Sports Preview

ROUGHREADY

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Tony Tanumai, left,and Juan Saucedoenjoy life in thetrenches forstate powerFort Osage

T H E E X A M I N E R ’ S H I G H S C H O O L S P O R T S S P E C I A L E D I T I O N

AUGUST26 • 2010

• Blue Springs• Blue Springs South• Fort Osage• Truman• William Chrisman• Van Horn• Grain Valley+ other area teams

Previews of

Division I recruit Jordan Nubinehopes to make his mark, helpcarry on Blue Springs tradition

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— High School Sports Football Preview — August 26, 2010 — The Examiner

The Examiner’s High School Sports Special Edition: 2010 Football Preview

I t’s the smell of grass on a hot August day that signals to me that football is back.

It takes me back to my days in high school suffering through two-a-days in the final dog days of summer. But it also means that the first whistle and first snap aren’t far off either.

And this year promises to possibly be more interesting than most. It seems this year has more mystery to it than many in the time I’ve been in the area. It seems like there are more question marks and less sure things, but I’ve also heard that there is a lot of promising newcomers as well.

So what will it be? A big year like last season when we had Blue Springs in the Class 6 title game, two teams – Fort Osage and Raytown South – in the Class 5 final four with Fort Osage finishing as the state runner-up and Grain Valley going to the Class 4 state quarterfinals? Or a down year when the local teams struggle to finish in the top two in districts?

Expect Blue Springs to be good, but even the Wildcats have question marks despite the return of all-state running back Darrian Miller, the state’s reigning Gatorade Player of the Year.

Can Blue Springs South bounce back from an

uncharacteristic losing season? A healthy quarterback in Calvin Jacobson, a whole returning offensive line and a promising backfield featuring Chris Gilyard and newcomer Donnell Alexander may be the cure.

Will Fort Osage and Raytown South bounce back from big losses on both sides of the ball to remain state powers in Class 5?

Will Grain Valley be able to replace the first Division I recruit in its history – quarterback Austin Gouldsmith?

Will William Chrisman continue its ascent that started last year or will having its third head coach in three years stunt the Bears’ growth? Will Tru-man flourish under new head coach Jeff Floyd, a former college coach?

Some of the answers are inside, and some we won’t know until the end of the season. Take a look inside, though, and see what the area teams have in store for this season.

This edition is a labor of love for us, but we got a lot of help along the way. I’d like to thank Brock Stubbs of pec-sports.com for providing the team photos for the Lee’s Summit schools. We hope you enjoy!

MYVIEW

KARL ZINKE

The Examiner’sHigh School Sports

Special Edition Vol.2,No.2

TheExaminerP.O.Box459Independence,MO64051Phone:816-254-8600Fax:816-254-0211

Director/Sports EditorKarlZinke•[email protected]

Contributing Editor/DesignCharlieSlenker•[email protected]

Examiner Executive [email protected]

Examiner [email protected]

Cover Design: KarlZinke

Contributing WritersBillAlthausTorianoPorterShawnRoney

PhotographerAdamVogler©TheExaminer’sHighSchoolSportsSpe-cialEditionispublishedbyTheExaminerfivetimesayearanddistributedtopaidsubscribersofTheExaminerandalsofreelyaroundEasternJacksonCounty.

On the cover ...A special thanks to Fort Osage all-state line-men Juan Saucedo and Tony Tanumai for pos-ing for our cover shot taken by photo editor Adam Vogler. See their story on page 32 and 33. Thanks to Adam for going all over Eastern Jack-son County to get most of the photos.

New season holds a lot of mystery48

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Blue Springs team previewBlue Springs South team previewFort Osage team previewDick’s Picks: 2010 season predictionGrain Valley team previewLee’s Summit team previewLee’s Summit North team previewLee’s Summit West team previewOak Grove team previewCover story: Fort Osage linemenRaytown team previewRaytown South team previewSt. Mary’s team previewTruman team previewVan Horn team previewWilliam Chrisman team previewAll local team photos

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The Essence of Sport.High School Sports Football Preview — August 26, 2010— The Examiner —

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Head coach: Kelly Donohoe (11th season; 97-21 at Blue Springs, 122-28 overall).Assistant coaches: Marc Hines, Tim Dade, Matt Marble, Damon Alsup, Joe Cusack, Dave Podjenski, Nolan Hochgrebe, Eric Neff, Tim McElli-gott, Brett Anwander, Ryan Luethje.2009 record: 12-2, first place Suburban Big Seven at 6-0; Class 6 district champion, Class 6 state runnerup.Returning letter winners: 20Returning offensive starters (3): Darrian Miller, 5-11, 185, sr., RB; Cory Phillips, 6-5, 305, sr., OL; Jordan Nubine, 6-3, 215, sr., WR.Returning defensive starters (6): Mike McHenry, sr., 6-1, 205, LB; Lewis Foutz, 6-2, 215, sr., LB; Jon Trocosso, 6-1, 200, sr., LB; Bernard Thomas, 5-11, 185, sr., DB; Justin Middleton, 6-1, 215, sr., DL; Myles Hicks, 5-11, 245, sr., DL.Others to watch: Kyle Brown, 6-3, 200, jr., QB.

Wildcat facts:

2010 scheduleAug. 27 — at RockhurstSept. 3 — StaleySept. 10 — TrumanSept. 17 — at Fort OsageSept. 24 — Lee’s SummitOct. 1 — at Raymore-PeculiarOct. 8 — at Lee’s Summit NorthOct. 15 — at Blue Springs SouthOct. 22 — LibertyOct. 29 — Columbia Rock Bridge

2009 resultsW-L/Opponent BS-OppW-Lee’s Summit West 48-13W-St. Joseph Central 42-13L-Rockhurst 3-17W-Raymore-Peculiar 54-17W-Park Hill South 42-14W-Lee’s Summit North 45-14W-Blue Springs South 42-0W-Liberty 51-21W-Rock Bridge 49-14W-Lee’s Summit* 51-12W-Rockhurst** 22-21W-St. Louis DeSmet*** 35-5L-Hazelwood Central**** 24-35

▼ BLUE SPRINGS WILDCATS

By BILL [email protected]

The list of quarterbacks who have enjoyed great success at Blue Springs High School is endless – Jeff Handy, Jeff Moreland, Nick Cal-drone, Jared Lanpher and state champions Nate Minnis, Jordan Whitworth and Stinson Dean.

Will Kyle Brown, this year’s starter, join the ranks of the greats?

“If hard work has anything to do with it, he will,” said senior wide out and one of the top recruits in the state, Jordan Nubine. “Kyle will do anything it takes to get better. He’s one of the hardest workers on the team and you can see him improve every day at practice.”

Brown takes over from Lanpher, a three-year starter who played a key role in the 2009 team’s march to the Class 6 state championship game.

“Jordan worked hard, too,” Nubine said. “After three years, he knew everything about our offense and he had some big time weapons with Keeston (Terry, who is now at the Univer-sity of Kansas) and Darrian (Miller, the reign-ing Gatorade Missouri Player of the Year who is back for his senior year with the Wildcats).

“Darrian is going to make life a lot easier for all of us,” Nubine added of the highly recruited running back, who rushed for just less than 2,800 yards last season. “When teams put eight guys in the box to stop Darrian, Kyle is going to do some damage.”

Nubine, Miller and offensive lineman Cory Phillips are the lone returnees from last year’s 12-2 squad that torched most opponents.

And it’s not going to take coach Kelly Dono-hoe long to find out where his team stands as the Wildcats travel to Rockhurst in Week 1 to face the archrival Hawklets.

Blue Springs High School’s Justin Middleton, back left, Jon Trocosso, Lewis Foutz, Jordan Nubine, Cory Phillips, Bernard Thomas, Miles Hicks, front left, Darrian Miller, Jonathan Wil-liams, Tyshaan Alleyne, Aaron Peola and Tim Supplee.

The Examiner/ADAM VOGLER

It’s traditionWildcats’ Kyle Brown willing to work to cement name with successful QBs

See WILDCATS / 15

By DICK PUHRThe Examiner

What goes around comes around is the case sometimes.

An exception is the Blue Springs football program.

The Wildcats, in The Examiner’s poll of the coaches, are a solid choice to claim a repeat championship in the revised Suburban Big Six.

Raymore-Peculiar placed second. Then came Liberty, Blue Springs South, Lee’s Summit North and Lee’s Summit. A coach couldn’t rank his own team. The championship has gone to Blue Springs or Blue Springs South since 2000. The two shared the title with Raymore-Peculiar in 2008.

Senior Darrian Miller is a big reason Blue Springs is the favorite. He rushed for 2,798 yards

and scored 40 touch-downs as the Wild-cats went12-2 and placed second in the state Class 6 meet. Eight other starters also return.

“We will be i n e x p e r i e n c e d on offense,” Blue Springs coach Kelly Donohue said. “The defense has to play well early until the offense catches

up.”

RAYMORE-PECULIARStandout quarterback Cameron Coff-

man returns from an 8-4 Panther team that advanced to the state Class 5 quarterfinals.

“We will be a young football team,” coach Tom Kruse said. “Our strength will be our skilled guys. We are very inexperienced in

the offensive and defensive lines. Jumping to Class 6 will be a big change for us at dis-trict time but competition will still be tough throughout the year.”

LIBERTYDespite the split with the new Liber-

ty North, the Blue Jays figure to remain potent.

“We have some experience and talent along our offensive and defensive lines,” coach Joel Wells said. “We have many skill positions to replace.”

Liberty went 8-3 last season.

BLUE SPRINGS SOUTHThe Jaguars likely will rebound from a

rare 4-6 losing season.“We have seven returning starters back

on offense,” coach Greg Oder said. “We have a pretty large senior class. We return 22 let-termen from last year because we played a lot of young players. A weak point is we have only four starters back on defense.”

LEE’S SUMMIT NORTHProspects of an improvement of a 3-7

season are bright.“We are very excited about the return-

ing lettermen,” second-year coach Ty Kohl said. “We are more experienced and looking forward to an exciting year.”

LEE’S SUMMITEric Daniels, who is the conference’s

only new coach, didn’t inherit a bare cup-board.

Quarterback Corbin Berkstresser, who has committed to the University of Mis-souri-Columbia, will lead the Tigers for the third consecutive year.

“The Tigers have a lot of work to do to be prepared fro the upcoming season,” Daniels said. “This year’s success will be deter-mined by how fast the Tigers can adjust and learn a new system. The Tigers are very excited about the prospects of a very large senior class and many returning starters.”

“Where success is measured not merely by the number of medals

around their necks, but just as importantly by the smile on their face

and excitement in their heart.”

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High School Sports Football Preview — August 26, 2010— The Examiner —

Suburban Big SixCoaches Preseason PollSchool 1 2 3 4 5 TP1. Blue Springs 5 0 0 0 0 52. Raymore-Peculiar 0 3 2 0 0 123. Liberty 0 2 3 0 0 134. Blue Springs South 1 1 1 2 0 145. Lee’s Summit North 0 0 0 3 2 226. Lee’s Summit 0 0 0 1 4 24

Blue Springs picked to repeat in Big SixThe Examiner’s High School Sports Special Edition: 2010 Football Preview


They’ll be chasing Kear-ney in the Suburban Small Six.

The Bulldogs are a solid choice to claim the title despite losing some key players from a a 13-2 team that claimed the state Class 4 championship.

Defending champion Staley finished second in The Examiner’s poll of coaches followed by Oak Park and Platte County. Grandview and the new Liberty North tied for fifth. A coach wasn’t allowed to rank his own team.

“We have a lot of linemen back on both sides of the ball,” coach Greg Jones said. “We feel we will be strong up front but we have several questions about our running back situation.

“We graduated our entire fleet of running backs, so we will have to reload there. We feel our receivers will be plenty solid and having our quarterback back from last year will help.

“We will rely on our depth and depth to push us to improve throughout the season.”

The Bulldogs will be led by 21 lettermen.

STALEYStaley comes off a banner

11-1 second season with the lone loss to Kearney.

“Staley moves into Class 5 after two district champion-ships in Class 4,” coach Fred Bouchard said. “The entire

offensive backfield returns but the defense must replace six starters, who will be play-ing on college fields this fall.”

Staley defeated Kearney in conference play and then bowed to the Bulldogs in the second round of the playoffs.

OAK PARKFor the first time the

Northmen compete in the Small Six.

“We will still be young with not a lot of size,” coach

Keith Ross said. “The young players gained experience from last year. We need to find more depth.”

Seventeen lettermen return from a 3-7 team.

PLATTE COUNTYThe Pirates are hopeful of

improving upon a 4-6 season.“We were very young last

year,” coach Bill Utz said. “We are still going to be young in several positions. The kids have responded well in off-

season conditioning and have grown more confident in themselves. We are in a very competitive conference that should prepare us for district play.”

The Pirates will be guided by 17 lettermen.

GRANDVIEW New coach Andy Leech

takes over the Grandview pro-gram.

“We will have very strong



PlayersYEAR OFFEnSE SCHOOL DEFEnSE SCHOOL

1979 Mike Ingle Raytown Alan Lange RaytownSouth1980 Jeff Mann Raytown Pat Connor BlueSprings1981 Todd Scheerer RaytownSouth Phil Forte RaytownSouth1982 Brad White Lee’sSummit Mark Smith Lee’sSummit1983 Dalton Vann Lee’sSummit Gary Allin RaytownSouth1984 Mike Hunter Raytown Mike Young RaytownSouth1985 Craig Phillips Lee’sSummit Jim Bebee Truman1986 Mike Scott RaytownSouth Jeff Summers Lee’sSummit1987 Chris Works Lee’sSummit Roy McFarland Lee’sSummit1988 Todd Spurck Lee’sSummit Tim Alvarado BlueSprings1989 Jeff Handy BlueSprings Ben Andes BlueSprings1990 Jeff Moreland BlueSprings Scott McKee Truman1991 Tyrone Douglas Raytown Ryan Reid BlueSprings1992 Maurice Daniels RaytownSouth Nathan Fulk BlueSprings1993 Ryan Fry OakGrove Joseph Haynes VanHorn1994 Kevin Hunt VanHorn Tory Schwope BlueSprings1995 Ladell Betts BlueSprings Jon Oyler BSSouth1996 Ladell Betts BlueSprings Andy Sims FortOsage1997 Jamar Mozee BlueSprings Damon Dombrowski Truman1998 Jamar Mozee BlueSprings Matt VerDught BSSouth1999 Kegan Coleman LSNorth Justin McClain BSSouth2000 Jeremy Braden FortOsage Earl Jack* BlueSprings Mike Mendenhall* BSSouth2001 Andrew Tuggle BlueSprings Bruce Ringwood BlueSprings2002 Seth Williams GrainValley Bruce Ringwood* BlueSprings Jamie Scully* GrainValley2003 Stinson Dean BlueSprings Mike LoPorto BSSouth2004 Ben Kisner Chrisman Jaron Baston BlueSprings2005 La’Darrian Page LSWest Jeff Julian BSSouth2006 Dalton Krysa FortOsage Brian Hertzog LSWest2007 Cody Fogle GrainValley Donte Strickland BSSouth2008 Blaine Dalton BSSouth Gus Toca BlueSprings2009 Darrian Miller BlueSprings E.J. Gaines FortOsage

*Co-PlayersoftheYear

The examiner’s

yearof the

Kearney picked unanimously to win Suburban Small SixSuburban Small SixCoaches Preseason PollSchool 1 2 3 4 5 TP1. Kearney 5 0 0 0 0 52. Staley 1 4 0 0 0 93. Oak Park 0 2 2 1 0 144. Platte County 0 0 4 1 0 165. Grandview 0 0 0 2 3 236. Liberty North 0 0 0 2 3 23

See SMALL SIX / 15

Join Us!We invite everyone to our home

opener for the 2010 season, Friday, September 10th.

Senior Night

Good Luck Jaguars!!!Blue Springs South Football Booster Club

FEELTHE



Head coach: Greg Oder (10th season, 72-25 at Blue Springs South).Assistant coaches: Kelly Groom, Mike Moon, Dustin Spencer, Jamie Fourni-er, Mike Fansher, Ryan Gettings, Tim Michael, Adam Courter, Matt Reynolds, Andy Mayfield, Dan Sundberg.2009 record: 4-6 (three-way tie for fourth place Suburban Big Seven at 2-4).Returning letter winners: 22Returning offensive starters (7): Logan Adkison, 6-3, 220, sr., OL; Chris Gilyard, 5-8, 175, sr., RB; Shelby Gray, 6-2, 255, sr., OL; Calvin Jacobson, 6-2, 200, sr., QB; James McDonald, 6-3, 250, sr., OL; Jacob Moore, 6-0, 255, sr., OL; Josh Sanderson, 6-0, 255, sr., OL.Returning defensive starters (3): Logan Adkison, 6-3, 220, sr., DL; Jake King, 6-1, 190, jr., LB; Max Williams, 5-10, 220, sr., DL.Others to watch: Donnell Alexander, 5-11, 200, sr., RB.

Jaguar facts:

2010 scheduleAug 27 — Raytown South at RaytownSept. 3 — Park Hill South at Park HillSept. 10 — RockhurstSept. 17 — Lee’s Summit WestSept. 24 — at Raymore-PeculiarOct. 1 — Lee’s Summit NorthOct. 8 — at Lee’s SummitOct. 15 — Blue SpringsOct. 22 — Rock BridgeOct. 29 — Liberty at William Jewell

2009 resultsW-L/Opponent BSS-OppL-Rockhurst 13-35W-Park Hill 21-14W-Raymore-Peculiar 24-21L-St. Joseph Central 28-35W-Belton 35-0L-Lee’s Summit North 12-28W-Lee’s Summit 14-7L-Blue Springs 0-42L-Rock Bridge 34-41L-Liberty 28-42

▼ BLUE SPRINGS SOUTH JAGUARS


Greg Oder and his Blue Springs South High School football team experienced a first last season.

And the veteran coach doesn’t want to experience a second.

For the first time in his nine-year career, Oder suffered through a losing season.

Coming off one of the most dramatic seasons in school history, in which the underdog Jaguars fought and clawed their way to the Class 6 state championship game and a state runner-up finish, South suffered through an injury-plagued 4-6 campaign that still stings.

