Blue Valley North entered its Week 2 contest hosting Shawnee Mission North with the Mustangs players wrestling with a sense of doubt.

That doubt is not surprising for a team approaching the two-year anniversary of the program’s last victory and playing for its third head coach in three years.

But the Mustangs started to shed some of that doubt when the team took an early lead and never relinquished it during a 21-19 win over the Bison on Sept. 12 at Blue Valley District Athletic Complex in Overland Park.

Blue Valley North senior running back Frankie Tryban rushed for 158 yards and one rushing touchdown, while also throwing a 10-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Dylan Sarna. Tryban’s performance allowed the Mustangs to control the action and limit the chances for the Bison to catch up after going down 14-0 in the first quarter.

Blue Valley North head coach Gene Wier enjoyed his first head coaching win since stepping down from his second stint at the helm of the Olathe North program in 2014.

“I think any game I’ve ever coached in, the enjoyment comes from watching to see the kids and their parents and the other students, how happy they get,” Wier said. “That certainly was the scene from that night. There was a lot of happy people.”

That joyful moment came at the expense of Shawnee Mission North, a team which likely understands just how the Mustangs felt in that moment. Although the program is still seeking its first winning season since going 6-5 in 2016 under then-head coach Ben Barlett, the Bison have won two games in each of the previous two seasons after winning two games total from 2019 through 2021. This is Andy Walter’s fifth-year as the head coach at Shawnee Mission North.

The members of the Blue Valley North squad were just happy to end an 11-game losing streak for the program, but Wier also saw the victory over this opponent as bigger than it might seem on paper.

“They have some really good players at Shawnee Mission North,” he said. “They had some hard times, but they really do have some really good players. Our plan was to keep the ball away from them and consistently get first downs, play field position all night, which is what we accomplished.”

The difference in the game ended up being on special teams as the Bison missed an extra point that forced them to go for two following their third touchdown. 

Shawnee Mission North junior quarterback AC Casares, who scored his team’s third touchdown with his second rushing score of the night, dropped back on the two-point try searching the end zone for an open teammate, only for the Mustangs to send pressure that reached him for the sack. 

Bison senior running back Jeremiah Looney had scored an eight-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter, which pulled the team within eight points.

For the Mustangs, junior quarterback Lark Anderson had an efficient performance as he threw 4 of 7 for 76 yards and a passing touchdown. Senior tight end Quentin Wallace led the team with 65 receiving yards, while also securing seven tackles on defense.

Senior defensive back Ashton Morgan and sophomore linebacker Aiden Boulton tied for the team high in tackles with 12, followed by senior safety Adam Wang with 11. Boulton also tied senior defensive lineman Braylon Johnson for team lead in tackles for loss at two. Senior safety 
 

Blue Valley North held Shawnee Mission North off the board the rest of the way to hold on for the victory. The Mustangs earned their first win since earning a 25-20 win over St. James Academy on Oct. 21, 2022.

Although the team went 0-9 last year, the Mustangs still felt like they were making progress under first-year head coach Drew Hudgins, who previously served as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator at Mill Valley. The hiring of Hudgins also led to TJ O’Neill leaving his head coaching job at Olathe West to become the Mustangs offensive coordinator.

But Hudgins would ultimately leave the role without a victory as last spring he accepted the head coaching job at Staley High School in Kansas City, Mo.

The Mustangs were facing the dreaded situation of introducing a third head coach in three years, and fourth in a five year span. 

But instead of facing full-scale change with their new coach, Hudgins and his connections from his assistant coaching days would end up allowing the program a chance to maintain a certain level of continuity.

Blue Valley North ended up hiring Gene Wier to replace Hudgins.

Wier has 34 years of head coaching experience, starting with becoming the Olathe North head coach in 1981. He won six state titles with the Eagles between 1996 and 2003. After that last state title, Wier took on the head coaching job at Richland High School in Texas for nine years.
 

He returned to Olathe North in 2011 and served as head coach for three more years before the then University of Kansas football head coach David Beaty, who coached high school in the same Dallas-Fort Worth area as Wier, hired him to serve as the team’s director of high school relations. Wier would continue in the role under Les Miles before eventually returning to the high school coaching ranks as an assistant coach for Mill Valley over the last three years.

After his stint on Joel Applebee’s staff at Mill Valley, Wier has now been on the sideline coaching in a state title game nine times. His team won all nine, although Wier is quick to deflect too much credit for those numbers.

“State championships are never won by one person, not one player and not one coach,” he said. “It’s never that way. The kids have to buy into it. Everybody has their day.

