Sixth-year St. James Academy head coach Tom Radke calls senior free safety Clay Lautt the hardest working player he has ever coached. Lautt collected 79 tackles and a team-high five interceptions last season.
Lautt, a defending state wrestling champion and North Carolina wrestling commit, has football practice and then will wrestle. He will miss the season’s second and third games because of competing with Team USA in Greco-Roman wrestling across the globe in Tbilisi, Georgia.
“Everybody feeds off of him,” Radke said.
Senior linebacker Bryce Steffens started the last five games of his freshman season at wide receiver. Since then, Steffens has started every contest at linebacker. In February, Steffens was selected to the USA Football International Under-17 team. Steffens, expected to play tight end and fullback, has 115 tackles with five forced fumbles the last two falls.
“He just gets football,” Radke said. “He knows where the ball is going to go. He watches film relentlessly. Football is his life. You get a few of those kids every once in awhile, and it’s just fun to watch.”
At quarterback, senior Sammy Wheeler’s dad and uncles all played for Kansas State. Wheeler has attended Wildcat camps since he was a child. Radke uses the expression “Wow” when he watches Wheeler’s arm, a delivery that’s accurate, quick and strong. Some of the SJA’s receivers have trouble catching the ball because of the speed.
Senior Dylan Streeter finished with 12 total scores, including three on special teams last fall. He opened the year at cornerback and then moved to tailback because of an injury.
Streeter tallied 445 return yards and 706 yards rushing. Radke looks to use Streeter in the same multi-purpose role that Mill Valley deployed Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year Christian Jegen en route to a 5A crown last fall.
Lautt, Steffens, Wheeler and Streeter headline an extremely talented Thunder roster that finished 9-2 and won the first playoff game in school annals. This season, St. James and Mill Valley both move to the Eastern Kansas League. The No. 3 Jaguars, with three offensive and two starters back, face the No. 4 Thunder on Friday.
“This year, we’ve got some guys with some experience,” Radke said. “We’ve got some top-end talent at some spots. If we stay healthy – and that’s always the biggest thing – if we stay healthy, we’ve got a shot at making a pretty good run.”
Mill Valley graduated Jegen, standout quarterback Logan Koch (45 TDs accounted for) and 10 of its top 11 tacklers off a 12-1 team that rolled to its first state crown.
The Jaguars’ strength is its line with seniors Keegan Zars (6-4, 285) and Jack Cooley (6-3, 265) and junior Mitchell Grissom (6-2, 260) on the offensive side, along with senior D.J. Graviette (6-1, 250) on defense. Zars has received an Air Force scholarship.
Coaches Rick Pollard and Alex Houlton guided a standout o-line that included North Dakota State commit Ben Hecht last season. Andrew Hudgins leads the defense and Eric Thomas – who predates seventh-year coach Joel Applebee at Mill Valley - helps with the defensive line. The Jags led 5A with 42.8 points a game and were first with just 13.6 allowed.
“It takes hard work, and there’s no way getting around it,” Applebee said. “Now, that that’s been established and people understand now we’re there, and now we’ve got to work even harder, and that’s something that our kids have really bought into, and really just kind of put their head down.”
Junior Brody Flaming is expected to take over under center. He completed 10 of 16 passes for 97 yards for a score in spot time last year.
Seniors Payton Marlow, Brady Garrison and Ben Hartman combined for 32 catches in 2015. Junior Evan Rice has improved and should time on the outside. Sophomores Cameron Young and Trevor Wieschhaus will step in at running back. Junior Ike Valencia (637 rushing yards) will play defensive line.
Senior safety Joel Donn (74 tackles) serves as the defensive leader. Mill Valley has 24 seniors. The Jaguars defeated St. James, 17-14, and 45-14 in district play the past two seasons.
“We’ve really stressed honestly, it’s a new year, it’s a new team,” Applebee said. “We are not looking necessarily into the past and trying to understand how we do things. We are really looking to the future and what do we have and what are we going to do to win ballgames. All these guys have really stepped up.”
Radke believes Friday’s game will be decided in the trenches. He is pleased with his front six on defense with senior Dominic Stean and Steffens returning at linebacker in the 4-2-5.
Junior Nick Farnsworth and senior Conor Mehrer are back at defensive tackle. Seniors Travis Pickert and Will Crabtree are new starters at defensive end. Senior Zac Storm played at a high level after he started at cornerback in Week 2 and finished with three interceptions. Storm will play safety in Lautt’s stead.
St. James allowed 15.4 points per game in ’15, third best in 5A. In ’14, the Thunder were second with just 12 points permitted.
Radke said multiple opponents say St. James is the hardest-hitting team they see all season. The Thunder works on tackling everyday with bag work and Radke frequently harps on pad level and footwork. Radke said the Thunder have “bought in” to playing relentless.
“We won a lot of games because of it,” Radke said of the tackling work.
On the offensive side, 6-3, 265-pound senior Nick Kalny, also a rugby player, started every game at left tackle.
Senior Connor Mayfield (6-0, 211) returns as the starting center, while senior Noah Bates (6-5, 225) started at right tackle. The trio permitted just two sacks. Radke called his line “really, really smart.” Junior wide receiver Mason Dunsmore, the team’s leading receiver, will not play this season because of injury.
Radke, a former Iowa State walk-on who earned three varsity letters and had a key role on special teams, spends ample time coaching the special teams along with Tanner Hageman, a former Fort Hays standout. Last season, St James led Kansas with 27.6 yards a punt return and averaged 25.2 per kick return.
“Big, big special place in my heart for special teams,” Radke said.
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