“It wasn’t fun,” said Oder, who has a state champion-ship ring and 72 wins over the past nine years. “It wasn’t

fun for the kids or the coaches and I’m pretty sure our fans didn’t have much fun either.

“But that was last year, and this is a new year. We have seven guys back on offense, which is good. But we only have three back on defense so we’re going to have to have some new guys step up. And I think they will. I really like what we’ve seen in practice so far.”

Last year’s starting quarterback, Calvin Jacobson, 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, is back, and so are all five offensive linemen.

Two of his favorite offensive weapons, wide receivers Logan Moon and Dominique Wright, have graduated, but Jacobson says that’s no problem.

“I’m going to miss Dom and Logan but we have some new receivers who are really getting it done in practice,”

Moving alongJaguars looking to erase sting of losing season

See JAGUARS / 11


o player had bigger shoes to fill during the 2009 football season than Blue Springs South junior quarterback Cal-vin Jacobson.

He just happened to be the quarterback who succeeded Simone Award winner Blaine Dalton, who led the Jaguars to a state title, a Class 6 cham-pionship game loss and a postseason loss to longtime

rival Rockhurst over a brilliant three-year career.

“We were a mistake, here or there, from win-ning three state championships with Blaine at quarterback,” said Jacobson, a senior who is primed and ready for the season of his life.

“I never tried to be Blaine Dalton last season. I just tried to be Calvin Jacobson, and I gave this team everything I had. It wasn’t enough, and last season left a real nasty taste in everyone’s mouth.

“But we’re back and we’re ready to go and from what I’ve seen in practice, this could be a good year.”

South was 4-6 last year, the first losing cam-paign in the head coaching career of Greg Oder.

But he refuses to point an accusing finger at any player.

“We weren’t very good last year, and it was no fault of Calvin,” Oder said. “He played hard every down of every game. We just didn’t have

the tools to get the job done.”While Jacobson refused to talk about it in

2009, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound signal caller was never 100 percent during his first season as a starter.

“He tore his ACL and was cleared by the doc-tors to play the first day of practice,” Oder said. “You look at him at this time this year, and at the same time last year, and it’s night and day.”

When asked about the 2009 injury, Jacobson just shakes his head.

“I was playing basketball and I went up for a layup and tore my ACL,” he explained. “We found out that I had partially torn it playing football. I was horse collared on a tackle and my leg just crumpled behind me.

“I really tore it playing basketball and I was told I’d be out six to eight months.”

That prognosis would have meant that Jacobson would have been on the side-lines for his junior season, and that was just unacceptable.

“I worked hard in rehab — real hard — and I was back in four months,” he said. “I worked at rehab for three to four hours a day and I never let up. I wanted to be healthy and ready.

“When I was cleared to play, it was one of the happiest days of my life. But I hadn’t been able to do a lot with the team and I was behind.”

This year is a totally different story.He led the Jaguars to an undefeated

7-on-7 season (there were two ties) and Oder said he’s been a regular in the weight room.

“No one’s working harder than Calvin,” Oder said. “He’s got a great work ethic and he’s a great leader on this team. He just leads by example.”

Jacobson had his moments last year – like a 25-of-36 night with four touchdowns and 338 yards against Lib-erty. But the end result was a season-ending 42-28 loss to the Blue Jays.

“We want to forget last season, but we don’t want to forget it,” Jacobson said. “Do you know what I mean? Last year, was last year. It wasn’t a fun season for anyone – but it makes us work that much harder this year because none of

us ever want to experience anything like that again.”

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CalvinJacobson

Now at full strength Jaguars QB Calvin Jacobson expecting big things in 2010


A new quarterback.A lot of new faces on the offen-

sive line.But senior wide receiver Jordan

Nubine said the Blue Springs Wild-cats will take the same approach into this season that has made them so successful in the past.

“There are always going to be changes in high school sports because of graduation. I was so lucky the past couple of years to have a quarterback like Jordan Lanpher,” Nubine said, of the three-year starter who is now at the University of Northern Iowa.

“We knew a lot about each other and he could kind of read what I was thinking. Since we had Keeston (Terry, a three-time all-state wide receiver who is now at the University of Kansas), I was never his No. 1 go-to guy – for good reason.

“But Keeston is gone and Jor-dan is gone. So this year, I’m going to get the chance to prove what I can do as a wide receiver and I’ve

got a great young quarterback to work with.”

That young quarterback is junior Kyle Brown, a former All-American wrestler who is now dedicating his time to football.

“Jordan worked hard, and Kyle is working just as hard to be a good quarterback,” said Nubine, who stands 6-foot-3 and checks in at 213 pounds. “We spend a lot of time after practice throwing the ball and working on routs.

“We’re going to miss Jordan a lot, but Kyle is going to step in and do a great job. I know a lot of people are questioning our line, but the new guys are working hard, too.

“And we have one of the best running backs in the country with Darrian (Miller, the Missouri Offensive Player of the Year in 2009). When they put eight guys in the box to stop Darrian, Kyle’s going to hurt some teams. They better not overlook Kyle because I tell you, he’s going to be a special quarterback.”

For the past two seasons,

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BS veterans Nubine and Miller set to lead young squad See NUBINE / 15

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Jacobson said. “Connor Bloss, Jesse Gray, Blake Horne, LeLand Anderson, Pat Martin and Owen McGraw can really go out and catch the football.”

That was evident when the Jaguars went with-out a defeat in 7-on-7 this past summer.

“We tied a couple of games, but didn’t lose any,” Oder said. “You can’t read too much into 7-on-7, but I’d rather win most of them than lose most of them. You’re looking for things to build on following a season like we had last year and we can build on that.

“Plus, our kids always work hard. We worked hard last year and just didn’t get it done. I know all the guys have a real bad taste in their mouth and they want to get rid of it — and winning is the only way to do it.”

The Jaguars have an exciting newcomer in 5-foot-11 senior running back Donnell Alexan-der, a transfer from Grandview High School.

“He was a little dinged up early but is healthy now and he’s looked good in practice,” Oder said. “We’re eager to see what he does.”

So is Jacobson.“Donnell is pretty special,” the senior quar-

terback said. “We haven’t played a game, but he just seems to have a different gear in practice. He could be a great back and a big part of our

offense.”Linemen Logan Adkison and Max Williams

and linebacker Jake King return to anchor the defense.

Oder has always stressed the importance of defense – and this year will be no different.

“If the other team doesn’t score, you’re going to win a lot of games,” Oder joked. “We need some kids to step it up, and they know that. We need to make some big strides before the season starts.”

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Blue Springs South building off of strong 7-on-7 summer campaign

JAGUARS l From 8

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Blue Springs South’s James McDonald, left, Logan Adkison, Shelby Gray, Jacob Moore, Cal-vin Jacobson, Maxwell Williams, Chris Gilyard.


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The mood is upbeat and positive at a recent Fort Osage High School football practice.

And no one seems to be having quite as

much fun as head coach Ryan Schartz, who has turned a comatose program into one of the best in the state.

He inherited a winless team and last year led the Indians to a perfect 10-0 regular-season

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Head coach: Ryan Schartz (sixth season: 41-17 at Fort Osage).Assistant coaches: Jon Oyler, Rick Ammons, Lance Barrett, Brock Bult, Joel Mathews, J.T. Carlson, Zack Dudley.2009 record: 13-1 (Suburban Middle Six champion at 5-0, district champion, state Class runnerup).Returning letter winners: 20Returning offensive starters (3): Dillon Taff, 6-0, 235, jr., OL; Shayne Parsons, 6-3, 235, sr., OL; Juan Saucedo, 5-10, 235, sr., OL.Returning defensive starters (5): Tony Tanumai, 5-10, 255, jr., DL; Jesse Peery, 6-1, 185, sr., LB; Zach Wharton, 5-9, 165, sr., LB; Ryan Stick, 5-9, 185, jr., LB; Spen-cer Gearhart, 5-9, 165, sr., DB.Others to watch: Steven McBee, 6-1, 175, so., QB; Jaleel Gordon, 5-10, 200, jr., RB; Ian Bailey, 5-9, 205, sr., FB.

Indian facts:

2010 scheduleAug. 27 — Lee’s Summit NorthSept. 3 — Oak Park at StaleySept. 10 — at RaytownSept. 17 — Blue SpringsSept. 24 — Raytown South at RaytownOct. 1 — BeltonOct. 8 — at William ChrismanOct. 15 — WinnetonkaOct. 22 — North Kansas CityOct. 29 — Park Hill South at Park Hill

2009 resultsW-L/Opponent FO-OppW-Park Hill South 34-7W-Kearney 13-7W-Lee’s Summit West 31-14W-Belton 35-14W-Grandview 49-6W-Raytown South 21-14W-Raytown 49-0W-Winnetonka 27-6W-William Chrisman 42-0W-North Kansas City 44-8W-Park Hill* 29-7W-Raymore-Peculiar** 30-19W-Raytown South*** 13-7L-Webster Groves**** 14-31

▼ FORT OSAGE INDIANS

* – Class 6 state sectionals** – Class 6 state quarterfinals*** – Class 6 state semifinals**** – Class 6 state final


Happy daysIndians excited after coming off incredible season

Fort Osage High School’s Zach Johnson, back left, Shayne Parsons, Juan Saucedo, Jesse Peere, front left, Zach Wharton, Spencer Gearhart, and Jared Te’o. The Examiner/ADAM VOGLER

See INDIANS / 14


The conference championship beat will con-tinue for Fort Osage.

The Indians, in The Examiner’s poll of the coaches, are a slim choice over Raytown South to claim the title of the Suburban Middle Six that has gone from six to seven teams.

Park Hill South finished third followed by Winnetonka, Raytown, Belton and William Chrisman. A coach couldn’t rank his own team.

Fort Osage shared the 2006, 2007 and 2008 conference titles and was the 2009 undisputed champion.

And despite key graduation losses from a 13-1 team — the only loss was to Webster Groves 31-14 in the state Class 5 finals — Fort Osage remains the team to beat.

“With the two-year conference and district realignment the 2010 season looks to be very competitive,” coach Ryan Schartz said. “We welcome Winnetonka, William Chrisman and Park Hill South to the White (Middle Seven) division.

“We return four offensive and four defensive starters. There will be some young untested and inexperienced players on the field. The

squad will have to grow up fast considering the strength of our schedule but I have no doubt they will be up to the challenge.”

RAYTOWN SOUTHThe Cardinals also have been a conference

power the past several years.Coach David Allie, however, has to rebuild

a 10-4 team that advanced to the state Class 4 semifinals before falling to Fort Osage 13-6.

“Inexperience will be the theme of the 2010 Cardinals,” Allie said. “On the offensive side, four starters return with any starting time and for the first time in three years the Cardinals will be led by a new quarterback. Defensively, the Cardinals return four starters and two with significant playing time.”

PARK HILL SOUTHMark Simcox moves from Chrisman to Park

Hill South as the head coach.“We have a strong senior class that has con-

siderable game experience,” Simcox said. “We have good depth at the skill positions on both sides of the ball but are relatively thin in the offensive and defensive lines.

“On offense we return most of our skill players. Defensively, our best asset will be team speed.”

WINNETONKAFormer Blue Springs assistant

Sterling Edwards is the new Win-netonka coach.

“We are a relatively young team having graduated a quality senior class from last year,” Edwards said. “We have a small senior class with most all of them being counted on to contribute at a high level this sea-son.”

Twenty-six lettermen return from a strong 8-4 team.

BELTONSeventeen lettermen boost Belton’s

chances of improving upon a 3-7 season.“We made a real commitment to the weight-

room and to off-season workouts,” said coach Kevin Keeton. “I am expecting big improve-ments from the Pirates this year.”

RAYTOWNThis could be an improved season for the

Blue Jays.Twenty-six lettermen return from a 3-8

team that advanced to the state Class 5 play-offs.

“We have a lot of returners,” coach Kevin

Page said. “Hopefully, it will be a good year for the Blue Jays.”

WILLIAM CHRISMANJohn Crutcher takes over a Chrisman team

coming off a 4-6 season.“We have a great group of seniors who are

willing to put in the work to be great leaders and deserve to win football games,” Crutcher said. “The kids are buying into the new ways of doing things and they are excited about the new systems we are running both offensively and defensively.”



Suburban Mid SevenCoaches Preseason PollSchool 1 2 3 4 5 6 TP1. Fort Osage 5 1 0 0 0 0 72. Raytown South 2 4 0 0 0 0 103. Park Hill South 0 1 3 1 0 1 214. Winnetonka 0 0 3 0 3 0 245. Raytown 0 1 1 1 1 2 266. Belton 0 0 0 3 2 1 287. William Chrisman 0 0 0 2 1 3 31

record and Class 5 state runner-up finish.

Fort Osage didn’t win state, but the program proved it deserves to be with the big boys. Schartz was named The Examiner’s Coach of the Year and standout running back/defensive back E.J. Gaines was The Examiner’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Many of the standouts from that team graduated, including Gaines — who is now playing football at the University of Missouri — but that’s life in the prep ranks.

And a couple of returning all-state linemen believe the Indians are going to be just fine.

“Players graduate, that’s just life,” said Juan Saucedo, an all-stater who will anchor the offensive line. “We’re going to be successful as long as we have our great coaching staff.

“Coach Schartz is an inspiration

and he and his staff give us 110 per-cent so we’re always going to give them 110 percent, too.”

Tony Tanumai, an all-state junior defensive lineman, agreed with his teammate.

“The coaches work us hard, but they work as hard or hard-er than we do,” Tanumai said. “It was such an honor last year to play with (all-state defensive backs) E.J. and Nathan (Hancock). We can’t let down this year, even though we have a lot of new players, because we were the first team in school history to go undefeated in the regular season last year and we want to come back strong this year and show we’re still a good team.”

Over the past five years, Indian fans have had plenty to cheer about.

Schartz ended a two-season losing

streak by winning his first game as a head coach. That team went 1-9, but the foundation was set for a team that has gone 40-17 with four conference championships, three district titles and two state-semifinal appearances.

“I’m proud of how far this pro-

gram has come and I’m so proud of my coaching staff,” Schartz said. “You don’t accomplish something like that without great coaches and I think I have the best staff in the

state.“We’re really going to challenge

our kids with three tough non-con-ference opponents in Lee’s Summit North, Oak Park and Blue Springs.”

Fort Osage activities direc-tor Brandon Hart is a graduate of

Blue Springs and he’s eager to see how his Indians stack up against the Class 6 team that finished second at state last year the same weekend the Class 5 Indians also finished in second place.

“To be the best, you have to play the best,” Hart said. “I know Ryan and his coaches and the kids want to play the best and we’re giving them that oppor-tunity with teams like Blue Springs, Oak Park and Lee’s

Summit North on the schedule.”Saucedo can’t wait to see how

the Indians fare against the bigger schools.

“They’re great programs, especial-

ly Blue Springs,” the senior lineman said, “but when they play us, they’re going to know they’ve played a tough opponent. We’re looking forward to all our games this year, because we have so many new players no one knows what to expect from us.”

The Indians have huge numbers this year with 85 varsity players, 50 ninth graders and 60 eighth graders.

“When you win, people want to be a part of the program,” Schartz said. “These are the type of numbers we dreamed about when we first took over six years ago. Now, it’s become a reality.”

Schartz loves his team’s 2010 schedule. Saying, “Our kids are going to have to grow up fast when you look at our schedule.

“Our kids are taught to play hard, and when they make a mistake, they make it at full speed. When young people play at Fort Osage, no one will ever question our work ethic, enthu-siasm and toughness.”

“The coaches work us

hard, but they work as

hard or harder than we

do.”

Tony TanumaiAll-state junior defensive lineman

Despite loss of standouts, players are confident program will be just fineINDIANS l From 13

▲

Osage narrowly picked over Raytown South in Mid Seven



“It’s a good way to start the season,” Donohoe said. “Last year, I thought we were ready to play them in Week 3 and they beat us (17-3). We were able to come back and beat them in the playoffs (22-21 on Cody Best’s last-second field goal), but I’m still confused by our first game with them.

“We were so prepared, so ready

to play that maybe we were over-prepared. I know we didn’t lose a regrular-season game after that and the team really responded well to that loss. It served as motivation and all that stuff.

“It’s kind of funny – you look at Rockhurst and say it doesn’t mean anything and it’s a non-con-ference game and all that stuff – but it does mean something and we want to go into our first

game this year and make a good showing.”

Starting his first game against Rockhurst doesn’t intimidate Brown, a former All-American wrestler who has never backed down from a challenge.

“I’ll be ready and the team will be ready,” Brown said. “I know people think, ‘How is the team going to play without Jared Lan-pher and most of the guys on the

offensive line?’ I think we’re going to be okay.

“I learned a lot last year from watching Jared and Coach Dono-hoe is a great coach. He has us all fired up and ready to go.”

The defense has six starters returning, including all-state defensive back Bernard Thomas and a strong linebacker corps anchored by Jon Trocosso and Lewis Foutz.

Blue Springs plans to be ready for rival RockhurstWILDCATS l From 4

▲

senior leadership mixed with some very talented underclassmen,” Leech said.

The Bulldogs went 2-9 last sea-son. Both wins came in district play, qualifying the Bulldogs for the Class 4 playoffs.

LIBERTY NORTHNorth opened with some 700 stu-

dents freshmen to juniors.Ken Clemens, who formerly

coached at Raytown and Winneton-ka, is the Eagles coach.

“We are making progress,” he said. “Our goal is to field a competi-tive team. This is within our reach this year.”

The Eagles will be young and inexperienced. Junior running back/linebacker Zach Miller, who played at Liberty, is the only letter winner.

Liberty North continues to make progress in Small Six

SMALL SIX l From 6

▲


Two perennial powers will battle it out for the revised Suburban Middle Six champion-ship.

The Examiner’s poll of the coaches revealed Lee’s Summit West and Park Hill are the co-favorites. Then came St. Joseph Cen-tral, North Kansas City, Truman and Ruskin. A coach couldn’t rank his own team.

West is in the conference’s second tier for the first time. So is Ruskin after combining with now-closed Hickman Mills.

West comes off a 7-4 season, including 4-1 in the old Suburban Middle Six.

Twenty-seven lettermen will lead the Titans bid for a fifth consecutive winning season and state playoff berth.

PARK HILLPark Hill rebuilds with only two returning

offensive and defensive starters. But at Park Hill rebuilding usually means reloading.

