‘Your classic Andale kid’: Noah Meyer personifies why Andale football wins so much
It was a broken collarbone his freshman year, three separate meniscus tears his sophomore year and now a broken thumb his senior year.
Andale’s Noah Meyer is no stranger to playing through pain on the football field and his determination this season has helped propel Andale back to the Kansas Class 3A state championship game for the second straight year with an undefeated record. The Indians (11-0) have won 24 straight games and will play Perry-Lecompton (11-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Gowans Stadium in Hutchinson looking for their second straight title.
Meyer, a 5-foot-8, 165-pound senior, has split time between quarterback, running back and wide receiver and has tallied 1,032 yards and 18 touchdowns rushing and thrown for 10 touchdowns on 14 completions and 325 yards. As a safety on defense, Meyer has added two interceptions.
“People always tell me that high school football is a one-time thing,” Meyer said. “I guess that’s why I push through because this is one of those things where you’re never going to get it back, so you just try to live in the moment. Sooner or later, it’s going to be gone and I’m starting to realize that.”
When dissecting Meyer as an athlete, the first things Andale coach Dylan Schmidt talks about isn’t his size, his strength or his speed. It’s his heart and his mentality, two things that have been staples to the Andale program over time.
“He’s your classic Andale kid who is tough, who might be undersized a little bit but makes up for it by being smart and tough and aggressive,” Schmidt said. “Noah is everything you want in a football player. He’s not the biggest guy, but man can he go.”
Meyer’s toughness has been on display the last four years with his ability to bounce back from injuries. The most devastating string came in his sophomore year when he tore the meniscus in his left knee twice and the meniscus in his right knee once.
Adversity once again came his senior year when Meyer broke the thumb on his throwing hand during a win over Halstead on Sept. 25. After playing quarterback for Andale the first four games of the season, Meyer returned to the field after just a two-week absence and started helping the Indians at running back.
Meyer is one of the fastest players on the team and Schmidt said he’s been creative in funneling the ball to Meyer in the postseason. At 5 foot 8 and 165 pounds, Meyer may not look like a workhorse but he says he is motivated to prove that he can be one.
“Obviously I’m not going to be the biggest guy on the field, so as a littler guy you have to have the mentality that you’re the best guy on the field,” Meyer said. “That’s what I’ve done. I feel like I have to prove to those people that even though you’re small, you can show out and play your best game. That’s my mentality is to prove to those people that I’m better than what they think I am.”
Meyer won’t be confused for a Division I football player on looks, but Andale’s program has thrived on players just like Meyer — undersized, overlooked but with a drive to succeed.
That’s the recipe for how Andale has become the most dominant small-class football program in the state in recent seasons without pumping out Division I prospects.
In fact, this Andale senior class might not have a single Division I recruit but it has compiled a 47-2 record and outscored opponents by an average of 38 points (46.8-8.6) in their four years. In this playoff run alone, Andale has bludgeoned four opponents by a combined score of 218-7 en route to a title-game rematch with Perry-Lecompton, who it defeated 35-7 last season.
“It’s the most impressive class in Andale history,” Schmidt said. “If you look at the stats, they’ve been to three state championship games now and nobody has been able to do that in school history. They’ve just been a talented group and a fun group to coach. These are guys who love playing high school football and want to be good.”
Meyer is just one cog in the system for Andale, which is loaded with senior talent. Eli Rowland is having a superb senior season as the team’s top offensive threat, while Caden Parthemer is a deadly receiving weapon and a standout linebacker. Cayden Winter and Jace Emberson anchor the offensive line, while Eli Auoad and Jake Engelbrecht are defensive stalwarts.
The only thing they have left to accomplish?
Winning back-to-back titles, something that only one group has been able to do in school history in 2006 and 2007. But the 2020 seniors will have a better winning percentage and more wins during their four-year run if they can match that back-to-back feat on Saturday.
“We want that ring and we want to be on top again,” Meyer said. “The thing that motivates me is I want to do the same thing that the 2006 and 2007 team did when they went back-to-back. It would be a really cool experience because not many schools get to play in a state championship, let alone get the chance to win back-to-back titles. That ending would be perfect.”
This story was originally published November 25, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
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