There aren’t many statistics an offensive lineman can measure his success by.
Unless you consider pancakes.
Not the kind you eat – though those may help a lineman get big and strong.
No, we’re talking about the kind when a lineman puts an opposing defender in the dirt on his back and keeps the dirt of his quarterback’s backside in the process.
And Blue Springs senior offensive tackle Drew Kerber is piling them up this season while helping the Wildcats roll through the playoffs to Friday’s 7 p.m. Class 6 state semifinal game against St. Louis DeSmet at Peve Stadium.
“We like the pancakes,” Kerber said, as he loomed over a heaping stack of pancakes at the International House of Pancakes in Independence on Wednesday. “I remember my first one. I was a freshman and I got put into a game against Lee’s Summit North, and I pancaked one of their linebackers. I’ll never forget it.”
He leads the 11-1 Wildcats with 33.5 pancakes this season. He also has 18.5 knockdowns and is averaging 4.7 pancakes per game.
“You know he’s going to get three or four a game,” Wildcats quarterback Jared Lanpher said, “because he’s just that strong and that smart. He gets position on the defensive guys and just drives them into the ground.”
And that’s just fine with Lanpher, whose backside is the one Kerber protects, and 2,000-yard running back Darrian Miller, who gets much of the benefit of those pancakes.
“I never have to worry about my blindside, because I know Drew is going to take care of me,” said Lanpher, a fellow senior who has started alongside Kerber the last three years. “He’s such a smart guy – like a coach out on the field. When he says something, we listen.”
Miller – who has run wild for 2,438 yards and 36 touchdowns in the Wildcats’ 12 games behind Kerber and his fellow linemen open on a regular basis – said the 6-foot-3, 280-pound senior is a motivator as well.
“There might be days I don’t feel like practicing, and he’ll get on me and make me work harder than I thought I could work,” Miller said. “Drew is like the big brother I never had. When big brother tells you to do something, you do it. At least, I do it. I want to keep Drew and the guys on the O-line happy.”
The past two weeks, Kerber has gone both ways, starring on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
“He’s an amazing young man,” Wildcats defensive coordinator Tim Dade said. “He’s the team leader – the guy everyone looks up to and respects.”
And it might take an entire sports section to include all of head coach Kelly Donohoe’s comments on the big man who represents the Wildcats’ unsung heroes on the week on a weekly basis.
“How much time do you have?” joked Donohoe, when asked about Kerber. “He’s the first guy in the weight room and the last to leave.
“He respects the game and he respects his teammates, and he’s like having a gosh-darned coach out on the field because he knows all the plays and calls as well as I do. Every once in a while, one of those special kids come along, and Drew is one of them.”
While his coaches and teammates respect Kerber and his offensive line teammates, they gain little notoriety.
“We pretty much live in anonymity,” Kerber said, grinning, “and we kind of like it. There really aren’t any stats in a box score for a lineman – but the first thing we check is to see if Darrian had a big night. That’s how we can measure our success.”
As he prepares for the biggest game of his life, Kerber admits that the week has crawled by at a snail’s pace.
“I can’t believe how slow it’s going,” he said. “Since I was a little kid, I’ve dreamed about going to state. Now, we have the chance to do it. I know DeSmet is undefeated (12-0) and they’re coming to our place with a lot of confidence.
“But we’re confident, too. We’ve had a great week of practice and we have a great game plan. We’re ready to go.”
So, for one more night, Kerber will join his anonymous teammates – center Riley Hamilton, guards Pat Mouse, Dillon Poole and Cory Phillips and tackle Boston Higgins – in the pit as they brace for a marquee matchup between a couple of high school powerhouses.
“The guys on the line are kind of like a team, within a team,” he explained. “We don’t want to let anyone down – especially at this point of the season. This is the game we’ve dreamed about, and we want to be part of something special.”
Editor’s note: Thanks to International House of Pancakes managers Julia and Jason Deere for allowing The Examiner to use their restaurant at 20100 E. Valley View Circle for this photo shoot. The managers would like all prep football fans to know that IHOP is offering free meals to all kids 12 and under, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, during an ongoing promotion.
