Shawnee Mission East High School had its best football season in school history in 2013. The Lancers (11-2) would go punch-for-punch with state power Derby in the 6A state title game, but came up short losing 28-21 to take 6A state runner-up honors. It marked the first time SME had ever played for a state football title and the most wins in school history (11).
Why did this team from Prairie Villiage fly under the radar? They featured a brand new coach in Dustin Delaney, lost their highly recruited QB Jordan Darling to KU, and were going to run a brand new flex-bone offense. Not to mention league rival, SM West, had just won the state title in 2012. Nobody had East going to state in pre-season, but maybe themselves. The Lancers, now with seven playoff victories, only had three all-time football playoff victories in its school history before the 2013 season.
East would have no star players coming into the 2013 season, the exact opposite of many of its Sunflower League opponents. SME would have to have a team effort all season and rely on all of its role players. One of those guys would be senior linebacker Ryan Carter.
From what we know and have heard on Carter, he is one of the most inspirational players to his team in the state of Kansas. Not only was he an inspiration and leader to this team, he would also earn first team all-sunflower league honors at Linebacker in a league that is loaded with Division I prospects. He's not going to stand out on paper to anyone at 5-10 195 pounds, but when you see him play you will know he is for real.
Carter would also double as a fullback in 2013. He would become a secret weapon on offense for the Lancers in the playoffs. He came up big in several key situations, including a two touchdown performance against Olathe North in the state semifinals and added a 17-yard touchdown in the state title game against Derby.
"Ryan brought an incredible amount of energy to our players and coaches, not only in games but every practice," Delaney said. The coaches and players seemed to feed off this energy in getting East to its first ever state title appearance. "He was our most inspriational player".
Carter and his teammates will be remembered as the class that took Shawnee Mission East to its first ever state football title appearance. The Lancers return a lot of key players for next season, so they won't fly under the radar in 2014. Included in the returnees is all-state defensive end Kyle Ball (6-2 225 Jr), who picked up 107 tackles this season and should see some division one recruiting interest next season. We do know one thing, look out for SM East football in the future. We caught up with Ryan below...
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Q&A with Ryan Carter
How did you get involved with football?
I've been involved with football since I was a baby, but I began competitive contact football in fourth grade because I knew it would be something I would be a part for a long time to come.
How special of a season was this for SM East?
This season was extremely special for SME. We set records and made history. Something we took pride in was not that fact we were enjoying the season, but the school and community really got into it.
What is it like to play for Coach Delaney?
To play for Delaney is absolutely incredible. I've never met anyone who knows the game of football more than he does. He brought a great work ethic and energy that helped make the seniors great leaders.
What is it like to be the class that put SM East football on the map?
To be the class that put SME on the map is a great feeling, but in all honesty we have been there we just needed a little something extra to really get us noticed as a dominant program. The future is bright for SME.
What do your options look like at the next level?
I've received interest from some D2 schools and a few in the MIAA conference. My heart lies with the defensive side of the ball, but running the ball has it perks. I am just really excited to play at the collegiate level.
You are more known as a LB, but made some key plays on offense, talk about that.
Playing offense as well as playing defense was really a great opportunity for me to help out the team any way I could. I started off as a running back and later moved to linebacker, so it was really fun to get to run the ball again.
Who are some of the key players at SME?
The great thing about our team is that we don't have really any star players. We have different guy step up in every game. Mitchell Tyler was a huge help for us, he was all over the field doing what he could to help the team. Kyle Ball and Dominique Atkinson were huge forces up front. Luke Taylor and Christian Blessen took beatings all season and really played great. And of course Gunnar Englund did a great job taking over after Christian got hurt.
What did you do in the offseason to prepare for this season?
Offseason leading into the fall was a lot of hard work. At some points we would work out three times at day. We train on speed, strength and a lot of foot work. It all paid off in the season.
Favorite subject in school?
My favorite school subject is Science
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