Top Sunflower League Running Backs since 2000

Darren Sproles.  Photo courtesy the Kansas
City Star.

*Disclaimer: No current Sunflower League players were eligible in the selection process.

1. Darren Sproles, Olathe North, 1998-2000

Easy pick here.  Sproles combined to rush for 5,230 yards (a then Olathe North record) and 79 rushing touchdowns (a then Kansas record) during his time with Olathe North.  His efforts helped lead the Eagles to state championships in 1998 and 2000, and he was given the Simone Award in 2000.  After an All-American career at Kansas State he's gone on to have major success in the NFL with the Chargers and the now with the Saints.

2. James Franklin, Olathe North, 2007-2009

Franklin was a rushing yardage machine for Olathe North, despite the fact that his running style was less than orthadox.  As a sophomore he rushed for 1,142 yards and 16 touchdowns.  He followed that up by rushing for 1,971 yards and 22 touchdowns as a junior, then he hit the pinnacle rushing for 2,803 yards and 31 touchdowns as a senior in leading Olathe North to a state title while also claiming the Simone Award.  He broke Sproles' rushing record at Olathe North and he now holds the title with 5,916 career rushing yards.

3. Maurice Mack, Olathe North, 1999-2001

"Mo Mack" as he was known by the K-State faithful went on to enjoy success as a linebacker at the next level, but he was an absolutely dominant running back at Olathe North.  He didn't start at running back until his senior season because he was playing behind Sproles, but he no trouble taking the torch when he was called on to do so.  As a senior he rushed for 2,089 yards and 24 touchdowns, leading Olathe North to a state title and winning the Simone Award in the process.

Dee Bell.  Photo courtesy the Lawrence
Journal World.

4. Dee Bell, Olathe East, 2004-2006

Bell spent one season as Andre Jones' understudy in 2004, before taking over as Olathe East's primary ballcarier in 2005.  The transition went extremely well for the 5-foot-7 speed demon, as he rushed for 25 touchdowns and over 1,800 yards as Olathe East made it all the way to the 6A title game.  Olathe East lost a bunch of talent to graduation after the 2005 season, so naturally Bell became the focal point of defenses in 2006.  He still did quite well as a senior, rushing for 1,717 yards and 16 touchdowns.

5. Ryan Torain, SM Northwest, 2001-2003

Torain, like Sproles, is currently playing in the NFL where he is a member of the Washington Redskins.  His time in the NFL has come after a successful collegiate career in which he spent time at Butler C.C. as well as Arizona State.  Torain wasn't always a well-known commodity, however.  In fact, he didn't really blow up on the Kansas City high school scene until his senior year when he came out of nowhere to rush for over 1,900 yards and 25 touchdowns.  His efforts helped SM Northwest to a 9-2 record and a Sectional Round berth.

6. Justin Gore, Olathe North, 2002-2004

Gore doesn't carry the cloute of many of Olathe North's other famous running backs and that's probably because he didn't win a Simone Award, but he was one of the best running backs of the past 11 years in the league. His hallmark moment came in the 6A state title game against Hutchinson when he was a junior. He carried the ball 32 times for 175 yards and a touchdown, and it was enough to give the Eagles the victory. As a senior he led Olathe North to another title appearance, rushing for 1,845 yards and 31 touchdowns.

7. Jim Bouknight, Olathe North, 2000-2002

When you watched Bouknight run the football there wasn't anything that really jumped out about him.  He didn't have the speed of his precessors (Sproles and Mack) and he wasn't exactly physically imposing.  His will to succeed, however, was his greatest strength.  Opposing Sunflower League coaches probably felt they had finally caught a break once Mack graduated, but Bouknight turned out to be just as much of a headache, rushing for 2,793 yards and 34 touchdowns as a senior in 2002.  He led Olathe North to the 6A title, and he was awarded the Simone Award at season's end.

8. Joseph Harris, Olathe South, 1999-2001

Harris has never received his due because he was playing at the same time as guys like Sproles and Mack. Also, his team was knocked out of playoff contention in both his junior and senior seasons because they had to play Olathe North in districts and at the time only one team qualified from each district.  In nine games as a junior Harris totaled 1,018 yards and 21 touchdowns.  In a nine-game season as a senior he rushed for 1,484 yards and 28 touchdowns.

Chucky Hunter.  Photo courtesy the Lawrence
Journal World.

9. Chucky Hunter, Lawrence Free State, 2006-2008

If Hunter had run been two inches taller, 20 pounds heavier, and .2 seconds faster, he would have been on the rader of every major college football program in the country.  He ranks up their with Sproles as the shiftiest running back I've seen in the Sunflower League, and he just had the "knack" that all of the great running backs have with the ball in their hands.  His numbers were solid--he rushed for just under 2,800 yards in two years as the Free State starting tailback--but quarterback Camren Torneden carried the ball quite a bit, and in a more pro-style offense Hunter could have easily been a 2,000 yard back.

10. DJ Barnett, SM West, 2002-2004

Barnett has gone down in SM West lore as one of the best players in Vikings history and still to this day he is the benchmark for what their running backs strive for. Barnett struggled as a junior, rushing for just over 500 yards in a tumultuous 2-7 campaign. Fast forward to 2004 and Barnett matured into one of the best running backs in the city. He rushed for just over 1,900 yards and 18 touchdowns on the season, helping SM West to a 9-3 record. To this day I haven't seen a running back carry as much of a team's offensive workload as what Barnett handled in 2004.

Great Week One Games of the Past

Ryan Torain had a quiet junior season in
2002 at SM Northwest, but he broke out in
week one of the 2003 season and went on to
rush for over 1,900 yards.  He then starred at
Arizona State, and now he plays for the
Washington Redskins.

