Will 2008 be crazy year?

A light rain fell as Forrest Rovello walked to the Grain Valley High School practice field.
Temperatures had plummeted, and many of the coaches had on wind breakers.
When asked about the break in the usually unbearable temperatures, Rovello quipped, “It’s OK, as long as it doesn’t make the players soft.”
Many area teams are practicing in the wee hours of the morning, to beat the heat.
“Last year, the kids said it was too hot,” joked Blue Springs South coach Greg Oder, whose Jaguars arrive at 5:30 a.m., “Now, they’re complaining about being cold.”
Perhaps the crazy weather is just a harbinger of things to come during a football season that promises to be special in so many different ways:
• Blue Springs South plays host to rival Rockhurst on ESPN in a season opener for both powers. South won the state championship in 2006. The Rock won it last year, and ended the Jaguars’ 24-game winning streak along the way. The game will be played at 11 a.m., Aug. 31. No need to double check your calendar or schedule – that’s a Sunday morning.
The kids are excited, the South faithful is ready for the pageantry, and it promises to be a rock ’em, sock ’em game for the ages.
The Jaguars graduated The Examiner Player of the Year in Donte Strickland and other studs such as Kellen Bartlett, Steven Brooks and Zach Wilson, but look for Oder and his staff to pull a rabbit or two out of their helmets against the Hawklets.
• Last year, we bid good-bye to two of the finest running backs in the history of Eastern Jackson County. Lightning quick Carlos Anderson from Blue Springs and Grain Valley’s Cody Fogle were both in a class by themselves. I wonder how the young men who attempt to fill their shoes feel as they head into this season?
• Can Dalton Krysa of Fort Osage rush for 2,000-plus yards for a third season in a row? My guess is, yes! He’s a human battering ram with a great offensive line and coach who knows where the ball belongs. The only problem Krysa might face this year is the fact that dangerous quarterback Bobby Wagener graduated, leaving opposing defenders salivating at the chance to put a big hit on the area’s marquee back.
• I can’t wait for the season opener between area power Blue Springs and defending state champion Lee’s Summit West, as the Titans move up from the Suburban Small Six to take on the bigger powers. Royce Boehm has done an incredible job at West, and I expect to see the Titans enjoy another successful season.
• Blaine Dalton won a state championship as a sophomore at Blue Springs South. This year, you’re going to need a program to identify all the new faces on the field with Dalton and Co., but don’t count out the Jaguars just because they have no returning starters on the defensive side of the ball.
• John Ihm, the new activities director at Van Horn High School, brings a passion that has long been missing at the high school that recently joined the Independence School District. The Falcons will now play their home games at Independence All-School Stadium and should see an influx of students and school spirit.
• I’m looking for Blue Springs quarterback Jared Lanpher to have a big year. He stepped in for an injured Bransen Ireland last year and did a nice job for the 8-3 Wildcats. But with a year under his belt, look for him to have the type of year that could elevate him among the school’s elite such as Jeff Handy, Justin Whitworth, Stinson Dean and Nick Caldrone.