Marais des Cygnes Valley coach Butch Jones is one of Kansas’ longest tenured coaches with 35 years and more than 200 victories.
Jones still patterns his off-set I, run-heavy offense off of the Midway-Denton look he saw Northern Valley and Centre-Lost Springs run in the 1980s. Jones has long had winning programs, first at Lebo, and now a 24-9 mark and three straight playoff appearances with MdCV.
He is impressed with Burlingame second-year coach Jeff Slater, and the two talk quite often.
“It’s exciting,” Jones said. “He reminds me a lot of me when I was 35 years younger and coaches with a lot of enthusiasm. His kids play with a lot of enthusiasm. I kind of wish I had that energy that he has.”
Slater has already made a big turnaround with Burlingame, a squad with little football tradition. The Bearcats went from 3-6 to 6-3 in 2014, its first winning record since 2010. Burlingame has not made the playoffs since 2004, its lone appearance since 1991.
The Bearcats are on a short list of eight-man teams expected to make another jump this fall. Burlingame's lone Lyon County League title came in 2004, but a win Friday at home versus MdCV puts the Bearcats in strong position for another. Last year, Burlingame won, 50-40, at MdCV en route to a 3-0 start.
Like last year, Burlingame’s schedule includes a stretch of strong opponents in MdCV, at Frankfort and home with Waverly in the next three weeks.
“It’s very big,” Slater said. “It’s a good measuring stick to see where we are compared to a team that’s been in the playoffs. Last year, when we were able to go on the road and get this win, it just kind of gave us a huge momentum boost for this three-game stretch that we are about to take. Right now, these next three games, we are kind of calling it the gauntlet.”
Jones takes a different look than many other coaches when it comes to early season, non-district contests, even against league teams. MdCV is 14-1 in district play under Jones, including back-to-back undefeated district crowns. The Trojans have lost in Week 2 every year since Jones took over.
“When things get on Hudl, they are pretty well everywhere,” Jones said. “In the old VHS days, you can kind of maybe keep some things under wraps. I guess I kind of think of it more like a preseason game the Chiefs play or maybe an early season (college) game.”
MdCV has just 16 players, 14 healthy, for Friday, the third time in Jones’ career he has a roster under 20 players. Senior quarterback Christian Cannon leads the offense, and Jones calls senior nose guard Marquise Mitchell one of the best linemen he has ever coached. Cannon has grown physically and has an impressive arm. He threw for 1,122 yards in 2014.
Senior linebacker Cody Patterson (6-4, 230) is now playing fullback after he’s seen time at tight end and guard the last two years.
“We are trying to get ourselves set up to make a run at the playoffs,” Jones said. “Our goal is to win the districts and get a home playoff date. There is no way that I am putting all of my offense on that field. It’s not going to happen.”
Both squads are among seven “also considered” squads just outside the top-5 in Eight-Man, Division I. Of the 12 teams either ranked or also considered, Burlingame and Solomon were the lone teams that didn’t make playoffs and won fewer than seven contests in 2014.
Slater believes the Bearcats, with seven offensive and five defensive returning starters, can “absolutely” make another jump. Burlingame opened with a 54-6 home victory versus Hartford, and MdCV won 60-12 against Jones’ former school, Lebo.
“Last year, kind of had a group that didn’t really know how to win,” Slater said. “Mental toughness is something that we battled last year. The physicality – our three losses last year (Waverly, Peabody-Burns, Madison) were against teams that were making playoff runs that were playing a real physical brand of football.”
“This year, this team set the bar high as far as offseason expectations,” he added. “The weight room percentage went up with the kids. We have a good senior group that kind of led the way. We have a talented sophomore group. The expectations have definitely risen.”
Slater is the son of longtime Lansing volleyball coach Julie Slater, one of the state’s all-time winningest coaches with a 794-279 career record in 29 seasons. He played collegiately at Dodge City Community College. His wife graduated a semester ahead and took a job at Emporia State University.
Slater looked around at jobs in the Emporia area and started at Burlingame for the 2014 season. He drives about 40 minutes one-way to work. Slater watched his mother and how she ran her program and has carried over many ideas he learned growing up. Before last season, Slater believed if Burlingame “cleaned up a few things” it could make a jump.
Burlingame averaged 25.6 points per contest and allowed 28 a game in 2013 with a 1-2 mark in games decided by six points or fewer.
Last season, the offense jumped to 38.2 points a contest and the defense permitted 30 a game. Burlingame went 1-1 in contests within a score and also won games by 10 and 12 points. The Bearcats had 22 turnovers, but finished plus-4 in turnover margin.
“It’s been a really good fit for me,” Slater said. “I think it’s been a really good fit for both sides.”
Senior running back Robert Hutchins (1,248 rushing yards, 17 scores in 2014) rushed 15 times for 123 yards and three touchdowns last Friday. Senior end Paul Holt had a big junior year with 93 tackles, 11 for loss, and seven fumble recoveries. Holt recorded 3.5 sacks in Week 1. Slater said both players were in the weight room all summer.
“He is such a dominant force athletically on the edge,” Slater said of Holt. “Has really transformed his body this offseason. … Right now, you can’t run his way. Hopefully that will continue this Friday.”
Hutchins has great instincts and is a two-time state track qualifier. Slater has had to remind his receivers to stay on blocks because of Hutchins’ cutbacks.
“They just know how to win,” Slater said. “They prepare to win. The mental focus each day at practice is better, and I think that has a lot to do with our senior leadership.”
Sophomore quarterback Dalton Sporing saw significant time as the backup as a freshman. Last week, Sporing passed for 72 yards, rushed for 51 yards and accounted for three scores.
Burlingame runs plenty of play-action with quarterback counter in its spread formation, one of a few eight-man teams that use spread as its base offense. The Bearcats took every snap in Friday’s win from shotgun. Slater has put in some power sets, but he wants Burlingame to use its athleticism in space and on the edge.
Sophomore Tristan Lee (five tackles, two TFLs, .5 sacks) has already emerged as a standout lineman.
“In eight-man, if you can create those mismatches that you want in a game, you can take advantage of those opportunities offensively,” Slater said.
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