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Current St. Francis coach Rodney Yates first applied for the Indian head football coaching position following the 2008 season.
At that time, then-longtime coach Tim Lambert left for Concordia. St. Francis was a Class 2-1A powerhouse with six sub-state championship game appearances in the previous 11 years. Yates didn’t earn an interview.
After playoff showings in ’08 and ’09, St. Francis started to slip.
From ’10-14, the Indians didn’t make the playoffs and went a combined 17-25 finishing with a winning record only once.
After the ’13 season, St. Francis was going to transition down to the eight-man ranks for the first time. Now, the Indians wanted a coach with eight-man football experience.
Yates’ mother-in-law is from St. Francis. Her parents still live in St. Francis.
In the last year, Yates’ in-laws retired and moved back to St. Francis.
In spring ’15, Yates received a call from his father-in-law, Steve Kirkham, who said the head football coaching position was open with the Indians.
Yates, from western Colorado and coaching in Colorado Springs, admitted he was “skeptical.”
Still, Yates applied and matched what the administration wanted. He took over early summer ’15 and led a turnaround from a 5-4 season to a 10-1 year, the Indians’ best record since 2007.
“Put people in a position to help this team get back to where it once was in its dominance and its prowess as being one of the best small-school teams in the state,” Yates said.
This season, St. Francis has great depth, including seven offensive and six defensive starters back, and is widely considered the Division I favorite.
Kirkham, the former University of Colorado-Colorado Springs athletic director and longtime coach/administrator, joined Yates’ staff as an assistant coach this fall. On Friday, the Indians open in a marquee home game versus Division II powerhouse Sharon Springs-Wallace County.
“I am glad I got it, because I really enjoy this place,” Yates said.
The Wildcats have made the playoffs every season since ’06 with just three losses in the last three falls. Wallace County hasn’t lost in the regular season since Week 4 of 2011, the state’s longest current run.
“Excited for our kids to come out and see the kind of quality that St. Francis has,” Wildcat third-year coach Jeff Hennick said. “They are very, very deep. They are very quick, they are a very sound team, and it will be a great test for us coming out right away.”
Wallace County returns senior Grady Hammer, the Swiss Army Knife of Kansas high school football. Hammer started on the offensive line as a sophomore and fullback last year.
This year, Hammer will start at quarterback. He did throw a 43-yard touchdown pass in 1 of 2 passing last fall and rushed for 427 yards and five scores. Hammer takes over for all-state signal caller Eric Gfeller, who tallied 2,642 offensive yards and 49 scores.
“He knows so many positions, and he can help get our kids lined up the way we need them,” Hennick said.
Hammer, a former defensive end with 188 career tackles, will start at linebacker. Hammer beat out Levi Johnson for the starting job.
Levi and his brother, Seth, were all-district players for 4-5 Tribune-Greeley County last year before they transferred to Wallace County this spring. Seth will start at end, Levi at fullback. The Johnsons will both start at defensive back.
Wallace County continues to remember three-sport all-state standout Luke Schemm, who collapsed on the field during a first-round playoff victory versus Otis-Bison last season and then passed away shortly thereafter.
Hennick will especially tell the linebackers to watch Schemm in film study on the all-stater’s ability to come forward and get off a block.
“A great character kid,” Hennick said. “A kid who when stuff wasn’t going his way, he was always the leader to step up and take stuff head on and fight with the best of them. So we always remember him whether it be when we are closing down in prayer at the end of a practice or when we are talking about drills.”
As well, Wallace County had some coaching staff changes. Former head coach Kevin Ayers, the architect of the Wallce County powerhouse, stepped aside after the ’13 runner-up showing. As expected, Hennick, then an assistant, took over.
Now, Ayers (152-27 career record at Jetmore and Wallace County) is back on staff as an assistant. Plus, Taylor Elder is a first-year assistant coach. Hennick and Elder were the quarterback and tailback for Ayers on the 2007 Wallace County state championship team.
“It’s really awesome for both Taylor and I to have our mentor coaching with us again,” Hennick said.
Two years ago, the Wildcats returned just two starters, navigated through a challenging early month and still went 11-1.
This season, Wallace County brings back two offensive and three defensive starters. Returning senior guard Gabe Klinge will also start at defensive end.
Senior Chisum Grund will play center and linebacker. Junior Carlin Springsteel will open at tailback. Wallace County has another tough schedule; Hennick said ’14 to ’16 is “pretty comparable” with the returning talent.
“Coach them the best that we can, and hopefully when it’s their time to perform, they bring in to mind everything that we have taught them, and execute the way we want,” Hennick said.
For St. Francis, senior quarterback Quinton Cravens and senior Taylor Rogers – both starting defensive backs – headline a deep team.
Rogers was the KPreps.com District 8 Offensive MVP and collected all-state honors. He delivered 30 total scores with 80 tackles and five interceptions. Yates uses Rogers (1,900 total yards) in a variety of offensive roles.
“His gifts physically don’t outweigh his gifts as a person,” Yates said. “He is just a tremendous kid on and off the field, but his ability on the field is what has teams and other coaches nervous.”
Cravens recorded 500 rushing yards, 1,300 passing with a 24/5 TD/INT ratio. He also delivered 70 tackles with six interceptions for a squad that was plus-17 in turnover margin. Yates called Cravens “an extension of our coaching staff on the field.”
“I don’t know if he necessarily believed that he could be the starting quarterback, and this year, it’s completely different,” Yates said. “This year, he knows he’s a football player, and this year, even in camp and in the summer, he believes that he’s a football player, and that he is the best football player on the field, and that’s what we want from each one of our starters.”
The offensive line features junior Trayton Doyle at center, senior guards Jerry Nietzel and Ryan Grover, along with senior Brock Waters and junior Tate Busse at end. Doyle (6-foot-3, 230 pounds) starts at nose guard, with Waters and junior Dalton Straub at ends. Yates called Doyle “a monster” with the ability to run under 13 seconds in the 100-meter dash.
If St. Francis played 11-man football, Yates said Doyle would be his starting middle linebacker. Multiple teams double- and triple-teamed Doyle, including the playoff loss to Solomon. Senior Joel Hill and sophomore Jordan Raby are at linebacker, while Busse also a defensive back.
“We know as a family what our goal is, and we know what we want to accomplish, and we know that the No. 1 ranking to start the season is great, and it’s a tremendous honor, but we want to finish No. 1,” Yates said. “We are not really concerned about where we are at right now. We want to keep climbing, and we want to make sure that we appreciate the journey along the way.”
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