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Tigers picked to top SEK in coaches’ poll
PITTSBURG — The lumps a junior-dominated Fort Scott High School took in going 3-6 last season are apparently expected to pay off as Southeast Kansas League coaches voted the Tigers as league favorites in a pre-season poll released by KSHQ 100.7 here Thursday.
Fort Scott (which was 3-2 in the SEK) received four of the six first-place votes to top the poll with 24 points. Labette County (43-2, 5-5), which finished in a tie with the Tigers for second in the SEK last season, received the other two first-place votes and scored 19 points in voting.
Coaches could not vote for their own teams and Pittsburg was not included as it does not play league football for the time being.
“We appreciate you picking us first,” Campbell said. “That’s nice. It’s a complement to them and our tradition.
“We had to kind of find out through adversity what some of our kids were made of. We return a lot of kids. Last year, we ended the year with six seniors. That’s not very many. This year, we start with nine returning starters on offense. But what I like more than that is we have depth.”
Among those returning in Andrew Callahan, who Campbell feels might be the best two-way lineman he’s coached. Zarek Fewell rushed for over 1,000 yards but he won’t have to run the ball every time as depth has gotten better at running back. Four offensive linemen return to protect returning quarterback Jessie Jones. Seven starters return on defense as well.
Campbell said that his coaching staff plays a large role in the success of the Tigers. As he is not a school employee other than his coaching duties, Campbell does not get to see his players nearly as much as other coaches.
“I’m not in school,” Campbell said. “And as I said when I came back in 2010, that’s not the best way to do it. I’m not there everyday seeing them in class, not building relationships. For me to be able to do this, I rely on my assistant coaches. All of the guys on the coaching staff played (at Fort Scott).”
LCHS head coach Sean Price says he has 19 seniors out for his team, the most he’s ever had. Four of his offensive linemen return as well as another one who started part-time. Easton Dean returns at quarterback and the Grizzlies have a big addition at running back in T.J. Mayhew, who transferred in from Parsons.
Chanute (2-3, 3-6) was picked to finish third with 18 points. There are seven seniors and 12 returning letter winners for Chris Shields, who will have a second-year starter at quarterback in sophomore Ty Bowman. The Blue Comets were plagued by injuries last season to the point where head coach Chris Shields was forced to move one of his running backs to the offensive line.
Last year’s league champion, Independence (5-0, 8-2) was picked fourth with 14 points. His team returns only three seniors after having 17 last season. The Bulldogs will also have just three home games.
Coffeyville (2-3, 4-5) was picked fifth with 10 points. Second-year head coach Darrin Wegner was hoping to have between 40 and 50 players out for the first week of practice after finishing last season with only 23.
“These two years, I’ll have had eight seniors in total,” Wegner says. He expects only three seniors this season.
Parsons (0-5, 1-8), picked last on every ballot, also has a second-year head coach in Travis Hurley. He’s been able to bing back some of the kids who have dropped out of the program over the past couple of seasons. There will only be six seniors but there will be around 50 players and the school may be able to play a complete JV and freshmen schedule for the first time in a while.
The season begins Sept. 1 with five games on the docket. The only league game that night will be in Parsons where Fort Scott will come calling. The other games have Caney Valley at Independence, Chanute at Iola, Great Bend at Coffeyville and Labette County at Fredonia.