Bob Lutz: Campus football tries to become relevant under Greg Slade

Derby and Haysville are two southern Sedgwick County towns located about six miles from one another.

But when it comes to football, there is a six-million mile divide.

The Panthers and Colts are football rivals, but not really.

Derby built a fantastic football tradition that blossomed in the 1970s and remains as strong as ever today.

Campus, which plays at Derby on Friday night, is tradition-less in football.

It seems strange, given the proximity of the towns.

Campus (2-4) has already won more games than it did under Greg Slade in his first two seasons, when the Colts were 1-8. And Slade has a program-building resume, having won a Class 4A championship at Rose Hill in 2011 after taking over a Rockets program 11 years earlier that had hit rock bottom.

“I knew what I was getting into here,” Slade said. “We play in one of the toughest leagues in the state (AV-CTL I) so we’re going to have to continue to improve. But we’re making progress. I feel like our overall team speed is better and that we’re doing the things that help build programs.”

Slade is probably right. But the established programs in his league — Derby, Hutchinson, Salina Central, Salina South — aren’t going anywhere. And Wichita schools West and South, which play in the same 6A district with Campus and Derby, are also getting better.

“Our athletic director (Richard Elliott) tells me every week to just keep chopping wood and that’s what we’re doing,” Slade said. “The kids are buying into what we’re doing and they’re doing a good job of being a part of our program. I’m having a great time.”

Derby has had four losing seasons in the previous 43 seasons.

Campus has had 10 winning seasons in the previous 44.

The Colts have made the playoffs twice and never won a postseason game.

Slade has put together a good offensive team this season, though. One that loves to pass.

Senior quarterback Coby Leeper is attempting just more than 35 passes per game — he has completed 122 of 214 attempts for 1,261 yards.

“We do run a lot of screens,” Slade said. “So the number of passing attempts is a little misleading.”

But Leeper, Slade said, is also an effective downfield passer and one of the Colts’ strengths this season is in their receiving corps. So why not pass?

“Colby’s coming along as a quarterback,” Slade said. “Unfortunately, he’s a senior and basically just getting one year.”

Leeper broke his arm in a preseason scrimmage before his sophomore season and played wide receiver as a junior in 2014.

“I was behind John Becker last year,” Leeper said. “Other than that, I’ve played quarterback my whole life.”

Leeper is hopeful the Colts can figure out a way to get into the playoffs this season, even in a tough district.

“There’s nothing I would rather do,” he said. “One of the best things about playing at Campus is that we’re always the underdogs. We know we play in one of the toughest leagues in the state but we want to be the best we possibly can be.”

Slade, Leeper said, is the right coach for a turnaround.

“The small stuff matters to him,” Leeper said. “And we know that he’s done it before at Rose Hill. There was a lot of hype around him when he came here but you can tell that the hype is real.”

Leeper said Slade never lets his guard down during drills or weights, even.

“If we’re lifting on a count of 3-2-1 then at 3 you need to have the bar up,” Leeper said. “If you don’t, you’re going to do push-ups. And when we’re running sprints you have to touch the line. You don’t miss it by a couple of inches.”

It’s that steadfast attention to detail that Leeper believes will ultimately make Slade and Campus successful as a football program.

But the Colts aren’t there yet.

There have been small victories for Campus over the years, but no breakthrough. The Colts were 10-63 in the previous eight seasons going into 2015 so getting to three or four wins would be a noticeable jump.

Slade would rather do almost anything than talk to reporters about the job of building a football program at Campus.

“I do not enjoy talking to you guys,” he said, referring to reporters. “I would rather talk to one of my kids or talk about our school. These kids are working hard and we have a good young coaching staff.”

Slade isn’t unfriendly. He doesn’t enjoy talking to reporters, but he does so willingly.

Trouble is, there’s not a whole lot to say. He’s in the process of doing what so many before him couldn’t do — trying to build something with the Campus football program.

Six miles to the east is Derby, one of the state’s best. Slade wants someday to be able to give the Panthers a surprise.

This story was originally published October 16, 2015 at 10:24 AM with the headline "Bob Lutz: Campus football tries to become relevant under Greg Slade."