“We will be very inexperienced,” coach Greg Reynolds said. “The offensive line led by senior Adam Vanderpool must develop quickly for backfield of Trace Norfleet, quar-terback Nathan Wilson and Jordan Wang to function. The same with the defensive line.”

The Trojans come off a banner 9-2 season and third consecutive conference title.

ST. JOSEPH CENTRALCentral could be the darkhorse, returning

six starters on offense and defense.“Our entire backfield is back,” new coach

Jeff Wallace said. “We had a very productive group in the Big Seven last year and this year we are down to the Middle Six.

“We have a lot of speed and should be difficult to defend. We graduated four of five offensive linemen, but we have our best back in junior Mike Meinert. We also graduated

three of four defensive backs.”Ryan Wallace should be one of the con-

ference’s title quarterbacks. He will lead a potent backfield of Malkaam Muham-mad, Alex Ray and Corey Jackson.

Central was 3-7 in the tough Big Seven last year.

NORTH KANSAS CITYThe Hornets move up a league to the

Middle Six.“Several changes in coaching staff

and a new level of dedication by athletes will bring us back to a competitive level this fall,” said coach Chad Valadez.

The Hornets expect to improve upon a 1-9 season.

TRUMANThe Patriots have a new coach in Jeff

Floyd. Athletic director Eric Holm is the offensive coordinator.

Six starters return, including junior quar-

terback David Franklin.

RUSKINGreg Valenzuela takes off a Ruskin pro-

gram that should improve because of the incoming talent from Hickman Mills.

Ruskin will have more numbers and expe-rience. Speed also will be an asset.

LS West and Park Hill on equal ground in Suburban Mid SixSuburban Mid SixCoaches Preseason PollSchool 1 2 3 4 5 TP1. Lee’s Summit West 3 2 0 0 0 7 Park Hill 3 2 0 0 0 73. St. Joseph Central 0 2 1 2 0 154. North Kansas City 0 0 3 2 0 175. Truman 0 0 2 1 2 206. Ruskin 0 0 0 1 4 24

Nubine has been a quiet part of one of the best offenses in the state.

“We’re going to get Jordan involved a lot more in the offense this year,” Wildcats coach Kelly Donohoe said. “He’s a big target for Kyle. And he has good hands. There’s a reason a lot of schools are looking at him.”

Last season Nubine caught 13 passes for 181 yards and three touchdowns and was perfectly

happy to let Terry and Miller stand center stage.

“I was a junior and Keeston was a senior,” Nubine said. “They’d have been crazy to not throw the ball to him. And I’ve played with Darrian since the fourth grade, and we all know he does things no other back can come close to.

“Now, I’m a senior and this might be my year to shine. I want to be a leader on this team and I want to be a go-to guy. But all I really care about right now is

winning.”The Wildcats finished last sea-

son with a 12-2 record and a berth in the state championship game.

“We came up short at state, and we’re all still thinking about that,” Nubine said. “I think that loss makes us work that much harder. And we better be working hard because we’ve got the Rock in Week 1.”

The Wildcats travel to Rock-hurst for the season opener Aug. 27, and Nubine and his team-mates have been counting down

the days until that big rivalry matchup.

“They beat us last year when we played them the first time and we came back and beat them in the playoffs (on a last-second Cody Best field goal), so we’re all ready for that big game.

“I’ve been a role player for this team, and I’ll happily accept any role Coach (Donohoe) has planned for me. Like I said, win-ning is what it’s all about at Blue Springs. If we win, everything takes care of itself.”

Nubine looking to be a leader and a star for the WildcatsNUBINE l From 10

▲



High school football 2010 is here.Who will be the season’s big sur-

prises, the disappointments, the conference champions? What teams will qualify for the playoff?

The next 10 weeks will tell. This writer comes out of hiding

with his annual forecasts. Some teams will be happy with them, others not. Remember, though, a game has never been won or lost in print.

But one thing is assured before the first kickoff Friday night. There are more head coaches making their area debuts then ever before. Lee’s Summit’s Eric Thomas, St. Mary’s Jason Fenstermaker, Truman’s Jeff Floyd and William Chrisman’s John Crutcher may be more nervous than the players.

And don’t forget former Blue Springs assistant Sterling Edwards is the new coach at Winnetonka.

So, let’s get with it. The first order of business is the finishes of the con-ferences involving area schools.

Suburban Big Six: 1. Blue Springs; 2. Raymore-Peculiar; 3. Blue Springs South; 4. Liberty; 5. Lee’s Summit; 6. Lee’s Summit North. Blue Springs and Raymore-Peculiar may share the title.

Suburban Middle Six: 1. Park Hill; 2. St. Joseph Central. 3. Lee’s Summit West; 4. Truman; 5. North Kansas City; 6. Ruskin.

Suburban Middle Seven: 1. Park Hill South; 2. Fort Osage; 3. Raytown South; 4. William Chris-man; 5. Raytown; 6. Winnetonka; 7. Belton.

Suburban Small Six: 1. Kearney; 2. Staley; 3. Oak Park; 4. Platte County; 5. Grandview; 6. Liberty North.

Missouri River Valley Confer-ence West: 1. Harrisonville; 2. Grain Valley; 3. Pleasant Hill; 4. Excelsior Springs; 5. Oak Grove; 6. Odessa.

Crossroads Conference: 1. Sher-wood; 2. Butler; 3. Van Horn; 4. St. Mary’s’ 5. Renaissance Academy.

And now what you have been awaiting for, providing you haven’t looked ahead in the story, the likely won- lost record of the area’s 14 schools.

BLUE SPRINGSSome key players, including

three-year quarterback Jared Lanpher and wide receiver Keeston Terry were among the 41 seniors who graduated from a strong 12-2 team that lost in the state Class 6 finals.

“We have a lot of holes to fill and play a tough schedule,” Blue Springs coach Kelly Dono-hoe said.

That’s true. But at Blue Springs its a matter of reload-ing around Darrian Miller, who is one of the state’s most excit-ing runners.

Perhaps the Wildcats will not go as Miller goes but as new quarterback Kyle Brown goes. The passing game may not be as strong as in the past.

Blue Springs’ opening oppo-nent is Rockhurst. The Hawklets reportedly will be as strong as ever. The Wildcats will find out quickly how good they are.

Blue Springs will win eight, Staley, Truman, Fort Osage, Lee’s Summit, Lee’s Summit North, Blue Springs South, Liberty, Columbia Rock Bridge, and lose two, Rockhurst and Raymore-Peculiar.

BS SOUTH“We’ll be better than last

year,” said South coach Greg Order. “I like what we have going on.”

The Jaguars went 4-6 last year. It’s difficult to imagine a sec-ond consecutive losing season despite a tougher schedule.

The offense should be improved because of seven returning starters. And 13 seniors will provide more lead-ership.

Oder didn’t say what the sea-son holds. But with a break here or there the Jaguars per-haps could go 7-3 or even 8-2.

As of now, South will win six, Raytown South, Park Hill South, Lee’s Summit, Lee’s Sum-mit North, Rock Bridge and Lib-erty, and lose four, Rockhurst, Lee’s Summit West, Raymore-Peculiar and Blue Springs.

FORT OSAGEThe Indians come off their

greatest season at 13-1 with the only loss in the state Class 5 finals.

Repeat success isn’t likely. There were serious graduation losses.

“We are lacking speed and play a more difficult schedule,” coach Ryan Schartz said. “We have lots of young kids but a little more size.”

There’s no avoiding the fact the schedule is tougher with Lee’s Summit North and Blue Springs in the opening four weeks.

The talent level isn’t as great for one of the area’s most suc-cessful programs over the last four years.

Still, success breeds success. Fort Osage will win seven, Oak Park, Raytown, Raytown South, Belton, William Chrisman, Win-netonka, and North Kansas City and lose three, Lee’s Summit North, Blue Springs and Park Hill South.

GRAIN VALLEYGraduation also hurt the

Eagles, especially at quarter-back. But nine starters return on defense. And last year’s junior varsity went undefeated.

“The defense will have to carry us,” Grain Valley coach Forrest Rovello said. “We have some good skill kids. Our expec-tations are high.”

The Eagles again will go with the two-platoon system. The performances of a new quar-terback will be a key.

Grain Valley will win eight, Platte County, Cameron, Excel-sior Springs, Pleasant Hill, Oak Grove, Odessa, Center and Grandview and lose two, Jef-ferson City Blair Oaks and Har-risonvile.

LEE’S SUMMITReportedly, Thomas has

brought renewed excitement, energy and focus to Tiger land.

There‘s a large senior class. Quarterback Corbin Berkstress-er, who has committed to the University of Missouri, may be the area’s top quarterback. He’s big and strong and also can run the ball. He’s a great place to start an offense.

An easier district schedule and the momentum from qual-ifying for the playoffs are other Tiger plusses.

Lee’s Summit will win six, Wil-liam Chrisman, Raytown South, Lee’s Summit North, Lee’s Sum-mit West, Belton and Ruskin and lose four, Raymore-Pecu-liar, Blue Springs, Liberty, and Blue Springs South.

LS NORTHSecond year coach Ty Kohl is

looking forward to the season.An excellent group of letter-

men return from a 3-7 team,

including running back Monte-real Robinson.

A good start could be the key to what the season holds. The first two games are winnable. But the last half of the schedule is brutal.

North will win three, Fort Osage, Raytown and Joplin, and lose seven, St. Joseph Cen-tral, Lee’s Summit, Liberty, Blue Springs South, Blue Springs, Rockhurst and Raymore-Pecu-liar.

LS WESTThe numbers are a little

down. But at West that’s not a concern. The defense, as usual, should be solid and may be the team’s strong point.

The coach’s son, Evan Boehm, who is his 6-foot, 4-inches, 300-pounds, should be a force.

Even though I can’t get a good read on West, a sixth consecutive winning season is likely because of 28 lettermen.

The Titans will win six, North Kansas City, Blue Springs South, Winnetonka, Truman, Ruskin and Belton, and lose four, St. Joseph Central, Raymore-Pecu-liar, Park Hill and Lee’s Sum-mit.

OAK GROVEThe Panthers will not go 0-10

again. You can bet the family car on it.

“Our senior class is a pretty good group,” Oak Grove coach Pete Carpino said.

The Panthers will be more experienced, the injury bug hopefully will not be as preva-lent and the overall schedule is easier.

Oak Grove will win five, Lex-ington, Holden, Renaissance Academy, Van Horn and Odessa and qualify for the playoffs and lose five, Pleasant Hill, Excelsior

Springs, Grain Valley, Harrison-ville and Richmond.

RAYTOWNRaytown has not enjoyed a

winning season since 1991. The streak may not end this sea-son.

But rumor has it the Blue Jays will be improved. A repeat state qualifying playoff berth may be reachable.

Some twenty-five lettermen is a solid corps to tackle a tough-er schedule featured by play-ing in the expanded Suburban Middle Seven.

Raytown will three Belton, Winnetonka, and Liberty North, and lose seven, Staley, Lee’s Summit North, Fort Osage, Park Hill South, Raytown South, Tru-man and William Chrisman.

RAYTOWN SOUTHOnly eight starters _ four on

both sides of the ball — return from a strong 10-4 team. Grad-uation losses include the quar-terback and a fleet set of run-ning backs and receivers.

South was fun to watch last season and advanced to the state Class 5 semifinals.

I’m not buying what I’ve heard this could be a down year for the Cardinals. As usual, South will have speed and be very athletic.

South will win six, Grandview, Winnetonka, Belton, Raytown, William Chrisman and Truman, and lose four, Blue Springs South, Lee’s Summit, Fort Osage and Park Hill South.

ST. MARY’SThere’s a new coach and the

numbers are down to 25.But the schedule is slightly

easier and the attack will be led by Henry Handley, who will be one of the area’s top runners.

Obviously, the Trojans can ill afford any serious injuries. A good start is vital.

St. Mary’s will win four, Polo, Windsor, Renaissance Academy and Wentworth Military Acad-emy, and lose six, Butler, Rock Port, Van Horn, Sherwood, Orrick and Wellington-Napo-leon.

TRUMANJust about everything is new

at Truman. The head coach is new. The new offensive coor-dinator is athletic director Eric Holm, who played his high school football at Truman.

A new assistant coach is Mark Monheiser, who has a dental practice in Blue Springs and whose son was an outstanding

athlete at St. Mary’s.And there’s only a handful of

returning starters. But the Patriots are set at

quarterback in junior David Franklin. He will be a key fig-ure in the Patriots success.

There obviously there will be new schemes offensively and defensively. It could be an interesting season.

“The kids are hungry and receptive,” Floyd said. “Our good classes are the sopho-more and juniors. We need early success.”

Truman will win five, Ruskin, Belton, North Kansas City, Wil-liam Chrisman and Raytown and lose five, Blue Springs, Park Hill, St. Joseph Central, Lee’s Summit West, and Raytown South.

VAN HORNTwo years of frustration in

terms of victories will end this fall for Van Horn.

A 20-game losing streak likely will end in the season opener against Renaissance Academy. Game No. 2 against Kansas City (Kan.) Wyandotte appears win-nable.

The numbers are decent and the Falcons have the added incentive from playing in a con-ference (Crossroads) and on a new turf field. But the district games will be tough.

“We are better than last year,” coach Jeff Tolbert said. “We are continuing to improve. An obsession is to win that first game and end the losing streak.”

Van Horn will win four, Renaissance Academy, Wyan-dotte., St. Mary’s and Mara-natha Academy, and lose six, East Buchanan, Butler, Sher-wood and Oak Grove, Odessa and Richmond.

CHRISMANAll the reports out of Chris-

man are encouraging as to what the season holds. There’s renewed hope and interest. The numbers are good.

“The kids are excited about the season,” Crutcher said. “They are taking more respon-sibility. But we need success early.”

As usual, the Bears will have great size. The schedule, though is tough. Can the offense with a new quarterback deliver?

Chrisman will win five, Win-netonka, Liberty North, Belton, Nevada and Raytown, and lose five, Lee’s Summit, Park Hill South, Fort Osage, Truman and Raytown South.

New coaches calling the shots for many area schoolsDICK’S PICKS 2009 Results

Last year’s records(regular season only)

SCHOOL PICK REALBlue Springs 9-1 9-1Blue Springs 9-1 9-1BS South 6-4 4-6Fort Osage 8-2 10-0Grain Valley 8-2 8-2Lee’s Summit 5-5 4-6LS North 4-6 3-7LS West 8-2 7-3Oak Grove 6-4 0-10Raytown 3-7 3-7Raytown South 7-3 7-3

Dick Puhr is a sportswriter for The Examiner. Reach him at 816-350-6315.

Dick

Puhr

DICK’S PICKS

Go Eagles!Rebates up to

$30000for installing a propane water heater.

Call for details

SALLEY’SPROPANE

816-690-4928


Head coach: Forrest Rovello (18th sea-son: 128-60 at Grain Valley).Assistant coaches: Marc Cleveland, Tony Ward, Chris Cochran, David Allen, Erik Stone.2009 record: 9-3, second place Missouri River Valley Conference West at 4-1, district champion, state Class 4 quarterfinals).Returning letter winners: 9Returning offensive starters (3): Kole Vittetoe, 6-2, 235, jr., OL; Riley Williams, 5-11, 200, sr., RB; Ryan Nace, 5-10, 180, jr., RB.Returning defensive starters (8): Tyler Hedrick, 5-11, 170, sr., DB; Joey Lierman, 5-9, 168, sr., DB; Tyler Fuhrman, 6-1, 190, sr., LB; D’Andre Davis, 5-9, 165, sr., DB; LB; Austin Earley, 6-1, 185, sr., DE; Dallas Welch, 6-1, 200, sr., DL; Mitch Buck, 5-11, 265, sr., DL; Tucker Pauley, 5-8, 170, jr., LB.Others to watch: Jeremy Maynard, 6-2, 185, jr., QB; David Muncy, 5-10, 170, jr., DB; Austin Childress, 6-0, 185, so., DB; Dakota Kilgore, 6-2, 235, so., OL; Michael Carpio, 5-8, 175, jr., LB.

Eagle facts:

2010 scheduleAug. 27 — at Platte CountySept. 3 — Blair OaksSept. 10 — CameronSept. 17 — at Excelsior SpringsSept. 24 — Pleasant HillOct. 1 — at Oak GroveOct 9 — OdessaOct. 15 — at CenterOct. 22 — GrandviewOct. 28 — Harrisonville

2009 resultsW-L/Opponent GV-OppW-Lincoln Prep 37-6W-Marshall 38-35L-Chillicothe 21-49W-Excelsior Springs 49-7W-Odessa 38-14W-Oak Grove 38-16W-Pleasat Hill 62-35W-Warrensburg 49-21W-Smith-Cotton 56-49L-Harrisonville 12-37W-Hickman Mills 51-34L-Harrisonville* 12-14

▼ GRAIN VALLEY EAGLES

* – Class 6 state sectionals


Smells like newUpgraded facilities kick off fresh start for the Eagles in 2010


There aren’t just a lot of new faces in the football locker room at Grain Valley High School.

There’s also a new locker room, training room, on-site athletic trainer and football storage area.

“Compared to what we had before, this is the Taj Mahal,” joked veter-an head coach Forrest Rovello, who enters this season with guarded opti-mism, despite losing Division I quar-terback Austin Gouldsmith, two-way standout Trace Goade and three-year starter on the offensive line Drew Liddle.

“That’s the nature of the beast,”

said Rovello, whose team was 9-3 last season, “You lose great players and great young men like Austin, Trace and Drew, and you hope to develop more great players.

“We have just four starters back on offense, so the defense is going to have to carry the team early on. That’s kind of a flip flop from last year, where we had so many guys back on offense and not many back on defense.

“But you know what? I really like the way the kids are working. We’re going to stub our toe here and there, but we should be fine.”

When he wasn’t talking about his new team, he was giving a tour of the new facilities that came about as the

result of a recent bond issue.Instead of the cramped quarters

in which coaches were basically sit-ting on top of each other, each coach on Rovello’s staff now has his own work station.

There is a film room, that com-fortably seats 35 to 40 players and the locker room has space for 134 players.

It’s all painted in Eagle blue and has been a big hit with the players and Rovello’s staff.

