By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
You’d have to go all the way back to 2009 to find a season in which the Lamar football team won fewer than 10 games.
In the 13 seasons since, the Tigers have earned eight state championships and won 166 of 184 games, including a 12-2 record last fall after falling in the Class 2 championship game for the second year in a row.
Those two losses last season – at Seneca in September and against Blair Oaks in the championship – came by a combined eight points.
“It was a great season, had a lot of really good things happen,” Lamar coach Jared Beshore said. “We had some adversity that hit early in the year, in midseason, but we bounced back and our kids finished the year really strong and gave us an opportunity to win a state title.”
Lamar once again filled up the postseason honors lists, including nine players who were named to the all-state team. Five of those have graduated, and the Tigers return only three full-time starters on offense from a team that averaged better than 46 points per game.
“If you count it up we bring back two offensive lineman and a receiver, but we also bring back four or five guys who played really high quality reps or started at least one game,” Beshore said. “Some coaches look at that and think you don’t bring back very many guys and at first glance we don’t, but we do bring back a lot of players offensively who played in meaningful games. We were down to our third string quarterback last year in the middle of the season so they got some pretty good reps.”
Senior wide receiver Ian Ngugi returns after earning second team all-state honors. He was a unanimous pick in the Big 8 West and also a first team all-region receiver. He totaled 26 receptions for 545 yards and six touchdowns.
“The best athlete on our team,” Beshore said. “We’re going to have to find ways to get the ball to him in multiple ways.”
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Senior Jose Juarez, a unanimous first team center in the Big 8, will move to right tackle this season and senior Aiden Loveall, a second team Big 8 guard who was also an all-region and all-district pick, will stay on the right side.
The others returning with some experience include backup quarterback Alex Wilkerson, a second team all-state punter who also excelled on the defensive side. Now a junior, he rushed for 305 yards and six touchdowns and completed 10 of 18 passing attempts for 251 yards and two scores.
“He came in and started against a really good team in Nevada last year and had a fantastic game,” Beshore said. “We didn’t miss a beat offensively. He’s going to be able to take the job solely this year with Joel (Beshore) graduating and we’re really excited to see what he’s going to be able to do.
Beshore, a first team all-state athlete, was the Class 2 offensive player of the year in the region.
Junior Cooper Haun, last year’s third-string quarterback, returns with experience at running back. He completed 7 of 7 passing attempts for 103 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 495 yards and six scores. He earned honorable mention all-region honors as a running back.
Senior running back Logan Kish started three games last year and would have played a bigger role if not for an injury. He had 326 yards and three touchdowns.
And on the offensive line, senior Ayden Forst (tackle) and junior Wylee Duncan (guard) will be expected to become full-time starters after getting good experience.
Lamar only allowed 11 points per game last season and posted five shutouts, and this year the Tigers return a handful of players who were key contributors on that side of the ball. They must replace several impact players, though, including defensive back Austin Wilkerson, a first team all-state pick who was the Big 8 West defensive player of the year and the Class 2 defensive player of the year in the region.
Defensive end Trace Wooldridge, at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, is “probably the best looking kid on our team,” Beshore said. He made 52 tackles and four sacks and was a first team all-region selection, an all-district pick and a second team honoree in the Big 8. Junior Xavier Pagacz (38 tackles, one sack) will play at the other end.
Junior Mario Delapena (47 tackles, 1.5 sacks) returns at tackle after starting the second half of the season. Senior Rourke Dillion returns at the other tackle spot after earning first team all-state honors. He was also a unanimous pick in the Big 8 and earned all-region and all-district honors after making 65 tackles and 1.5 sacks.
Senior Khiler Nance returns at middle linebacker after earning first team all-state honors. He was also a unanimous Big 8 selection and earned all-region and all-district honors after making 102 tackles and 3.5 sacks. He’s started since his sophomore season and will be “the guy that makes our defense go,” Beshore said.
Ngugi is back at corner after earning second team all-conference honors. He had 26 tackles, two interceptions and 11 pass breakups last season. And Alex Wilkerson returns at safety after earning first team honors in the Big 8 and on the all-region team. He had 65 tackles, six breakups and four interceptions.
One newcomer to watch this season is senior Chase Querry, who is, coincidentally, Beshore’s first cousin. He missed his junior season with an injury and Beshore said he could surprise other teams this fall.
“He’s probably going to play on both sides of the ball for us and maybe multiple skill positions,” he said. “He’s a kid looking to have a big senior year in really his only year to get a chance to play at the varsity level.”
The Tigers will welcome a familiar face to the sideline this fall in former head coach Scott Bailey, who spent the last two years coaching the defensive line at Webb City. He’ll do the same for Lamar and serve as special teams coordinator.
“He was wanting to come back home and finish out his career here with the program that he built,” Beshore said.
Bailey coached Lamar for 14 seasons before stepping down in 2019.
The Tigers will head to Joplin for a jamboree along with Webb City and Seneca and open the regular season at home against Marshfield on Aug. 25.
