2014 schedule

Carl Hecht, left, is one of six senior captains who have been working with the THS football team all summer. The team must replace nearly every starter this season.

Sept. 5 — vs. Perry

Sept. 12 — at Turner

Sept. 19 — at Lansing

Sept. 26 — vs. De Soto

Oct. 3 — vs. Bishop Ward

Oct. 10 — at Bonner Springs

Oct. 17 — vs. Atchison

Oct. 23 — at Piper

Oct. 31 — at BLHS

Tonganoxie High players have already spent months honing their skills, but early Monday morning, it finally became official. Football season is upon us.

THS officially opened the 2014 season at 12:01 a.m. Monday at Beatty Field. It was the first possible minute teams across the state were eligible for practice, and with so many new faces currently in the hunt for varsity spots, players wasted no time as they started to make their respective cases.

“I think everybody has been excited since football season got over last year,” said Carl Hecht, one of 11 Chieftain seniors and six captains. “Coming out here and finally getting to put helmets on is awesome, especially under the lights.”

Before Monday’s practice, Hecht and fellow captains Jared Sommers, Justyn Leslie, Ray Munoz, Greg DeVeau and Ben Clark spearheaded two weeks of senior-led practices, in which the team averaged an attendance of 30-35. Other offseason work included a team camp in June, a 7-on-7 tournament at Kansas State and a various 7-on-7 leagues with area schools.

Additionally, players have been hard at work in the weight room. Coach Al Troyer said turnout has been high throughout the roster, and as many as 10 players posted 100 percent attendance this summer.

In addition to helping younger players develop on the field, captains have used the summer schedule to hone their leadership skills, which will likely play a large role as the team tries to replace 18 seniors from last year’s 9-2 squad.

“I feel like we’re doing a pretty good job of being leaders,” Leslie said. “Not to put down any of the seniors from the past, but I think we’ve had the best senior-led practices we’ve had in a long time. The intensity was up then, but in a good way. I think we’ve made a lot of progress since the beginning of June when we had camp.”

Troyer, who enters his third season at THS, must replace almost every starter from last year’s team, which produced five college signees and won its second consecutive district title. But, despite the underclassmen’s lack of varsity experience, it didn’t take long for Troyer to see the benefits of the busy summer schedule when practice began Monday.

“When you’ve got close to 50 in the freshman and sophomore class, you’ve got things coming,” he said. “We’ve installed all summer, so by the time we get here, they know what the offense is. The drills are a little bit more crisp than they were a year ago. It’s an exciting time.”

The six senior captains bring the most varsity experience to the table this season, but others saw time in reserve roles. Sommers is arguably the team’s top returning player. He accounted for nine total offensive touchdowns and tied for the team lead with 81 tackles on defense.

Sommers and Hecht will both take snaps at quarterback, where they must replace 2014 grad Tyler Ford.

“We’re going to depend on each other quite a bit this year, and everybody else,” Sommers said. “It can’t just be two people out there running the show. We’ve been trying to get everyone as many reps as we can.”

THS will also be without its running back tandem of Cole Holloway and Shane Levy, who combined for more than 2,000 yards and 23 touchdowns, and top receivers Ben Johnson and Maleak Gibson, who teamed up for 11 scores through the air. Additionally, first-team All-Kaw Valley League tight end Wyatt Weeks is now at Emporia State.

Up front, the Chieftains must replace several starters, including Butler Community College signee and Kansas Shrine Bowl participant Cody Snyder. Leslie is the team’s most experienced lineman.

Defensively, the team is without seven of its eight leading tacklers, including defensive end James Grizzle, who had 11 sacks. Munoz, a linebacker, was second to Sommers among returning players with 38 stops in 2013. Clark was third with 10, but missed several games after suffering a concussion in the team’s district opener.

On special teams, Hecht returns as the Chieftain punter. He averaged 27.8 yards on eight punts a year ago. Troyer must fill the kicking void left by Eric Tate, who signed with Washburn University.

The Chieftains will open their season Sept. 5 at home against Big Seven opponent Perry-Lecompton. The teams were district opponents each of the last two seasons. New teams on the 2014 schedule are Frontier League school De Soto and Kaw Valley League foe Bonner Springs. They replace Class 5A Mill Valley and former district opponent Jeff West.

This year’s district slate, which begins Oct. 17, is comprised of Atchison, Piper and Basehor-Linwood. The Chieftains’ game at Piper will be played Oct. 23 — a Thursday — to accommodate for television scheduling.

“Everyone is really excited,” Sommers said. “It bring backs memories from Friday nights, but we’ve got a lot of work to do before we strap (our helmets) on again.”