The finalists for the Kansas City Chiefs Eric Driskell Coach of the Year is a group that features history makers and people who rebuilt programs from the ground up.
This year’s finalists are Smithville’s Jason Ambroson, Pleasant Hill’s Justin Hamilton, Liberty North’s Greg Jones and Blue Valley Northwest’s Clint Rider.
The finalists were chosen from the weekly winners selected during the first 10 weeks of the NFL season. One winner was chosen from Kansas and Missouri. The 20 winners were then voted on by the board of the Greater Kansas City Football Coaches Association with the top four being announced as finalists.
The winner will be announced during the Thomas A. Simone Awards presented by The McCarthy Auto Group 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Simone Award winners high school.
Jason Ambroson, Smithville – Smithville completed a perfect 13-0 season capped off with a 31-0 win over Hannibal in the Missouri Class 4 state championship game. The Warriors reached the state championship game for only the second time in school history the first coming in 1969. Smithville outscored its opponents 515-114 with only one game finishing with less than a 10 point margin of victory.
Justin Hamilton, Pleasant Hill – Pleasant Hill has been much improved in Hamilton’s second season going 2-8 in his first year after an 0-10 2019 before Hamilton arrived. Pleasant Hill finished the season 7-6 winning three straight road games in district play to earn the school’s first district title in almost a decade knocking out Odessa and Center before falling to Class 3 state finalist St. Pius X in the quarterfinals.
Greg Jones, Liberty North - Liberty North advanced to its first-ever state championship game falling to CBC 41-21. During the season the Eagles won the Suburban Gold Conference, were ranked No. 1 in Class 6 and became the first team in the 115-year history of the Liberty school district to play for a state championship. Liberty North finished the season 11-2 with losses only to CBC and Bentonville, Ark.
Clint Rider, Blue Valley Northwest - Blue Valley Northwest started its season with a 35-21 win over Blue Valley and never looked back. The Huskies would only lose to St. Thomas Aquinas in the regular season before starting a dominant run to the Kansas Class 6A title. Northwest would average 52 points a game in the postseason beating Blue Valley West 35-7 to advance to the Huskies first-ever state championship game. In the title game Northwest dominated three-time defending champion Derby 41-21.
