The Suburban Blue has been one of the best Class 4/5 conferences in Missouri for more than a decade. Last year was no different as Kearney finished second in the conference to Smithville but then would go on to win the Class 4 state championship.
Other teams Raytown South, Grandview and Winnetonka took big steps forward. This year that trend should continue and a team like Excelsior Springs could be improved as well with lots of returning starters and a new coaching staff.
Let’s look at this year’s Suburban Blue teams.
Below is the Suburban Blue Virtual Media Day.
Head Coach: Jacob Danneman, 1st season
2023 record (overall/conference): 1-9/1-5
Returning Starters (Off/Def): 7/8
Biggest Challenge: There are a lot of starters back but it’s a new system on both sides of the line. There is lots of change so even though there is game experience the Tigers will still be doing a lot of learning early in the season.
Outlook: New coach for a team that is now on year three back in the Suburban Conference. There is talent at Excelsior Springs so this should be a team that makes big strides as the season goes on.
Coach’s thoughts: “It is everything from how we walk into the building. How we hit the weight room to what we look like in practice to how we stretch to how we warm up, everything. Everything's new to them. I think it refreshing for them as well. They get to do something new but it still all comes back to football.”
2024 Schedule:
8/30 Belton
9/6 @ Winnetonka
9/13 North Kansas City
9/20 @ Raytown
9/27 Smithville
10/4 Raytown South
10/11 @ Grandview
10/18 @ St. Joseph Central
10/25 Kearney
Head Coach: Dwayne Darden, 1st season
2023 record (overall/conference): 3-7/2-4
Returning Starters (Off/Def): 6/6
Biggest Challenge: A new coach for Grandview but there is familiarity with Coach Darden already being on staff when he took over for Dan Joiner who took the North Kansas City job. There is a new scheme on the defensive side so that will be an early challenge.
Outlook: There are a good number of returning starters and some good athletes ready to make big plays. The early season schedule is tough with conference foe Kearney along with Belton, Park Hill South and St. Joseph Central. Grandview has gotten better each of the last three years and that trend should continue.
Coach’s thoughts: “Right now, our offense is very dynamic. I love it. We can get out there and do a lot of different things and it's going to put us in a good position. We got some younger guys that have stepped up they're ready to play I'm really excited about what we can do.”
2023 Schedule:
8/30 Park Hill South
9/6 @ Kearney
9/13 @ St. Joseph Central
9/20 Belton
9/27 @ Winnetonka
10/4 North Kansas City
10/11 Excelsior Springs
10/18 @ Smithville
10/25 Raytown South
Head Coach: Logan Minnick, 3rd season
2022 record (overall/conference): 13-2/5-1 (Missouri Class 4 state champions)
Returning Starters (Off/Def): 4/3
Biggest Challenge: It was a great run for the Bulldogs last year. They dominated their way to the school’s fifth state championship. They lost quite a few players from that team that need to be replaced. There is good talent ready to step in they just need to get Friday night experience under their belts.
Outlook: Kearney should be one of the top Missouri Class 4 schools again. Whether or not the Bulldogs are dominant and win another state title is the question.
Coach’s thoughts: “We've got more kids out this year than I've had in my three years with 140 kids 9 through 12 which for lass 4 is pretty solid. Once you get it rolling, you’re going to try to continue to keep it rolling. The whole town's excited now and expectations are higher so there's a little pressure here. We we've told our kids every year we don't we don't rebuild here at Kearney, we just kind of we reload like the old saying goes. We're excited about the kids we’ve got coming in. Our JV lost one game and the freshman team went undefeated so we've got good pieces that we're going to replace kids with, so we're excited about our team.”
