#VKFB18: With big-name quarterbacks gone, here’s how top high school teams are adapting

Almost no one seemed safe, and with less than a month to go, some are still unsure.

Bishop Carroll, Campus, Cheney, Collegiate, Eisenhower, Goddard, Maize South, Mulvane and Northwest each lost their All-League quarterback from 2017. All will have to find a new one ... or likely sink.

The Wichita area was home to some of the best passers in Kansas last season. Carroll’s Braden Howell was named to the Eagle’s All-State Top 11. Northwest’s Austin Anderson held the Grizzlies together through a state semifinal run. Mulvane’s Jayden Price was one of the most electric players in the state. And Goddard’s Blake Sullivan probably set more school records than any of them.

The teams listed above went a combined 72-29 with 17 playoff wins last year alone. Their quarterbacks were a big reason.

Carroll, the only defending state champion, ironically, might have the most undefined quarterback picture heading into the 2018 season. Senior Cade Becker and junior John Honas are in a battle for the starting job, which coach Dusty Trail said has to be decided by Aug. 31, when Carroll hosts Northwest.

Taking over for Howell won’t be easy. He was an energetic player who brought a level of experience and moxie that will be hard to replicate. Trail said it feels different

“He was so knowledgeable,” Trail said. “At least at that position, we’re starting from a lot further back than we were last year. Certain things are gonna look different.”

Trail said Monday Becker is probably the leader in the race just because of his experience mostly as a receiver, but Becker and Honas agreed the job will be won by making plays because that’s what Howell did a lot of last season.

“It just comes down to being a leader and stepping out of our comfort zone,” Honas said.

Northwest and Campus are in a similar spot.

Northwest, replacing Anderson, and Campus, with Federico Harvey Jr., are two teams expected to be among the top contenders in their respective leagues and classes. And both have transfer quarterbacks for 2018.

On the first day of the second semester, Grizzlies coach Steve Martin met Reagan Jones and thought his name sounded familiar.

“I said, ‘Didn’t you play quarterback for Andover Central?’ ” Martin said. “The only reason I knew was because he played against Andale, and my nephew plays for Andale. So I remember Jones lighting them up for 230 yards in game 1 and almost beating them.”

The idea of transferring to Northwest came during the Grizzlies’ semifinal game against Derby. Northwest lost 53-41, but it won a quarterback. Jones said he loved watching the offense and thought he could compete and win a spot, he said.

Jones, a junior, came into the program and won the team over in the weight room, Martin said. That has shown on the field as he and his teammates like All-State talent Breece Hall connected several times at practice Monday.

Jones was the first to finish his conditioning and had a solid command of the offense during the 7-on-7 segment of practice.

He said the transition hasn’t been easy, with people from Andover still questioning him about the move, but everyone at Northwest has embraced him, and they have gotten to work.

“All the guys have welcomed me with open arms,” Jones said. “State is the expectation for sure. I came here to win state and hopefully get an opportunity to play at the next level.”

For Campus, Evan Kruse has come in to quell the waters. A two-year starter at Wichita South, Kruse brings a level of experience at the quarterback spot coach Greg Slade said he was worried about after the Colts’ 2017 season ended.

Campus would have had to move Tyler Kahmann, an All-AVCTL I receiver, to the backfield, which would have limited the Colts’ explosiveness. Kruse will be key to opening up the offense.

“There was definitely a little bit of a relief when we found out he was going to come here,” Slade said. “Tyler does so much for us out wide, and we would like to keep him there.

“Evan has been a great leader for us so far. Just what we needed.”

At Goddard, the Lions will either go from within or roll with a transfer.

When Sullivan suffered a left shoulder injury in Goddard’s Class 5A quarterfinal, freshman Kyler Semrad stepped in and finished the job with a 28-13 win against Eisenhower. He finished with 68 passing yards and a touchdown.

But the transition to Semrad might not happen, first-year coach Tom Beason said. Senior Jared Mocaby has transferred back to Goddard after a year at Derby and is primed to compete for the starting job.

“If Jared sticks around last year, there probably would be no Kyler Semrad talk right now,” Beason said. “We were ready to make Jared the backup to Blake last year. He would have gone in in that game.”

There are exciting parts about having new quarterbacks in the Wichita area. Some will undoubtedly rise up to their predecessors’ bar and become all-league players themselves.

But there are still some throwers in Wichita that are looking to build off last season’s successes with the same team.

Andover coach Cade Armstrong has been strong on the improvement of sophomore Eli Fahnestock. Starting as a freshman, Fahnestock threw for 1,610 yards in 2017. He will be a name to watch.

Heights’ K’Vonte Baker will be another. Probably the most agile player in Wichita, Baker is back for his senior season with the Falcons and will look to improve from a 6-4 record in 2017 with first-year coach Dominick Dingle.

And McPherson’s Kyler Hoppes might be the best pure passer returning in the City League or AVCTL. In a run-heavy offense, Hoppes still threw for 1,936 yards and 23 touchdowns. He helped the Bullpups to a Class 4A-Division I semifinal.

Quarterbacks have gone from Wichita, but new names will rise or rise again in 2018. We will have to wait until Aug. 31 to see exactly who that might be.

This story was originally published August 14, 2018 at 5:34 PM.