Previewing the upcoming football season for Kearney, Liberty, and Liberty North HS
LIBERTY, Mo. — Soon the autumn winds will bring the change of season. Leaves turn brown, the air chills, and Friday night lights glow on local area high school football fields. The new season is once again upon us, and with it a hope and promise for fresh opportunities, the pursuit of excellence, and the possibility of raising a new championship banner. Of course, with this new promise comes many challenges. This is particularly true for high school coaches that must attempt to replace the talent that has graduated—and seek to lead programs with an eye on the future, as well as the present. The Liberty Bluejays, Liberty North Eagles, and Kearney Bulldogs have been working hard to sharpen their skills and get physically prepared.
LIBERTY BLUEJAYS
Head Coach: Chad Frigon (12th season as head coach)
Conference: Silver Division of the Suburban Conference
Class: 6
2021 Record: 7-4
Returning Starters–Offense: 3 Defense: 9
With 120 years of football history behind them, the Blue Machine will be ready to take the field with another strong squad. The Bluejays had a class of fourteen seniors that graduated last year, and four of them received all-state honors. So, there are some important shoes to be filled.
One of the senior leaders stepping up is the speedy 6’1”, 200lbs. running back, Anthony Wensen. The all-state returner from 2021 recently committed to play football at the Air Force Academy next year.
“Being a part of the Air Force is something I thought about for a while and even before they recruited me,” says Wenson. “After going there and seeing all the opportunities they have there it just seemed like the right decision. I’ll be getting a great academic degree and be able to play football at a really high level.”
Also ready for action is Ricky Ahumaraeze, an all-district wide receiver last year, at 6’4” 200 lbs. He has committed to play BigTen football at Northwestern after high school. Multi-year starting linebacker and 400m dash specialist in track, Jack Carbajal 6’2.5” 205lbs., returns along with all-district linebacker at 5’11” and 200lbs., Nchang Ndifor. The team has nine starters returning on defense.
“Having this many people come back from starting last year, our chemistry on defense is really good and I’m confident in our guys,” says Carbajal. “We have trust for each other. We know what we’re doing. I feel like it’s going to work out well.”
Summer training and conditioning has been intense. “Well, we set up our workouts so that we have three days on the field and then one day where we worked with the Missouri National Guard this summer,” says coach Frigon. “It was good to get some coaching and conditioning from somebody else other than us coaches, and it has been a positive. We also did a seven-on-seven league in Kearney and went to a two-day team camp at Washburn.”
“I was pleasantly surprised with how we did at Washburn,” says Wensen. “We competed well against everyone we faced. I don’t think we lost a match up the entire time we were there. It was encouraging.”
“I felt like we came together as a team at Washburn and really got to form chemistry with each other in those two days,” says Carbajal. With summer workouts, “you need to see who is willing to put in the hard work when it’s not just football practice, when it’s not as much fun. These are optional practices, but everybody knows if you’re not there and if you’re not willing to put in the hard work, then what are you doing?”
“We have some spots to fill,” says coach Frigon. “We lost four out of five starters on the offensive line. So that has been a big emphasis this summer–moving people around and fill in those holes. It has been good from that standpoint to kind of see where players fit together as a team.”
Junior Christian Kuchta, 5’11” 170lbs, will step into the role of quarterback for the 2022 season. “He’s more of a dual-threat quarterback than we’ve had really in the past ten years. He is very athletic, and he plays at shortstop in baseball,” says Frigon.
“I’m confident in Christian,” says Carbajal. “He knows the scheme. He makes good reads. The offense will get it done. Yeah, with so much talent at the wide receiver positions, and a talented running back, our offense has all the tools to get it done.”
Up first on the schedule for the Bluejays will be the always-tough Lee’s Summit West Titans, followed the next week by a cross-town rivalry game versus Liberty North. For game three, the Bluejays take on Ray-Pec. A tough gauntlet of games for the first three weeks of the season. For coach Frigon, it will be his twelfth year as head coach, but his 28th year on the Liberty sidelines.
