Photo By Oliver Matney, September 13 2024
Story By William Twenter, September 16 2024
“I BELIEVE THAT WE JUST WON! I BELIEVE THAT WE JUST WON” for the second straight week. The Lee’s Summit High School student section found themselves screaming this chant as their team came out in victory formation, and took a knee, to cap off their second straight blowout victory.
Coming off a decent season where the Tigers had managed to score a home playoff game which they won, not much was expected of them by the fans and the community. Under new head coach, Todd Miller, it was unknown if his success in Colorado would transfer to Missouri. On top of this, many of the biggest contributors were seniors who had graduated. This is why many found it shocking that they managed to destroy Liberty High School in their week one matchup And dispel A Blue Springs squad who had pitched a shutout 37-point victory over their cross-town Rival Lees Summit West the week prior.
While this hot start may be surprising to fans it’s no less than how the Tigers expected to start the season.
“I don’t think anybody is surprised. I mean, we knew what team we had going into this from the spring. I think this senior class has a lot of weight to it, and I think we have some great juniors and sophomores that are truly stepping up. And I don’t think we’re surprised at all,” said Jackson Hocker starting safety/ receiver.
“I do believe that they [the football team] believed we would be at this spot, like what we talked about during the spring and through the summers, that we expected to be this type of team,” said Benny Palmer offensive coordinator
“I know it’s surprising for the community, probably a lot of our fans, the faculty here, but the amount of work that team has put in, not just me, but the team included. I don’t think any of us are surprised,” said Brayden Layman starting quarterback.
The Tiger’s hot start can be attributed to many things, the first and most obvious is the change in head coach
“I think from the jump, it was a wait-and-see attitude, once coach came in and showed him who he (Coach Miller) was, they’ve, they’ve kind of gravitated to him, and he’s done a great job of getting those guys to, you know really respond to him and the message that he’s bringing the fact of the matter is, like, it’s about those kids and about the kids and how they’re going to play together. It’s made it a lot of fun this year,” said Palmer.
“I really think the biggest thing is just the character change. I think a lot of people are really buying into how Coach Miller kind of carries himself in the way he uplifts this team. He has had kids who, you know, never really bought in with Coach Thomas, who are buying in bigger than ever. This is the first time I think I’ve seen this team from varsity all the way down to freshman, on freshman team be bought in. And I think it’s a really cool thing,” said Hocker.
But It wasn’t just a head coaching change for the Tigers, there was also a change at offensive coordinator with Benny Palmer, now trusted with the play-calling duties, bringing in an entirely new offensive style. On top of that, this was only their second year under Defensive Coordinator Jason Wright.
“I think having coach Palmer as an off coordinator is great and Coach Wright, this is the second year in a row of having a great defense,” said Hocker.
“I’d say the hardest thing is just trusting everything, trusting the process. Obviously, Coach Palmer stayed from last year, but we’re rocking his offense this year, which is totally different, but the amount of work that we all put in to learn the playbook is really what’s helped us, and obviously, it’s been showing so far, “ said Layman.
But Throughout the summer and the early season, Brayden Layman has impressed, earning praise from His new O.C. and teammates.
“He’s an example setter. He sets an example. He’s not a huge verbal leader, unless he has to be, and when he does, I think he does a good job. This is his first year starting on varsity, and I don’t think he can do much better. I mean, this is his first time starting as a senior and starting quarterback. So, you know, there’s a lot of weight that comes with that. And I think he does a good job keeping our guys riled up. And I think him just being able to know the offense inside and out better than maybe most of our coaches was a cool thing, because it kind of shows us that, hey, he’s bought in. Let’s be bought in as well, ” said Hocker
“He’s smart, super smart. And he’s, he’s just cocky enough to think that he can make every throw and, you know, play the game the way that he wants to play it. And it’s, and because he watches so much film, and he’s, you know, he’s worked so hard in the offseason, the games. The game slows down for him a little bit, and he can, he can execute it, find his guys, and, you know, with the weapons that he has and the line up front, I mean it, we’re right now. He’s orchestrating it exactly the way that he wants to do it. And, you know, we’re just trying to make sure it fits and he’s comfortable, so that he can keep doing what he’s doing,” said Palmer.
Brayden Layman wasn’t the only player to earn praise from his offensive coordinator as he also highlighted the impressive performance of the Hatfield twins in the first two games.
“Well, they’re incredible kids that are incredibly hard workers. They’ve worked this hard since I walked through the doors. They were working like this. You know, they’re super talented. They got a lot of flash to them, a lot of energy. But it’s just the way they play hard. They like playing football. They like playing the game as hard as they possibly can. And you know, they don’t, they don’t get tired. They want to play every single snap, and they want to go. And kids that play like that make it really, really easy to call plays for them, but it also makes this team really rally around the way that they play. Their energy is contagious.” Said Palmer
But despite the impressive early performances, the team is working hard to make sure they get even better for the next game.
“We just got to stay focused. We can’t let the big things get to us. We can’t let the small things get to us, whether it’s good or bad. We just got to keep moving on to the next week, starting with Monday of each week and then moving on all the way to Friday,” said Layman.
“Monday, really locking in on film, getting those mental reps. And then Tuesday through Thursday, you know, getting your legs good, you know, really filling out the plays, hitting hard, getting better if it’s tackling, catching whatever you need to get better at. And then Thursday, just take care of your body, get a good rest and everything,” said Hocker.
“But we’re not done, and we have to make sure that we’re focused on, you know, improving throughout the year, because week nine, week 10, week 11, week 12 is a long way away. So we want to be playing our best football then,” said Palmer.
And the Tigers hope this hot start is just the beginning as they set their eyes on bigger and better things up ahead.
“This is just the start,” said Layman.
“All eyes on week 12. We want a district title, so they have to continue to get better and better and better. And it doesn’t matter what anybody posts about us, win, lose, or draw, we’ve got to try to get better so that we can be hanging banners when it comes week 12, ” said Palmer.
“I mean, for us, it’s state, you know.” Hocker
