Who’s next? Replacing one of the best recruiting classes to ever come through Wichita
Last year, seven high school seniors and Division I athletes gathered in Wichita’s Old Town Square for The Eagle’s All-Metro photo shoot; it was believed to be a record.
In fact, 10 Division I athletes across all sports played their high school football in the Wichita area last year. A pair of All-Americans from the same team, an Ivy League scholar and an in-state pledge to Kansas helped create one of the best high school football recruiting classes to come through Wichita.
They are all gone now, however, so who is next to carry the flag? Here’s a closer look at what the Wichita area is looking to replace:
Mason Fairchild, TE/DE - Kansas (Andale)
Montez Robinson, WR - Buffalo (Arkansas City) *Wrestling
Clay Cundiff, TE - Wisconsin (Bishop Carroll)
Quinton Hicks, LB/TE - South Dakota State (Campus)
Cade Lindsey, LB - Oklahoma State (Derby) *Wrestling
Scott Valentas, S/RB - Columbia (Kapaun Mt. Carmel)
Caleb Grill, QB/P - Iowa State (Maize) *Basketball
Tim Lambert, QB/RB - Kansas State (Smoky Valley) *Track and Field
Breece Hall, RB - Iowa State (Wichita Northwest)
Marcus Hicks, DE - Oklahoma (Wichita Northwest)
Breece Hall, a former Wichita Northwest running back, was almost without question the area’s top player last year. He finished his senior season with 2,127 rushing yards and 38 total touchdowns. He led Northwest to the Class 5A championship game and was named a High School All-American along with almost every other major accolade in Kansas high school football.
Hall was recently named a preseason Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America.
And on the other side of the ball last year, Northwest had another All-American in defensive end Marcus Hicks. Hicks signed with Oklahoma and will compete for playing time this season. At 6-foot-6, 245 pounds, he was easily the most physically imposing player in the area and finished his senior season with 45 tackles, 26 for losses, and seven sacks.
Together, Hicks and Hall were the first pair of All-Americans to come out of the same Wichita area high school class. Now it’s senior quarterback Reagan Jones’ turn.
Jones was named to the Eagle’s All-Metro team last year after throwing for 2,414 yards and a school-record 31 touchdowns. He also added 1,393 rushing yards and 20 more touchdowns.
Jones was criticized for his transfer from Andover Central to Northwest ahead of the 2018 season, but it paid off in his verbal commitment to Division II Missouri Western.
“I have great coaches that work hard and develop players,” Northwest coach Steve Martin said. “I hear so many times, ‘You guys have all this natural talent.’ No. We work our tails off when these guys come in as freshmen. We’ve had numerous kids that we never thought would be able to play a down for us who have risen to the occasion when their time is called.”
A few miles farther northwest of the Wichita area, two players are looking to replace one instead of the other way around.
Maize’s Caleb Grill was the area’s wunderkind last year. He was named to the All-Metro team in football as the Eagles’ quarterback, basketball as their star guard and track as a champion high jumper. Although he committed to Iowa State for basketball, he had an ISU football coach ask whether he would be interested in playing both.
Last year, Grill was named to the Eagle’s Top 11 team for throwing 3,122 yards, which was second-best in Kansas. He helped Maize to its best season in school history, reaching the Class 5A semifinals before falling to Hicks and Hall’s Northwest group.
Maize won 10 games last fall, but because Grill is gone, some are projecting a down year for the Eagles. Rising seniors Caden Cox and Preven Christon said they believe otherwise.
Christon was an All-Metro receiver last year. He caught 56 balls from Grill and totaled 890 yards and 11 touchdowns. He said every season he has been at Maize, the Eagles have proven doubters wrong and will again this year.
In the backfield, not all is lost. Cox was named to the AVCTL I second team and is considered to be among the top players in the area this season.
Cox said he tries to stay humble and not worry too much about carrying the burden Grill shouldered.
“Caleb was an amazing player,” he said. “He set records here and did amazing things, but it wasn’t just him. We have a lot of great playmakers, and I think we’ll be a lot better than people think.”
Maize coach Gary Guzman said every year, players step up into that elite status and earn their way into Division I football. Last year was special, but 2019 has the potential, too.
Andale is also looking to replace one of its most iconic graduates, in former defensive end and tight end Mason Fairchild, who is now at Kansas.
Fairchild was also named to the Eagle’s Top 11 team after averaging 26.9 yards per catch.
Although Andale’s brand is up the middle, muddy trenches football, the 2019 team will feature a bit more finesse to replace Fairchild.
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Skill players like senior quarterback Easton Hunter, defensive back Scotti Easter and others are poised to bring Andale back to the Class 3A semifinals and beyond this season. Hunter was an All-Metro triple-jumper and will become a three-year starter in football this season, while Easter was an All-Metro cornerback in 2018.
They know how to win. More importantly, they know how to lead like Fairchild did.
“At boot camp last week, we had the best attendance, and we had all of our physicals turned in,” Easter said. “Our coaches told us we have the best leadership we’ve had here in years. It’s awesome to see how we’ve all matured like Mason did. Mason was an idol, especially in the weight room. That’s what everyone wants to be like.”
There are stories of replacement all across the Wichita area.
At Bishop Carroll, senior tight end Max Bullinger will step into the shoes of now-Wisconsin Badger Clay Cundiff. At Campus, the Colts will look to offset the loss of South Dakota State linebacker Quinton Hicks.
Even at Derby, the defending Class 6A champion and lone champion out of the Wichita area last season, players like All-Metro running back Tre Washington and returning defensive lineman Tyler Dorsey will look to fill in for a pair of Top 11 selections in Hunter Igo and Isaac Keener.
“This group of kids wants to be just like like year’s,” Derby coach Brandon Clark said. “I think we’ll be better by the end of the year than people think we are now.”
Although an influx of outstanding Division I talent has left the Wichita area, the cupboard is not bare. On top of dozens of Division II, Division III, NAIA and other universities giving offers to Wichita area kids, here is a list of the returning high school football players who hold or have verbally accepted Division I offers:
Peyton Henry, RB - Holds Division I offers (Andover)
Xavier Bell, WR - Holds Division I offers (Andover Central) *Basketball
Alex Conn, OL - Verbally committed to Nebraska (Derby)
Carter Morrow, WR - Holds Division I offers (Goddard)
Wyatt Pedigo, RB - Verbally committed to North Dakota (Hoisington)
Kyle Haas, DL - Holds Division I offers (Maize) *Wrestling
Dwayne Villalpando, DL - Verbally committed to Nebraska (Maize) *Wrestling
Cody Fayette, OL - Verbally committed to South Dakota (Maize South)
Trevion Mitchell, CB - Holds Division I offers (Maize South)
Cody Stufflebean, TE/DE - Verbally committed to Kansas State (McPherson)
Quinton Stewart, TE/DE - Verbally committed to Oklahoma State (Salina Central)
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This story was originally published August 26, 2019 at 4:59 AM.