Sure the first week of the season doesn't hold playoff implications, but many times it is a tremendous gauge for the new star players and top teams of the Sunflower League.  Here is a look back through the decade at some of the top games and performances from week one games (this year's first Friday of play is September 2).

2003 - SM Northwest 36, Lawrence Free State 15, at SM North District Stadium

SM Northwest's Ryan Torain, currently a running back with the Washington Redskins, truly welcomed himself to the Sunflower League with a monster game in which he rushed for 179 yards and four touchdowns on runs of 73, 31, eight and 25 yards.  He added a fifth touchdown on a 95-yard kickoff return.

2003 - SM North 7, Olathe North 6, at ODAC

Did this game prove to be such a bad omen for Olathe North? No, they still claimed the 2003 6A state title after battling through a three-loss season, but it certainly showed the Eagles, and the league, that things were going to be different without Gene Wier.  Olathe North added two early field goals and maintained a 6-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter.  SM North was able to put together a drive that ended with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Mack Brown to Brooks Faddis.  SM North added the extra point and held on to end Olathe North's 38-game winning streak.

2004 - SM West 19, SM South 14, at SM South District Stadium

To most SM West faithful this was the sort of "turning point" in the program in the mid-2000s.  SM South scored an early touchdown to jump up 7-0.  SM West responded with a touchdown of their own, but they botched the extra point.  Next, SM South's Eric Monroe scooped up a fumble (one of six SM West fumbles that day) and took it 53 yards for a touchdown midway through the game to put SM South up again, 14-6.  SM West responded with two touchdowns, one of which came in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter, to claim the lead and the victory.  SM West would reel off wins in eight of their next 11 games in 2004.

2005 - Olathe South 21, Olathe North 14, at ODAC

Olathe North had waxed the floor with Olathe South in 2004, winning 31-7 in a blowout.  Olathe North lost quite a bit of talent (and their head coach John McCall) but most felt the Eagles would reload as usual--that proved to be quite wrong.  Olathe South was able to hold off the Eagles by a touchdown, much because of senior running back Devin Cummings who had rushing scores of 47 and nine yards that day.  Olathe North went on to lose their first three games and finish a lowly 6-5 (lowly by Olathe North standards that is).  Olathe South put together a very solid 9-2 season, losing in Sectionals to Lawrence.

Olathe South got off to a good start in 2007 with their
opening game win against Free State.  The team finished
the regular season with a 6-3 record, but won three games
in the playoffs to reach the state title game.  The finished
the season with a 9-4 record as the 6A state runner-up.

2007 - Olathe South 34, Lawrence Free State 27, at Haskell Stadium

Olathe South might have generated more hype prior to the 2007 season than just about any team I've seen.  The Falcons were wizards in 7-on-7 during the summer months and they even won a national tournament hosted at the University of Nebraska.  The Falcons were the unanimous choice as the top team in the league by the coaches. 

In this game they looked the part--quarterback Mike Keese passed for 289 yards and three touchdowns and the best part was that the Falcon defense didn't even have to show up and they still won!  That turned out to be the team's achilles heel as they lost three regular season games that year, all three times allowing 20 or more points.  They got their act together in the playoffs and fought their way to the title game where they fell short against Hutchinson.  One thing's for sure--this team was an juggernaut when it came to passing the football.

2009 - Olathe North 71, Leavenworth 6, at Abeles Field

Unlike most of the previous games this one wasn't even close.  However, this game was kind of the moment where the SL collectively realized that Olathe North was going to be good... really good.  Simone Award winner James Franklin had his most modest stat line of the season in this game rushing for a mere 132 yards and two touchdowns, and current K-State linebacker Tre Walker added three rushing touchdowns of his own.  This was the start of Olathe North run to a perfect 13-0 record and 6A state championship crown.

Sunflower League All-Decade Team: Mike Rivera

Name: Mike Rivera
School: Shawnee Mission Northwest
Graduated: 2004
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 230lbs.
Position: Linebacker

Of all the linebackers listed, it was perhaps Rivera who best fit the mold of a true, run-stuffing, dominant linebacker. Rivera imposed his will on the Sunflower League for several years with his big frame, as was the only linebacker on the list who earned All-State Class 6A honors more than once.

As a junior, Rivera was one of the lone bright spots for SM Northwest. The Cougars battled through and up and down season which culminated in a Regional Round playoff loss to Olathe East, 11-7. SM Northwest finished the 2002 season with a modest 5-5 record, but for players like Rivera, that wasn’t good enough. Rivera led the Cougars that season with 125 tackles from his middle linebacker position, and for his efforts he was awarded All-State Class 6A at linebacker. Quietly during the off season, Rivera and his fellow seniors were brewing what would become one of the better SM Northwest seasons of the decade.

After starting the 2003 season 1-1, Rivera and company rattled off eight straight wins. Rivera dominated as a middle linebacker, while also complimenting the offense from the tight end position. Running mate Ryan Torain (who played for the Denver Broncos for several seasons) rushed for over 1,600 yards on offense giving SM Northwest one of the best football teams in the KC Metro.

In the Regional Round of the playoffs SM Northwest dispatched SM south 41-26, and advanced to play defending 6A State champion Olathe North in the Sectional Round. SM Northwest fell behind early against Olathe North, and was never able to overcome the deficit, losing 17-7. Rivera and his teammates finished the season 9-2, the school’s best finish in years.

Rivera collected 149 tackles on the season, and was once again awarded All-State Class 6A honors. Rivera was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan award, given annually to the best interior football player in the Kansas City metro. Rivera was also named First-Team All-Metro Sports at the linebacker position.

Following the season Rivera accepted a scholarship offer from Kansas University. He was a three year starter at outside linebacker, and helped lead KU to an Orange Bowl victory in 2007. He is currently in the NFL on the roster of the Tennessee Titans.