If you are looking for a league that can produce multiple state champions year in, year out you’ve found it in the Eastern Kansas League.
The EKL has long been one of the toughest conferences in the state and this year shouldn’t be any different. There are teams in 4A, 5A and 6A and this year the EKL could sweep those titles.
The biggest change outside the conference is the massive move to 5A by four of the teams. St. Thomas Aquinas and St. James Academy move up from 4A to 5A and Blue Valley and Blue Valley North move down from 6A and 5A. That puts five of the EKL schools in 5A while Bishop Miege stays in 4A and Blue Valley West and Blue Valley Northwest remain in 6A.
Let’s take a look at each school and the EKL Virtual Media Day.
Head Coach: Jon Holmes, 13th season
2023 record: 8-2/7-0
Returning Starters (Off/Def): 5/4
Biggest Challenge: The Stags have one of the best quarterbacks in the Metro in Marco Rodriguez back for another year. What’s in front of him is a different story. Miege will be replacing three starting offensive linemen so that is an area that has to be addressed.
Outlook: Miege failed to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time in a decade. There is definitely plenty of motivation to go deep in the playoffs this year. With programs like St. Thomas Aquinas and St. James moving up to Class 5A and the Miege tradition this could be a bounce back year.
Coach’s thoughts: “There has been a lot of dedication this offseason. This senior class has been bought in really since last offseason. We had more than half of them that were at every single workout all summer long all 20 of them hit 90 percent of our workouts in the summer. That's hard to do nowadays with all the other activities and things kids have going on so you know that's been a huge plus for us as we get going because the more guys you have at your workouts the more and more stuff, you're able to get done. Now as you're into the season you're able to really get your installs sped up.”
2024 Schedule:
9/6 St. James Academy
9/13 @ Blue Valley Southwest
9/20 @ Blue Valley West
9/27 Rockhurst
10/4 St. Thomas Aquinas
10/11 @ Cardinal Ritter
10/18 @ Blue Valley North
10/25 Blue Valley
Head Coach: Allen Terrell, 8th season
2023 record: 6-5/3-4
Returning Starters (Off/Def): 9/6
Biggest Challenge: The offense brings back numbers and experience and the defense has marquee players returning. The talent is there the next step is turning the team into a championship caliber one that can bring home a title.
Outlook: It’s been eight years since Blue Valley played for a state title and 11 since the Tigers won a championship. While that may not seem like a long time for some programs, for the Tigers that seems like an eternity. This team could be the one that changes that. There are always high expectations at Blue Valley and this team could be the one that reaches those expectations for the first time in a while.
Coach’s thoughts: “Our number one goal every single year doesn't matter who we got coming back is win the Kansas State title. That's it that's the level of our program from long before I was there that was established, and it is an expectation. Two years 2 years ago we went 5-5 our goal that year was to win the state title and we didn't meet it. Last year it was we lost in the semifinals to the eventual champ, and we didn't meet it. It's been it's been 11 years since 2013 when we won a state title but it's still our goal every year. We're not going to lower the bar; we're not going to lower the bar in our program.”
2024 Schedule:
9/6 @ Blue Valley Southwest
9/13 Washburn Rural
9/20 St. Thomas Aquinas
9/27 St. James Academy
10/4 @ Blue Valley North
10/10 @ Blue Valley Northwest
10/18 Blue Valley West
10/25 @ Bishop Miege
Head Coach: Gene Wier, 1st season
2023 record: 0-9/0-7
Returning Starters (Off/Def): 4/5
Biggest Challenge: Blue Valley North has its fourth different head coach in five seasons. Adjusting again to a new head coach could be a challenge. Wier came over after assisting Joel Applebee at Mill Valley. Wier follows Drew Hudgins who was at Mill Valley so the changes might not be that drastic.
Outlook: Wier is a hall of fame coach who is KC coaching icon with six state titles to his credit. He will be able to provide stability and get the Mustangs back on track to being a winning program.
Coach’s thoughts: “They're really nice kids you I don’t if I like them that nice all the time but they are a good group of kids. They are longing to get some wins and so that just makes it a lot of fun you know because they do not want to lose again.”
2024 Schedule:
9/6 @ Blue Valley Northwest
9/12 Shawnee Mission North
9/20 Blue Valley Southwest
9/27 @ Blue Valley West
10/4 Blue Valley
10/11 @ St. James Academy
10/18 Bishop Miege
10/25 @ St. Thomas Aquinas
Head Coach: Clint Rider, 8th season
2023 record: 6-5/4-3
Returning Starters (Off/Def): 7/5
Biggest Challenge: There is good depth on the offensive and defensive line but there are some skill spots that are being settled. As the season approaches putting the final pieces together will be job one.
Outlook: The Huskies have been a consistent winner the last few years including winning a state title in 2020. This could be a very good team once again if the lineman stay healthy and the rest of the skill players take a step forward.
Coach’s thoughts: “In November after the seasons over you're always kind of wondering what those things will look like and you know kind of little nervous about the next year. But as things have gone on and we had a really good summer. Some guys have really started to step up and compete for you know the quarterback running back positions. We feel really good about the guys that you know are stepping into the two remaining receiver roles, so I feel really good about that.”
