By Jim Henry
jhenry@joplinglobe.com
Girard head coach Leon Miller doesn’t know what the football scheduling gods have against him.
“The last two years at Parsons, we opened against Fort Scott and Pittsburg (two perennial Southeast Kansas League favorites),” Miller said, jokingly. “And here we open against Colgan and Frontenac. Somebody doesn’t like me.”
St. Mary’s-Colgan and Girard, the top two teams in the CNC League coaches preseason poll, collide tonight in southeast Kansas’ Kickoff Classic. Game time is at 7 at Hutchinson Field.
The prep slate in northeast Oklahoma also starts tonight when Commerce visits Wyandotte at 7:30.
Miller, former head coach at Frontenac, is back in the CNC after his two-year stint at Parsons.
“It’s good to get to do some battles with some old buddies,” said Miller, who knows all about big-game atmospheres against Colgan. “They are going to do the same type of stuff they’ve been doing for years. I don’t expect them to change a whole lot.”
And, Panthers head coach Chuck Smith knows what to expect from the Miller-coached Trojans.
“I expect them to be a power team, line up and power right at us with isolation and veer,” Smith said. “Pound it out for a first down, play ball control ... that’s Leon Miller football. I hope we can prevent them from controlling the ball.”
The Panthers suffered heavy graduation losses from last year’s Class 2A state runner-up team.
“I don’t know if we’ve ever been this inexperienced before,” Smith said. “Stuart Jeck (wide receiver) is the only real starter back from last year’s offense, and Jeck and Chas (Smith) are the only two back on defense.
“We really haven’t had much contact because we’re so thin. I don’t think we can afford to have much contact.”
Chas Smith, Chuck’s youngest son, is the Panthers’ quarterback. Girard also has many new faces in the lineup, including quarterback Taylor Woods. The Trojans do return running back Darian Kelly, a senior who has verbally committed with the Kansas Jayhawks.
“Over offensive and defensive lines have the ability to be our strength,” Miller said. “Our skill positions are coming along. I think we’ll be fine there.
“Early in the year I anticipate our defense will be a little ahead of where our offense is, but that’s nothing new.”
In Northeast Oklahoma, Commerce and Wyandotte will renew their rivalry for the first time since 2005. Wyandotte moved up to Class 2A that season, while Commerce remained in Class A. They were unable to schedule each other in the 2006-07 seasons.
In the last meeting, Commerce clipped the Bears 35-28.
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