Junior quarterback Kole Manley throws a deep pass during the offensive team portion of practice." />
Junior quarterback Kole Manley throws a deep pass during the offensive team portion of practice.
The football team is ready to put last season behind them and hopes to make another deep playoff run this season.
Last season, the team finished with a record of 6-5. The Cardinals made a push for a trip to the state championship game, but lost to Bishop Miege in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
“That Miege game,” junior lineman Thomas Cromer said of what was motivating them. “We’re back now and we’re ready to go. We’re excited.”
The team has some holes to fill after some players from last season graduated. This includes at quarterback and fullback, two key positions on the team’s offense. But first year head coach Drew Steffen said he is excited about the players the team has returning.
“We got a lot of kids that really love football,” Steffen said. “They enjoy practice, they enjoy the process of getting better, and we’ve worked extremely hard in the summer. I thought we had a great summer.”
From a leadership standpoint, Steffen said some of this year’s seniors have stepped up to become good leaders.
“Because of the way that they practice every day, the type of people they are in our school, and that they are raised by great families, I think they have the opportunity to be elite leaders within our program,” he said. “And so, anytime they get a chance to lead, we’re in a good spot.”
Senior Micah Barron, who will be a key player on defense this year, is trying to provide leadership to the team by being an example for younger players to see what it takes to be a leader.
“I feel like we got to leave a legacy for our underclassmen,” Barron said. “Like, once we leave we don’t really have as much control on their football team. So, I want to leave a legacy while I’m here for our underclassmen.”
Even though the Cardinals want to make another deep playoff push, they understand they have to take the season one week at a time.
“We like to take it game-by-game and just win the week,” senior lineman Eythen Moore said.
The Cardinals play their first game of the season today (Friday) on the road at Baldwin High School. The team’s home opener is Sept. 9 against Bonner Springs.
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Reach reporter Jack Denebeim at [email protected].