coaching staff is really good. I have really good assistant coaches. I am not saying it just to say it. We have in place a lot of good things.”

Owen wants to build a program that competes for championships. That is what he is accustomed to. In 1996, he played on Olathe North’s first of eight state championship teams. Owen later played at Pittsburg State, one of the perennial powers in NCAA Division II football.

“I want a team and a program that is respected by fellow coaches and peers in our league recognizing that we play the game the right way and we play the game hard and with class,” Owen said.

OLATHE SOUTH

First-year coach Craig Lewis feels fortunate that he is stepping into a good situation. Lewis looks beyond the 1-8 record of a year ago and the fact he will play a significant number of underclassmen to see a bright future.

For one, Olathe South has a strong tradition of success in not only football, but other sports such as baseball, wrestling and girls basketball while also maintaining a high academic standard.

“I am taking over a program that was solid when I walked in,” Lewis said. “That is a great opportunity.”

Lewis has a good idea what a successful high school football program looks like. He spent six years at Staley High School, working under coach Fred Bouchard whose teams regularly won eight or more games.

“I learned from coach Bouchard how to build a program and keep it going,” Lewis said. “You don’t worry about your talent. You just constantly build with what you have and make the most out of it by teaching them to outwork people.”

Lewis is still learning about the players at Olathe South. He knows he will play sophomores and juniors.

“We will have to play a lot of kids, because when you are young, it physically takes a little wear on the body more,” Lewis said.

On offense, Lewis expects senior running back Oakley Reed to perform well. Lewis said Reed has decent speed and is pretty tough.

The one area Olathe South has seniors at is on the line. Four of the starting linemen are seniors.

Defensively, Lewis is looking for good things from senior safety Brady Norenberg and senior linebacker Luke Meenahan.

“I expect us to play quick and fast to take advantage of what we have because we don’t have the physical size,” Lewis said. “The kids have been great so far, jumping on board and doing everything we ask.

“The kids are giving great effort. Every time we tell them to pick it up, they continue to go after it. They have come out with good attitudes and worked hard.”

SM NORTHWEST

After a 1-8 campaign last year, Shawnee Mission Northwest and second-year head coach Bo Black are ready for a fresh start. The team returns only four 2015 starters, and will have to rely on youth for a turnaround season.

“I hate to use the term rebuilding, but as a whole we’re concentrating on building a program, because it’s been kind of nonexistent,” said Black, who took over the reins last season. “We feel like we’re making strides, and we’re going to put a team out there that’s going to compete.”

Inside linebacker Noah Roberts and junior free safety B.J. Harvey, both juniors, will try to give the Cougars a much-needed defensive boost. They are the only two returning starters on that side of the ball.

“We’re going to be young, but Noah being back there as a junior is huge for us,” Black said. “He was our best defensive player for us last year. We really struggled last year defensively; in most defensive stats, we were dismal. But we’ve worked really hard to get better on that side, and he and B.J. Harvey are a big part of that.”

The team’s run game will also get a boost from the return of running back Xavier Perry. He rushed for nearly 1,300 yards last year, and will head into his senior season ready to top that mark.

SM SOUTH

It’s all uphill for Shawnee Mission South. The team started last year 0-8, before notching its only win in the final week of the season.

Keeping the team’s spirits high, despite losses piling on, was an important piece of head coach Brett Oberzan’s philosophy. With 14 starters returning from that team, Oberzan is hoping the sting of a 1-8 year will spur them to a turnaround season.

“Those kids who caught a glimpse of last year, that was a tough deal,” Oberzan said. “It’s a thing where you know you’ve got to show the kids they’ve got to believe and they’re doing the right things. … I think they, especially the seniors, are ready to lead us to better things.”

Several important pieces to South’s defense return, including linebacker Bremen Scholz, and defensive linemen Tony Thomas and Brock Minton. All three were starters last year.

The offense is less sure. A quarterback battle between sophomore Deonte Carroll and senior Will Choate will be the first domino that falls. In front of whoever wins, though, will be a battle-tested offensive line, including Scholz and Kamau Kimaru.

The trenches are where the most improvement will come for South, after a renewed focus on strength and conditioning this summer.

“The biggest thing in getting your confidence back is getting back in the weight room in the offseason, keeping those kids together, doing things together,” Oberzan said. “Being able to get a little confidence any way you can find is huge.”

This story was originally published August 30, 2016 at 6:44 PM with the headline "Sunflower League high school football team-by-team previews."