The Kansas City StarLee’s Summit West’s Zach Gray went through a running play with his teammates on Monday during the first day of football practice for Missouri high schools.
Lee’s Summit West’s Zach Gray went through a running play with his teammates on Monday during the first day of football practice for Missouri high schools.
* Video from the Associated Press Football practice at Lincoln College Prep
Bright and early Monday morning, 51 high school football teams in the Kansas City area took to the field for the first day of official practice in Missouri. And they all had at least one thing in common.
Questions.
On day one, all teams have more questions than answers. But for the five Missouri defending state champions — Rockhurst, Lee’s Summit West, Harrisonville, Lawson and Orrick — the questions are magnified.
For instance, will the return of Simone Award-winning quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase be enough to carry Rockhurst to a second straight Class 6 state championship? Will Lee’s Summit West, which dominated Class 4 a year ago, do the same now that the Titans are in Class 5 and in a new conference — the Suburban Conference Mid Six?
What will the move from Class 3 to Class 4 do to Harrisonville, which goes forth with a new coaching staff and without quarterback Sean Ransburg? Can Lawson repeat in Class 2 with a new quarterback? How will Class 1 champion Orrick look after losing a 1,700-yard rusher?
Perhaps Lawson coach Todd Dunn put it best when he said: “Last year doesn’t have anything to do with now.”
Anyway, here are a few more specific questions about each of the defending state champions:
•Lee’s Summit West: A first glance at head coach Royce Boehm’s Titans quickly reveals two things — they are abundant in numbers (142 players, sophomores through seniors) and have plenty of size.
Boehm said he needs to rebuild an offensive line that lost all its starters from last season. But four players return on the defensive line, and lightning-quick quarterback B.J. Jackson returns.
Where the hard question exists, however, is with the Titans’ move up to Class 5 and into a district that includes Belton, a state runner-up last year, and Raymore-Peculiar.
“We can’t live on what happened last year,” Boehm said. “Moving to a new classification, we’re going to have to step up another notch.”
The excitement will start early for the Titans, too. They open their season Aug. 29 at Class 6 power Blue Springs.
•Harrisonville: Things will get interesting real quick for the Wildcats and new coach Chuck Lliteras. Now in Class 4, they open at home against Webb City and then travel to Hannibal in week two. Those two schools played in the state finals in 2006.
Harrisonville returns some talent in running back Derek Naida, but can the Wildcats replace quarterback Sean Ransburg, who passed for more than 2,000 yards and ran for more than 1,300 last season?
“The tradition and work ethic is there,” said Lliteras, who came to Harrisonville from William Jewell.
•Lawson: It might be a more defensive-minded Cardinals squad that tries to defend the Class 2 state title. Six starters return on defense, led by cornerback Nathan Robison. The big question — how do you replace quarterback Joe Kassanavoid, who threw for more than 1,200 yards last season?
“Obviously, every season, you have to find out who your leaders are,” Dunn said.
•Rockhurst: By most accounts, the Hawklets are probably the surest thing to get back to the championship game at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. Scheelhaase, who recently committed to Illinois, returns, as does his favorite receiver, Keith Langtry. On defense, the Hawklets’ leading tackler — junior Sal Belfonte — returns.
So the lingering question is … Can the Hawklets pass a stern test in their opener, when they face Blue Springs South, the 2006 Class 6 state champion, in a nationally televised game on ESPN at 11 a.m. on Aug. 31?
•Orrick: The bad news is the Bearcats lost Taylor Eubank, who as a senior rushed for an average of 11.2 yards per carry and scored 31 touchdowns. The good news is they have two Eubanks remaining — senior lineman Leslee and sophomore running back and linebacker Logan.
- —
