The opening games of the 2009 football season for the Blue Springs and Blue Springs South football teams could be among the marquee matchups of the entire season.
Coach Greg Oder’s Jaguars head to Rockhurst for a 7:30 p.m. game Friday against the squad they stunned 14-9 in state quarterfinal play last year on their improbable path to the Class 6 state championship game while Kelly Donohoe’s top-ranked Wildcats play at 7 p.m. at Lee’s Summit West.
And you might recall that the Wildcats used a two-point conversion pass from Jared Lanpher to Nick Halterman on the final play of the game to claim a wild 36-35 victory over the Titans in a thrilling 2008 season opener.
“Coach Boehm is going to have his kids ready for anything,” said Donohoe, who returns so many of the key players from last year’s 9-2 squad, including Lanpher, Halterman, junior running sensation Darrian Miller and two-time all-state wide receiver Keeston Terry.
“He’s telling his team right now that if they work hard, they can do to us – at their place – what we did to them last year at our place,” added Donohoe, whose team was ranked first in the Class 6 state poll out Wednesday. “And believe me, our coaches are pounding it into our guys every day at practice that we better be ready for a great team because they do it right at Lee’s Summit West.”
Lee’s Summit West, which received votes in the Class 5 state poll, lost most of its starters to graduation from a team that went 9-4 before losing just 20-14 to Raymore-Peculiar in the Class 5 state quarterfinals last year. Only four starters return for the Titans, including linebacker Andrew Holt and offensive linemen Cole Chevilier, T.J. Randell and Evan Boehm.
“You want to win every game, but the ones that count are the last three,” said West coach Royce Boehm, Evan’s father. “We’re going to have our hands full that first week with Blue Springs coming over to our place. But that’s going to be a good challenge for our guys.”
Oder and his staff will emphasize the positives of that postseason win, rather than reflect on the 2008 season opener against the Hawklets, where the host Jaguars fell 42-14 on a nationally televised ESPN game.
“We came so far back last season from that first game,” said wide receiver/defensive back Dominique Wright, who caught a 60-yard touchdown pass in the victory over Rockhurst.
“We were a young team, and it took us a while to become a team. We had the athletes and the coaches made us into football players and we came close to getting s state championship.
“This year, we hear people saying that we aren’t going to be very good because we lost a lot of guys. We can use what happened last year as motivation to prove that we can have another successful year.”
The 11-3 2008 Jaguars had one returning player back – but that player was all-state quarterback Blaine Dalton.
This year, they have three returning players in Wright, defensive back/wide receiver Logan Moon and linebacker Andrew Dougherty.
“We have three very good football players back this year,” Oder said, “and some great athletes with a lot of speed. But being a great athlete doesn’t make you a great football player.”
However, Moon said Oder and his staff will take care of that situation by burning the midnight oil and outworking other coaching staffs.
“My dad is a coach on the team,” Moon said, referring to assistant Mike Moon, “and he’s gone when I wake up in the morning and he’s not home when I go to bed.
“The South coaching staff works so hard that it makes the players want to work hard. If we don’t work hard, we’re letting everyone down. And believe me, we’re going to work hard this week, with that first game over at Rockhurst, because we know how hard they’re going to be working.”
While Lanpher will ease into his third straight starting season at quarterback for the Wildcats, the Jaguars are handing over the offense to the very capable hands of junior Calvin Jacobson, who won a spirited competition to replace Dalton.
“I don’t see myself replacing Blaine,” the low-key Jacobson said. “I’m one of 11 guys on offense. … I’m just a part of the team. The coaches have confidence in me, but I know this is my job to lose, so no one is going to work any harder than I do.”
Although he is a three-year starter, Lanpher feels the same way.
“Last year, we lost a couple of games we feel like we should have won because we went into them with the wrong attitude,” Lanpher said. “This year, we have the right attitude and we’re working hard. All the seniors on this team know this is it, and it would be a great ending to a career to come away with a state championship.
“I think we have that type of talent, but all we’re thinking about is Lee’s Summit West, because we really had to make some big plays to find a way to beat them last year.”
