Class 3A football
June 23, 2008 @ 3:32 p.m. by Joannaby joanna
Jonathan and I have been taking a weekly look at one class in football — he’s done 6A and 4A, I’ve done 5A. Now I’m into my second installment, which is, drumroll, please — 3A. I guess there was no suspense considering I had it in the title.
Anyway.
Garden Plain finally got its 3A title last year, rolling through the playoffs with wins of 54-7, 42-0 (Hesston), 55-7, 42-0, 48-7 (Silver Lake in the title game). Logan Dold was a stud, earning Top 11, All-Class 3A, All-Metro (again), All-league (again).
What happens this year?
Garden Plain had 23 seniors, 17 juniors, 13 sophomores and 11 freshmen on its state roster. Daniel Capul is back — he had 524 rushing yards in the regular season — so is Jacob Puetz, who shared time at quarterback and had 329 passing yards (regular season also).
Conway Springs will be much improved. The Cardinals did well last year, going 10-3 and advancing to the 3A semifinals before losing to Garden Plain. Lineman Nathan Pauly, an All-Class selection returns. The Cardinals pick up Jaydan Bird, who transferred from Andover Central and is leaving with an aunt and uncle. Bird ran for more than 1,100 regular season yards as a sophomore at Central before sitting out most of last year with an injury. He’s a tough, tough player who has already committed to Oklahoma and he could be a brute in Conway’s single-wing offense.
(on a side note, I’m still sad that I didn’t get a chance to make it to Conway Springs this past season. It’s one of my favorite places to go. Those press box guys are some of my favorite people.)
I would imagine that Silver Lake would be tough again — I know, duh, right? Silver Lake is usually tough. But the Eagles only had 13 seniors from last year’s 13-1 team.
Here are some of the returners from Class 3A
All-Class 3A — Medicine Lodge wide receiver Bryant Theis, Nathan Pauly and Scott City linebacker Chaston Hoeme.
Honorable mention — WR-Quin Bruce, Silver Lake; Daniel Jost, Hillsboro; Luke Keener, Hoisington; Chase Kewley, Burlington. OL — Chase Ekstrom, Sedgwick; John Hein, Hillsboro. QB — Conner Martin, Salina Sacred Heart. RB — Dustin Miner, Rock Creek; Cameron Renfro, Silver Lake; Cas Spangler, Beloit; Bob Wolfe, Central Heights. DL — Trenton Mayberry, Frontenac, Trevor Tarrant, Conway Springs; Chase Tenpenny, Oskaloosa. LB– Chase Cargile, Sedgwick; Vince Corci, Central Heights; Zac Dreher, Norton; Jake Druham, Sterling; Brad Hefley, Riverton; Corey Sonse, Conway Springs. DB–Kenneth Bronson, Northern Heights; Jordan Wilcox, Holcomb.
All right, I’m sure that’s not all the teams we need to be looking at, so who’s not here? What players need to be mentioned?
June 23rd, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Silver Lake will be head and shoulders above everyone else in 3A this year.
June 23rd, 2008 at 10:21 pm
You’re kidding yourself if you truly believe that. Silver Lake might not have lost as much as Garden Plain did last year, but they still lost quite a few key players. I think they have to be the favorite coming out of the East at this point, but I don’t think they are going to cruise to State the way they have the past few years. There’s a part of me that thinks someone else might pick them off this year.
In the West, Conway Springs has to be a favorite considering where they finished last year and how young of a team they were. If they ran the table and won another title, I don’t think that most would be surprised.
What is surprising is how most are dismissing Garden Plain from the equation. Granted they lost a lot of talent, but that talent might just be the difference between crushing everyone by an average of 44 in the playoffs and beating them by 7. They aren’t exactly a one-year wonder. They’ve been knocking on the door for well over a decade and finally cashed in a trophy. They have enought talent coming back at the key positions that they should be able to fill in nicely and keep on rolling. If I was a betting man, they would get my bet. Plus, having an experienced championship coaching staff never hurts.
June 24th, 2008 at 9:25 am
spauly, I’m guessing from your post that you think I’m “dismissing” Garden Plain. I never said that. I never predicted anything about the Owls — I merely asked the question of what happens this year and then stated how many kids were in each class. You are exactly right that Garden Plain isn’t a one-year wonder program. This program has been strong for years and it’s not just because of Logan Dold, as some might assume.
June 24th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
I’m sorry if you thought that I was accusing you of slighting Garden Plain. I have always respected your opinion and do now as well. You have not said anything that isn’t common knowledge and do a very good job or researching a topic before writing about it. It is all of the other “experts” around the State that I have the problem with. Keep on doing a good job and we look forward to seeing you back out GP way come October for a big District Showdown between Garden Plain and Conway Springs.
June 24th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
spauly, you are too kind. I would certainly understand if the Owls are overlooked — and I would definitely imagine that Coach Puetz will use that. A pretty good idea if you ask me. Nothing like athletes playing with a chip on their shoulders.
I’m definitely looking forward to that GP-CS game — what week is that (I’m not at the office or I would look it up myself.)
June 24th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
October 17 @ 7:00 in Garden Plain
June 24th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
spauly,
Silver Lake returns their quarterback, and in that offense, an experienced and talented quarterback can be lethal.
Don’t get me wrong, Garden Plain will be right there with some other talented teams on the west side of 3A, but Silver Lake seems to have the right pieces returning for them to dominate 3A.