“It’s just amazing,” Rovello said, as he showed off the spacious stor-age area that replaces a ramshackle building south of the high school. “I don’t know what they have at other

Grain Valley’s Dallas Welch, back left, Zac Hoover, Tyler Hedrick, Riley Wil-liams, Tyler Fuhrman, bottom left, Ryan Nace, Alec Velasquez and Aus-tin Earley.


See EAGLES / 19



Head coach: Eric Thomas (first season).Assistant coaches:Ron Downs; Chris Dziuracwiec; Jim Giokaris; Craig Lewis; John Linmark; Tim Mincher; Shannon Moore; Ed Morse; Man-ning Williams; Dave McCanless.2009 record: 4-7 (three-way tie for fourth place in Suburban Big Seven at 2-4).Returning letter winners: 17Returning offensive starters (5): King Frazier, 6-0, 195, jr., RB; Alex Howdeshell, 6-0, 250, sr., OL; Adam Madaris, 6-0, 260, sr., OL; Same Sealer, 6-0, 185, sr., WR; Blake Stancil, 6-1, 175, sr., WR.Returning defensive starters (3): Steven Kingsolver, 6-0, 215, sr. LB; Blake Stancil, 6-1, 175, sr., OLB/DB; Montrae Strickland, 6-4, 200, sr., DL/OL.Others to watch: Corbin Berkstresser, 6-4, 225, sr., QB; Lukas Corbitt, 6-0, 205, sr., WR; Cul-len Duke, 5-11, 180, jr., OL; Taylor Pinnel, 6-2, 185, sr., DE; Jared Simmons, 6-4, 195, sr. WR; Tyler Wigger, 6-3, 240, sr., OL.

Tiger facts:

2010 scheduleAug. 27 — at William ChrismanSept. 3 — at Raymore-PeculiarSept. 10 — Raytown SouthSept. 17— at Lee’s Summit NorthSept. 24 — at Blue SpringsOct. 1 — LibertyOct. 8 — Blue Springs SouthOct. 15 — at Lee’s Summit WestOct. 22 — BeltonOct. 28 — Ruskin

2009 resultsW-L/Opponent LS-OppW-Oak Park 23-0L-Park Hill South 10-17L-Liberty 3-37L-Blue Springs 17-54W-St. Joseph Central 30-15L-Raymore-Peculiar 14-34L-Blue Springs South 7-14L-Rockhurst 20-41W-Joplin 31-16W-Lee’s Summit North 24-21L-Blue Springs 12-51

▼ LEE’S SUMMIT TIGERS

By SHAWN RONEYThe Examiner

Eric Thomas has hit the ground run-ning as Lee’s Summit’s new head football coach.

Hired in January, Thomas began work-ing with the Tigers in February. Living with his family in Columbia, where he had served for two seasons as the offensive coordinator and as an assistant coach at Columbia Hickman, he commuted two and three days a week to work with the Tigers.

“We started in February on the strength and conditioning realm and really trying to get the program off the ground and get things going and get everybody on the same page (in terms) of what we were look-ing for within our program,” he said.

Thomas, a former head coach at Cam-eron, likes the program’s progress since he has taken charge.

“Everything we’ve wanted to do has been accepted,” he said. “The kids have really bought in and worked extremely hard.”

Still, Thomas understands there’s much work to do.

“I told some people the other night, ‘We’re undefeated right now, so every-thing’s going to be good,’ ” he said. “We’ve got to get off to a good start, get things going and get some belief put into what we’re doing.”

Thomas does have one advantage com-ing in – he has a Division I recruit at quar-terback, University of Missouri commit Corbin Berkstresser.

Based on Lee’s Summit’s participation in the preseason jamboree, Thomas has pinpointed some issues the Tigers must address to “get off to a good start.”

“Offensively, we’ve got to clean up some pass protection issues,” he said. “(There are) still some (pass) route errors, just some little things.”

The Tigers also had some “snap issues” and “ball security issues” during the jam-boree, Thomas said.

Defensively, Lee’s Summit’s second-ary also made a few “alignment errors,” Thomas said, including one that resulted in the Tigers giving up a touchdown. Lee’s Summit’s linemen must clean up “some little technique things inside,” he added.

“We just need to more sure that we’ve got everything cleaned up, scheme-wise — both schematically and making sure that our kids line up correctly,” he said.

The Tigers will get to gauge their prog-ress in cleaning up those glitches Friday when they’ll open at William Chrisman. They aren’t looking beyond that.

“As we get done with them, we’ll look down the road,” Thomas commented. “But we’ve got a lot of work to do this week just to prepare for them.”

But even while taking the game-at-a-time approach, Thomas has noticed the Tigers’ other opponents. Though the Tigers will drop from Class 6 to the smaller Class 5 this season, the coach doesn’t see it as a break.

“Our schedule has got to be one of the toughest schedules in the state,” Thomas said. “We play in the best conference in the state (the Suburban Big Seven) – I don’t think there’s any doubt about that – and then, our non-conference schedule is extremely difficult.”

Believing that great programs are built from playing great competition, Thomas is pleased with Lee’s Summit’s schedule. He’s also pleased to be a part of the Kansas City area’s high school football scene.

“(There’s) great football around this area,” he said. “I’ve seen some pretty good high school football through the years. I actually played at Jeff City under coach (Pete) Adkins and played on some great football teams there. It’s a great state (Mis-souri) for the game of football.”

Thomas hits ground runningNew Tigers coach started commuting from Columbia

in February to get a jump start with his program

Lee’s Summit’s Corbin Berk-stresser rolls out against Blue Springs.Berkstresser, a Division I recruit, will lead the Tigers offense in 2010.

Examiner file photo


schools, but it couldn’t be much nicer than this.

“When I came here 18 years ago, I couldn’t imagine we’d need space for 134 kids. The program has really grown.”

Rovello said the girls also have new coach-es offices and locker rooms and that wres-tling and track will share the area his football team now occupies.

While he has new players and a new lock-er room, his team is also taking part in a new study that will play a big role in determining if a student/athlete has a concussion.

“The kids are all taking a 30-minute, on-line test from Centerpoint (Medical Center) where they answer questions and determine visual acuity,” the coach said. Then, if a player happens to get what we believe is a concussion, he can go to Centerpoint, take that same test, see how he grades out, and have instant feedback.

“It’s all high tech and pretty fascinating.”

Jeremy Maynard, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound junior could be the Eagles new quarterback. He’ll hand the ball off to returnee Ryan Nace, a 5-10, 180 pound junior, and 5-11, 200-pound senior Riley Williams.

Rovello said Williams is also being looked as a quarterback.

“We haven’t made a decision,” Rovello said. “Maynard has a cannon for an arm, and we like Williams at running back. Those are the decisions we’ll have to make before the season starts.

“We have a lot of decisions to make. We’re going with the 4-3 Penn State defense and we’re platooning for the second season. That just makes everyone’s life easier because they have to learn half as much in twice the amount of time.

“Trace (fullback and linebacker) was a two-way guy last year, but he was just a spe-cial athlete and he knew everything about our program. We feel like we’re giving the guys the most opportunity to succeed this year with the platoon system.”

Eagles football taking steps against concussions with new technology

EAGLES l From 17

▲

A quick glance at some of the area’s independent teams:

ROCKHURST:Rockhurst hasn’t ex-perienced a losing football season since 1964. It’s overall record is an impressive 647-216-35.

And as might be expected, the Hawklets will continue to roll this fall as one of the country’s top prep programs.

“We have experience and speed but play a tough schedule,” Rockhurst coach Tony Severino said. “We hope to be a fac-tor come playoff time.”

Fourteen starters return from a 9-3 team, including quarterback Frank Arba-nas and standout end Dan Tapko.

Sizing up the other independents:

HOGANPREP: Hogan Prep comes off a banner 11-2 season.

No letdown is likely.“We will be young,” coach Phil Lascuola

said. “We graduated an awesome group. We will have speed. But what we do with it will be determined by the off season.”

O’HARA: O’Hara comes off a banner 12-2 season and advanced to the state Class 3 semifinals.

“We lost a ton of key players that have

started for us the last three years,” coach Jim DeMarea said. “We need to replace the offensive line, quarterback and some receivers. We return two strong lineback-ers but need to replace almost the rest with younger players, who got little playing time.”

PEMBROKEHILL:The Red Raiders could improve upon a 5-5 season.

“The varsity squad returns a tremen-dous amount of experience,” coach Sam Knopik said. “We anticipate significant contributions from as many as 25 experi-enced players.”

Defense could be the strong point with the return of nine starters. Offensively, quarterback Jacob Gerson returns.

“With the full slate of returning experi-ence and talent, 2010 looks to be a strong one for the Raiders,” Knopik said.

ST.PIUSX: The Warriors come off a rare 4-7 losing record.

This season appears brighter.“Most of the offensive line is back and

all seniors,” coach Rick Byers said. “We have three good quarterbacks to choose form. We have to fill lots of spots on de-fense.”

The Warriors are a member of the West Central Conference.

A look at area independents


Lee’s Summit North coach Ty Kohl wants to go from 3-7 in 2009 to a state championship this season – and he knows it’ll be difficult to do it.

“We (coaches) keep preaching (to our players), ‘Success does not come easy, it takes hard work,’” Kohl said during a recent tele-phone interview. “We’ve said, ‘If it were easy, everyone would be successful.’ ”

The Broncos must slog their way through a tough regular-sea-son schedule to qualify for the postseason, let alone play for a state title. They’ll open Aug. 27 on

the road against Fort Osage, the Class 5 state runner-up.

“(Fort Osage) coach (Ryan) Schartz has done an incredible job with that program,” Kohl said.

Kohl believes a key part of Fort Osage’s suc-cess has been Schartz’s abil-ity “to get the kids to believe in their pro-gram.”

“He was able to tap into the tradition they’ve had there at Fort Osage and bring that back alive,” Kohl said. “He’s been able to hire

some very good coaches, and that’s a big part of it as well.”

After Fort Osage, North will face schools that have repeatedly contended for and/or won state titles, including Rockhurst and

Suburban Big Seven rivals Blue Springs South, Blue Springs and R a y m o r e -Peculiar.

“There is no question – we are in the toughest conference in

the state of Missouri,” Kohl said. “Every game, you’d better be ready

to play.”As with other rebuilding pro-

grams, North likes having to play tough opponents each week.

“To be the best, you have to beat the best – and we’re playing the best every single week,” Kohl said.

A few factors might help

North’s chances of turning around its program. For one, the players are more familiar with the team’s offensive and defensive systems than they were in 2009.

“Last year was a new offense, was a new defense (for us),” Kohl said. “(The coaching) staff was




A new season, new hopes and a new conference for Van Horn.

But the Falcons, in The Examin-er’s poll of the coaches, aren’t expect-ed to contend for the Crossroads Con-ference title.

Van Horn was pegged for fourth. Defending champion Sherwood is the favorite followed by Butler and St. Mary’s. Another newcomer, Renais-sance Academy, was fifth.

As of now, Sherwood, is the team to beat despite losing 10 seniors off an 8-3 team that gained the first round of the state playoffs.

“It’s tough to project how we’ll do because of losing the 10 seniors,” coach Tanner Lawson said.

Only five lettermen return.

BUTLERThe Bears could be the team to

beat because of the return of seven defensive starters from a 4-6 team.

“I like this team,” new coach KIrk Hannah said. “I think they are a committed group that is willing to work and do whatever it takes to be successful. We do not have one or two dominant players that we will rely on, but we have a bunch of pretty good players willing to work hard. We have some new faces at some key positions, especially quarterback.”

ST. MARY’SThe Trojans also have a new coach

in Jason Fenstermaker, who played high school football at Grain Valley.

“New offensive and defensive schemes will be a challenge,” Fen-stermaker said. “But with the experi-

ence we have we are planning to be competitive in all of our games. Our goal is to get better in every game.”

The Trojans return 13 lettermen from a 5-5 team, including standout running back Henry Handley.

The lack of numbers, as usual, is a concern. The Trojans will field a team of 25-30 players.

VAN HORNThe Falcons have suffered through

two 0-10 seasons. But more returning experience and an easier schedule other than the district opponents should result in some wins this fall.

“We will continue to improve as our team becomes more experi-enced,” coach Jeff Tolbert said. “Our points of emphasis will be improving our leadership, executing on offense and tackling on defense.”

RENAISSANCEIt’s the first varsity

season for Renaissance after a 2-4-1 junior varsity record.

“I have a very young team,” coach Terry McCray said. “”The strength of my team is that we will be really fast, but we lack size and expe-rience. Even though we have a lot of juniors and seniors 90 percent of the team had never played football until last year.

“We will take our bumps and bruises this upcoming season but as you know it’s not how you start but how you finish.

Running back Shaquille Pryor, who scored 12 touchdowns last year, is expected to be one of the Renaissance standouts

“Our main goal this year is to have a winning record and get better in each game, so we have a chance of being successful when districts arrive in week 8,” McCray said.

Maranatha Academy of Shawnee Mission (Kan.) also is a member of the conference but will play an abbre-viated schedule including an Oct. 9 game at Van Horn.

Crossroads Conf.Coaches PollSchool 1 2 3 4 TP1. Sherwood 3 1 0 0 52. Butler 2 1 1 0 73. St. Mary’s 0 3 1 0 94. Van Horn 0 0 3 1 135. Renaissance 0 0 0 4 16

Sherwood the favorite to take Crossroads Conference

Head coach: Ty Kohl (second season: 3-7 at Lee’s Summit North).Assistant coaches: Ed Brill, Tim Collins, Jeff Diekmann, Richard Dilli-gram, Brian Glenski, Mike Westacott, Tim Harmon, Jerry Skakal, Richard Villigram, Aaron Wilson, Joe Johnson, Jeff Mumaw. 2009 record: 3-7 (seventh place in Suburban Big Seven at 1-5).Returning letter winners: 14Returning offensive starters (3): Michael Hopfinger, 6-2, 185, sr., WR; Montereal Robinson, 5-8, 190, sr., TB; T.J. Semke, 6-2, 215, sr., WR.Returning defensive starters (5): Anthony Eller, 6-2, 200, sr., S; Cole Giannola, 6-3, 220, sr., DE; Will Harrington, 6-2, 205, jr., FS; Nick Johnson, 5-11, 200, sr., LB; Chris Mershon, 5-11, 205, sr., LB.Others to watch: Pete Haggard, 6-1, 185, sr., QB; Ben Pascal, 6-2, 220, sr., NG.

Bronco facts:

2010 scheduleAug. 17— at Fort OsageSept. 3 — RaytownSept. 10 — at St. Joseph CentralSept. 17 — Lee’s SummitSept. 24 — Liberty at William JewellOct. 1 — at Blue Springs SouthOct. 8 — Blue SpringsOct. 15 — JoplinOct. 22 — RockhurstOct. 29 — at Raymore-Peculiar

2009 resultsW-L/Opponent LSN-OppL-Rock Bridge 13-22W-William Chrisman 24-15L-St. Joseph Central 19-24L-Raymore-Peculiar 16-21L-Liberty 28-48W-Blue Springs South 28-12L-Blue Springs 14-45L-Rockhurst 14-46L-Lee’s Summit 21-24

▼ LEE’S SUMMIT NORTH BRONCOS

High expectationsCoach Ty Kohl wants to turn team around from losing season to a state championship one, but knows the work it will take

See BRONCOS / 21


Some things never seem to change in Missouri high school football.

Such as Harrisonville remaining one of the state’s elite Class 4 teams.

Whether the Wildcats can match last season’s 11-2 success and advance-ment to the state quarterfinals remains to be seen. But for now the Wildcats are a solid favorite to claim a third consecutive Missouri River Valley Conference West title.

Grain Valley finished second in The Examiner’s poll of the coaches. Then came Pleasant Hill, Odessa, Oak Grove and Excelsior Springs.

“We must replace the quarterback position and build depth on the offen-sive and defensive lines,” Harrison-ville coach Chuck Lliteras said. “We have talented skill people on both sides of the ball and must improve in the kicking game.”

GRAIN VALLEYThe perennially strong Eagles

again expect to challenge Harrison-ville for the title.

“We lost a Division I quarterback in Austin Gouldsmith, only two returning starters on the offensive line and lost two three-year starters in Trace Goade and Drew Liddle,” Grain Valley coach Forrest Rovello said.

“A new backfield will be young but talented, there is good overall team speed at the skill positions, return eight starters on defense and the play-ers and coaches have adjusted to the second year platoon system.”

Twenty-one lettermen return from a 9-3 team that fell to Harrison-ville in the second round of the state playoffs.

PLEASANT HILLPleasant Hill is another confer-

ence power.Ten lettermen return from an 8-5

team that fell to O’Hara 50-49 in a wild game in the state Class 3 quar-terfinals.

“We have many question marks concerning skill positions,” coach Kyle Roach said. “Our young ones will have to step up for us to competi-tive.”

ODESSAFormer Park Hill South assistant

Dan Joiner is the new Odessa coach.“We have a hard-working group

with good leadership skills,” Joiner said. “We are looking for the younger kids to step up.”

Odessa returns nine lettermen from a 4-7 team.

OAK GROVEThe Panthers have only one way

to go after experiencing a tough 0-10 season.

Thirty lettermen should greatly abet the rebuilding process.

“We have many starters returning but will still be a young team,” Oak Grove coach Pete Carpino said.

EXCELSIOR SPRINGS

Andy Sims moves from assistant coach at Liberty to head coach at Excelsior Springs. The Tigers were 2-8 last season.

“The 2010 Tigers will enter this season with new hope and renewed optimism as they begin their attempt to climb out of the bottom of the MRVC West and back to prominence,” he said.

Sims has installed new schemes

defensively, offensively and in the kicking game.

“We are going to be relying heavily upon some key returners but we are also very excited about our newcom-ers,” Sims said. “I want to see a team that is very physical, plays with great enthusiasm and loves to compete. If we do those things, then everything else will begin to fall into place.”



MRVC WestCoaches Preseason PollSchool 1 2 3 4 5 TP1. Harrisonville 5 0 0 0 0 52. Grain Valley 1 3 1 0 0 103. Pleasant Hill 0 3 1 1 0 134. Odessa 0 0 3 2 0 175. Oak Grove 0 0 1 1 3 226. Excelsior Springs 0 0 0 2 3 23

MRVC West three-peat possible for Harrisonville

trying to get used to each other.”

