The Garden City Telegram

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Scott City, Hugoton dominate All-Area grid team

Published 11/28/2009 in Prep-Main

By The Telegram

The Telegram's All-Area football team this year is blessed with a quarterback who can run and throw equally well (Cody Bernbeck of Garden City). A running back who rushed for more than 1,700 yards (Caleb Gifford of Hugoton, see related story). Receivers who can catch with the best (Alex Swan of Scott City). Offensive and defensive linemen (Morgan Numrich of Scott City and David Hawk of Hugoton) who can block powerfully and tackle with tenacity.

That could describe The Telegram's 2009 All-Area football team.

BUBBA BELTZ

Hugoton

Every Thursday night during the football season the Hugoton football would get together after practice.

They would eat, hang out and shave each other's hair. It was a way for the Hugoton football players to have time to bond and form team unity, and it's something Bubba Beltz won't forget anytime soon.

"Our team saying this year was 'take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves,'" Beltz said. "We really played as a team this year."

As a senior, who has been through the best of worst of times in the Eagle football program, Beltz would know more than anyone how the little things take care of the bigger things. He's been through it all at Hugoton, and he's been a big reason why the Eagles had their most successful season in almost 30 years.

A four-year letterman at Hugoton, Beltz is a three-time Telegram All-Area pick as a safety and running back. On the defensive side this season, Beltz finished with 81 tackles including 42 solo stops. On the offensive side, which was limited play through the second half of the season because of a foot injury, he ran for 539 yards and nine touchdowns.

"We became a family basically," Beltz said of the Eagles, who finished 10-1. "That helped a lot during the games because we knew what each other was thinking."

Now that he is done with football, Beltz said he is undecided on next season, but he is considering college, but doesn't really think football will be what he plays and may opt for baseball.

CODY BERNBECK

Garden City

It was solid junior campaign for Garden City High School quarterback Cody Bernbeck. The junior was the ringleader of the newly-installed spread offense and amassed over 2,000 total yards on his way to being named to The Telegram's All-Area first team.

"It's a real honor to me," Bernbeck said of being named to the list. "I was excited when coach Smith told me about it. It's a great honor."

Bernbeck led the Western Athletic Conference with 1,784 yards passing, second in completion percentage at 57.6 percent (completing 118 of his 205 attempts for the season) and third in touchdown passes with 13.

Bernbeck was third in the league in rushing yards with 528 — the best for any WAC quarterback and nearly 400 yards more rushing than Garden City's top running back — for an average of 256.9 yards per game of total offense.

"Going to the spread offense this year took a lot of practice and learning," Bernbeck said. "But once we got it down, the spread offense is a great offense. We got it down pretty good this year and got a lot of total offense per game, so I thought it worked pretty well for us."

Bernbeck got the starting nod at quarterback in his sophomore season. Though he this year wasn't without mistakes, he said the 2008 season helped him this past year.

"I think I made a big improvement," Bernbeck said. "I could tell when we started out, that my speed and my quickness increased and I could tell how much smarter I had gotten with a year under my belt. It just helped me a lot for this year. I felt that I improved a lot."

Bernbeck and the rest of the Buffaloes football squad will be under a new coach next year. But one can assume, Bernbeck will be a driving force behind the new coach's offense.

"Next year, I'm just expecting a lot from myself and my teammates, too," Bernbeck said. "I feel like we can really put together a good year and start another tradition here in Garden."

CALVIN ERVEN

Scott City

Not all stories with success in high school football end with a state championship. No one knows that better than the Scott City Beavers, who for the fourth straight year were eliminated from the Class 3A sectional championship game. And the last two were games that went down to the final minute.

But despite the Beavers' disappointment in the playoffs, there were still plenty of successful individuals who helped Scott City reach that point. Calvin Erven was certainly one of them.

"I think we played really physical this year," Erven said. "We had a lot of us who knew how to get to the ball. Coaches really taught us what to do. We just needed to listen to what they told us to do, and what the keys were to what we needed to do. We were there stopping whoever we needed to stop, then blocking people on offense and letting the ball carriers get the yardage."

