Early 2010 Simone Award Favorites

At this point in time last year the only I made a similar list detailing my preseason favorites to win the 2009 Simone Award. The list included Olathe North's James Franklin (who obviously won the award), Blue Valley's Anthony Abenoja, Rockhurst's Sal Belfonte, Blue Springs' Keeston Terry, Free State's Camren Torneden and Bishop Miege's Justin McCay. As it turned out, Franklin was the only player on the list who was among the top four for the presitgious award (although it's worth noting that Terry won the Taylor Award as the top receiver in Kansas City).

Last year's results indicated two things. Most importantly, a player who is a finalist as a junior has a pretty decent shot at winning the award as a senior. Franklin, as well as 2008 winner Blaine Dalton were each finalists following their junior seasons and won the award as seniors. The only junior finalist in 2009 was Blue Springs running back Darrian Miller.

The second key thing to note is that the award is really a crapshoot--a sample of the the greater whole that is high school football.

In 2003 Rockhurst's Tony Temple was the talk of the Kansas City high school football scene. Temple was being hailed as the greatest high school football player in the history of the city, and was an overwhelming favorite to win the Simone Award in his fourth season as a starting running back. In the first game of the 2003 season Temple rushed for 249 yards and four touchdowns and was named the USA Today high school football player of the week. In week two Temple suffered a shoulder injury that virtually ended his senior season of high school football and chances of winning the Simone Award.

In 2007 the Simone was awarded to Rockhurst's Nathan Scheelhaase, the first junior to ever win the award. Scheelhaase looked like a lock to claim the award again in 2008, but in the end Dalton from rival Blue Springs South won the award.

Despite all the uncertainty, I have formulated a list of six players who I feel have the best chances at winning the award.

Darrian Miller

Blue Springs (MO) High School

Miller, like Temple and Scheelhaase were as seniors, is an overwhelming favorite to win the Simone Award in 2010. He was a finalist for the Simone Award in 2009, and many believe he actually should have won the award over Franklin--and if you base it on stats alone he maybe should have. As a junior Miller carried the ball 309 times for 2,798 yards and 37 touchdowns (by comparison Franklin rushed for 2,803 yards and 31 touchdowns). Miller also caught 24 passes for 375 yards and three touchdowns. Had Miller's Blue Springs team beat Hazelwood Central for the Missouri 6A crown, there was a pretty good chance he would have been the second ever junior to win the award. As a senior the 5-foot-10, 181 pound Miller is rated by Rivals.com as the 77th best player in the nation, and he holds offers from Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. Blue Springs will once again be one of the top teams in Missouri Class 6A in 2010 and Miller will be receiving his fair share of publicity. He is the early and clear favorite to claim the 2010 Simone Award

Victor Simmons

Olathe North (KS) High School

Simmons notoriety in Kansas City received a huge boost a week ago when he was offered by Kansas and shortly thereafter committed to the Jayhawks. Notoriety, after all, is perhaps the biggest key to winning the Simone Award and for Simmons he is now a household name with thousands of Kansas alumni throughout Kansas City. The biggest knock on Simmons is that he is simply a glorified running back. Simmons didn't do much passing for Olathe North last season, that duty was left to the other Eagle quarterback David Blazevic. Simmons primary role was executing the zone read option. He did well rushing for over 1,000 yards and he also helped Olathe North out in the defensive backfield. Ultimately the team won the 6A crown with the major boost that Simmons provided as a running threat. Olathe North, like Blue Springs, will be receving a great deal of publicity in Kansas City and Simmons had a chance to impress many of the Kansas alumni who are looking forward to seeing him play.

Brandon Willingham

Olathe East (KS) High School

Willingham won't be leaving the field much in 2010. Slotted as a starting running back, defensive back, and return specialist should help to boost Willingham's all-around statistics. Willingham will be leading yet another inexperienced, but talented Olathe East team in this upcoming season and just how well the Hawks do will be much attributed to how well Willingham is able to perform. Two players from Olathe East come to mind--Andre Jones and Derek Miller. Both players were multipurpose stars for Olathe East in the mid 2000s and both were Simone finalists. Willingham will play as important of role as both of those guys had for their respective teams, and should he tear it up, Willingham has a shot at the Simone.

Noah Pearl

Rockhurst (MO) High School

Pearl is quite an intriguing player. He split carries in the Hawklets backfield as a junior and churned out 1,400 yards, but he still remains under the radar. While he projects as as defensive back at the next level his skills at the running back position are undeniable. I see Pearl as an athlete with a boatload of untapped potential. Since Rockhurst runs a fairly balanced offense I think it will be hard for Pearl to surpass 2,000 rushing yards as a senior (the unwritten watermark for Simone Award winning running backs), but I still expect him do do big things for Rockhurst and potentially claim a spot amongst the four finalists for the award.

