The Eagle’s 55th annual Top 11 football team (+video)

Amani Bledsoe

Lawrence OL-DL

Senior

▪ Bledsoe (6-foot-5, 272 pounds) runs a 4.7 40-yard dash and is a four-star recruit with more than 30 offers from major colleges. Rivals.com ranked him Kansas’ best player. He had 89 tackles, 13 for loss and 11 sacks as he helped lead Lawrence to a 10-1 record. He had 48 pancake blocks.

▪ Already a full-time two-way player, he asked to play special teams and blocked three punts.

▪ A three-year starter, he was regularly double- and triple-teamed, but routinely found a way to make a big play. If Lawrence needed a stop, he often made a sack or a tackle for loss. The Lions ran his direction with running back JD Woods, who had 1,900 rushing yards.

Coach Dirk Wedd: “He’s got the best feet I’ve ever seen. He’s probably right there with Jumpy Geathers, who played at Wichita State and about 15 years in the NFL. He reminds me a lot of him because of his unbelievable speed and quickness coming off the ball. On defense, wherever you put him, they’ll check away. He’s the type of player on defense that you have to know where he’s at all the time.”

Dawson Downing

Bishop Miege RB

Senior

▪ Downing (6-foot, 210) had 1,904 rushing yards and 42 touchdowns as he led Miege to a 12-1 record and its second straight Class 4A-I title with a 68-12 win over Andover Central. He was 25-1 in the past two years and had 4,447 career rushing yards with 78 touchdowns.

▪ An explosive, speedy back who thrived going up the middle of the line, Downing had 231 rushing yards and six touchdowns in the title game.

▪ Downing had a high of 30 carries. His second-highest total was 26 in the championship. He averaged 9.2 yards per carry and with a sophomore at quarterback, he was able to carry the bulk of the offense early.

Coach Jon Holmes: “The best thing is, he never goes down on the first contact. He gets a lot of his yards after contact. There were a lot of plays this year where it wasn’t blocked right or there was an extra guy in the box, but all it took is him just making one guy miss. He was able to do that a lot. He also keeps his legs driving. He was never knocked back when he was tackled.”

Tucker Horak

Rossville QB-DB

Senior

▪ Horak (5-10, 180) led Rossville to its second straight 14-0 season and Class 3A title with a 20-19 win over Wichita Collegiate. Horak scored three touchdowns, including recovering a fumble early in the fourth quarter and returning it 65 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.

▪ Horak had 199 carries for 2,859 rushing yards and 47 touchdowns. He also completed 80 percent of his passes and had 2,070 passing yards and 30 touchdowns. In his career, he accounted for 12,454 yards of total offense and 186 touchdowns. He was 40-1 as a starting quarterback.

▪ An exciting player, he had the ability to create a play out of seemingly nothing, whether he squeezed through a mass of defenders or spun off a would-be tackler.

Coach Derick Hammes: “He’s going to do something you’ve never seen before. Whether it’s with extra effort or with an incredible run, it’s always the unexpected. We get to see it every day…. He’d have over 1,000 (rushing) yards if it was a touch football game because he has the ability to make the first person miss, and oftentimes, it’s two or three people. Then just when you think he’ll make a move on you, he’ll lower his shoulder.”

Christian Jegen

Mill Valley WR-DB

Senior

▪ Jegen (6-2, 200) led Mill Valley to its first championship game, the Class 5A title with a 35-14 win over Bishop Carroll and a 12-1 record. A do-everything athlete, Jegen had 65 catches for 1,274 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also led Mill Valley with 824 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. In the semifinal win over St. Thomas Aquinas, he had seven touchdowns.

▪ He runs precise routes, has speeds and also has the receiver necessity — good hands. His leaping ability allows him to catch the ball at its highest point, frustrating defenders.

▪ With a lack of depth at running back, Mill Valley used Jegen there, too. His explosiveness and ability to make big plays created a need for him to have the ball in his hands. He averaged one touchdown every five times he had a carry or reception. He had 2,523 career receiving yards and was named the Kansas Gatorade player of the year.

