Kelly Donohoe was talking to a group of coaches, following the Blue Springs Jamboree Friday night at Peve Stadium, when he was approached by all-state wide receiver Keeston Terry.
“Do you know what he just asked me?” asked the Wildcats head football coach. “He wanted to know if he could come out and run some extra pass routes tomorrow. That’s a winner – I love it!”
What a difference a year makes.
At this time last year, Donohoe was scrambling to find a quarterback as senior starter Bransen Ireland suffered a broken foot in the jamboree against Grandview and sophomore Jared Lanpher was thrown into the fire of Suburban Big Seven football.
“I hadn’t even practiced with the No. 1 team,” Lanpher said Friday night, “and all of a sudden I was the starting quarterback of the Blue Springs football team.”
Terry and Lanpher grew throughout the season and became one of the most dangerous passing combinations in school history, joining the likes of Justin Whitworth and Josh Barge, Stinson Dean and Darius Hill and Nick Caldrone and Bubby Williams.
“I watched all those guys when I was a kid,” Lanpher said. “And all of a sudden, I was the starting quarterback. I didn’t even know if I’d ever practice with the first team, and I’m the guy throwing the ball.”
Lanpher earned Terry’s and Donohoe’s undying respect last season.
“Here’s a kid who grew up watching Blue Springs football,” Donohoe said of Lanpher, “and he’s suddenly starting because of Bransen’s injury. He had that wide-eyed, oh-my-gosh-what’s-happening look early on, but you could see his confidence develop as the season went on.
“Now, he has all the confidence in the world. Since he and Keeston are both juniors, and they both had a lot of success last year, people ask me about next year.
“There is no next year at Blue Springs High School – there’s only this year. And I think they’re going to be pretty darned good.”
Terry and Lanpher exhibit the type of work ethic that mirrors former Wildcat standouts.
“They work so hard,” Donohoe said. “Keeston is an all-state wide receiver, and he wants to come out tomorrow and run some extra routes. That’s what the great ones want to do. There’s nothing a coach loves to hear more than something like that from one of the better players on the team.”
Lanpher, Terry and exciting sophomore running back Darrian Miller made it look all too easy as they scorched Truman, Grandview and Odessa in the jamboree (where each offensive unit runs six plays from the opponent’s 40, then turns the ball over to the other team).
Lanpher and Terry hooked up on several long gains, Nick Halterman caught an 8-yard touchdown pass, Miller scored on a 19-yard run that was similar to some of former all-state running back Carlos Anderson’s best efforts and running back Alex Peola found the end zone on a 39-yard run.
While the offense glittered, the defense put the clamps on each of its opponents.
“I feel so much better, so much more confident this year than I did last year,” admitted Lanpher. “We wanted to come out and have some success before the Lee’s Summit West game (next Friday at Peve Stadium).
“I was really happy with all phases of our game.”
So was Terry.
“I’m real excited,” Terry said. “It’s great to play against someone in a different jersey. We’ve worked hard – real hard – in practice and all that hard work is paying off. I thought we really executed tonight. I have all the confidence in the world in Jared. He was under a lot of pressure last year and really came through and he’s going to be even better this year.”
Lanpher said there is an inherited pressure that comes from playing quarterback at Blue Springs “because of all the great quarterbacks we’ve had here. Sure, there’s pressure, but there’s always going to be pressure.
“But that’s not a bad thing. It can be a good thing, especially when we play like we did tonight.”
When asked about their goals for this season, they both had the same answer.
“One goal – winning state,” Terry said. “You take it game by game, but that’s always going to be my ultimate goal.”
Added Lanpher: “We play Lee’s Summit West, and we want to win the opener. You take it game by game, and don’t look down the road, and you can have a lot of success. But, sure, winning state is our ultimate goal. I’m just looking forward to the season and seeing what happens. It could really be a special year for all of us.”
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Kelly Donohoe was talking to a group of coaches, following the Blue Springs Jamboree Friday night at Peve Stadium, when he was approached by all-state wide receiver Keeston Terry.
“Do you know what he just asked me?” asked the Wildcats head football coach. “He wanted to know if he could come out and run some extra pass routes tomorrow. That’s a winner – I love it!”
What a difference a year makes.
At this time last year, Donohoe was scrambling to find a quarterback as senior starter Bransen Ireland suffered a broken foot in the jamboree against Grandview and sophomore Jared Lanpher was thrown into the fire of Suburban Big Seven football.
“I hadn’t even practiced with the No. 1 team,” Lanpher said Friday night, “and all of a sudden I was the starting quarterback of the Blue Springs football team.”
Terry and Lanpher grew throughout the season and became one of the most dangerous passing combinations in school history, joining the likes of Justin Whitworth and Josh Barge, Stinson Dean and Darius Hill and Nick Caldrone and Bubby Williams.
“I watched all those guys when I was a kid,” Lanpher said. “And all of a sudden, I was the starting quarterback. I didn’t even know if I’d ever practice with the first team, and I’m the guy throwing the ball.”
Lanpher earned Terry’s and Donohoe’s undying respect last season.
“Here’s a kid who grew up watching Blue Springs football,” Donohoe said of Lanpher, “and he’s suddenly starting because of Bransen’s injury. He had that wide-eyed, oh-my-gosh-what’s-happening look early on, but you could see his confidence develop as the season went on.
“Now, he has all the confidence in the world. Since he and Keeston are both juniors, and they both had a lot of success last year, people ask me about next year.
“There is no next year at Blue Springs High School – there’s only this year. And I think they’re going to be pretty darned good.”
Terry and Lanpher exhibit the type of work ethic that mirrors former Wildcat standouts.
“They work so hard,” Donohoe said. “Keeston is an all-state wide receiver, and he wants to come out tomorrow and run some extra routes. That’s what the great ones want to do. There’s nothing a coach loves to hear more than something like that from one of the better players on the team.”
Lanpher, Terry and exciting sophomore running back Darrian Miller made it look all too easy as they scorched Truman, Grandview and Odessa in the jamboree (where each offensive unit runs six plays from the opponent’s 40, then turns the ball over to the other team).
Lanpher and Terry hooked up on several long gains, Nick Halterman caught an 8-yard touchdown pass, Miller scored on a 19-yard run that was similar to some of former all-state running back Carlos Anderson’s best efforts and running back Alex Peola found the end zone on a 39-yard run.
While the offense glittered, the defense put the clamps on each of its opponents.
“I feel so much better, so much more confident this year than I did last year,” admitted Lanpher. “We wanted to come out and have some success before the Lee’s Summit West game (next Friday at Peve Stadium).
“I was really happy with all phases of our game.”
So was Terry.
“I’m real excited,” Terry said. “It’s great to play against someone in a different jersey. We’ve worked hard – real hard – in practice and all that hard work is paying off. I thought we really executed tonight. I have all the confidence in the world in Jared. He was under a lot of pressure last year and really came through and he’s going to be even better this year.”
Lanpher said there is an inherited pressure that comes from playing quarterback at Blue Springs “because of all the great quarterbacks we’ve had here. Sure, there’s pressure, but there’s always going to be pressure.
“But that’s not a bad thing. It can be a good thing, especially when we play like we did tonight.”
When asked about their goals for this season, they both had the same answer.
“One goal – winning state,” Terry said. “You take it game by game, but that’s always going to be my ultimate goal.”
Added Lanpher: “We play Lee’s Summit West, and we want to win the opener. You take it game by game, and don’t look down the road, and you can have a lot of success. But, sure, winning state is our ultimate goal. I’m just looking forward to the season and seeing what happens. It could really be a special year for all of us.”