Erven was right in the middle of the Beavers defense that gave up less than 10 points a game. From his linebacker spot, Ervin recorded almost 100 tackles as he had 97 in 12 games. The 5-foot-10, 215-pound senior had a knack for getting in the opponents backfield as he finished with 13 tackles for loss.

"I think I did well overall," Erven said. "Doing what I've been taught to do. I took the right steps like being where I needed to be when there was a pass drop or something, flying to the ball where there was a pass or run. I think I had around 100 tackles so that's really good for a kid my size."

With the season complete, Ervin said he is keeping his options open for the future, and would like to have a chance to play football in college next year in the opportunity is there.

JORDEN FUNK

Scott City

For the past four seasons, Scott City has gone far in the playoffs only to come up short. Jorden Funk has been part of all four teams, but he sees the proverbial glass as half full, not half empty.

Throw out those four heartbreak games over the years, and Funk said he's had a great experience with the Beaver football program.

As a tight end, Funk averaged 17.4 yards per catch and caught three touchdowns.

As a defensive end, he had 31 solo tackles and 32 assists.

Offensively, he credits his success to Ron Baker, the junior who stepped into the starting quarterback role very late in the preseason.

On both sides, he said his 6-4 height helped haul in passes and swat them away or intercept them.

Funk said he is happy playing either direction.

"I like getting the sacks and tackles, but I also like getting the touchdowns," he laughed. "It all evens out."

Funk said the best part about playing football is the experience itself.

"Going out there and playing as a team is great. Getting a bunch of guys together and clicking as a team to beat the other team, that's great," he said.

And this year's version of the Beavers was no different.

"We clicked. We played together as a team," he said. "We prepared in practice all week, and the coaches kept us focused."

One of Scott City's "secrets" isn't really a secret, Funk said. They're always athletic.

"This year we didn't have much size, but we had a lot of guys who could run the ball. We had a good group of seniors. We were a dedicated group. A lot of us don't miss a day in the weight room. That's what you've got to do to win," he said.

Losing quality players from last year's team, Funk said he knew they had the bodies to fill the holes.

"We matured as players," he said. "And the senior experience helped a lot."

His coaches, he said, "taught me so much. I'm sad to leave them behind. But they've helped prepare me for what comes next."

What comes next for the senior is unclear, but Funk said he'd like to play football somewhere.

DAVID HAWK

Hugoton

When a Hawk becomes an Eagle, that's when legends are created.

David Hawk discovered that when he moved back to Hugoton late last year after spending his high school career in Liberal. The senior made the most of his one year playing for the Eagles, helping them to a perfect regular season record and advancement to the second round of the Class 4A state playoffs.

The offensive and defensive lineman knew of Hugoton's desire to make the playoffs. Last year's squad was poised for that goal before faltering late in the season. Hawk's timely move was one of the pieces to the puzzle the Eagles needed this season to fulfill that goal.

Not that Hawk was a stranger. He went to school with most of his teammates through the years. He worked with the team during summer weights and went to summer camps with them. All of that immersion proved beneficial for him and his team.

Hawk also wrestles, power lifts, and runs the 4-by-100-meter relay and throws the discus. At 5-10 and 225 pounds, he is definitely not a typical lineman. And that's just fine with him. The Eagles were a designed running team, and he and the other linemen were key players in their success.

He said he felt very comfortable on the offensive line, especially opening holes for Caleb Gifford.

"Pulling on traps and things like that, I felt pretty solid," he said. "Pretty much every time I'd pull, I'd hit a guy and he'd have a hole to hit every time."

Hawk said the keys to his personal success are not hard to see.

"I worked hard, I was in good shape, and I was self-motivated," he said. And he comes from a long line of football players in the family.

"Since I'm the shortest one in my family, they told me to make sure I stay in the weight room and work harder than everybody else," he said.

