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By Chris Parker
Fair Grove football returns eight offensive and nine defensive starters from last year’s team that finished 8-4 and was a district runner-up for a sixth consecutive season.
That experienced group of players has one goal in mind: win a district title.
“As a coach, I would say the same things I usually say that we want to be playing our best football at the end and getting better every week. All those things as a coach are very important to me. As a program, we talk about team chemistry and culture. I want to look back and make sure all of those things are going in the right direction and we don’t take any steps back,” Fair Grove head coach Bill Voorhis said. “If you ask the kids, they’re all going to tell you that they want a district championship. We have been in that game six years in a row and have taken home second place six years in a row. Every year since these (seniors) have been in seventh grade, our football program has been in that game and have yet to come out on top. I try to keep them focused on one game at a time, but they aren’t hiding from it. They want to win Week 12 and play in Week 13. That is their goal.”
Leading those returning players is quarterback Kody Stacye. Stacye earned third-team all-state honors at quarterback in Class 2 last year, which was his first season as a starting quarterback. He threw for 2,063 yards and 25 touchdowns while carrying the ball 153 times for 1,257 yards and 14 touchdowns.
His experience will help the Fair Grove offense take another step forward.
“We haven’t had a returning quarterback in five years. It’s just stability. That’s the position (quarterback) you have to take care of first. When that position is shaky, nothing else really matters. Knowing that position is steady, that he’s a good leader and that he’s a good kid; it just makes everything else so much smoother as far as installing things go,” Voorhis said. “Kody is to the point where he knows what I want even if I don’t relay it the way I need to relay it. He is a good enough leader that I can tell him what I want, and he can relay it to the guys and then it happens the way it needs to happen.”
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Stacye has shown marked improvement over the last year after starting all 12 games last season.
“He’s definitely way mentally stronger this year than he was coming in (last year). Coming in as a junior, he wasn’t a kid that dealt well with setbacks, or when things didn’t go well. He improved a lot last year with that,” Voorhis said. “Then this year, I’ve just seen a different approach (that is) more businesslike and more eye on the prize kind of ultimate goal. I know he wants to try and play football next year somewhere, so I think that that’s kind of the front of his mind, and his leadership skills to have begun to really take shape. The team is really molding around the way he handles the underclassmen and all the other guys on the team.”
The line in front of Stacye will be steady with all five senior starters returning led by second-team all-state offensive lineman Kyle Fritts and first-team all-conference offensive lineman Kyle Crutcher.
“As far as our (class) sized football, you would be hard-pressed to find two better guys. They’re three-year starters for us. They are both really special kids as far as work ethic and attitude,” Voorhis said. “Kyle can do some really special things, and he’s going to get a chance to play football at the next level somewhere. He is ranked No. 1 in the class (with) a 4.1-something GPA. He is the complete package. Lucas is a blue-collar kid. He just works hard every day. He has turned himself into a dang good football player.”
Kord Adams, Will McMains and Calvin Zuch also return to the experienced offensive line.
In the backfield, Zeke Schaffitzel was the team’s third-leading rusher as a junior with 87 carries and 673 yards for 12 touchdowns in limited games.
“Zeke was a kid who joined our school late as a sophomore. Early in his junior year of football he was really trying to figure things out. He really wasn’t a factor offensively until about Week Six last year,” Voorhis said. “He’s a special kid back there. We’re looking forward to seeing what he can do with a year under his belt. He’s had a great year in the weight room.”
Logan Daniels will be the team’s top threat at receiver in his senior year. Last year, Daniels had only two catches for 46 yards and a touchdown. Those numbers will increase exponentially this year.
“He (Daniels) will be one of our best offensive weapons this year. He had a great season in basketball as a point guard as a junior and had another great season this spring in baseball. He has really changed his body type. He used to be a smaller kid and now he’s an impressive looking kid to go along with the athletic ability,” Voorhis said.
Blake Lewis and Jimmy Vasquez will also play wide receiver.
Expect new wrinkles from the Fair Grove offense with all of the experience the Eagles have returning.
“We are exclusively RPO. Every running play we call has a passing component to it, and last year we even implemented some PRO’s where every passing play we called had a running component to it,” Voorhis said. “We are expecting to be further ahead in that part of the game to start the year.”
Defensively, there will be many familiar names from the offense.
It starts up front as will with Fritts and Kadyn Barnes. Fritts was a first-team all-conference selection on the defensive line after he had 67 total tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, five sacks and three forced fumbles last year. Barnes earned first-team all-conference honors as a defensive end with 62 total tackles and team-highs with 13 tackles for a loss and eight sacks.
“Defensively we are going to lean really heavily on our defensive line. Kyle and Kadyn are the two anchors of that,” Voorhis said. “Kadyn has just one speed. I think that is what makes him difficult to contain is that he is max effort the whole time. We do our best to make sure that he and Kyle don’t ever end up on the same side, so if they (the opposing team) are running away from one of them they have to be running at the other.”
Fritts will be integral to the team’s success on both sides of the ball rarely getting a break from playing on the offensive and defensive lines.
“He (Fritts) has the work ethic. He’s never a kid that you walk into the weight room and see that he’s taking time off or sitting down or sneaking to the bathroom or getting a drink. He’s always in there grinding. He’s a two-sport athlete, so him playing baseball in the spring is a big deal for him staying active,” Voorhis said. “He’s in the weight room twice a day. He lifts first hour in school, and then when we have after school weights in the offseason, he’s in there after school. He does what he needs to do away from here as far as getting sleep and eating properly. He is committed. He knows what it takes. His brother played at the Division II level and his cousin played a Kansas State and got drafted by the Broncos. He’s got all the examples in the world on what to do, and he knows what he wants to get out of this experience.”
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Braydon Bowmaker will also play on the defensive line.
The linebacking corps will be led by Schaffitzel and Cooper Roy. Schaffitzel led Fair Grove in solo tackles with 63 and assists with 25. He also had eight tackles for a loss, four sacks, two fumble recoveries, one interception and one forced fumble. He was named second-team all-conference for his efforts. Roy had 55 solo tackles and eight tackles for a loss as a junior.
Seniors Andrew Faubion and Skylair Teague will compete for time at linebacker along with Hayden Fullington.
The secondary will be anchored by Daniels, who has become a team leader. He had a team-high four interceptions with 36 solo tackles.
“He (Daniels) has turned into Coach (Ryan) Buffington’s leader on the defensive side. He’s going to move to our strong safety position. He is going to make all the calls and all the checks on the defensive side as far as the defensive backfield goes. He’s developed into that special kid. Especially for us and what we want to do, he is a kid that we can count on,” Voorhis said.
Fair Grove opens the season on Aug. 27 at home against Mountain Grove.