As they did last season, the Broncos will run the spread offense, a departure from North’s tradition of an option-oriented running game.

“It takes a little bit (of time) to learn and get used to,” Kohl explained.

But the biggest factor in turning around the program will be the team’s offseason work ethic, particularly its weight training program, according to Kohl. North’s offseason work ethic “has been great,” he said.

“The kids are starting to understand the concept of committing to our program and believing in what we’re trying to do,” Kohl said.

Broncos plan to run spread

BRONCOS l From 20

▲

Lee’s Summit North High School’s T.J. Semke, left, Cole Giannola, Montereal Robinson, Anthony Eller and Chris Mershon.



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By TORIANO L. [email protected]

Talk about feeling like a part of something new.

Van Horn has been a part of the Independence School District for nearly three years and finally — finally — the Falcons have a new athletic home to call their own.

Since April, construction crews have been hard at work installing a new track and a new artificial turf field on school grounds and the excitement level is gearing up for the completion of the project.

Weather delays kept the new sta-dium from being completely built before the beginning of the new school year, but come Oct. 9, the Falcons’ football team will usher in a new era at Van Horn.

“The plan is to play the Home-coming game (against Maranatha Academy) Saturday, Oct. 9 at noon,”

Van Horn Activities Director John Ihm said. “All soccer games will be played here and we may play three J.V. football games there at the end of the (season).”

Independence voters passed last November an $85 million dol-lar bond issue that – among other things – approved a new, lighted track and artificial turf field at what was the Falcons’ football prac-tice field.

Mounds of lumpy dirt and spot-ted grass has now been replaced with smooth, green artificial turf, a standard rubberized track and the Van Horn logo on the 50-yard-line. Numbers and yard markers are also already laid on the field and two bright, yellow goal posts are affixed in the back of each end zone.

“You can see it when you’re coming over the viaduct (on Tru-man Road),” Ihm said. “It’s a sight to see.”

Falcons football head coach Jeff Tolbert and his players are excited about the prospects of a Homecom-ing game on school grounds. As it is, Van Horn will play the rest of their scheduled home games at Inde-pendence All-School Stadium.

“I just think it’s one of those situ-ations that continues to bring our community closer together,” Tol-bert said of the new track and foot-ball field. “It’s a source of pride, and I think my excitement mirrors everyone else’s excitement, which is fun. It feels good.”

Senior quarterback Brendon

Jones hinted he was almost dis-appointed he would only get the chance to play one game on the new field. Nevertheless, the field

will plant the seed for a new day of Van Horn athlet-ics, he said.

“This will give the guys after us more of a reason to feel a part of something,” Jones said. “I wish I had another year.”

Van Horn soccer coach Chris Corrie and his program’s excitement may trump the football program’s excitement level. As Ihm said, the soccer team will play all of their home games on the new turf. The Falcons spent the first two years as members of

the Independence School District playing their home games at All-School Stadium.

“We’re playing all of our home games on this field,” Corrie said. “All of them. I mean, Chrisman was a great host. They went above and beyond everything that they could do to help us. I’m very proud of what our district did to help us, but this field here – it’s going to be awesome to have our home games here.

“It’s going to be very special for our student body, western Inde-pendence and Sugar Creek to have this facility. It’s going to be fun — Monday through Friday nights are going to be a lot of fun for soc-cer and football.

“It’s beautiful. To my eyes, it’s beautiful. We’re spoiled rotten now. All I can do is thank the District, western Independence and Sugar Creek for helping us out with this. It’s gorgeous.”

Home sweet Home

New stadium gives Van Horn Falcons a place to call their own


Home sweet Home


Lee’s Summit West coach Royce Boehm feels a sense of familiar-ity about his football program, yet he feels a sense of uncertainty about the upcoming season.

“We’re hitting one another right now (in practice),” Boehm said. “You

don’t know how good you are until you go and play somebody else.”

As with most area schools, the Titans played in a jamboree before they open the season Friday night against Raymore-Peculiar. But it won’t allow them to gauge themselves, Boehm said.

“Those teams are not going to show (us) anything,” he said. “They’re just

going to be real basic. We’re going to be real basic.”

For the Titans, Ray-Pec will pro-vide an excellent test because of Ray-Pec’s history – specifically its history against West.

“(In) the six years we’ve been open, that’s one of the schools that we’ve never beaten in football,” said Boehm, whose club lost to Ray-Pec 17-14 in 2009. “So that is a big thing (for us).”

Another “big thing” is for the Titans to maintain the closeness they’ve had since the program began. As with many sports, the Titans see themselves as a family. In keeping with that, their motto this season is “play every down for the man next to you.”

“What does that (motto) do? That takes the ‘I’-(oriented) player out of it,” Boehm said. “You’re playing every down for the man next to you. You’re playing every down for that family member.”

Boehm said that sense of family has existed among his coaches. Most of them have been with him since the school opened. Recent additions such as Mike Spiegel, Sam Shouse and Chris Miller have strengthened “this family atmosphere that we have

out here among the coaching staff,” he stated.

Someone who’s part of the Titans’ family atmosphere is Boehm’s son Evan, a returning offensive lineman.

“It’s a dream to be able to have a relationship on the field with your son and then go home and have a different

relationship,” the elder Boehm said. “It’s got its ups and downs also.”

However, Boehm doesn’t coach his son directly. Assistant coach Chris Barrows does.

“I get to sit back and get to watch that take place,” Boehm said. “Being a part of it is pretty special.”

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Head coach: Royce Boehm (seventh season: 55-21 at Lee’s Summit West).Assistant coaches: Chris Barrows, Vinny Careswell, Derek Howard, Jereme Hubbard, Mike Spiegel, Chris Miller, Joe Oswald, Limbo Parks, Sam Shouse, Joel Staponski, Bret Wagner, Buddy Spurck, Jeff Driskill, Jesse Dziu-rawiec, Shane Morris, Doug Wendel.2009 record: 7-4 (Second place Suburban Middle Six at 4-1, district cham-pion).Returning letter winners: 28Returning offensive starters (8): Evan Boehm, 6-4, 300, jr., T; Caleb Fos-ter, 6-1, 245, jr., C; Matt Hall, 6-1, 185, jr., WR; Adam Klausing, 6-0, 200, sr., TE; Brandon Klewer, 6-4, 265, LT, sr.; Luke Knott, 6-2, 185, jr., QB; Donnell Minnifield, 6-6, 330, sr., RT; Drew Padget, 6-4, 245, sr., RG.Returning defensive starters (9): Spencer Brown, 6-0, 190, jr., MLB; Demarcus Edwards, 5-10, 175, sr., CB; Ryan Hillier, 6-1, 200, sr., OLB; Togai McCauley, 6-0, 300, NT; Ben Poeschl, 6-2, 220, sr., DE; Cole Prstojevich, 5-11, 165, sr., CB; Nick Rameriz, 6-2, 215, soph., MLB; Chris Wiseman, 6-4, 225, jr., DE; Boston Woodworth, 6-0, 190, jr., OLB.Others to watch: Connor Cordes, 6-4, 190, sr., WR; Shaq Harrison, 6-2, 180, jr., WR; Cam Johnson, 6-2, 185, sr., FS; Connor Kelley, 6-3, 180, jr., WR; Keith Marks, 6-1, 190, sr., WR; Brandon Smith, 6-4, 185, jr., WR; Austin Panko, 6-1, 175, jr., WR; Ryan Piersee, 6-0, 190, sr., FB; Darnay Sessions, 5-11, 170, sr., RB; Marcus Strickland, 6-0, 180, jr., RB; Travis Stroupe, 6-1, 180, jr., WR.

Titan facts:

▼ LEE’S SUMMIT WEST TITANS

2010 scheduleAug. 17 — Raymore-PeculiarSept. 3 — St. Joseph CentralSept. 10 — at North Kansas CitySept. 17 — at Blue Springs SouthSept. 24 — WinnetonkaOct. 1 — at TrumanOct. 8 — Park HillOct. 15 — Lee’s SummitOct. 22 — at RuskinOct. 28 — at Belton

2009 resultsW-L/Opponent LSW-OppL-Blue Springs 13-48W-Truman 19-0L-Fort Osage 14-35W-Raytown 52-26W-Raytown South 21-19W-Grandview 38-8W-North Kansas City 42-6W-Belton 27-0L-Raymore-Peculiar 14-17W-Springfield Central 35-6L-Raytown South 14-30

Team mentality‘Play every down for the man next to you’ motto leads Titans into 2010 season

Lee’s Summit West High School’s Chris Wiseman, Spencer Brown, Ben Poeschl, Luke Knott, Ryan Hillier, Adam Klausing and Evan Boehm.


Theexaminer

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The Examiner’s High School Sports Special Edition: 2010 Football Preview▼ 2010 AREA HIGH SCHOOL COMPOSITE SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, AUG. 27Blue Springs at RockhurstBlue Springs South at Ray-

town SouthGrain Valley at Platte

CountyLee’s Summit at William

ChrismanLee’s Summit North at Fort

OsageOak Grove at LexingtonTruman at RuskinRaymore-Peculiar at Lee’s

Summit WestRaytown at StaleyVan Horn vs. Renaissance

Academy at TrumanSATURDAY AUG. 28

St. Mary’s vs. Polo at Inde-pendence All-School Sta-dium/Norm James Field

THURSDAY, SEPT. 2Butler vs. St. Mary’s at Inde-

pendence All-School Sta-dium/Norm James Field

FRIDAY, SEPT. 3Belton at TrumanBlue Springs South vs. Park

Hill South at Park HillFort Osage vs. Oak Park at

StaleyGrandview at Raytown

SouthHolden at Oak GroveJefferson City Blair Oaks at

Grain ValleyLee’s Summit at Raymore-

PeculiarRaytown at Lee’s Summit

NorthSt. Joseph Central at Lee’s

Summit WestStaley at Blue SpringsVan Horn vs. KCK Wyan-

dotte at TrumanWilliam Chrisman vs. Win-

netonka at North Kansas City High School

FRIDAY, SEPT. 10Cameron at Grain ValleyFort Osage at RaytownLee’s Summit North at St.

Joseph CentralLee’s Summit West at

North Kansas CityLiberty North at William

ChrismanRaytown South at Lee’s

SummitRockhurst at Blue Springs

SouthSt. Mary’s at WindsorTruman at Blue SpringsVan Horn at East Buchanan

FRIDAY, SEPT. 17Belton at RaytownBlue Springs at Fort OsageGrain Valley at Excelsior

SpringsLee’s Summit west at Blue

Springs SouthLee’s Summit at Lee’s Sum-

mit NorthOak Grove at Pleasant HillPark Hill at TrumanRaytown South vs. Win-

netonka at North Kansas City High SchoolVan Horn vs. Butler at Tru-

manWilliam Chrisman vs. Park

Hill South at Park HillSATURDAY, SEPT. 18St. Mary’s vs. Renaissance

Academy at TrumanFRIDAY, SEPT. 24

Belton at William ChrismanBlue Springs South at Ray-

more-PeculiarFort Osage at Raytown

SouthLee’s Summit at Blue

SpringsLee’s Summit North at Lib-

ertyOak Grove at Excelsior

SpringsPleasant Hill at Grain ValleyRaytown vs. Park Hill South

at Park HillTruman at St. Joseph Cen-

tralVan Horn vs. Sherwood at

TrumanWinnetonka at Lee’s Sum-

mit WestSATURDAY, SEPT. 251 p.m. — St. Mary’s vs. Rock

Port at Independence All-School Stadium/Norm James Field

FRIDAY, OCT. 1Blue Springs at Raymore-

PeculiarGrain Valley at Oak GroveLee’s Summit North at Blue

Springs SouthLee’s Summit West at Tru-

manLiberty at Lee’s SummitPark Hill South at Raytown

SouthRaytown vs. Winnetonka

at North Kansas City High SchoolSt. Mary’s vs. Van Horn at

TrumanWilliam Chrisman at

NevadaFRIDAY, OCT. 8

Blue Springs at Lee’s Sum-mit NorthBlue Springs South at Lee’s

SummitFort Osage at William

ChrismanLiberty North at RaytownOak Grove at HarrisonvillePark Hill at Lee’s Summit

WestRaytown South at BeltonSt. Mary’s at SherwoodTruman at North Kansas

City

SATURDAY, OCT. 9Noon — Maranatha Acad-

emy at Van Horn1 p.m. — Odessa at Grain

ValleyFRIDAY, OCT. 15

Blue Springs at Blue Springs SouthGrain Valley at CenterJoplin at Lee’s Summit

NorthLee’s Summit at Lee’s Sum-

mit WestRaytown South at RaytownSt. Mary’s vs. Wentworth

Military Academy at TrumanTruman at William Chris-

manVan Horn at Oak GroveWinnetonka at Fort Osage

FRIDAY, OCT. 22Belton at Lee’s SummitColumbia Rock Bridge at

Blue Springs SouthGrandview at Grain Valley

Liberty at Blue SpringsLee’s Summit West at

RuskinNorth Kansas City at Fort

OsageRaytown at TrumanRichmond at Oak GroveRockhurst Lee’s Summit

NorthVan Horn at OdessaWilliam Chrisman at Ray-

townSATURDAY, OCT. 231 p.m. — St. Mary’s vs.

Orrick at Independence All-School Stadium/Norm James Field

THURSDAY, OCT. 28Fort Osage vs. Park Hill

South at Park HillHarrisonville at Grain ValleyLee’s Summit West at Ray-

more-PeculiarOak Grove at OdessaRaytown South at TrumanSt. Mary’s at Wellington-

NapoleonVan Horn vs. Richmond at

TrumanWilliam Chrisman at Ray-

townFRIDAY, OCT. 29

Blue Springs South vs. Lib-erty at William Jewell Col-legeColumbia Rock Bridge at

Blue SpringsLee’s Summit North at Ray-

more-PeculiarRuskin at Lee’s SummitWEDNESDAY, NOV. 3Class 1-5 regional games

FRIDAY, NOV. 5Class 6 sectional games8-man quarterfinal games

MONDAY, NOV. 8Class 1-5 sectional games

FRIDAY, NOV. 128-man semifinal gamesSATURDAY, NOV. 13

Class 1-5 quarterfinal games

FRIDAY, NOV. 19Class 5-6 semifinal gamesSATURDAY, NOV. 20Class 1-4 semifinal games

FRIDAY, NOV. 268-man Show-Me BowlClass 1, 3, 5 Show-Me BowlSATURDAY, NOV. 27

Class 2, 4, 6, Show-Me Bowl

Notes: (All times at 7 p.m. unless noted. Raytown South plays home games at Ted Chittwood Stadium at Raytown High School; Tru-man at Independence All-School Stadium/Norm James Field at William Chrisman).

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Head coach: Pete Carpino (fourth season, 14-16 at Oak Grove, 29-61 overall).Assistant coaches: Jared Barge, Cody Buford, Dan Cahill, Jeff Troy, Mike Riley, George Pirch, Kyle Cahill.2009 record: 0-10, sixth place in Missouri River Valley Conference West at 0-6.Returning letter winners: 30Returning offensive starters (5): Zach Taylor, 6-2, 180, sr., QB; Nate O’Neill, 6-4, 270, sr., OL/DL; Brycen Mackison, 6-0, 210, jr., RB; Derrick Dow, 6-3, 165, so, WR; Austin Latshaw, 6-1, 175, jr., QB.Returning defensive starters (5): Caleb Titus, 6-3, 170, sr., LB; Jackson Schneiders, 5-11, 165, sr., CB; Sam Bischoff, 6-3, 175, sr., DE; Jacob Cline, 6-4, 250, sr, DL; Cory Stattleman, 5-10, 215, so., DL.Others to watch: Levi Harmon, 6-1, 180, so., WR.

Panther facts:

2010 scheduleAug. 27 — at LexingtonSept. 3 — HoldenSept. 10 — RenaissanceSept. 17 — At Pleasant HillSept. 24 — At Excelsior SpringsOct. 1 — Grain ValleyOct. 8 — at HarrisonvilleOct. 15 — Van HornOct. 22 — RichmondOct. 28 — at Odessa

2009 resultsW-L/Opponent OG-OppL-Warrensburg 3-17L-O’Hara 14-35L-Raytown 12-41L-Odessa 15-39L-Excelsior Springs 28-38L-Grain Valley 16-38L-Harrisonville 7-49L-Pleasant Hill 3-24L—Clinton 16-21L-Holden 6-56

▼ OAK GROVE PANTHERS

A clean slatePanthers ready to start 2010 season, erase winless 2009By BILL [email protected]

No coach wants to get the 2010 football season under way more than Oak Grove’s Pete Carpino.

His 2009 team was devastated by injuries — both before, and dur-ing a forgettable 0-10 season — and never recovered.

Landon Grego, an outstanding two-way starter, broke his ankle on the first play of the Orange and Black Scrimmage and quarterback Caleb Barnhill went down early in the season.

From there, the season spiraled out of control.

And now, the Panthers have the opportunity to wipe that bad taste out of their mouths.

“Last year was tough – tough on the kids, tough on my staff and tough on me,” Carpino said. “And now, we have the chance to start fresh, to get back out on the field and play some football and we’re all very excited about that.”

Thirty lettermen return from last year’s team, including quar-terback Zach Taylor and running backs Brycen Mackison and Chase

Tryon.“We have a lot of kids back, but

we’re still going to be a young team because of the injuries last year, a lot of young kids got to play, got some experience and that should help us,” Carpino said.

“Zach was going to be a wide receiver last year and when Caleb got hurt he came in and did a good job at quarterback and we’re happy to have him back this year.

“And we have some new guys who could really make an impact.”

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They are former soccer player Kyle Jones, who will play wing-back and cornerback and wrestling standout Dylan Stiegemeyer, who will play inside linebacker. Both of

the newcomers are seniors.“You know, we don’t talk about

last year much,” the coach said. “We’re looking forward to the future. A season like last year gives a team the opportunity to build some character, and we did that.

“Our guys never gave up, never quit working hard and never quit caring about one another. This year, a lot of young guys have a valuable year’s worth of experi-ence under their belts and we’re hoping that pays big dividends this

year.”Carpino said he’s not going to

mix things up this season, despite the lack of success in 2009.