2024 Schedule:
9/6 Blue Valley North
9/13 Shawnee Mission Northwest
9/20 @ St. James Academy
9/27 @ Washburn Rural
10/4 @ Blue Valley West
10/10 Blue Valley
10/18 @ St. Thomas Aquinas
10/25 Blue Valley Southwest
Head Coach: Anthony Orrick, 10th season
2023 record: 10-2/6-1
Returning Starters (Off/Def): 5/3
Biggest Challenge: Simone Award winning quarterback Dylan Dunn is gone along with several other talented seniors. Southwest has done a good job of building depth the last few years so those younger players will need to step up and become everyday players.
Outlook: The Timberwolves were a play away from playing for a 5A state championship. There are a lot of holes to fill, and a lot of younger players will take the field on Friday Nights. If the new starters develop Southwest should improve as the season goes on.
Coach’s thoughts: “I tell everybody that asked that question I say it's been a summer of new beginnings and a lot of lot of new guys you know getting their chance and getting their opportunity to get on the field and be contributors for us. We're not returning a ton on either side of the ball as far as experience, so we had to kind of go back to some of the basics this summer and start over. When you got a veteran crew, you can kind of roll into that next year. We had to kind of take a step back and realize it's a different group and a new set of skills. We had to kind of you know reassess ourselves and know what the future it's for us and what you need to change.
2024 Schedule:
9/6 Blue Valley
9/13 Bishop Miege
9/20 @ Blue Valley North
9/27 @ St. Thomas Aquinas
10/4 Blair Oaks
10/10 Blue Valley West
10/18 @ DeSoto
10/25 @ Blue Valley Northwest
Head Coach: Josh Koerkenmeier, 10th
2023 record: 5-5/2-4
Returning Starters (Off/Def): 7/9
Biggest Challenge: The Jaguars are coming off a solid year with a lot of starters and players who saw the field coming back. Expectations are high and this could be a very good year but the EKL isn’t forgiving so slogging through the league while staying healthy will determine how the season ends.
Outlook: There is no clear favorite on the east side of the Kansas 6A bracket. West is one of the teams that could be standing on the field in Emporia at the end of the year. It won’t be easy but this team has a lot of the pieces for a championship run.
Coach’s thoughts: “They're working hard right now they are a fun group of kids to be around. They've worked hard and they work hard together. They're really starting to get some chemistry and develop some leadership. Anytime you have a big senior class you feel pretty good. Playing in our league it's pretty tough to play young kids and last year we played with some young kids especially on defense and they learned a lot. They got better throughout the year which is all we really ask them to do and now a lot of those kids come back with a lot of experience and so we're pretty excited about it.”
2024 Schedule:
9/6 @ St. Thomas Aquinas
9/12 @ Olathe West
9/20 Bishop Miege
9/27 Blue Valley North
10/4 Blue Valley Northwest
10/10 @ Blue Valley Southwest
10/18 @ Blue Valley
10/25 St. James Academy
Head Coach: Tom Radke, 14th season
2023 record: 2-7/1-6
Returning Starters (Off/Def): 7/6
Biggest Challenge: St. James was young last year, and they played like a young team in the tough EKL. Four of the Thunder’s seven losses were by two scores or less, so the team is close. Finishing games better should put St. James in a better position for a deep run.
Outlook: There are a big group of seniors who played a lot last year. There is experience on the line on both sides of the ball so there is a good foundation. If the quarterback position can get settled this could be a good team.
Coach’s thoughts: “Juniors don't know how to win and it's like oh let's just follow the seniors and things like that. There were some good leaders in last year but this group man they were the energy from last year also so now they brought the juice. You know you have a good team win as a coach you don't have to do it rah rah stuff. You don't have to pump them up. Honestly the summer is kind of boring in the weight room. I just kind of stood there they're all yelling and screaming. I'm like OK thanks guys good job. That means you got a good team so we're looking forward to the season.”
2024 Schedule:
9/6 @ Bishop Miege
9/13 @ St. Thomas Aquinas
9/20 Blue Valley Northwest
9/27 @ Blue Valley
10/4 St. Pius X
10/11 Blue Valley North
10/18 @ Kapaun Mt. Carmel
10/25 @ Blue Valley West
Head Coach: Randy Dreiling, 11th season
2023 record: 10-3/5-2
Returning Starters (Off/Def): 3/5
Biggest Challenge: It was a great 2023 that ended in a Class 4A state championship. Most of the players who led the way to the title are gone leaving a group that has little to none varsity experience. There is talent but it will have to grow up quickly on Friday nights.
Outlook: Aquinas always has talent and is well coached. This team will be competitive but the run through the league will be tough and so will the postseason back up in 5A.
Coach’s thoughts: “Most of them are you guys have never played varsity football before because almost every game we're in last year was you know there wasn't there wasn't any blowouts. Our schedule was brutal and there wasn't mop up time by these young guys very often. So we're seeing a lot of guys that are going to have to get better experience quickly.”
2024 Schedule:
9/6 Blue Valley West
9/13 St. James Academy
9/20 @ Blue Valley
9/27 Blue Valley Southwest
10/4 @ Bishop Miege
10/11 @ Rockhurst
10/18 Blue Valley Northwest
10/25 Blue Valley North