That attitude translates into his other love, power lifting. He is a state champion, last year taking the overall lifter title in 4A, winning by 100 pounds. And he plans to repeat this winter. For the guy they call "Hawk-ulese" in the weight room, that goal seems realistic.

Coach Clint Merritt was very happy when he knew Hawk was moving to Hugoton. He was impressed with Hawk's strength, speed and agility.

"He was a great move in," Merritt said. "He had instant credibility and instant experience on both line positions. Unfortunately we only had him for one year. He's the type of kid you'd like to have for four years."

College football is in Hawk's future plans, but he'll take that up as it comes. For now, this Hawk is enjoying his year soaring with Eagles.

MASON HIBBARD

Sublette

At the beginning of the year Mason Hibbard set some individual goals for himself. By the time Sublette's season game to an end in the Class 2-1A bi-district, he had pretty much accomplished them all.

"I was happy. I would have liked to have kept going as far as we could have gone, however far that may have been," Hibbard said. "I went in with personal goals and did my best to meet all of those."

Hibbard had a particular knack of being a pest on the defensive side. He finished with seven interceptions (second best to teammate Brandon Stokes' 11 in the Telegram area) and he ran two of them back for touchdowns from his defensive back spot. Hibbard made 79 tackles and he also returned a blocked punt back for a touchdown.

On the offensive side as a running back, Hibbard ran for 1,092 yards and nine touchdowns. He added 126 yards receiving.

"Mason did everything and more that we could have asked of him," said Sublette coach Steve Simpson. "He's got that breakaway sprinter speed (state medals in the 100 and 200-meter dashes as a junior) but he also has that knack to elude tacklers."

JONATHAN MILLER

Greeley County

Look at the scoring summaries in all of Greeley County's games, and the name Jonathan Miller is always there.

Rushing for touchdowns, throwing for others, scoring on the two-point conversions.

Miller's name was synonymous with the Jackrabbits' success this season, but the junior quarterback is the first to admit that he was surrounded by a group of talented players.

Running a lot out of the option, Miller rushed 200 times for 942 yards and 19 touchdowns.

He completed 76 passes for 1053 yards and 12 touchdowns, with his favorite target his best friend, Stephen Houston, a guy Miller calls "an amazing receiver."

Defensively, Miller had 109 total tackles and intercepted seven passes.

Though he could adopt the moniker "the guy who can do it all," Miller is the first to credit his teammates.

Houston, he said, has great hands and instinct. Running back John Splitter stepped up the second half the season and proved hard to tackle. The team's second leading tackler and didn't even go out the previous year. And a freshman became a sack master and developed his instincts as the year progressed.

In short, Miller recognizes the talent his team has returning for the 2010 season. Don't blame him if he sounds optimistic about next year.

"There's a lot of team chemistry. Everybody on the team is friends. We have a lot of talent. We just need to cut down on our mistakes," the 6-2, 190-pounder said.

Coach Glen Brown is glad to see Miller return next year. Miller is a big, strong kid who brings leadership to a squad of talented players, he said.

"It's always fun making the X's and O's and thinking about all the players you've got coming back," he said. "He does a great job reading the option and making things happen. He's a quality kid. The other kids look up to him. And he knows he's got a lot of talented players around him."

Interestingly, Miller's father Brian was named to the Telegram's very first all-area team in 1980, where he was named player of the year as a running back.

The Jackrabbits finished 7-3 on the season, losing in the first round of the playoffs to Macksville. But with so many juniors returning next year, Miller said the team goal is to get better and go further.

MORGAN NUMRICH

Scott City

Scott City senior offensive lineman and middle linebacker Morgan Numrich will likely not be playing those positions in college. But during his high school career, the undersized Numrich was a perfect fit in the Beavers' system and he excelled in every way.

Making up for his lack of height (5-9) and weight (160 pounds), Numrich utilized his wrestling skills by leveraging his body against opposing linemen and running backs.

"I think my ability to drive people being the undersized guy was always satisfying," Numrich said. "I'm going to miss it, we had a great run and the season was great and a lot of fun."

