Wildcats sharp in debut

Wylson Lamb will never forget his first varsity pass as a member of the Blue Springs High School football team.

The lanky junior connected with teammate Deiondre Hall for a 40-yard touchdown strike to open the annual Blue Springs Jamboree Friday night at Peve Stadium.

Grandview, Lee’s Summit West and Raytown South visited the Wildcats, with Lamb and Hall hooking up for the touchdown against the Grandview Bulldogs.

The Wildcats scored three touchdowns against Grandview, with the running back tandem of Marcus Brown and Dalvin Warmack scoring on runs of 7 and 4 yards, respectively.

In the 36-play, three-team jamboree, the Wildcats scored six touchdowns and allowed just two – to the Bulldogs and Lee’s Summit West Titans.

“Let’s see, 36 plays, and I’d say 30 of them defensively were quality,” Blue Springs head coach Kelly Donohoe said after the spirited jamboree. “I’m very happy with the defense, and I was really excited to watch the offense. Wylson had to gain a lot of confidence tonight. I’ve got all the confidence in the world in him, and so do his teammates.”

Lamb could be thrown into the fire Friday night as the Wildcats open the 2011 season against arch-rival Rockhurst at home.

Starting quarterback Kyle Brown has been sidelined offensively with a broken ring finger on his right (throwing) hand. Brown said he will have the finger examined and X-rayed on Tuesday, and if the bone is mended, Brown could start Friday night against Rockhurst.

“I’m going into this week like I’m the starter,” said Lamb, who ran the Wildcats offense efficiently Friday. “If Kyle starts, great. He’s the starter and he deserves to be out there if he can go. I have so much faith in our line, our backs, our receivers and our offense. I think we have a great chance to win that game.
“If they need me to play, I promise you, I will be ready.”

And how about that opening touchdown pass to Hall?

“Well, that was a confidence booster,” Lamb said, grinning. “Deiondre made a nice catch, and the line did a great job. Tonight was a confidence boost for the whole team.”

Marcus Brown and Warmack have the unenviable task of following Darrian Miller in the Wildcat backfield. Miller, now a freshman at the University of Kansas, is the career leading big-class school rusher in state history.

“I’m not going to try and be Darrian Miller – no one can be Darrian Miller,” said Marcus Brown, who missed last season with a broken shoulder. “This is my senior year, and all I’m thinking about is team-oriented stuff. I would sure like to go to state as a senior, and I’m going to do everything I can to make that happen.”

Ditto for Warmack, who gained over 300 yards last year as a freshman backing up Miller.

“I couldn’t be any more excited about the season,” Warmack said. “It was an honor to watch Darrian play last year, and all I’m going to do is what I am capable of doing. No one can do the things Darrian did out on the football field.”
Hall was the star of the game, catching touchdown passes of 40 and 10 yards and adding a spectacular 28-yard TD in which he broke three tackles near the line of scrimmage.

“This was a good night for all of us,” Hall said. “I have so much confidence in Wylson, and Kyle is one of the best quarterbacks in the area. We are in good shape, no matter who starts.”

While Kyle Brown didn’t take any offensive snaps, he saw considerable time at outside linebacker.

“I always said he was a quarterback with a linebacker’s mentality,” Donohoe said. “We pad up his hand, and he goes out and smacks some people around.”
Brown made a touchdown-saving tackle against the Titans and appeared to have no pain following the game as he was high-fiving his teammates with his right hand.

Royce Boehm, whose Lee’s Summit West team is a playoff regular, raved about the jamboree.

“What a great, great night,” said Boehm, who led the Titans to a Class 5 state championship last season. “When we started seven years ago, I said I wanted to have a program like the one Coach Donohoe and Coach (Greg) Oder have here at Blue Springs and over at Blue Springs South.

“Competing against the teams that were here tonight will make us a better team.”

Boehm is 69-22 at West.