Adonis Saunders

Olathe North (KS) High School

It's not a stretch to call the running back position at Olathe North the "most highly acclaimed" of any position for any team in the metro. When you go back through the years Olathe North has never lacked a big time back. From Arland Bruce to Beno Gore to Darren Sproles, Maurice Mack to Jim Bouknight, Justin to Josh Gore, and the aforementioned James Franklin. Saunders looks to carry on the torch of the elite position in 2010. Saunders is probably the fastest player in the Sunflower League. He won the Kansas Class 6A 100 and 200 meter crowns as a sophomore, and may have repeated the feat this past Spring had he not injured his hamstring before the state meet. With speed to kill, Saunders will continue to be used in a variety of ways by Olathe North head coach Pete Flood--the first of which will be out of the team's highly successful Wildcat formation. Five Olathe North running backs have won the Simone Award, and Saunders has a good shot at being the sixth.

Cameron Coffman

Raymore-Peculiar (MO) High School

The Coffman family bloodlines run rampant throughout Jackson County. The father, Paul, played tight end for the Chiefs in the 1980s. Eldest son Chase plays for the Cincinnati Bengals and won the Simone Award in 2004 at Ray-Pec. Carson led Ray-Pec to two state titles and is the starting quarterback at Kansas State. Cameron has all the makings of the next great Coffman. With offers from Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa State, Arizona State and Wyoming, Cameron is by no means flying under the radar. In fact he is likely the most talented prep quarterback in the Kansas City metro. Coming off consecutive 2,000+ yard passing seasons Cameron has big expectations on his shoulders for the 2010 season.

Bubba Starling

Gardner-Edgerton (KS) High School

I initially completed this list with only the aforementioned six players, but something was telling me I was forgetting somebody. Low and behold Gardner-Edgerton's Starling committed to Nebraska several days later and I immediately realized who I had been forgetting. The 6-foot-5 Starling is one of the most dominant athletes the Kansas City Metro has seen in a few years. Not only is he rated by Rivals.com as the 99th high school football player in the nation, but he also boasts a 95 mph fastball and is expected to be selected in the first five rounds of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft. Starling is also a star on the basketball court for the Blazers. As a sophomore Starling passed for 1,141 yards and 11 touchdowns, and rushed for 1,033 yards and 10 touchdowns, in leading Gardner-Edgerton to the Class 5A Sub-State round. Last season as a junior he passed for 1,433 yards and 18 touchdowns and rushed for 1,381 yards and 19 touchdowns in leading the school to its first ever appareance in the 5A state championship.

(Side Note: My apologies for the lack of seperation of paragraphs. Blogger's space formating is nearly impossible to work with when you insert pictures, and it prevented me from properly spacing this entire post.)

News and Notes

**Construction in Lawrence is getting close to completion--at least on both the LHS and Free State football stadiums. Here is an LJWorld video covering the progress so far.

**Bishop Miege standout Justin McCay (right), rated by Rivals.com as the 34th best player in the class of 2010 has committed to Oklahoma. McCay has received as much pub as any player in the KC Metro this year, and for good reason. After a dominate junior season McCay received offers from schools the likes of Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Florida, and every Big 12 North school. McCay's claims his commitment is a "soft verbal," and that he still wants to see what Kansas State has to offer. However, chances are he remains committed to Oklahoma when all is said and done.

**Two-a-Days have kicked off on the Missouri side of the metro, yet new KSHSAA rules prohibit the Kansas side from conducting practices prior to the start of the school year.

**Also, just in case you were wondering, 24 days remain until Kansas high school football kicks off on September 4th.

The Sunflower matchups the opening Friday are as follows:

Lawrence at SM North
SM South at SM Northwest
SM East at Olathe Northwest
Olathe North at Leavenworth
Lawrence Free State at Olathe East
SM West at Olathe South

Early Simone Award Favorites

The football season is slowly creeping up, with a mere 10 weeks remaining until opening kickoffs around the nation. And while 10 weeks is still a good chunk of time, it is never too early to start talking about the potential Simone Award winners. Let my start be giving a little information on the the Simone Award...

The History

Originally, the award for the best high school football player in the Kansas City metropolitan area was the D.M. Nigro Award. The award was given annually from 1931 until 1975 (the year of D.M. Nigro's death). Following Nigro's death, no top player award was handed out from the years of 1975 to 1982.

In April of 1983, Tommy Simone, a 12 year old from the Northland was stuck and killed by a police car that was responding to a distress call. Tommy was known an ultimate competitor, and his death left the community in shock. To honor Tommy, his parents came up with the idea of reinstating the annual award for the best high school football player in Kansas City, hence the arrival of the Simone Award.

The Simone Award has been given annually since 1983. The final verdict on the winner of the award is made up of votes casted by members of the Greater Kansas City Coaches Football Association and select members of the local media. By maintaing the elite prestigous of the Simone Award on a yearly basis, the memory of Tommy Simone has been enshrined in Kansas City history.

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Past Winners

Perhaps the more recent and most intriguing of the winners include NFL players the likes of Ladell Betts (1996), Darren Sproles (2000), Chase Coffman (2004), and Josh Freeman (2006). But the most interesting thing about many of the winners that haven't gone on to the NFL is the lives they lead after their Simone days, that don't necessarily involve the stardom they received in high school.