Numrich has turned in his football pads and will now spend the next few months wrestling for the Beavers.

"It's entirely different because you're wrestling on your own against an opponent, but you still have team scores," Numrich said of the change in sports.

Numrich was selected to both the first team offense and defense for the Mid-State Activities Association this season. From his middle linebacker position, he recorded 24 solo tackles and 67 assists while also notching three tackles for loss.

ZACH REED

Lakin

At 6-1 and 204 pounds, Zach Reed isn't a giant on the line, nor is he the monster of a typical receiver. But he plays with the heart of a lion.

The all-around player from Lakin was instrumental in his team's success this season, good enough to be named to the Telegram's all-area first team.

The senior's statistics are impressive: 18 receptions for 356 yards and six touchdowns, 58 solo tackles, 53 tackle assists, two interceptions and one fumble recovery.

All this in helping lead Lakin to its first district title in five years and a 6-4 overall record, both of which many doubted could even happen this season.

That "many," however, did not include Reed himself, nor his teammates, especially his fellow seniors.

"Our expectations were high," he said, "because we thought we could play with a lot of teams."

Pinpointing exactly where that confidence came from is hard, he said. Maybe it was the senior leadership, the overall team attitude, and a desire to show they cared about the season.

While he concedes that the previous year's team's overall athleticism was better, "I think we played with more heart," he said.

Football is Reed's main sport, although it was basketball when he was younger just because he was taller at that time. Now, he says, "I'm too short to play basketball, not fast enough to run track, and I can't hit a baseball."

On the football field, he finds the competitiveness he enjoys and the camaraderie that makes it worthwhile. He knew he was truly a football player when he got to start on the line as a sophomore playing alongside quality gifted athletes.

Football has taught him dedication.

"You have to dedicate a lot of your time if you want to be good. In season, off season, in the classroom so you can stay eligible — it's all part of the dedication," he said.

His goal is to play college football for the next four years while he works on a college degree. One aim is to be a teacher and, with that, coach football where he could help teach dedication and life lessons.

"Football is a great way to teach kids about life," he explained.

This is his first time on the all-area team, and surprisingly on any all-league football team. For him, though, the accolades this year are just a culmination of years of hard work and sacrifice.

Head coach Kenny Waechter is not surprised by Reed's selection to the all-area team.

"Zach has worked very hard to achieve his goals. On top of being a good football player, he is a good student and person. He will be missed next year," he said.

ALEX SWAN

Scott City

As time moves on it will probably be much easier for Alex Swan to remember the good times as a member of the Scott City football team. In his final two seasons with the Beavers, Swan and his teammates compiled an impressive 21-3 record. The only downside was two heartbreaking losses in the Class 3A quarterfinals each season.

"We had a lot of success but it wasn't the way to end it," Swan said. "We got league (Mid State Activities Association) and went undefeated in the regular season. Those will always be good things to remember."

On a team that prides itself with balance, Swan utilized his multiple skills in a variety of ways for the Beavers. He was the team's leading rusher despite carrying the ball only 99 times (753 yards, 7.5 average and 13 touchdowns). He was second in receiving with 21 receptions for 344 yards (16.3 average) and had four touchdown receptions. He completed 2-of-3 passes for 56 yards and one touchdown.

"Overall, I thought it was a pretty good season of improvement," Swan said. "I felt stronger, faster and had another year of experience. I think I just felt calmer and composed and was able to play with more confidence."

While doing limited duty on special teams, he averaged 15.8 yards a return on kickoffs and 17 yards on punt returns. His 102 total points accounted for nearly one-fourth of the Beavers' scoring this season.

"It was fun being the senior, the big dogs on the team," Swan said about his final year in high school. "You wait for that time and enjoy it as much as possible. I barked at the guys a bit, but it was done to get them motivated."

Defensively, from his secondary position, Swan recorded 21 solo tackles and 8 assists. In his final game Swan grabbed two interceptions against Wichita Collegiate.

Following the upcoming basketball season, Swan will consider his options before making a decision on what he will do for college.

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