2024 Schedule:
8/30 @ Fort Osage
9/6 Grandview
9/13 @ Smithville
9/20 Park Hill
9/27 North Kansas City
10/4 @ Grain Valley
10/11 @ Raytown South
10/18 Winnetonka
10/25 @ Excelsior Springs
Head Coach: William Harris, 4th season
2023 record (overall/conference): 8-3/4-2
Returning Starters (Off/Def): 3/3
Biggest Challenge: It was a breakout season for the Cardinals in 2024. It was their first winning record since 2016 in the third season for Coach Harris and his staff. There was a good group of seniors that graduated so there are a lot of holes to fill. The young group is talented and will be asked take on a lot of the load this season.
Outlook: It may feel like Raytown South is back to where it was in Harris’ first year but this is the fourth year under this staff so this shouldn’t be a big drop off. As the youth gains experience the Cardinals should round into a solid team.
Coach’s thoughts: “It kind of reminds us of my first year here when we were really young, and we were playing some young guys. But I think the difference is these young guys understand practice. They understand hard work. Those bodies look different than they did three years ago. It's high school football usually goes in waves. Unless you're just one of those top tier programs that that reloads every single year, it kind of goes in waves. We're in our wave phase and we look different though which is the promising. The thing about playing a bunch of young kids is they understand football they understand the expectations my coaching staff does a really good job, so those kids are far ahead of where that senior class had just graduated.
2024 Schedule:
8/30 @ Smithville
9/6 Raytown
9/13 @ Liberty
9/20 @ Winnetonka
9/27 Grain Valley
10/4 @ Excelsior Springs
10/11 Kearney
10/18 Lincoln College Prep
10/25 @ Grandview
Head Coach: Josh Speer, 1st season
2023 record (overall/conference): 9-2/6-0
Returning Starters (Off/Def): 4/6
Biggest Challenge: Not a lot of starters on offense return so getting that group settled will be the focus to start the season. There is strength on the line so there is a good foundation for the Warriors.
Outlook: Smithville has turned over several senior classes in the last 5-6 years and continued to have success. This group could do that again though the league is better and the Warriors non-conference schedule is tough with teams like Oak Park and Platte County.
Coach’s thoughts: “I love our guys up front on both sides of the football. I feel like that's going to be a big strength for our team. The core group of guys that we have coming back a lot of them are our guys up front on the offensive and defensive lines. I just I love the energy this team has. These guys since day one of summer workouts when we come out there as coaches, they're out there lined up five minutes ready to go on the line ready to start They were hooting and hollering. Jus the energy that they bring and the focus that they've had thus far I’m just really excited about those guys to get rolling.”
2024 Schedule:
8/30 Raytown South
9/6 @ Truman
9/13 Kearney
9/20 Oak Park
9/27 @ Excelsior Springs
10/4 Platte County
10/11 @ Pittsburg
10/18 Grandview
10/25 @ Winnetonka
Head Coach: John Crutcher, 3rd season
2023 record (overall/conference): 2-8/2-4
Returning Starters (Off/Def): 8/7
Biggest Challenge: The Griffins have been playing young players for the past two seasons. Winnetonka broke through with a couple of wins last year and expectations are higher for this year. Learning how to play with and meet expectations will be a test this season.
Outlook: Winnetonka can take some big steps forward this year. The Griffins are the third year in their systems under Crutcher and return a lot of experience. This could be a winning season for Winnetonka if the work put in the offseason turns into wins during the regular season.
Coach’s thoughts: “We needed to spend more time in the offseason on some leadership issues trying to build those leaders. We probably spent 20 weeks starting in mid-February and all the way up through the end of the summer just hammering it out with both the senior and junior class. We have kids with a lot of experience and every one of those seniors and juniors have played significant amount of snaps for us at some point in the last two years. We're excited about the experience, and we're excited about the leadership of both of these classes and we've got high expectations.”
2024 Schedule:
8/30 @ St. Joseph Central
9/6 Excelsior Springs
9/13 @ East
9/20 Raytown South
9/27 Grandview
10/4 @ Lincoln College Prep
10/11 William Chrisman
10/18 @ Kearney
10/25 Smithville