“We’ll run a set offense, with the quarterback under the center and we’re going to run the ball

– like all Oak Grove teams like to do. We’re going to get after people on defense and do our best to get off to a good start.

“It would be nice to get that monkey off our back early in the season.”

Oak Grove Panthers thinking of their future instead of focusing on the pastPANTHERS l From 28

▲

Oak Grove High School’s Caleb Titus, back left, Zach Tay-lor, Chase Tryon, Nate O’Neill, Kyle Jones, Jacob Cline, Sam Bischoff and Jackson Schnieders, front.


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The Rock


What happens when a rock meets an immovable object?That question was put to Fort Osage coach Ryan Schartz,

who happens to coach a rock, in all-state junior defensive line-man Tony Tanumai, and an immovable object, in all-state offen-sive lineman Juan Saucedo.

“Oh my goodness, when those two collide in practice, sparks fly,” Schartz said. “They really go after it. When our ones (var-sity starters) go one-on-one, everything just stops when Tony and Juan go after each other. They are a couple of players who give it everything they have – whether it’s practice or a game – they’re out there going 110 percent.”

After a recent practice session, the Indians had to run a gasser up a hill because some team paperwork was not turned into the coaching staff on time.

While some members of the team grumbled under their breath, Saucedo (5-foot-10, 235 pounds) and Tanumai (5-10, 265) bolted up the hill without saying a thing.

That’s what leaders do.“And those guys are two of our leaders,” Schartz said. “Juan

is a senior, and we expect our seniors to be the guys everyone looks up to. And Tony is just a junior, but he’s a leader on this team, too.

“Do you realize he was all-state as a sophomore? This is my sixth year here at Fort and we’ve had two other sophomore all-state players – E.J. (Gaines, who is now playing football at the University of Missouri) and Dalton (Krysa, the all-time big-class rushing leader in the history of the state now at Missouri West-ern State University). That’s some pretty good company.”

Tanumai, who moved with his family from Hawaii when he was in the sixth grade, stands out for the Indians because of many different reasons – his ferocity on the field, his quickness and ability to run down an opponent from sideline to line.

And his hair.“My hair?” he asks, repeating the question. “I have always

had long hair. I had older relatives play football and they had long hair, so I have long hair, too.”

When asked if he was trying to capture the essence of vet-eran Pittsburgh Steelers Pro Bowler Troy Polamalu, Tanumai just grinned.

“I’m not, I have long hair because of my cousins,” he said,

“But I think they started growing their hair long because of Troy Polamalu, so I guess in some ways, I do have long hair because of him.”

His hair flows freely beneath his helmet and hides the num-ber on his practice jersey.

“A lot of players on teams pull my hair,” he said, “but that’s all right. It just makes me mad, and I play better when I’m fired up.”

Saucedo doesn’t have a long, flowing mane. In fact, he looks as much like a Marine Corps drill instructor as he does a high school senior.

“We moved here when I was in the eighth grade and I think that year the football team didn’t win a game,” Saucedo said, “so

I didn’t have any great dreams of playing football at Fort Osage.

“But I knew that I was going to play, and I wanted to help this team become a successful team. And look at what we’ve done.”

The Indians have won three confer-ence titles and made it all the way to the Class 5 state championship game last season.

“That loss at state still hurts,” Sauce-do said, “but it just makes us work that much harder. I’m going to go 110 percent every time I’m on the field. And I know Tony plays the same way.”

When asked about their heralded matchups in practice, Saucedo said, “We like to hit. He is a tough man to block, but I do my best. And he does his best. Some days I win, and some days he wins – but playing against a player like Tony makes me a better player because he is the best defensive lineman I have ever faced. Thank goodness he is on our side.”

Tanumai feels the same about his teammate.“When you try to rush against Juan, you become a better

player because he makes you work so hard,” Tanumai said. “He’s a great lineman. The line was a big reason we had such a great year last year, and even though we have a lot of new play-ers this year, we’re going to have a great season again this year.”

Saucedo and Tanumai were both members of The Examin-er’s All-Area Team and were first-team All-Suburban Middle Six honorees.

“Every honor they received last year,” Schartz said, “they deserved. They’re both two of the greatest kids I’ve ever been around. When you get to be around young men like Juan and Tony you know you picked the right profes-sion.”

O-lineman Juan Saucedo and D-lineman Tony Tanumai will be

the foundation of the Fort Osage football team in 2010


PLAYERS SCHOOL Hgt. Wgt. YR. POS.Logan Adkison BlueSpringsSouth 6-3 240 sr. OL/DL

Scotty Cates WilliamChrisman 5-9 190 sr. TB/DB

Lewis Foutz BlueSprings 6-2 210 sr. LB

Spencer Gearhart FortOsage 5-9 175 sr. DB

Chris Gilyard BlueSpringsSouth 5-8 180 sr. RB/DB

Jaleel Gordon FortOsage 5-9 205 jr. RB

Henry Handley St.Mary’s 6-1 185 sr. RB/FS

Myles Hicks BlueSprings 6-0 240 sr. DL

Calvin Jacobson BlueSpringsSouth 6-2 200 sr. QB

Brycen Mackison OakGrove 6-0 210 jr. RB/LB

Mike McHenry BlueSprings 6-1 195 sr. LB

Darrian Miller BlueSprings 5-10 185 sr. QB/LB

Ryan Nace GrainValley 5-10 180 jr. RB

Jordan Nubine BlueSprings 6-3 195 sr. WR

Nate O’Neill OakGrove 6-4 270 sr. OL/DL

Shayne Parsons FortOsage 6-3 250 sr. OL

Devin Patrick WilliamChrisman 6-3 220 sr. FB/LB

Aaron Peola BlueSprings 5-11 185 sr. LB

Cory Phillips BlueSprings 6-5 305 sr. OL/DL

Montereal Robinson Lee’sSummitNorth 5-8 185 sr. RB

Juan Saucedo FortOsage 5-10 235 sr. OL

Tony Tanumai FortOsage 5-10 265 jr. DL

Bernard Thomas BlueSprings 5-11 180 sr. DB

Jon Trocosso BlueSprings 6-1 205 sr. LB

Riley Williams GrainValley 5-11 200 sr. RB

OtHERS tO WAtCH:

Blue Springs South: BlakeHorne,WR/DB,6-0,185,sr.;JakeKing,TE/LB,6-1,190,sr.Fort Osage:RyanStick,LB,5-10,175,jr.;JaredTeo’,LB,5-10,180,sr.Grain Valley: ZachHoover,WR,5-11,165,jr.;TuckerPaley,LB,5-8.170,jr.;DallasWelch,OL,6-1,235,jr.Oak Grove: ChaseWrisinger,NG,180,jr.;ChaseTryon,OG/SS,5-8,170,sr.St. Mary’s: JackSalva,TE/LB,6-2,180,sr.;DavidFlorido,DL,5-10,190,sr.;ScottLehane,RB/DE,510,160,jr.Truman:DavidFranklin,QB,6-3,215,j4.Van Horn:TylerSprague,RB/DE,5-9,185,sr.;KendallWilliams,WR/DB,5-9,160,jr.;BrendonJones,QB/LB,5-10,190,sr.;AustinMayfield,OL/DE,5-11,210,sr.;DenzelStrong,RB/LB,5-10,200,so.William Chrisman:PeteTanuvasa,NG,5-10,250,sr.;NickRichardson,QB/DB,5-11,190,sr.;KonnerWales,OL/DL,6-2,240,sr.

Players nominated by team’s coaches and voted on by The Examiner staff. Top 25 players are listed in alphabetical order.

TOP 25 PLAYERSThe examiner’s 2010 Preseason


The Wall


What happens when a rock meets an immovable object?That question was put to Fort Osage coach Ryan Schartz,

who happens to coach a rock, in all-state junior defensive line-man Tony Tanumai, and an immovable object, in all-state offen-sive lineman Juan Saucedo.

“Oh my goodness, when those two collide in practice, sparks fly,” Schartz said. “They really go after it. When our ones (var-sity starters) go one-on-one, everything just stops when Tony and Juan go after each other. They are a couple of players who give it everything they have – whether it’s practice or a game – they’re out there going 110 percent.”

After a recent practice session, the Indians had to run a gasser up a hill because some team paperwork was not turned into the coaching staff on time.

While some members of the team grumbled under their breath, Saucedo (5-foot-10, 235 pounds) and Tanumai (5-10, 265) bolted up the hill without saying a thing.

That’s what leaders do.“And those guys are two of our leaders,” Schartz said. “Juan

is a senior, and we expect our seniors to be the guys everyone looks up to. And Tony is just a junior, but he’s a leader on this team, too.

“Do you realize he was all-state as a sophomore? This is my sixth year here at Fort and we’ve had two other sophomore all-state players – E.J. (Gaines, who is now playing football at the University of Missouri) and Dalton (Krysa, the all-time big-class rushing leader in the history of the state now at Missouri West-ern State University). That’s some pretty good company.”

Tanumai, who moved with his family from Hawaii when he was in the sixth grade, stands out for the Indians because of many different reasons – his ferocity on the field, his quickness and ability to run down an opponent from sideline to line.

And his hair.“My hair?” he asks, repeating the question. “I have always

had long hair. I had older relatives play football and they had long hair, so I have long hair, too.”

When asked if he was trying to capture the essence of vet-eran Pittsburgh Steelers Pro Bowler Troy Polamalu, Tanumai just grinned.

“I’m not, I have long hair because of my cousins,” he said,

“But I think they started growing their hair long because of Troy Polamalu, so I guess in some ways, I do have long hair because of him.”

His hair flows freely beneath his helmet and hides the num-ber on his practice jersey.

“A lot of players on teams pull my hair,” he said, “but that’s all right. It just makes me mad, and I play better when I’m fired up.”

Saucedo doesn’t have a long, flowing mane. In fact, he looks as much like a Marine Corps drill instructor as he does a high school senior.

“We moved here when I was in the eighth grade and I think that year the football team didn’t win a game,” Saucedo said, “so

I didn’t have any great dreams of playing football at Fort Osage.

“But I knew that I was going to play, and I wanted to help this team become a successful team. And look at what we’ve done.”

The Indians have won three confer-ence titles and made it all the way to the Class 5 state championship game last season.

“That loss at state still hurts,” Sauce-do said, “but it just makes us work that much harder. I’m going to go 110 percent every time I’m on the field. And I know Tony plays the same way.”

When asked about their heralded matchups in practice, Saucedo said, “We like to hit. He is a tough man to block, but I do my best. And he does his best. Some days I win, and some days he wins – but playing against a player like Tony makes me a better player because he is the best defensive lineman I have ever faced. Thank goodness he is on our side.”

Tanumai feels the same about his teammate.“When you try to rush against Juan, you become a better

player because he makes you work so hard,” Tanumai said. “He’s a great lineman. The line was a big reason we had such a great year last year, and even though we have a lot of new play-ers this year, we’re going to have a great season again this year.”

Saucedo and Tanumai were both members of The Examin-er’s All-Area Team and were first-team All-Suburban Middle Six honorees.

“Every honor they received last year,” Schartz said, “they deserved. They’re both two of the greatest kids I’ve ever been around. When you get to be around young men like Juan and Tony you know you picked the right profes-sion.”

O-lineman Juan Saucedo and D-lineman Tony Tanumai will be

the foundation of the Fort Osage football team in 2010



nothing else, Truman will be well-coached on the gridiron this season as a pair of old adversaries in the college

coaching ranks will hold down two of the top spots on the Patriots’ sidelines.

New at the helm for the Patriots this year is head coach Jeff Floyd and offensive coordinator Eric Holm, both former college head coaches.

Also on the staff is Clint Smith, formerly a defensive line coach at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Ark, T.J. Barnet, who played at Mis-souri Western State University, Mike Dickerson , who played at Southeast Missouri State University, Mark Monheiser, a dentist who played college ball at Mo. Western and William Jewell College, Pat Stidham, who played at Rice and Dillen Plunk, who also played at Jewell.

“The thing about our staff is everyone on our staff either played or coached — or both — college football,” Floyd said. “Not that that’s an end all, but we got guys with good experience — and we got for-

tunate with a couple of guys. The staff is really good — an excellent staff.”

Floyd was the head coach at William Jewell Col-lege from 1997-2000 after a 10-year stint as assistant coach and defensive coordinator at the University of Central Missouri, while Holm held the top spot at both Truman State University (1990-1994) and North-ern Michigan University (1995-2002).

The two coaches competed for the same athletes in the same conference (MIAA) for many years, forming a competitive friendship that evolved into a personal relationship that led to Holm — the school’s activities director — luring Floyd back into high-school coaching after a layover as 8th-grade assistant coach last season at Derrick Thomas Academy in Kansas City.

In the mid-to-late 1980’s Floyd spent three years at alma mater Blue Springs High School as an assistant football and track coach, two years at Odessa High School as assistant football coach and head track coach, and three years at Osceola High School as head football and head track coach.

He noted the main difference in the college game

CollegiateConnection

Truman football staff has played, coached or both in college

See FLOYD / 48

“The biggest difference right now at this point in time in the program is we’ll have a bunch of guys who’ll play both ways for us.”

Jeff TolbertVan Horn head coach

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Head coach: Kevin Page (third season: 5-16 at Ray-town).Assistant coaches: Dallas Bryant, Jim Gulick, d Jon Heermann, Jason Jones, Greg MacDonald, Blaine Lewis; Anthony Hile, Josh Griffith.2009 record: 3-8, sixth place in Suburban Middle Six at 0-5, state Class 5 qualifiers.Returning letter winners: 22Returning offensive starters (6): Da’Juan Burnett, 5-7, 210, jr., FB; Steven DeShazer, 6-3, 200, jr., OL; Justus McMullen, 6-1, 185, jr., QB; Conrrad Nicholls, 6-4, 220, sr., OL; Chris Scott, 6-1, 255, jr., OL; LaVance Taylor, 5-10, 170, sr., RB.Returning defensive starters (9): Raymond Beeks, 5-9, 200, sr., DL; Da’Juan Burnett, 5-7, 210, jr., LB; Henry Burns, 5-11, 170, jr., LB; Hassan Dean, 5-9, 150, sr., DB; Justin Hughley, 5-11, 195, jr., DB; Luc Niclas, 5-11, 165, sr., DB; Conrrad Nicholls, 6-4, 220, sr., DL; Andre Norles, 5-2, 125, jr., DB; Levi Walters, 5-11, 225, sr., DL.

Blue Jay facts:

2010 scheduleAug. 27 — at StaleySept. 3 — at Lee’s Summit NorthSept. 10 — Fort OsageSept. 17— BeltonSept. 24 — Park Hill South at Park HillOct. 1 — Winnetonka at NKC High SchoolOct. 8 — Liberty NorthOct. 15 — Raytown SouthOct. 22 — at TrumanOct. 28 — William Chrisman

2009 resultsW-L/Opponent Ray-OppL-Kearney 12-68L-Staley 0-34W-Oak Grove 41-12L-Lee’s Summit West 26-51L-North Kansas City 17-20L-Belton 20-41L-Fort Osage 0-49W-Northeast 34-12W-Truman 20-16L-Raytown South 6-56L-Nixa 12-48

▼ RAYTOWN BLUE JAYS

Turning winning into a traditionBlue Jays working to make sure that

2009 playoff appearance was no flukeBy SHAWN RONEYThe Examiner

Raytown coach Kevin Page wants to make sure Raytown’s 2009 Class 5 state playoff appear-ance wasn’t a fluke.

Team attitude will be a key factor in determining if the Blue Jays return to the play-offs this season — and playoff

appearances become a habit, Page suggested during a recent telephone interview.

“We can’t assume that, just because we made it last year, we’re going to make it this year,” he said.

Rather than assuming they’ll make the playoffs, the Blue Jays must build on 2009’s success, according to Page. That

means they’ll “have to work even harder” because their opponents want to make sure they don’t return to the playoffs, he said.

Another factor will be Ray-town’s defense.

“The defense has to be the heart and soul of the team,” Page said. “And that’s the type of

See BLUE JAYS / 48



Head coach: Dave Allie (11th season, 59-42 at Raytown South).Assistant coaches: Nick Adkins, Jimmy Barragan, Kevin Easley, Brett Greble, Taurean Rollins, Charles Washington, Don Montgomery, Jabali Johnson2009 record: 10-4, third place in Suburban Middle Six at 3-2, district champion, state Class 5 semifinalsReturning letter winners: 13Returning offensive starters (3): Dennis Turner, 5-11, 170, sr., WR; Ishmail Wainwright, 6-5, 210, soph., WR; Trey Meyers, 6-4, 240, sr., OL.Returning defensive starters (5): Jameel Cox, 5-11, 225, jr., LB; Jamaal Cox, 5-11, 225, jr., LB; Turner, LB; Marquise Cushon, 5-11, 175, sr., DB; Wainwright, DB.Others to watch: Devin Hannah, 5-10, 150, soph., DB; DeJuan Blackman, 5-10, 155, soph., DB; Landon James-Wilson, 5-10, 160, soph., DB; James Wooten, 6-2, 240, jr., OL; Mustafa Rose, 5-10, 185, jr., LB.

Cardinal facts:

2010 scheduleAug. 27 — Blue Springs SouthSept. 3 — GrandviewSept. 10 —at Lee’s SummitSept. 17 — Winnetonka at NKC High SchoolSept. 24 — Fort OsageOct. 1 — Park Hill SouthOct. 8 — at BeltonOct. 15 — at RaytownOct. 22 — William ChrismanOct. 28— at Truman

2009 resultsW-L/Opponent Ray-OppL-Staley 13-15W-Platte County 43-0W-Hickman Mills 33-0W-North Kansas City 38-0L-Lee’s Summit West 19-21L-Fort Osage 14-21W-Belton 47-21W-Truman 33-21W-Northeast 42-0W-Raytown 56-6W-Lee’s Summit West 30-14W-Ozark* 35-13W-Nixa** 21-15L-Fort Osage*** 6-13

▼ RAYTOWN SOUTH CARDINALS

* – Class 5 state sectionals; ** – Class 5 state quarterfinals; *** – Class 5 state semifinals

The mystery is in the trenchesCardinals biggest question about the 2010 season regards their line


Certain things are known about the Raytown South Cardinals football team: The 2010 version will be athletic, quick and skilled, but the unknown variable will be the play of the interior lines.

