Opening weekend is a doozy

This might not be the biggest opening weekend in the history of Eastern Jackson County prep football, but it offers a couple of eye-popping games that have been circled on my calendar since the schedule was announced.
The game that headlines the marquee weekend happens at 11 a.m. Sunday, when Blue Springs South plays host to defending Class 6 state champion Rockhurst in the first area contest to be nationally televised on ESPN.
Yep, the ESPN. Not ESPNU, ESPN-101 or ESPN-PREP – the big boys are carrying the game that we’re all dying to see.
“It was a natural,” said ESPN sideline reporter Sarah Kustok, whom I visited with while she was doing some background work on the two state powers. “You have the 2006 state champion (South) and the team that ended their (24-game) winning streak and won state last year.”
You also have two Division I quarterbacks in South’s Blaine Dalton, who has committed to Missouri, and Nathan Scheelhaase, who will play at Illinois.
I just wish it was the 2007 Jaguars vs. the 2007 Hawklets, as those two teams played in a game for the ages. Rockhurst got off to a 27-0 first-half lead. When they missed an extra point, South activity director Mark Bubalo quipped, “There’s the break we’ve been waiting for. That could come back to hurt them.”
It nearly did.
The Jaguars blanked the Hawklets in the second half, scored 21 points and were driving for a possible game-winning touchdown when they ran out of miracles and Dalton was intercepted to end the game.
While the Hawklets have 17 of their 22 starters back from last year’s team, South coach Greg Oder has no defensive starters back, and Dalton is the only skill player back on offense. Offensive linemen Randy Haller, Travis Shipman and Jake Scarbo will provide protection for Dalton.
“I hear a lot of doom and gloom with all our new guys and opening up against Rock,” Oder said, “but we’ll be all right.”
At South, they don’t rebuild – they reload.
As one area coach said, “Greg’s team was so deep last year that his second-string kids could have started on just about any team in the state.”
Unfortunately, many of those second-string kids were also seniors.
One thing for sure, there isn’t a better coach when it comes to motivation, and Oder and his staff will have their kids fired up for the Sunday morning contest.
The second marquee matchup takes place in a more traditional time slot at 7 p.m. Friday as Blue Springs plays host to defending Class 4 state champion Lee’s Summit West (now in Class 5), a team that has experienced nothing but success in its four-year history.
“That’s going to be a great game to start the season,” Blue Springs coach Kelly Donohoe said. “Royce (Boehm, Titans head coach) has done such a great job with those kids. But our kids are going to be up for the challenge.”
The Wildcats lost all-state running back Carlos Anderson, who is playing at Northern Iowa, but they might have another stellar running back in sophomore Darrian Miller.
The kid already looks – and plays – like a man and was the star of last week’s jamboree. Put him in the same lineup with all-state wide receiver Keeston Terry, quarterback Jared Lanpher – who was so remarkable as a sophomore last season when he stepped in for the injured Bransen Ireland – and 248-pound fullback Gus Toca and you just might have an unstoppable offensive combination.
A clock in the Blue Springs weight room is counting down the hours, minutes and seconds until the Friday night opener.
It appears the Wildcats can’t wait to take the field, and I can’t wait to grab a seat in the press box to welcome what might be one of the most memorable prep football seasons in a long, long time.