2011 Sports Year Was Good, Not Great
Lee Stubbs
Citizen Editor
As 2011 winds to its inexorable close, so too does another year in sports.
Plenty happened in the sports arena, from our local high school teams to college and finally the pros. Following are my comments about each — ranging from what has happened to what is happening to what I think will happen in 2012.
As 2011 winds to its inexorable close, so too does another year in sports. Plenty happened in the sports arena, from our local high school teams to college and finally the pros. Following are my comments about each — ranging from what has happened to what is happening to what I think will happen in 2012.
HIGH SCHOOL
The 2011 high school sports scene was ushered in with an exciting run to the state’s final four playoffs by the North Platte girls basketball team. The Lady Panthers were forced to settle for fourth place, but, with several starters back for the 2011-12 season, including all-state senior Emilee Buckler, North Platte should growl once again.
Other area high school hoops teams that could make some noise in the coming weeks include the Platte County boys team, which features nine seniors, including the high-flying Jaron Rollins, sharpshooting Trevor Myers and blue-collar big men Brendan Conner and Jordan Mitchell; and the West Platte boys team, which is living proof that the bigger the better – the Jays starting five averages over 6-feet, 2-inches, including 6-9 sophomore Bryce Cashman and 6-5 sophomore Adam Roe.
On the wrestling mat, Platte County had its lowest team state tournament showing in years, but celebrated a three time-champ, Skylar Wood, who is a favorite to join the state’s short list of four-time champs in February. The Pirates got off to a strong start before the winter break and may make some noise behind such senior leaders as Wood, Cody and Brett Poos, David Miller, Brendan Bredeson and Jon Knopp. Park Hill, meanwhile, returns several key grapplers from last year’s third-place team, including senior Nolan Smith, juniors Russ Coleman and Paxton DiBlasi and sophomore John Erneste. Park Hill South, which had a breakout season and sent a program-high six wrestlers to state, should also be strong with returners Alex Fortuna, Brett Rounkles and Jimmy Carpenter leading the way.
The area’s spring sports season featured plenty of Platte County, North Platte, Park Hill and Park Hill South track, soccer, tennis and golf action, but was highlighted by the West Platte baseball team, which thrilled its fans with a high-scoring team that advanced to the state quarterfinals. The Jays should be fun to watch this spring once again as a 2011 core of Todd Brown, Jared Meyer, Luke Wetzel, Logan Moose and Dylan Guthrie return.
The 2011 high school football season had its usual share of highlights. Platte County fielded one of the most exciting and high-scoring teams in the area, with senior quarterback Krae Kelso racking up big numbers that earned him the Frank Fontana Award, given annually to the KC Metro’s best small-class player. West Platte also put together an offensive juggernaut behind Wetzel at quarterback, Guthrie at running back and a slew of big-play receivers, but could not get past East Buch, which won two matchups with the Jays on its way to a Class 1 title game appearance. North Platte had a solid season behind such playmakers as senior running back/linebacker Zach Emmendorfer and quarterback Levi Hill, but the Panthers missed out on a playoff berth, as did Park Hill and Park Hill South, who were hit hard by injuries.
Looking ahead to the 2012 gridiron season is hard to do at this point – as with most years, all the County teams will have to deal with significant losses, none bigger than the Pirates losing Kelso to graduation. We’ll revisit this issue late in 2012. Other 2011 fall sports teams that had notable seasons include the West Platte, Park Hill South and Platte County volleyball teams, the Park Hill South soccer team and the West Platte boys cross country team.
COLLEGE
As we are in the midst of college football’s bowl season, my comments will focus primarily on that. For starters, it was good to see Missouri take a worthy foe to the woodshed in Monday night’s 41-24 whipping of North Carolina in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score. The Tigers can hold their heads high with a four-game winning streak to end their final Big 12 season. Of course, in the biggest college story of the season in these parts, Missouri, much to the consternation of the KC (Lawrence East) mainstream media, agreed a few months back to join the Southeastern Conference, where it will begin competing in 2012. As I have said many times, Kansas City is now beginning to realize that it needs Mizzou more than Mizzou needs it. Look for some Tiger Paw kissing as what should be an incredibly exciting and historic MU football season approaches next fall.
As for the Bowl Championship Series, college football fans are left with more compelling evidence that the system is broken – or that it never was right and just keeps getting worse. The de-facto national title game features a rematch of two SEC teams, LSU and Alabama, who scored a combined 15 points in their first meeting, while such top-10 teams as Kansas State (the best-coached, but luckiest team in the country), Arkansas and Boise State were left out of the BCS bowl picture.
One would think that a college football playoff system is inevitable. But then again, I’ve thought that for years. As far as college hoops, it’s still early and everything of course funnels into what I think is the greatest sporting event of the year — the NCAA Men’s Tournament. But, MU, led by a trio of experienced senior guards in Marcus Denmon, Kim English and Matt Pressey, enters the final week of 2011 unbeaten, ranked eighth in the country and off to its best start since Steve Stipanovich and Jon Sundvold led the Tigers to an 18-0 start and top ranking in the early 1980s. The Big 12 race should be interesting, but – and it pains me to say this – until Kansas is knocked from its seven-years-and-counting throne, the Jayhawks are the team to beat.
PROS
Our two pro teams both suffered through yet more losing seasons, but are being viewed in different lights. The Royals got off to a hot start before suffering one of their signature mid-season swoons, but the team’s long-awaited resurgence may be ready to launch this spring. Hopes are high as several highly-touted prospects look ready to produce, including can’t-miss-superstar Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Mike Montgomery and Salvador Perez. Add to the mix last year’s team MVP, outfielder Alex Gordon, solid outfielder Jeff Franceour, batting title contender Billy Butler, going-to-get-better-and-better shortstop Alcides Escobar, the acquisition of lefty starter Jonathan Sanchez and a bevy of hard-throwing relievers, and it’s hard not to be excited about the Boys in Blue.
However, with just one Royals winning season since 1994 and no playoff appearances since the World Series title in 1985 in mind, I’m taking a wait-and-see approach.
The Chiefs, meanwhile, took a big step back this season and have, for the most part, looked like a team without an identity and with no discernible direction. Of course, losing such key players as Jamaal Charles, Eric Berry and Tony Moeaki early and quarterback Matt Cassel midway through the season didn’t help. Three of those four made the Pro Bowl last season and the Chiefs never really recovered from those body blows. That speaks to the team’s lack of depth, which leads to the identity/direction issue, which falls squarely on the lap of GM Scott Pioli. Other than his insistence on starting Tyler Palko (who at no time exhibited any indication he was an NFL player) at QB, I didn’t really have an issue with head coach Todd Haley and was unfazed by his firing. Last week’s comedy-of-errors home loss — with a possible playoff berth at stake — to a mediocre Raiders team, is proof enough to me that interim coach Romeo Crennel may be a good defensive coordinator, but a lackluster head coach.
Here’s hoping that in 2012, Pioli does a better job in the draft and is also given a longer financial leash by owner Clark Hunt, resulting in an aggressive free-agent approach.
Speaking of the NFL, here’s my prediction for the upcoming playoffs: New Orleans over Green Bay in the NFC title game; New England over Baltimore in the AFC title game and the Saints over the Pats in the Super Bowl.
Happy New Year and thanks for reading.
Lee Stubbs is owner/editor of The Citizen. He may be reached by e-mail at editor@plattecountycitizen. com or by calling 858-5154.
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