Head coach David Allie has plenty of skill positions players ready to make their mark, but questions loom on both the offensive and defensive

lines.“The question for the team is going to be upfront

on both sides of the ball,” Allie said. “On offense we have one guy that started a couple of games due to injuries last year, but we’re kind of switching his position a little bit.

“On the defensive side — we don’t have really any returning starters on either line, so that’s where we’re going to be inexperienced the most.”

See CARDINALS / 43



CLASS 6District 1: Eureka, Fox-

Arnold, Northwest-Cedar Hill, Oakville.District 2: St. Louis DeS-

met, St. Louis Lindbergh, Mehlville, St. Louis University High.District 3: St. Louis Chris-

tian Brothers College, Lafay-ette-Wildwood, Marquette, Parkway South.District 4: Hazelwood

Central, Hazelwood West, McCluer North, Ritenour.District 5: Francis Howell

Central, Francis Howell, Fran-cis Howell North, Pattonville.District 6: Fort Zumwalt,

Columbia Hickman, Jefferson City, Troy Buchanan.District 7: Blue Springs,

Blue Springs South, Lib-erty, Columbia Rock Bridge.District 8: Joplin, Lee’s

Summit North, Raymore-Peculiar, Rockhurst.

CLASS 5District 1: Jackson, Poplar

Bluff, Rockwood Summit, Imperial SeckmanDistrict 2: St. Louis Chami-

nade, Parkway Central, Park-way North, Webster Groves.District 3: Hazelwood East,

McCluer, Normandy, River-view Gardens.District 4: Fort Zumwalt

East, Fort Zumwalt North, Fort Zumwalt South, Wentz-ville Holt, Wentzville Timber-land.District 5: Kirkwood, Park-

way West, St. Louis Vianney, Washington.District 6: Camdenton,

Rolla, Sedalia Smith-Cotton, Waynesvlle.District 7: Springfield

Central, Springfield Glen-dale, Lebanon, Springfield Parkview, Willard.District 8: Branson, Spring-

field Kickapoo, Neosho, Nixa, Ozark.District 9: Belton, Lee’s

Summit, Lee’s Summit West, Hickman Mills-Ruskin.District 10: Raytown, Ray-town South, Truman, Wil-liam Chrisman.District 11: Fort Osage,

North Kansas City, Park Hill South, Winnetonka.District 12: St. Joseph

Central, Oak Park, Park Hill, Staley.

CLASS 4District 1: Cape Girardeau

Central, Farmington, Per-ryville, Sikeston.District 2: DeSoto, Hills-

boro, North County, Potosi.District 3: Afton, Bishop

DuBourg, Festus, Imperial Windsor.District 4: St. Louis Gate-

way, St. Louis Miller Career Academy, St. Louis Roosevelt, St. Mary’s-O’Fallon.District 5: St. Louis Beau-

mont, St. Louis Soldan, St. Louis Sumner, St. Louis Vashon.District 6: Clayton, Ladue

Horton Watkins, St. Louis MICDS, University City.District 7: St. Charles Duch-

esne, Jennings, St. Charles, St. Louis Westminister Christian Academy.District 8: St. Charles West,

St. Dominic-O’Fallon, Wash-ington St. Francis Borgia, Warrenton.District 9: Pacific, St. Clair,

Sullivan, Union.District 10: Springfield Hill-

crest, Marshfield, Rolla, West Plains.District 11: Carl Junction,

Carthage, McDonald County, Webb City.

District 12: Bolivar, Jef-ferson City Helias, Marshall, Warrensburg.District 13: Hannibal,

Kirksville, Mexico, Moberly.District 14: Center, Grain

Valley, Grandview, Harrison-ville.District 15: Excelsior

Springs, Kearney, Liberty North, Smithville.District 16: St. Joseph

Benton, St. Joseph Lafayette, Platte County, Savannah.

CLASS 3District 1: New Madrid

County Central, Dexter, Fred-ricktown, Kennett.District 2: Park Hills Cen-

tral, St. Louis John F. Ken-nedy, Lutheran South, Ste. Genevieve.District 3: Confluence Park

Academy Charter, Imagine College Prep Charter, St. Louis John Burroughs, St. Louis Priory.District 4: St. Louis Cardi-

nal Ritter, Lutheran North, McCluer South-Berkley, Trin-ity Catholic.District 5: Bowling Green,

Orchard Farm, Winfield, Wright City.District 6: Fulton, Missouri

Military Academy-Mexico, North Callaway, Southern Boone County.District 7: Osage, Owens-

ville, Salem, St. James.District 8: Boonville, Cali-

fornia, Eldon, Versailles.District 9: Ava, Buffalo,

Logan-Rogersville, Mountain Grove.District 10: Aurora, Mt.

Vernon, Reeds Spring, Springfield Catholic.District 11: Cassville, East

Newton, Monnett, Seneca.District 12: Clinton, Hold-

en, Nevada, Pleasant Hill.District 13: Kansas City

Central, O’Hara, Pembroke Hill, Westport.District 14: Kansas City

East, Imagine Renaissance Academy, Lincoln Prep, Kan-sas City Northeast.District 15: Oak Grove,

Odessa, Richmond, Van Horn.District 16: Cameron, Chill-

icothe, Maryville, Kansas City St. Pius X.

CLASS 2District 1: Caruthersville,

Charleston, East Prairie, Mal-den.District 2: Crystal City, Her-

culaneum, Scott City, Festus St. Pius X.District 3: Barat Acad-

emy, Brentwood, Hillsboro Grandview, St. Louis Prin-cipia.District 4: Carnahan, Life

for Life Academy Charter, Maplewood-Richmond Heights, St. Louis Transporta-tion and Law.District 5: Cuba, Houston,

Mountain View Liberty, Wil-low Springs.District 6: Ash Grove, Fair

Grove, Hollister, Strafford.District 7: Diamond, Lamar,

Joplin McAuley Catholic, Sar-coxie.District 8: El Dorado

Springs, Pleasant Hope, Stockton, Warsaw.District 9: Jefferson City

Blair Oaks, Hermann, Mont-gomery County, South Cal-laway.District 10: O’Fallon Chris-

tian, Clopton, St. Peters Lutheran, Mark Twain-Cen-ter.District 11: Brookfield,

Centralia, Hallsville, Macon.District 12: Clark County,

Highland-Ewing, Monroe City, Palmyra.District 13: Adrian, But-

ler, Cole Camp, Sherwood-Creighton.District 14: Carrollton,

Knob Noster, Higginsville, St. Paul’s Lutheran-Concordia.District 15: Hogan Prep,

Lathrop, Lawson, Lexington.District 16: St. Joseph Bish-

op LeBllond, Penney-Hamil-ton, Plattsburg, Trenton.

CLASS 1District 1: Cabool, Hayti,

Portageville, Thayer.District 2: Chaffee, St.

Louis Cleveland NJROTC, St.

Vincent-Perryville, Ste. Gen-evieve Valle Catholic.District 3: Marionville,

Miller, Pierce City, Skyline-Urbana.District 4: Greenfield, Jas-

per, Liberal, Lockwood.District 5: Lincoln, Sedalia

Sacred Heart, Tipton, Wind-sor.District 6: Concordia, Crest

Ridge-Centerview, Santa Fe-Alma, Sweet Springs.District 7: Appleton City,

Archie, Osceola, Rich Hill.District 8: Drexel, Lone

Jack, Cass Midway, University Academy Charter.District 9: Louisiana, Paris,

South Shelby, Van-Far.District 10: Knox County,

North Shelby, Schuyler Coun-ty, Scotland County.District 11: Fayette, Salis-

bury, Slater, Westran-Hunts-ville.District 12: Marceline,

Milan, Princeton, Putnam County.District 13: Orrick, St.

Mary’s, Wellington-Napo-leon, Wentworth Military Academy-Lexington.District 14: Braymer, Galla-

tin, Polo, South Harrison.District 15: East Buchanan,

Mid-Buchanan, North Platte, West Platte.District 16: Albany, King

City, Maysville, Rock Port.EIGHT-MAN

District 1: Craig, Mound City, Nodaway-Holt, South Holt, Tarkio.District 2: North Nodaway,

South Nodaway, Stanberry, West Nodaway, Worth Coun-ty.District 3: DeKalb, North

Andrew, Southwest Livings-ton County, St. Joseph Chris-tian, Stewartsville, Union.District 4: Chilhowee, Har-

din-Central, Miami-Amoret, Norborne, Northwest-Hughesville.

▼ MISSOURI STATE HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT ASSIGNMENTS



Head coach: Jason Fenstermaker (first year).Assistant coaches: Dan Baker, Mike McClafferty, Chuck Vlasin.2009 record: 5-5 (third place in Crossroads Confer-ence at 0-2).Returning letter winners: 13Returning offensive starters (13): David Florido, 5- 10, sr., OL; Nick Pretti, 6-2, sr., OL; Ian Walter, 6-0, sr., QB; Henry Handley 6-1, sr., RB; Jeff Studdard, 6-0, sr., WR; Jack Salva, 6-2, sr., LB; Kevin Gordan, 6-0, sr., OL; Stephen Newberry, 6-0, jr., OL; Cam Willms, 6-0, jr., OL; Scott Lehane, 6-0, jr., RB; Michael Thomason, 5-9, jr., DB; Brian Erstad, 5-9, jr. K; Andrew Graver, 6-0, sr., OL.Returning defensive starters (13): Florido, DL; Pretti, DL; Walter, DB; Handley, DB; Studdard, DB; Salva, LB; Gordon, DL; Newberry, DL; Willms, DL; Lehane, LB; Thomason, DB; Erstad, DB; Graver, LB.Others to watch: Jordan LaScoula, 6-1, jr., OL/DL; Drew Huttinger, 5-9, soph., WR/DB; Sam Kenney, 6-0, soph., OL/DL; Ozzy Litchfield, 5-11, soph., OL/DL.

Trojan facts:

2010 scheduleAug. 28 — Polo at William ChrismanSept. 2 — Butler at William ChrismanSept. 10 — at WindsorSept. 18 — Renaissance at TrumanSept. 23 — Rock Port at William ChrismanOct. 1 — Van Horn at TrumanOct. 8 — at SherwoodOct. 15 — WMA atTrumanOct.23 — Orrick at William ChrismanOct. 28 — at Wellington-Napoleon

2009 resultsW-L/Opponent Ray-OppL-Rock Port 20-47W-Concordia St. Paul’s 46-13W-Hughesville 48-8L-Lone Jack 27-40W-Sedalia Sacred Heart 41-0W-Renaissance 42-22L-Braymer 6-28W-WMA 48-30L-Orrick 0-50

▼ ST. MARY’S TROJANS

Cupboard not bareLow numbers doesn’t translate into lack of talent for St. Mary’s Trojans


They may be low on numbers, but the cupboard isn’t bare at St. Mary’s.

The Trojans return Examiner All-Area second team running back Henry Handley and 12 other return-ing lettermen as they look to com-pete for the Crossroads Conference championship with a schedule load-ed with small-school powers.

New coach Jason Fenstermaker

will lead the charge as he takes over for John Gresham, who stepped away from the job for personal rea-sons.

“We’re getting back to the basics with football — blocking and tack-ling,” Fenstermaker, the Trojans running backs and defensive backs coach a year ago, said. “We’ve sim-plified offense and defense and just getting everything ready to go.

“The kids have responded well. We don’t have a big team — we have about 25 or 30 kids — but the kids we

do have are here to work.”Back at work for the Trojans,

who were 5-5 a season ago, are Hand-ley, two-way linemen David Florido, Stephen Newberry, Kevin Gordan and Nick Pretti, quarterback/defen-sive back Ian Walter, tight end/line-backer Jack Salva and wide receiv-er/defensive back Jeff Studdard.

Two-way linemen Jordan LaScoula, Sam Kenney and Ozzy Litchfield, WR/DB Drew Huttinger and FB/DE Scott Lehane are also

See TROJANS / 43

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Head coach: Jeff Floyd (first season).Assistant coaches: Eric Holm, Mike Spotts, T.J. Barnet, Pat Stidham, Mike Dickerson, Dillen Plunk, Eric Sullins.2009 record: 2-8, fifth place in Suburban Big Six at 1-4.Returning letter winners: 6Returning offensive starters (5): Austin Ford, 6-0, sr., WR; Zach Howard, 6-1, jr., OL; Tyler Adams, 6-0, sr., OL; David Franklin, 6-0, jr., QB; Adam Farrell, 6-1, sr., WR.Returning defensive starters (4): Ford, DB; Kale Odom, 5-11, sr., LB; How-ard, DL; Adams, DL.Others to watch: J.T. Hayes, soph., QB/RB/DB; Jeremy Ioane, 6-0, sr., OL/DL; Tyler Frazier, 6-1, sr., RB/DB; Brandon Henningh, 6-0, jr., DB/WR; Demetric Din-widdie, 6-0, soph., RB; Andrew Fansher, 5-9, OL, soph.

Patriot facts:

2010 scheduleAug. 27 — at RuskinSept. 3 — BeltonSept. 10 — at Blue SpringsSept. 17 — Park HillSept. 24 — at St. Joseph CentralOct. 1 — Lee’s Summit WestOct. 8 — at North Kansas CityOct. 15 —at William ChrismanOct. 22 — RaytownOct. 28 — Raytown South

2009 resultsW-L/Opponent LSN-OppL-Raymore-Peculiar 7-28L-Lee’s Summit West 0-19W-Oak Park 17-14L-Park Hill South 0-12L-Park Hill 12-41L-Winnetonka 6-21L-William Chrisman 14-33L-Raytown South 16-20W-Northeast 45-12

▼ TRUMAN PATRIOTS


They may be young and short on experience, but expect a dual-threat quarterback situation at Truman High School.

The Patriots will use a combina-tion of junior signal-caller David Franklin and super-duty sopho-more J.T. Hayes to handle play-call-ing duties as they look to improve on last season’s 2-8 record.

“We’ve got two guys who have experience and who both did a

good job in (summer) camp,” first-year head coach Jeff Floyd said of the quarterback duo. “They both played last year some. David is more of a drop back guy and J.T. is more of a runner — an athletic-type quarterback.

“J.T. might have a stronger arm; David maybe throws a little bit better ball — they both have strengths and they both have some weaknesses — but they both will be in the hunt for us.”

Truman offensive coordinator Eric Holm said both players have

continued their progress into fall practice and Holm expects both to see the field, although Hayes will also play defensive back for the Patriots.

“They’re different types of quarterbacks — and J.T. may very well start on defense, too,” Holm said. “David is kind of the pro-totypical guy. He’s tall, he’s big, he’s smart, he has an excellent release — the ball comes out of his hands really well — he’s poised, he has a good relationship with the

Twice as nicePatriots will have Franklin, Hayes share

duties at quarterback during the 2010 season

See PATRIOTS / 42

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other players and I think what we do kind of fits him to a degree, so he’s done really well so far.

“The same thing with J.T. — he’s a little bit more of a scrambler and a throw-on-the-run guy. If we wanted to run the quarterback, we might need to go to J.T. Both of them have been very productive and I feel good about both of them as a varsity quarterback.”

Protecting the quarterbacks will be in the hands and feet of returning linemen Zach Howard and Tyler Adams. Seniors Austin Ford and Adam Farrell figure to be the Patri-ots’ top-two wide receivers and senior Blake Lopez and junior Cole Zehnder are front-run-ners in the backfield.

Newcomers Tyler Frazier, a senior, and sophomore Demetric Dinwiddie will also vie for playing time at running back. According to Floyd, another newcomer — junior wide receiver Brandon Henningh — has turned heads in preseason camp.

On defense senior linebacker Kale Odom, junior defensive end Marcelus Corbin and Hayes will lead the unit.

“(Odom) is not a real big ‘rah-rah’ guy,” Floyd said. “He’s a real silent, kind of stoic

guy, but he’s always the first one to step up. I think he is a player that has demonstrated he’ll be a good leader.

“(Corbin) is a kid that has worked himself into — I think he is going to be a real impact player for us. He’s a lineman, he plays bas-ketball — he’s 6-(foot)5, 265 (pounds), had a 26-inch vertical, (ran a) 4.9 40-(yard dash). He was here everyday for (off-season) condition-ing. He’s going to be a real impact player for us.”

Floyd installed two summer camp ses-sions at Truman to get acclimated with his new team and said he felt like the players responded in a positive way to his coaching style.

“So far they (the Patriots) have exceeded my expectations,” Floyd said. “I was really pleased with how they responded at the first camp.

“I was pretty pleased with how they responded at the second camp — 7-on-7 we were 3-1. I liked the way the competed. They’ve responded to what we’ve done coach-ing-wise and philosophy-wise.

“A lot of the little things that we’ve asked they’ve responded to. We’ll continue test-ing them and we’ll see how they respond to those.”

Truman players back row from left, Marcellus Colbin, David Franklin, Austin Ford, Tyler Adams, front from left, Zac Howard, Blake Lopez, Eric Hunbel, Cole Zehnder and Austin Lohman.


New Pats coach getting acclimatedPATRIOTS l From 40

▲


The Cardinals, 10-4 and Class 5 state semifinalist a year ago, return 13 let-termen, including wide receiver/line-backer Dennis Turner, wide receiver/defensive back Marquise Cushon, WR/DB Ishmael Wainwright and identical twins Jameel and Jamaal Cox, both standout inside linebackers.

“We’ve been getting after it (since preseason practices began),” Allie said. “We’re looking good. Obviously, we’ve got a lot of work to do — we’re nowhere where we need to be — but I think that we’re progressing.”

Taking over for departed starting quarterback Dennis Tanner will be senior Marc-Alan Tucker. The 6-foot-4, 180 pound Tucker spent the previous two years playing backup to Tanner.

“He’s done a terrific job of leading the offense so far and being the leader of the overall team,” Allie said of Tucker. “He looks the same as Dennis — maybe a little taller but not as quick. We’re

going to ask him to do some of the things Dennis did, but in his own right. He should be able to run our offense.”

Allie also likes the potential of his running backs, a stable he said is five-deep with little separation between them.

“We have a little more depth at the running back position this year,” Allie said. “We only had a couple (of run-ning backs last season) and they played defense and so forth. We have a variety of running backs, so this year running backs will be more of a feature in our offense and our quarterback will play off of that.”

