As the new year approaches, it is a good time to reflect on a tremendous 2010 Kansas high school football season. No doubt, it was a year filled with great teams, great coaches and great players.
With that said, Kpreps.com would like to honor the Player of the Year for each classification, as well as the All-Class Coach of the Year. While awards are something that can always be debated, we’re sure you’ll find that each of these award winners are worthy of the distinction.
Class 6A
Dreamius Smith, RB, Wichita Heights - The Kansas Jayhawks signee rushed for 1,837 yards and 34 touchdowns on only 143 carries for an amazing 12.85 yards per carry. At 6-1 and 205 pounds with breakaway speed, Smith was the perfect back for the Falcons this season., eclipsing the 100-yard mark in 10 games this season and rushing for more than 200 yards three times.
“He’s always one carry away from going the distance and scoring,” Olathe North head coach Pete Flood said of Smith before his Eagles faced the Falcons in the 6A state championship game.
Flood’s quote was a bit of a premonition as Smith recorded his best game of the season with 286 yards and four touchdowns on 17 carries as Wichita Heights beat Olathe North 48-14 for the state crown.
Smith’s performance on the biggest stage to lead the Falcons to an undefeated state championship season is what secured his spot as 6A Player of the Year.
Class 5A
Bubba Starling, QB, Gardner-Edgerton - If you haven’t heard of Starling by now, then you just haven’t been paying attention. Starling is the state’s top-rated college recruit by Rivals.com and has verbally committed to Nebraska. The 6-5, 200-pound QB has a cannon arm, but it was Starling’s feet that did most of the damage to the Trailblazers’ opponents this season.
Starling rushed for 2,417 yards and 31 touchdowns, while passing for 812 yards and eight touchdowns.
And while Starling’s Trailblazers fell short of their goal of a Class 5A state title, the QB rushed for 396 yards and five touchdowns in the 45-42 state semifinal loss to eventual state champion Blue Valley.
Gardner-Edgerton head coach Marvin Diener had no shortage of compliments for Starling.
“He’s the most outstanding athlete I’ve ever been around,” said Diener, who coached the likes of Terence Newman, Donnie Anders and Jake Sharp when he was at Salina Central.
“He’s the fastest,” Diener said. “His strength and athleticism are unbelievable. I don’t expect to have another one like him. Plus, he’s a ferocious competitor and a good kid. He’s all of the above.”
The sad thing for Kansas football fans is that we may never get to see Starling play college football. Also a standout pitcher and center fielder in baseball, Baseball America lists Starling as the game’s top prospect out of high school, which could command millions of dollars from a Major League Baseball team after the draft in June.
Class 4A
Tyler Ewy, OL/DL, Louisburg - While Smith and Starling won their awards with quickness, the 6-3, 260-pound Ewy won his with strength and power. Playing on both sides of the line, Ewy helped Louisburg to an undefeated Class 4A state championship. Ewy recorded 140 tackles, including 25 tackles for loss, and 10 sacks for the Wildcats. On the other side of the ball, Ewy helped a Louisburg offense that rushed for more than 3,500 yards.
Louisburg head coach Gary Griffin said during the season that Ewy and fellow lineman Ross Dvorak were key to Louisburg’s running game.
“Those are the two kids we run behind,” Griffin said. “They’re also key for us on defense. Ewy was an All-State defensive tackle last season.”
Class 3A
Jeremy Boyd, LB, Silver Lake - If you attended a Silver Lake game this season, it wouldn’t take you long to hear Boyd’s name being called over the PA system. That’s because the 6-0, 238-pound linebacker posted 165 tackles for nearly 12 a game, while recording 13 sacks and 52 solo tackles on the season.
And Boyd may have performed his best in the state championship game. Against Conway Springs, Boyd registered 21 tackles with seven solos to help the Eagles beat the Cardinals 27-21.