“Coach Frigon is an amazing person as well as a great coach,” says Wensen. “He wants to build young men just as much as he wants to build football players, and that shows in this program. I mean, he’s a great man. He’s a great football coach as well. And I think he’s had a lot of opportunities to coach at the next level, and he’s turned them down because he loves Liberty so much and he loves Liberty football.”
LIBERTY NORTH EAGLES
Head Coach: Andy Lierman (1st season as head coach.)
Conference: Gold Division of the Suburban Conference
Class: 6
2021 Record: 11-2 (State Championship Runner-Up)
Returning Starters–Offense: 5 Defense: 9
The Liberty North Eagles return to the field in 2022 with new first-year head coach, Andy Lierman, who has been the defensive coordinator at North since 2017. North will look to make another deep run into the playoffs with a talented group of players returning from the Class 6 state runner-up season of 2021.
All-State Defensive Player of the Year and Buch Buchanan award winner, Melvin Laster, 6’3” 240lbs., returns for his junior season at middle linebacker. All-state quarterback, senior Sam Van Dyne, 6’3” 205 lbs., comes back to start as well. He had over 2,100 yards passing and 25 touchdown passes in 2021. All-state Mizzou commit Blake Craig, 5’11” 175lbs., returns at kicker. Senior leader Trey Shriver, 6’1″, 260lbs., will be on the O-line. Senior Xavier Horn, 6’1” 180lbs., will be at wide receiver. All-district defensive backs returning this year include Trey Snyder, 6’1” 185 lbs., the hard-hitting Eric Hinkel, 6’1” 190 lbs., and Kaden Durso, 6’1” 195 lbs.
“We have great senior leadership. A lot of those guys have already played about 14+ games as starters. Some of those guys are going to be three-year starters,” says Lierman. “We have good senior leadership that understands the standard we uphold within the program. We believe we have a great process, and we follow our blueprint. We come in every day trying to get better.”
“We had a great team camp at Central Missouri. The guys competed and got better. Then we carried that on through the summer with our seven-on-seven competitions and workouts,” says Lierman.
Coach Lierman cannot say enough about the leadership of quarterback Sam Van Dyne. He led the Eagles last year in an offense that averaged a whopping 32.6 points per game. “Sam’s just an incredible player. He’s a great leader. He is a great teammate,” says Lierman. “He’s proven himself. So, you know, he’s got the clout behind him to be able to step up and say what needs to be said, as well as run the offense and do things that we want to do. We are super excited about having him out there to run the show and lead. And what great character he has as a person too, on and off the field.”
Van Dyne is part of a senior class that went undefeated as eighth graders and as freshmen–a close-knit group. “Well, everybody knows everyone else so well, and we have played together for so long that it’s almost like second nature,” says Van Dyne. “You know what the guy next to you is going to do before he knows what he’s going to do. We have formed that chemistry and connection that makes playing on Fridays a lot easier.”
“They’ve had a ton of success and they know what it takes to win. And I think even though they fell short last year in the state final, I think it benefits us this year. And, you know, it’s the second group we’ve had that we’ve had all five years go through the North program, and this will be the first group that has come all the way through as eighth graders. We are extremely confident that they understand the expectations. They know what we’re asking them to do and there is no doubt that they’ll be ready to go. They want to play for each other and when that happens the sky’s the limit.”
Liberty North starts off the season against a tough opponent in last year’s state semifinalist, Lee’s Summit North. “They lost to us in the semifinals last year,” says Van Dyne. “So it’s two really good teams going at it in week one, and I think that would probably be our game of the year for the regular season. So you need to come prepared.”
Game two will see the Eagles take on rival Liberty. Then off to an away game at Rockhurst.
“I don’t have to get the guys geared up for a game,” says Lierman. “They know we’re going to see tough opponents week-in and week-out. And we also understand that we now have a bull’s eye on our back. With success, everybody wants to try to knock you down, and I’m sure there are people that feel like now is the opportunity. But we will be prepared. We will be ready.”
KEARNEY BULLDOGS
Head Coach: Logan Minnick (1st season as head coach.)