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The opening games of the 2009 football season for the Blue Springs and Blue Springs South football teams could be among the marquee matchups of the entire season.
Coach Greg Oder’s Jaguars head to Rockhurst for a 7:30 p.m. game Friday against the squad they stunned 14-9 in state quarterfinal play last year on their improbable path to the Class 6 state championship game while Kelly Donohoe’s top-ranked Wildcats play at 7 p.m. at Lee’s Summit West.
And you might recall that the Wildcats used a two-point conversion pass from Jared Lanpher to Nick Halterman on the final play of the game to claim a wild 36-35 victory over the Titans in a thrilling 2008 season opener.
“Coach Boehm is going to have his kids ready for anything,” said Donohoe, who returns so many of the key players from last year’s 9-2 squad, including Lanpher, Halterman, junior running sensation Darrian Miller and two-time all-state wide receiver Keeston Terry.
“He’s telling his team right now that if they work hard, they can do to us – at their place – what we did to them last year at our place,” added Donohoe, whose team was ranked first in the Class 6 state poll out Wednesday. “And believe me, our coaches are pounding it into our guys every day at practice that we better be ready for a great team because they do it right at Lee’s Summit West.”
Lee’s Summit West, which received votes in the Class 5 state poll, lost most of its starters to graduation from a team that went 9-4 before losing just 20-14 to Raymore-Peculiar in the Class 5 state quarterfinals last year. Only four starters return for the Titans, including linebacker Andrew Holt and offensive linemen Cole Chevilier, T.J. Randell and Evan Boehm.
“You want to win every game, but the ones that count are the last three,” said West coach Royce Boehm, Evan’s father. “We’re going to have our hands full that first week with Blue Springs coming over to our place. But that’s going to be a good challenge for our guys.”
Oder and his staff will emphasize the positives of that postseason win, rather than reflect on the 2008 season opener against the Hawklets, where the host Jaguars fell 42-14 on a nationally televised ESPN game.
“We came so far back last season from that first game,” said wide receiver/defensive back Dominique Wright, who caught a 60-yard touchdown pass in the victory over Rockhurst.
“We were a young team, and it took us a while to become a team. We had the athletes and the coaches made us into football players and we came close to getting s state championship.
“This year, we hear people saying that we aren’t going to be very good because we lost a lot of guys. We can use what happened last year as motivation to prove that we can have another successful year.”
The 11-3 2008 Jaguars had one returning player back – but that player was all-state quarterback Blaine Dalton.
This year, they have three returning players in Wright, defensive back/wide receiver Logan Moon and linebacker Andrew Dougherty.
“We have three very good football players back this year,” Oder said, “and some great athletes with a lot of speed. But being a great athlete doesn’t make you a great football player.”
However, Moon said Oder and his staff will take care of that situation by burning the midnight oil and outworking other coaching staffs.
“My dad is a coach on the team,” Moon said, referring to assistant Mike Moon, “and he’s gone when I wake up in the morning and he’s not home when I go to bed.
“The South coaching staff works so hard that it makes the players want to work hard. If we don’t work hard, we’re letting everyone down. And believe me, we’re going to work hard this week, with that first game over at Rockhurst, because we know how hard they’re going to be working.”
While Lanpher will ease into his third straight starting season at quarterback for the Wildcats, the Jaguars are handing over the offense to the very capable hands of junior Calvin Jacobson, who won a spirited competition to replace Dalton.
“I don’t see myself replacing Blaine,” the low-key Jacobson said. “I’m one of 11 guys on offense. … I’m just a part of the team. The coaches have confidence in me, but I know this is my job to lose, so no one is going to work any harder than I do.”
Although he is a three-year starter, Lanpher feels the same way.
“Last year, we lost a couple of games we feel like we should have won because we went into them with the wrong attitude,” Lanpher said. “This year, we have the right attitude and we’re working hard. All the seniors on this team know this is it, and it would be a great ending to a career to come away with a state championship.
“I think we have that type of talent, but all we’re thinking about is Lee’s Summit West, because we really had to make some big plays to find a way to beat them last year.”