Boyd was part of a defense that recorded four shutouts and kept its opponents to about 10 points a game.
Class 2-1A
Meade offensive line - Sure, there were plenty of great individual talents in Class 2-1A this season. St. Mary’s Colgan’s Christian Smith, Inman’s Luke Ropp and Meade’s Kellan Hernandez or Jaden Friesen would all have been worthy recipients, but the collective effort the Buffalo offensive line played a key role in the state championship season.
The Meade O-line of juniors Weston Kroth (6-1, 230), Dylan Bolton (6-0, 185) and Manny Castillo (6-1, 220), seniors Blake Womkey (6-2, 270) and Adam Gleason (6-3, 215), as well as tight ends Taylor Wiens (6-1, 180) and Randy Friesen (6-8, 210) helped the Buffaloes to 336 rushing yards and 43.5 points per game.
The unit also opened holes for two 1,000-yard rushers in Hernandez and Jaden Friesen.
8-Man Division I
Reggie Jordan, QB/DB, Hill City - There may have not been a player in the state that meant more to his team than Jordan did to the Hill City Ringnecks.
While Hill City recorded 4,693 yards of offense and 77 touchdowns, the 5-11, 190-pound Jordan accounted for 3,606 yards and 60 touchdowns. The senior QB completed 73 of 131 passes for 1,071 yards and 15 touchdowns, while rushing for 2,535 yards and 45 scores.
“He’s a warrior,” Hill City head coach Chris Shank said of Jordan before the state championship game against Madison. “Whoever plays quarterback on our team will be the last guy to surrender. He’s a great athletic talent. People think he’s a finesse guy, but he’ll break tackles.
“We are where we are because of him and other guys on this team with a refuse to lose attitude. I dread about thinking of life without him. He’s been running this offense for three years. I can’t heap enough praise on him.”
Jordan led the Ringnecks to the title game and did his best to get them the championship. Despite a 52-44 loss to Madison, Jordan rushed for 290 yards and six touchdowns on 48 carries.
He had five games where he rushed for 200 yards or more, including a 400-yard, six-touchdown effort in a 44-28 win against Quinter.
8-Man Division II
Logan Haug, TE/DE, Baileyville B&B - As a 6-6, 230-pound tight end it’s obvious Haug created some mismatch problems at the 8-Man D-II level.
On offense, Haug was the team’s leading receiver, hauling in 16 passes for 268 yards and seven touchdowns. He also contributed as a blocker, helping the Falcons rush for more than 2,500 yards in 11 games.
As a defensive end, Haug recorded 64 tackles with eight sacks. Haug also had two pass deflections, two caused fumbles and one fumble recovery.
Haug was even the Falcons’ kicker, making three extra points and one field goal.
Baileyville, the undefeated state champions, scored 50 points or more in nine of their 11 played games.
All-Class Coach of the Year
Eric Driskell, Blue Valley - A state championship may have seemed a million miles away before the season started.
The Blue Valley Tigers were without longtime head coach Steve Rampy for the first time in more than 20 years, were coming off a 5-7 season and were in a district that included the Gardner-Edgerton Trailblazers and the St. Thomas Aquinas Saints.
However, a Class 5A state title is exactly what the Tigers achieved under the first-year head coach and longtime assistant Driskell.
Before the season, Driskell said his goal was for his team to improve each and every day. That’s exactly what the Tigers did.
Blue Valley helped keep Aquinas out of the playoffs with a 38-20 win in Week 7 before falling to Gardner-Edgerton 42-21 in the final week of the regular season. After that, Driskell directed Blue Valley to playoff wins against Bishop Miege and Topeka Seaman to set up a rematch against the Trailblazers in the state semifinals.
In a testament to his coaching, Driskell’s Tigers looked like a different team in the second meeting, outgunning Gardner-Edgerton 45-42.
A week later, Blue Valley capped the championship season with a 35-14 victory against the Bishop Carroll Eagles.
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