Conference: Blue Division of the Suburban Conference
Class: 4
2021 Record: 5-5
Returning Starters–Offense: 4 Defense: 5
“Banners up” is the theme for this year’s Kearney Bulldogs. The program has won four Class 4 state championships in the past two decades. New head coach, Logan Minnick, was part of those previous efforts as an assistant on the state champion 2015 team, and state runner-up 2016 team. He takes over the Bulldogs after a successful stint as head coach at Raytown. His expectation is to return Kearney to top form.
“The pillars of our program are attitude and effort,” says Minnick. “Kearney is a football town. You can’t beat being at a Kearney home game on a Friday night. You’ve got fireworks when they score touchdowns. The fans are packed. You have the little bulldogs running around. It is important to the whole community. There is unbelievable community support.”
Junior quarterback Casey Rooney, 6’0” 175lbs., a decisive and team-oriented player, will lead the Bulldogs for his second season. He will be complimented by a stable of outstanding athletes on both sides of the ball. Seven-time all-state track athlete, senior Luke Noland, 6’2” 185lbs., will start at safety on defense—his third year as starter. He was a leading tackler on the Bulldogs last season and has had several TD returns on special teams. This dynamic speedster was also a state champion in the 110 high hurdles in 2022 and helped lead the Bulldogs to their first ever state team track and field championship.
Senior Zach Grace, 6’3” 230lbs., a two-time all-state discus thrower and state powerlifting champion, returns at tight-end where he was first team all-conference last season. He is a three-year starter, and already has a lot of college offers. He was the top receiver on the team in 2021. Senior Joe Marshal, another multi-time all-state track athlete, 5’11” 170 lbs., will be in the defensive backfield for the third year as a starter. Senior Will Lincoln, 6’0 190 lbs., returns at middle linebacker, where he has started for three seasons—a leading tackler. Juniors Manny Linthacum, 6’0” 175 lbs., and Bryce Page, 6’5” 200lbs., among others, will be wide receiver targets for Rooney.
The big men up front will be led by highly recruited Senior, Carter Schmidt, 6’6” 260 lbs., offensive tackle. A top ranked state powerlifter, Senior Grant Jacobsen, 6’0” 210 lbs., Mavric Goodman, 6’6” 255 lbs., Jackson Cook, 6’1” 270 lbs., Trace Dunlap, 6’0” 265 lbs., and senior leader Kale Conway 6’2 250 lbs., who is also an outstanding baseball player. The running game will include agile junior Cameron Emmons, 5’10” 200 lbs., sophomore Tristan Williams, 5’9” 180lbs., and senior Danny Petree, 5’9”, 180 lbs.
Like most teams, summer training for Kearney consisted of some seven-on-sevens, conditioning, and team camp. The Bulldogs attended team camp at UCM in June.
“Every day the coaching staff has challenged us mentally and physically to get us to respond, I think in a positive way,” says Luke Noland. “The CMU champ was a change of pace for sure, from the Northwest camp we went to last year. We got to compete every day single day. I thought it was good to get out there and battle a little bit before everyone puts in their fancy plays.”
As far as summer conditioning workouts go, Noland says, “I think it’s coming along well. We get challenged, sometimes it can be tough, but everybody has to stick together to make it. It makes it a lot easier to get through the workouts–together.”
First on the schedule for the Bulldogs will be a trip to Class 5 Platte County, a program that has had a lot of success in the past several years. Next will be an away game at Fort Osage, another tough Class 5 team, followed up by defending Class 4 state champion, Smithville.
“We got to prove ourselves–that we are not a 5 and 5 team anymore,” says Noland.
“I have seen an attitude and effort in the summer training because everybody has a winning mindset, and everybody wants to win,” says Zach Grace. “I think we’re going to do that. At team camp we dominated everyone we scrimmaged. We were running up and down the field. Everything has improved a lot over last season.”
As far as conditioning and weight training goes, “I think it has been clearly shown that power lifting translates to on-field performance. If your strength is there, then that opens opportunities for everything else to get better,” says Grace. “Coach Minnick is great, and the staff is great, and everybody gets along, and the staff is really good at getting us to do what we need to do to win.”
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