Coach Joel Applebee: “What’s amazing is he never takes a direct blow. He understands space. He has great vision. Honestly, he’s got it all. His ability to get into open space or fit through a space quickly or the vision to see the field to make the cut, it’s all there.”

Noah Johnson

Bishop Carroll OL

Senior

▪ Johnson (6-2, 275), a three-year starter and captain the past two seasons, led Carroll to its second straight Class 5A title game and third in four seasons. He was 34-3 as a starter and played a key role in the Eagle’s 2014 unbeaten season.

▪ Was a vital leader as Carroll lost marquee players throughout the season to injury, yet he kept the offense and defense stable as the Eagles went on an 11-game winning streak. Carroll averaged 45.8 points and had nearly 5,000 offensive yards.

▪ A technically sound lineman, he is especially tenacious and plays more like a defensive player than an offensive lineman.

Coach Alan Schuckman: “He’s a kid that you can sit there and focus on the film and watch him. He’s that fun to watch. He plays so hard. On Saturday (in the title game), he’s engaged with a defensive lineman, driving him three yards down the field. We threw the ball and got an illegal man downfield call. He’s going to own you. I’ve coached a lot of kids, and his mentality is different.”

Kaelin Key

Bishop Miege DL

Senior

▪ Key (6-foot, 265) helped lead the Stags to a 12-1 record and their second straight Class 4A-I title. Miege’s defense allowed an average of 16 points and gave up as little as 12 points twice in the playoffs.

▪ Key had 102 tackles, including 60 solo tackles and 31 for loss. He had eight sacks and recovered a fumble and scored. In the title game he had five tackles, four for loss. He had 267 career tackles with 67 for loss and 20 sacks.

▪ He started as a freshman, a rarity on the defensive line, but was an impact player the next three seasons and usually drew double teams.

Coach Jon Holmes: “He’s one of those guys you felt at times didn’t get the attention he deserved. He set out to prove he’s one of the best players in the state. He was a dominant force up front….. He didn’t make all the plays, but he created a lot of attention so our linebackers made plays. I think it starts with his strength; he’s a strong player. It goes into technique; a lot of the college guys have talked about how active his hands and feet are for a guy his size. He can make plays at the line of scrimmage and in the backfield.”

Jace McDown

Columbus RB-LB

Senior

▪ McDown (6-foot, 215), who throws the shot put and runs the 100 meters in track, is a strong back who opponents struggled mightily to tackle. It often took multiple defenders to stop him because of his mix of strength and speed.

▪ He had 228 carries for 2,667 rushing yards and 39 touchdowns as he led Columbus to the Class 4A-II semifinals and an 11-1 record. He also had 121 tackles.

▪ With a 28-0 lead at the half in Columbus’ first-round playoff game, McDown was done offensively. But he wanted to remain in on defense, where he had 24 tackles.

Coach Daniel Grundy: “It’s his eternal goal-setting and how driven he is. I’ve never seen a kid who is so driven. When he chooses to do something, he’s all in. One hundred percent. For example with his powerlifting — he tries to get all the kids over to come over and life. When we have off days, he’s lifting. And he was motivated by last year’s score in the (4A-II) championship game. We lost 49-6. He had a reminder on his phone every day with that score. It motivated him.”

Darraja Parnell

Andover Central WR-DB

Senior

▪ Parnell (6-3, 185), who didn’t play football his first two years at Andover Central, helped lead the Jaguars to their first championship game and a 10-3 record. They beat Topeka Hayden 28-2 in the Class 4A-I semifinals and played Miege for the title.

▪ Parnell can jump over defenders to make a catch and then outrace them for big gains. He made an oral commitment to play basketball at Central Arkansas but hasn’t signed yet because he picked up a football scholarship offer from Toledo.

▪ He had 1,317 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns. He also had two touchdowns on punt returns, two on interception returns and one on a fumble return. He had 98 tackles.

Coach Tom Audley: “He’s been an impact player for the past two years. The little things, though, he didn’t get any credit for being a great blocker…. With his long arms, people can’t get off him. He did that throughout the year. He’s very athletic and he has a drive. He wants to be good. What he’s doing is amazing; that after taking two years off from football, that he figured out his skill set so quickly. If he wants to play college football, I’d say there’s a lot of potential that hasn’t come out yet.”