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There aren’t many statistics an offensive lineman can measure his success by.
Unless you consider pancakes.
Not the kind you eat – though those may help a lineman get big and strong.
No, we’re talking about the kind when a lineman puts an opposing defender in the dirt on his back and keeps the dirt of his quarterback’s backside in the process.
And Blue Springs senior offensive tackle Drew Kerber is piling them up this season while helping the Wildcats roll through the playoffs to Friday’s 7 p.m. Class 6 state semifinal game against St. Louis DeSmet at Peve Stadium.
“We like the pancakes,” Kerber said, as he loomed over a heaping stack of pancakes at the International House of Pancakes in Independence on Wednesday. “I remember my first one. I was a freshman and I got put into a game against Lee’s Summit North, and I pancaked one of their linebackers. I’ll never forget it.”
He leads the 11-1 Wildcats with 33.5 pancakes this season. He also has 18.5 knockdowns and is averaging 4.7 pancakes per game.
“You know he’s going to get three or four a game,” Wildcats quarterback Jared Lanpher said, “because he’s just that strong and that smart. He gets position on the defensive guys and just drives them into the ground.”
And that’s just fine with Lanpher, whose backside is the one Kerber protects, and 2,000-yard running back Darrian Miller, who gets much of the benefit of those pancakes.
“I never have to worry about my blindside, because I know Drew is going to take care of me,” said Lanpher, a fellow senior who has started alongside Kerber the last three years. “He’s such a smart guy – like a coach out on the field. When he says something, we listen.”
Miller – who has run wild for 2,438 yards and 36 touchdowns in the Wildcats’ 12 games behind Kerber and his fellow linemen open on a regular basis – said the 6-foot-3, 280-pound senior is a motivator as well.
“There might be days I don’t feel like practicing, and he’ll get on me and make me work harder than I thought I could work,” Miller said. “Drew is like the big brother I never had. When big brother tells you to do something, you do it. At least, I do it. I want to keep Drew and the guys on the O-line happy.”
The past two weeks, Kerber has gone both ways, starring on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
“He’s an amazing young man,” Wildcats defensive coordinator Tim Dade said. “He’s the team leader – the guy everyone looks up to and respects.”
And it might take an entire sports section to include all of head coach Kelly Donohoe’s comments on the big man who represents the Wildcats’ unsung heroes on the week on a weekly basis.
“How much time do you have?” joked Donohoe, when asked about Kerber. “He’s the first guy in the weight room and the last to leave.
“He respects the game and he respects his teammates, and he’s like having a gosh-darned coach out on the field because he knows all the plays and calls as well as I do. Every once in a while, one of those special kids come along, and Drew is one of them.”
While his coaches and teammates respect Kerber and his offensive line teammates, they gain little notoriety.
“We pretty much live in anonymity,” Kerber said, grinning, “and we kind of like it. There really aren’t any stats in a box score for a lineman – but the first thing we check is to see if Darrian had a big night. That’s how we can measure our success.”
As he prepares for the biggest game of his life, Kerber admits that the week has crawled by at a snail’s pace.
“I can’t believe how slow it’s going,” he said. “Since I was a little kid, I’ve dreamed about going to state. Now, we have the chance to do it. I know DeSmet is undefeated (12-0) and they’re coming to our place with a lot of confidence.
“But we’re confident, too. We’ve had a great week of practice and we have a great game plan. We’re ready to go.”
So, for one more night, Kerber will join his anonymous teammates – center Riley Hamilton, guards Pat Mouse, Dillon Poole and Cory Phillips and tackle Boston Higgins – in the pit as they brace for a marquee matchup between a couple of high school powerhouses.
“The guys on the line are kind of like a team, within a team,” he explained. “We don’t want to let anyone down – especially at this point of the season. This is the game we’ve dreamed about, and we want to be part of something special.”
Editor’s note: Thanks to International House of Pancakes managers Julia and Jason Deere for allowing The Examiner to use their restaurant at 20100 E. Valley View Circle for this photo shoot. The managers would like all prep football fans to know that IHOP is offering free meals to all kids 12 and under, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, during an ongoing promotion.