Also high on Allie’s list is a couple of sophomore defensive backs who are vying for major minutes on the field. Devin Hannah and Dante Hutton are the two and they join fellow sophomore Wainwright to form a young, but poten-tially dangerous unit.

“The sophomores are stepping up in the secondary,” Allie said. “We have Cushon and Turner returning and

they’re doing good, but we have a couple of sophomores who have stepped up in that secondary. They played well all summer and they continue(d) to play well in (fall) camp.”

Quarterback Tucker will take offensive lead for Raytown South in 2010CARDINALS l From 37

▲

Raytown South High School players back row from left, Jamall Cox, Dennis Turner, Marc-Alan Tucker, Trey Myers, Trace Hart, Jameel Cox, front row from left, Jamar Adair and Marquice Cushan.


back for the Trojans.“We run a multi-set, but

we’re probably going to run the ball a little bit more,” Fenstermaker said of his offensive philosophy.

That would be wise, con-sidering Handley had sev-eral big games last season, including 296 yards rushing and five touchdowns on 26 carries against Wentworth Military Academy.

“We’re going to have a mix of the power game and option,” Fenstermaker continued. “We’ll mix some passing in — we’ve got very good skill positions. The main thing is just keeping it simple. Keeping it simple for the offensive line. The more we can do without changing their blocking scheme, the more we’re able to do.

“Same thing with defense;

just line up and hit. We play gap sound, gap control defense. Truly, at this level, you’ve gotta take the think-ing away from them and just make it simple so they can just play football.”

Fenstermaker said he is also high on newcomer Alex Edwards, a senior WR/FS, who will play football for the Trojans for the first time.

“He’s probably one of the more athletic kids at St. Mary’s,” Fenstermaker said, “and just never came out for football until this year. He’s truly turned it on. He’s a natural athlete and he’s pick-ing up the game and seems to like it. He’s been a great asset.”

The Trojans face a bru-tal schedule with Polo and Windsor dotting the non-con-ference schedule and Butler and Sherwood, the defend-ing Crossroads Conference

champions who has defeated the Trojans seven consecu-tive times, on the conference slate with Van Horn and Imagine Renaissance Acad-emy.

We l l i n g t o n - N ap o l e a n

replaces Braymer on the Trojans’ Class 1 District 13 schedule, a district that also includes Wentworth Military Academy and tradition rich small-school power Orrick.

“It was nice of the state

to move Braymer out and bring in Wellington-Napeol-len, whose another top-ranked (Class 1) state team,” Fenstermaker said in jest. “It was nice of them. Their doing us favors.

“We’ve revamped our entire schedule. We’ve real-ly upgraded our schedule immensely. It’s a lot tougher, but at the same time we’re definitely up to the chal-lenge.”


St. Mary’s will mix power game with option

TROJANS l From 39

▲

St. Mary’s High School’s Scott Lehane, Ian Walter, Henry Handley, Jack Salva and David Florido.


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Head coach: Jeff Tolbert (third season, 0-20)Assistant coaches: Danny Marshall, Michael Cobbins2008 record: 0-10 overall.Returning letter winners: 16Returning offensive starters (4): Tyler Sprague, 5-9, 185, sr., RB; Lucas Hood, 5-10, 175, sr., WR; Brendon Jones, 5-10, 190, sr., QB; Denzel Strong, 5-10, 195, sr., RB.Returning defensive starters (3): Sprague, LB; Hood, DB; Jones, LB.Others to watch: Austin Mayfield, 5-11, 210, sr., OL/DE; Chadd Wheelington, 5-10, 180, soph., TE/LB; Dillon Myers, 6-0, 170, sr., WR/DB.

Falcon facts:

2010 scheduleAug. 27 — Renaissance at TrumanSept. 3 — KCK Wyandotte at TrumanSept. 10 — At East BuchananSept. 17 — Butler at TrumanSept. 24 — Sherwood at TrumanOct. 1 — St. Mary’s at TrumanOct. 9 — Maranatha Academy at Van HornOCt.15 — at Oak GroveOct. 22 — at OdessaOct. 28 — Richmond at Truman

2009 resultsW-L/Opponent VH-OppL-Pembroke Hill 12-47L-QuaPaw, Okla. 0-43L-Center 6-55L-Northeast 24-45L-St. Pius X 14-50L-Westport 24-54L-Hogan Prep 20-53L-Plattsburg 8-54L-Lawson 0-51L-Lathrop 0-39

Home games at Truman High School


The big elephant in the room at Van Horn High School is obvious.

The Falcons are 0-20 since joining the Independence School District two years ago, a record not lost on third-year head coach Jeff Tolbert.

“You know as coaches, we have a little ego,” Tolbert said as he prepared the Falcons for their first season as a member of the Crossroads Confer-ence. “That ego can be a little bruised at times. We’ve talked abut it as a staff. If we don’t put one on the ‘W’ side, it becomes a question of if we’ve improved enough. That’s what we’re focused on right now

– improving enough.”The Falcons will try to improve with a roster

of nearly three dozen. Competing at the Class 3 level this season, optimism lies in the hands of nine returning lettermen, including senior quarterback/linebacker Brendon Jones and senior fullback/linebacker Tyler Sprague.

Both have been a part of back-to-back winless sea-sons.

“I know we’re making prog-ress,” Sprague said. “Senior year, we’ve been putting in the work, we definitely want to see that hard work pay off.”

Added Jones: “Coach has done a great job of making us work hard and yeah, we definitely get tired of the los-

Improving enough

The Van Horn Falcons are trying to end a two-year losing streak

See FALCONS / 45

“You know as coaches, we

have a little ego. That ego

can be a little bruised at

times.”

Jeff TolbertVan Horn head coach

▼ VAN HORN FALCONS

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ing, but we can see light at the end of the tunnel.”

Tolbert is high on return-ing defensive back Lucas Hood, who severely injured an ankle this summer and is expected back after the first two weeks of the season. Tolbert also expects running back/line-backer Denzel Strong, WR/DB Eugene Wallace, RB/LB Dan Francis and defensive back

Kendall Williams to lead the Falcons as well.

Austin Mayfield (5-11, 210), Kapena Faitau (6-1, 200), Phil-lip Huerter (5-11, 260), and Sequoia Newland (5-9, 190) are expected to anchor both inte-rior lines.

With a schedule that includes Imagine Renaissance Academy, Kansas City Cen-tral, Butler, Sherwood-Cass, St. Mary’s, Maranatha Acad-emy, Oak Grove, Odessa and

Richmond, Tolbert would only say he is, “cautiously optimis-tic” about stopping the losing streak.

“There has been a stan-dard that we have tried to set and we’ve worked real hard at it,” Tolbert said. “At times, we’ve seen success and at times we’ve not. I feel like we were better last year than we were the year before, and I feel like we’ll be better again this year.”

Coach feel team is improved from 2009FALCONS l From 44

▲

Daniel Francis, front left, Tyler Sprague, front right, Kendall Williams, middle left, Eugene Wallace, middle right, and Devin Fields, back, will anchor the Falcons defense as Van Horn looks to stop a 20-game losing streak.

The Examiner/TORIANO L. PORTER

Head coach: John Crutcher (first season)Assistant coaches: Alen Supplee, Jim Pickett, Richard Smith, Jordan Worley, Mick Cronk.2009 record: 4-6, fourth place in Suburban Big Six at 2-3Returning letter winners: 8Returning offensive starters (6): Scott Cates, 5-9, 180, sr. RB; Devin Patrick, 6-3, 220, sr., TE; Pete Tanuvasa, 5-10, 250, sr., OL; Jeff Ulberg, 6-4, 290, sr., OL; Konner Wales, 6-3, 240, sr., OL; Jordan Warner, 6-3, 180, WR.Returning defensive starters (4): Patrick, LB; Tanuvasa, DL; Ulberg, DL; Wales, DL.Others to watch: Joshua Gilliland, 5-11, 220, soph., OL/LB; Kreig Jarnagin, 6-0, 165, soph., QB; Trevor Key, 5-8, 175, soph. RB/DB; Johnatan Phan, 5-11, 215, jr., LB; McKay Paialii, 5-11, 180, sr., DB; William Soendker, 6-0, 190, jr., LB; Kakolosi Tuione, 6-5, 330, sr., OL; John Ulberg, 6-2, 280, jr., OL/DL.

Bear facts:

2010 scheduleAug. 28 — Lee’s SummitSept. 3 — Winnetonka at NKC High SchoolSept. 10 — Liberty NorthSept. 17 — Park Hill South at Park HillSept. 24 — BeltonOct. 1 — at NevadaOct. 8 — Fort OsageOct. 15 — TrumanOct. 22 — at Raytown SouthOct. 28 — at Raytown

2009 resultsW-L/Opponent WC-OppW-Ruskin 37-30L-Lee’s Summit North 18-24L-Staley 28-56W-Oak Park 10-7L-Park Hill South 0-42L-Park Hill 0-46W-Truman 33-14W-North Kansas City 28-21L-Fort Osage 0-42L-Winnetonka 14-48

▼ WILLIAM CHRISMAN BEARS




William Chrisman has its third head coach in three years, but don’t think for a minute new coach John Crutcher doesn’t expect success.

The former assistant coach at Raytown South will lean on a mammoth offensive and defensive line and the running of senior Scott Cates to improve on the Bears’ 4-6 record from a year ago.

Jeff Ulberg (6-foot-4, 290

pounds), Konner Wales (6-3, 240), and Pete Tanuvasa (5-10, 250) return to anchor the interior line and Cates spent time last sea-son as a backup at running back behind the departed Caleb Sims, who transferred to Park Hill South.

The 5-9, 180-pound Cates put up some decent numbers a year ago, including rushing for 201 yard yards and one touchdown on 29 carries in a 10-7 victory over Oak Park, the Bears’ first win against Oak Park since 2004.

“There’s a lot of kids that have really stepped up,” Crutcher said. “Scotty Cates — he’s going to be our starting tailback — has really stepped up. He’s been kind of that guy that everybody watches. He’s not necessarily the vocal leader — he’s a guy that leads by exam-ple.”

Handling the yelling and screaming duties for the Bears will belong to starting quarter-back Nick Richardson.

“Nick Richardson is kind of

Success expectedThe Bears are on their third coach in three years

but the latest, Crutcher, is not making excuses

See BEARS / 47



our vocal leader,” Crutcher said. “(Richardson and Cates) have really stepped up, as well as others. I can’t just narrow it down to two or three people. So many of these kids are buying in and really giving it their all and trying to make this the best experience they’ve had.”

Helping Crutcher and the Bears make the most of the 2010 season will be first-year defensive assistant Mike Edinger and new offensive coordinator Allen Supplee.

“Mike Edinger — I think

he was (co-defensive coordi-nator) at O’Hara for about eight years — I got lucky I got to hire him,” Crutch-er said. “It makes my job easier because now I’ve got a guy with a lot of experi-ence defensively. Him and I can bounce ideas off of each other — it’s good cop, bad cop sometimes, which is great for us.

“(Supplee) does a great job. I’m the most blessed coach in the city. I’ve got some great coaches with me. I’m bias, but I think I’ve got the best coaching staff in the city.”

Mike Edinger and Allen Supplee also added to staff

BEARS l From 46

▲

William Chrisman High School’s Devin Patrick, Justin Hudson, Nick Richardson, Ryan Cole, Scott Cater, McKay Paialii and Konner Wales.



John Crutcher believes football is football, no matter the level.

Crutcher, the new head football coach at William Chrisman, spent seven years coaching football at the college level, so he has a pretty good handle on the X’s and O’s of the game.

He has also coached at the high school level, including the previous two seasons as defensive coordinator at Raytown South and, before that, one season at Lawton (Okla.) High School.

In that aspect, Crutcher is familiar with the up-and-down emotional nature of the teenage athlete.

As he prepared for his first season as a head coach on any level, Crutcher expounded on what he has learned in previous stops.

“Personally, it’s the amount of time,” Crutcher said of the difference between the high school and college ranks. “I’m used to spending all day, everyday on football. When you come to high school, you’ve go that other job — the one that pays the bills.

“My first two years I spent a lot of time making sure I took care of business in the classroom, as well as I will do here. But, as far as football; football is football, man. It ain’t any different. We might get a little more technical — when I was in college — with certain things, but football’s

New William Chrisman football coach John Crutcher knows his ...

See CRUTCHER / 48



and the high school is time constraints that reduce the ability to teach the finer points of the game.

“The biggest difference right now at this point in time in the program is we’ll have a bunch of guys who’ll play both ways for us,” Floyd said. “So, practice time — we need to make sure we spend and schedule

adequate time for a kid to learn and offensive stuff and turn around and learn the defensive system too.

“At the college level, you’ve got two hours — two hours is plenty of time to get about everything that you need to get done installed in practice. If we were two-platooning, that would be the case, but right now we’re having to extend practice a little bit.”

Holm, too, has extended his hand in dual roles as AD and offensive coordinator. He said the task has been daunting, but the coaching staff has held him down when push comes to shove.

“It’s been going really well,” Holm said of his return to the game. “I’m enjoying it very much — the kids have been great and it’s definitely been fun. The biggest difference (with

high school players) is the volume of information you can throw at them.

“For one they’re younger kids with less experience in football and then two: It’s new for everybody. Even the seniors, this is the first time they’ve done this stuff. You’ve kind of got a two-fold thing: Young kids who are getting to learn football itself and then kids who are seeing my stuff for the first

time“I don’t know if you

can call (the dual roles) an adjustment or not — you’ve just got to bear down. I anticipated it this summer, so I tried to get ahead and get as many things done in advance as I good. I feel pretty good about that. Honestly, if I’m going to let something go, I try to take care of my AD duties first and then do football second

because they’re are other people relying on me for the AD things.

“The football coaches understand what my role is...so far it’s been really good and the other coaches have been great. The big-gest thrill for me has been the relationship with the kids on the football field. When you coach, you get to know the kids on a different level.”

Floyd will juggled duties as athletic director as well as head football coachFLOYD l From 34

▲

football. We’re running the same defense I ran at Dennison (Ohio) University. Same stuff, same calls, same everything. We’re going to line up and get after you, too.”

David Allie, head coach at Raytown South, said he thinks Crutcher will do a good job at Chrisman, adding he wishes his former assistant well in nine out of 10 ball games this season.

Crutcher’s former boss cir-cled Oct. 22 as the only day he’s rooting against the Bears.

“He’s a tremendous indi-vidual,” Allie said of Crutcher. “Great coach — I know they’re going to be taught well over there. We actually had a chance to scrimmage against them this summer and he had his boys ready to play.

“We hated to see him go because he’s such a great coach, but it’s a great opportunity for him to be a head coach. I think they’re going to do well this year — I hope they go 9-1.

“We’re in the (Suburban Mid-dle Seven) conference together and it’s a district game, so not only is it a conference game, it’s a (district) game for all the mar-bles and it’s two brothers going at it. I love him and I wish him all of the success, but I’m going to hate him on that Friday.”

Crutcher, who coached col-legiately at schools in New Mexico, Kentucky, Kansas and

Ohio, said the time was right for him to move to the high school game.

“I’ve coached for seven years in college — and I’ve pursued my dreams and stuff like that in college — and I got tired of chasing the next game and decided to come to high school and make it a career,” Crutcher said. “Make it so were I can have more impact on the kids and help all these kids become suc-cessful.

“As far as the head job here — when (Raytown South) played Truman last year, we got to looking at Truman film and I saw a lot of good things on film from the (Chrisman) kids. When it opened up, I thought it’d be something good and I thought it’d be a good situation. I think the socio-economic status here in Independence is something that fits me and fits my style of coaching.”

Crutcher’s style is upbeat, yet demanding, intense, yet car-ing and he believes he’s found the right match at William Chrisman.

“I just felt with the facili-ties — we’ve got one of the nicest weight rooms in the city and we’ve got one of the nicest fields, if not the nicest facility in the city — and we got the practice field out there. I mean, you can’t beat the facilities, you can’t beat the people here and the kids are great.”

New coach brings upbeat yet demanding style to Chrisman

CRUTCHER l From 47

▲

attitude they’ve got to have going into the games. When adversity comes, you’ve got to have heart and soul.”

Much of Raytown’s strength on defense will come from its defensive line, which “has a lot of depth,” Page said. Mental maturity might be another strong point.

“Collectively, our defense is starting to understand our philosophy of defensive linemen sacrificing themselves, playing hard, allowing those linebackers to run free and make those plays,” he said. “I think we’re starting to come together a little bit more there and understand everybody’s role — and the importance of (everybody) playing their role, over individualism.”

Offensively, the Blue Jays will need

their running game to be in top form if they want to reach the postseason.

“It’s our second year of running the option,” Page said. “I think we under-stand the expectation (for our offense), what it takes (to execute it). We’ve worked really hard in our camps to get good tim-ing and really tie down the loose ends in the offense, so we hope that we can be a lot more multiple with what we do and a lot more explosive.”

In addition, the Blue Jays must handle a tough regular-season schedule before they can think about playing in the post-season. They’ll open with Staley, a team that shut them out in Week 2 in 2009.

“Staley has done a lot of things right since that program started,” Page stated. “We’ve had (to play) them each of the previous two years, and the scores and the outcomes have not been what we

expect Raytown football to be. What we’re hoping for is that we can come out and we can re-establish ourselves.”

“There’s nothing better in doing a re-establishment than going out and play-ing very well against a team that has defeated you,” he added.

After facing Staley and then Lee’s Summit North, the Blue Jays will face conference opponents for six of their last eight games, including Belton, Raytown South and Fort Osage. All three teams have made a state finals appearance dur-ing the past three seasons.

The Blue Jays couldn’t be happier about their level of competition.

“You’re not going to be great unless you beat great teams,” Page said. “We’re fortunate to be in a conference with some of the best competition in Class 5 in the city.”

Raytown has tough regular-season scheduleBLUE JAYS l From 36

▲

Raytown High School’s Dajuan Burnett, left, Levi Walters, Conrrad Nicholls, Levance Taylor, Josh Hall, Dakota Davis Richard Dunfield and Raymond Beeks.



The Examiner’s High School Sports Special Edition: 2010 Football Preview▼ BLUE SPRINGS WILDCATS SEETEAMPREVIEWONPAGE4


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