Josh Brewer (1997) and Michael Keenan (2003) went on to join the Armed Forces after deciding that serving their country was of the very high importance in their lives. Some, like Jason Thoren (1993) have decided the coaching route is the best option (Thoren serves as the defensive coordinator at Baker University). Others, like Arland Bruce (1995) have even headed North of the border to reach their peak (Bruce stars in the Canadian Football League for the Toronto Arganauts).

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Early Favorites for the 2009 Simone Award

Anthony Abenoja, Quarterback, Blue Valley:

Can Abenoja joins the likes of past past Blue Valley Simone winners Andy Murray (1991) and Zach Rampy (2006)? That is the one of the bigger questions facing Abenoja as he enters his third year as the starting quarterback for the Blue Valley Tigers, one of the more prestigious football programs in the state.

Abenoja led Blue Valley to the 6A Sub-State game last season, where they fell to Lawrence Free State 14-7. Abenoja played his worst game of the season against Free State, and likely that failure will drive him to have an excellent senior season with few let downs. With good size (6'2" 190) and a great offense to run, Abenoja will have an explosive senior season.

Sal Belfonte, Running Back/Linebacker, Rockhurst:

The last Belfonte that was in position to win a Simone was Sal's older brother, DJ, who graduated in 2006. DJ was Mr. Everything on the football field for Rockhurst and looked primed to win the Simone until a devastating season ending injury took him out of play during the 2005 season. It is now Sal's turn at the award.

After losing leaders Nathan Scheelhaase and Keith Langtry to graduation, the eyes of everyone on the Rockhurst roster will be on Belftonte. I'm guessing he will be up for the challenge. Belfonte is an explosive player (4.5 forty) with a physicallity that you usually don't see in anyone weighing under 300 pounds. Belfonte will receive as much exposure as any of the players on this short list, due to that fact that he plays for Rockhurst, arguably the most prestigious high school football school in KC.














Camren Torneden, Quarterback, Lawrence Free State:

Camren Torneden is the most explosive football player I have seen in the Sunflower Conference since Darren Sproles. There, I said it. Not buying it? Check out Torneden's highlights here. Might I add, if Torneden was 6 foot tall (as opposed to 5'7") he would be getting as much D1 attention as anyone in the state. He is just that explosive...but his height is what seems to be scaring the D1 colleges away from giving him offers.

I fully expect Torneden to be as elusive and dominant as he was last season (1,362 rushing yards and 1,042 passing yards in 11 starts). Torneden will put up the numbers, its just a matter of whether or not Lawrence Free State does well enough for him to receive alot of attention locally in the KC Metro. Keep in mind, only one player from the city has even won the Simone Award, and that was Jason Thoren of Lawrence High School in 1994.














Justin McCay, Wide Receiver, Bishop Miege:

Justin McCay has gained ALOT of attention in just this past off-season. Offers from big time schools the likes of Florida, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Florida State, Georgia, among others, will do that. McCay is currently ranked by Rivals.com as the 31st best player in the nation for the Class of 2010. The KC Metro has not had a player ranked as highly as McCay in years.

For those very reasons, McCay will have a microscope on him the size of Johnson County. Every game of his will be analyzed by critics, scouts, and the media. If he performs well, everything will be gravy for the 6'3" 200 pound stud. If he doesn't put up the biggest numbers, the critcs will be out in droves...but, I tend to think McCay will have a pretty dominant senior season--and I feel he will outperform his numbers of last year.













Keeston Terry, Wide Receiver, Blue Springs:

Terry may by the Darkhorse in the running for the Simone, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have the credentials to potentially take the award. First off, he plays at Missouri Class 6A powerhouse, Blue Springs High School. Secondly, his coach, Kelly Donahue, is as good as any in the metro at putting the ball in his playmakers hands (Kevin Zey, Darius Hill, and Carlos Anderson come to mind). And finally, Terry has committed to play at the University of Nebraska. This pledge of his will draw even more attention from locals, and his label as a "D1" player will attract quite a bit of attention on its own.

Terry will definately have his opportunities to show his skills this season. With games against Rockhurst and Blue Springs South, it is almost a guarantee that he and Blue Springs will have many appearences on the Metro Sports, HyVee High School Game of the Week. Terry will get the pub he needs, it will just be a matter of him coming through and establishing himself as the most dominant receiver and defensive back in the city.














James Franklin, Running Back, Olathe North:

Franklin is the next big back in the storied history of Olathe North football. Will he live up to the levels of his predecessors who won the Simone (Arland Bruce '95, Darren Sproles '00, Maurice Mack '01, Jim Bouknight '02)? That seems to be one of the bigger questions flowing around the preseason talk of the Sunflower League.

One thing that is intersting to note: Franklin was the only player on this list that was invited to the Simone ceremonies as a junior, meaning as a junior Franklin was in the top four of the Simone voting. What this tells me is that as long as Franklin produces like he did last season, he won't be losing any votes on the Simone campaign. He only has votes to gain in his senior season. After ending the 2008 season on a tear of 200 yard rushing games, it looks like Franklin will be back for blood again in 2009, as hungry as ever.