Kansas City Star, The (MO)
June 9, 2001
Edition: JOHNSON COUNTY
Section: BLUE VALLEY & LEAWOOD STAR
Page: 19

BV players provide tough competition
Author: SAM MELLINGER; The Kansas City Star

Throughout the 10 practices he organized, Aaron Barnett insisted each Kansas all-star do get-to-know-you activities as introduce himself to a teammate and report to the rest of the team one interesting trait about his new buddy.

Corny? Probably.

Effective? Well, it sure is tough to argue with a 34-7 blowout in the Metro All-Star Challenge Football Game.

Most of the fans probably walked away from Olathe District Activities Center thinking Kansas cruised to such an easy victory over Missouri because Olathe North's Darren Sproles racked up 166 yards and three highlight-quality touchdowns on 10 carries Thursday night.

But those who coached and played on the winning side - and who have done so in the past - say it has much more to do with the quick bond created during limited practices.
"We focused on getting to know each other, really coming together and trying to build it just like a regular football team," said Blue Valley Northwest's Josh Looney. "I thought it would be (hard), but everybody came together and really molded together. There wasn't any guy out there who thought he was the big hotshot."

Barnett, head coach at Eudora, served as the head coach for Kansas and said he worked hard to make sure the kids knew each other as well as the playbook. He's a big believer that each player tries harder, blocks better and is generally more successful if he knows and likes his teammates. He thinks Kansas has won eight of the 10 annual games because of that.

"It's really like a high school team and I think we do that more than the Missouri kids," Barnett said. "I can't explain it, but I think that's true."

Along with BV Northwest's Looney and Kevin Koss, Blue Valley's Jeff Byers and BV North's Curt Daniels, Kyle Harken and Sam Strohbehn played for Kansas.
While none made a huge impact in the box score, Koss said he'll always remember his experience, thanks to a few practices with Sproles.

"That kid has unbelievable ability," Koss said. "The most amazing thing I ever saw was at one practice when it was just pouring down rain and the whole field was muddy. There were 22 guys on the field and he got the ball going one way and cuts on a pile of mud. After that, there were 21 guys who kept going the same way and he took off the other way."

Former BV Northwest coach Steve Harms served as Kansas head coach in 1996 and as an assistant in 1991.

"This is a huge honor for the kids," he said. "Every one of our seniors picks this game as their goal. Obviously not everybody can do it, but the ones who get to play here, they remember it."
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Copyright 2001 The Kansas City Star Co.