Ian Rudzik

Ulysses RB-LB

Senior

▪ Rudzik (6-2, 220) had a combination of physicality and speed that created havoc for opponents because he could either run over defenders or around them. He had 202 carries for 1,929 yards and 24 touchdowns as he led Ulysses to the Class 4A-I playoffs and a 8-2 record.

▪ Rudzik finished with 7,164 career rushing yards on 794 carries and had 91 rushing touchdowns. He lost one fumble in his career. He also was a four-event track qualifier and won the 4A shot put in May.

▪ He had 103 tackles, 20 for loss, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and seven sacks. Had good instincts defensively, but if he made a mistake, he could adjust quickly and recover.

Coach Jason Kenny: “Very seldom do you have a kid with that size and that speed, and he has the great instincts to go along with it. It’s his passion for the game, too. He surprises me every practice and every game. You don’t see kids doing what he does. He can make full speed cuts, run around someone, run over someone and run by someone.”

Brady Rust

Derby QB

Senior

▪ Rust (5-10, 180) led Derby to its second Class 6A title in three seasons with a 12-1 record. The Panthers’ only loss was 27-20 at Mill Valley, the Class 5A champion. In the title game, he had 309 rushing yards and two touchdowns, 97 passing yards and two touchdowns.

▪ Garrett Xanders, Derby’s primary back, suffered a season-ending injury, which put the bulk of the offense on Rust’s shoulders. He handled it well. Rust had 2,118 rushing yards with 33 touchdowns and also had 1,730 passing yards and 24 touchdowns. He had more than 1,500 offensive yards in four postseason games.

▪ Rust was patient, waiting for his blocks to set up and for the defense to tip its hand so he could exploit what was left available.

Coach Brandon Clark: “He has all the things you can’t coach up. He’s mentally strong, and having a year underneath his belt helped out tremendously. He’s a born leader…. He’s quick, he’s smart. A lot of times even I would say, ‘Run, run!’ and he was just waiting for stuff to set up. His mental makeup was second to none.”

Bryce Torneden

Free State QB-DB

Senior

▪ Torneden (5-10, 185) completed 87 of 150 passes for 1,323 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also had 210 carries for 1,119 yards and 13 touchdowns. Torneden has made an oral commitment to play at North Dakota State.

▪ Torneden was a dynamic two-way player who opponents had to focus on stopping offensively and avoiding defensively. He led Free State to an 8-4 record, an eight-game winning streak and a win over Wichita Northwest in the quarterfinals during which he scored touchdowns in four ways. Free State’s season ended with a loss to eventual 6A champion Derby in the semifinals.

▪ He had 84 tackles and four interceptions, and called the defense. A three-year starter, he could also get into the backfield for a tackle.

Coach Bob Lisher: “He’s so deceptive. He’s got that wiggle and the speed to go with it. Once he’d make you miss, he could outrun you. I made him run out of bounds, but he didn’t want to run out of bounds. He wanted to run over you. For his size, he packed a wallop.”

Coach Brandon Clark

Derby

▪ Clark led Derby to its second Class 6A title in three seasons. The Panthers finished 12-1 and beat Blue Valley 27-14.

▪ Derby’s only loss was to Mill Valley, the Class 5A champion, which is coached by Joel Applebee, who is Clark’s cousin and close friend.

▪ Clark, in his 10th season, is 80-35. The Panthers have been to the 6A semifinals six of the past eight seasons and are 43-6 in the past four seasons.

Quarterback Brady Rust: “He’s so devoted to it, he loves it, he’s so passionate about football. He’s going to do everything it takes to make us better football players and better young men. He doesn’t give half effort. Since he loves it, he’s going to pour everything into it.

“He’s helped me improve my four years. I used to not be able to throw the ball very well. He saw potential, and he didn’t give up on me. He can do it to everybody. Everyone sees that he yells a lot, but he’s not yelling because he doesn’t care. He cares a lot about all of us.”

This story was originally published December 5, 2015 at 8:57 AM with the headline "The Eagle’s 55th annual Top 11 football team (+video)."