“At Mill Valley, we never knew which kid was going to have his day. And with coaching, you shouldn’t be any different from Day 1 to when the buzzer goes off in the state championship game.”

Wier worked two years with Hudgins before the latter took the Mustangs job in 2023. Before Hudgins departure, Wier had already planned to make the move to Blue Valley North, partially to help provide his friend support in rebuilding a program for the first time. Wier also had personal reasons to make the move.

“My grandson transferred there and I thought, ‘Well, that’s awesome,’” he said.

With Braxton Wagner heading into his freshman year with Mustangs, Wier did not want to miss nearly all of his games coaching the Jaguars on Friday nights. The planned move has not quite paid off to this point as Wagner has been unable to suit up due to injury.

But if someone had asked Wier, at the time he started contemplating the move, if he expected to become a head coach again, his answer would have been short and precise.
 

“No, to be honest with you,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed being a head coach. I think my ego tells me I enjoy it, but it was nice just going to practice.”

Wier said he liked heading over to Mill Valley each day, talking football with Applebee and the rest of the staff, working with the players on the field and then leaving all the other aspects of running a program to somebody else.

“I didn’t have to do all those things, so it was kind of fun,” he said. “I had fun at that school. They were great kids at that school and it was just a good experience.”

But now Wier is back in charge of “all those things.” He’s also back to the old routine, waking up early every morning and heading to work at 5 a.m., or 5:30 at the latest. On his way into the office, Wier has the same thought each time.

“It’s going to be another great day,” he said.

Wier said he can see differences between each of his coaching stops. He said Mill Valley had a lot of resources, some of which he never had at his own championship factory at Olathe North.

“But at the same time, working with their kids and working with these kids is very, very similar,” he said.

That idea of the similarities stuck with Wier even as he tried to identify the differences between his current program and his most recent stop before this. 
 

In preparation for his team’s match-up against Blue Valley Southwest on Friday, Wier and his Mustangs watched game film of Mill Valley facing Blue Valley Southwest in the Class 5A state semifinals last fall.

“I was telling them, ‘Player by player by player, you know what distinguishes them?’” Wier asked his players. “It's just that they were so bought in and gave such great effort every minute.”

“But as kids and as people, they’re the same people.”

Wier wants to prove that as this program starts building toward its goals this season. 

Wier said his team’s top goal this season is to make sure people want to come and watch this team play. To this end, Wier asked his players to put in some work talking with their parents about helping create a great game atmosphere each week. Specifically, Wier wants them to prompt their parents to be excited for the game, instead of a perspective he described as a parent thinking, “Oh man, what’s this going to be like tonight?”

“I want them to be getting fired up, ready to get over there and get tailgating and enjoy themselves,” he said. “I want everybody to have a good time during this and doing the best they can. That solves a lot of problems.”

The next goal is for everybody on the team to deliver that same level of effort and preparation that they saw on display in that film study. He also pointed out that the preparation aspect is the part that gets left out sometimes.

“Everybody wants to play on Friday night, but not everybody wants to prepare to play on Friday night,” he said.

Wier said the key for his team against Blue Valley Southwest will be to protect the football and get a some three-and-outs on defense, the latter being something the defense has lacked to this point.

“We have not been very consistent with that, and this is a tough team to get better at it,” he said. “They're very, very good. I love how they play.”
 

Wier said he also understands the mindset of this year’s Timberwolves team, a group looking to prove itself after graduating a strong senior class from last year, including standout quarterback Dylan Dunn.

“They constantly get that comparison,” he said. “But these kids here that they’ve got, they play possessed. It’s going to be a tough night.”

Wier felt that way about this Blue Valley Southwest team before they even finished their 40-33 comeback victory over Bishop Miege last week.

“Unbelievable,” he said to describe that performance. “We’re excited about the challenge. We know we’re the underdog. Every Blue Valley school is ranked except us.”

Wier said his team used that last part as a little bit of motivation and to help the players stay focused on continuing to improve.

Wier said he’s using one saying every day with his team: “Who’s your biggest enemy? Us.”

“And that’s the truth, we are our own enemy,” he said. “We’ve gotta get to where we execute and we can do that like we did at Mill Valley.

“Those kids, they’re very coachable and they know what to do. These kids (at Blue Valley North), they’ve been filled with nothing but doubt and they’re getting better every day. I’m really proud of them.”

OTHER FOOTBALL STANDOUTS

• Shawnee Mission West senior running back My’Shon Mitchell rushed for 186 yards and a rushing touchdown, along with a 42-yard touchdown reception, as the Vikings earned a 42-13 win over Lincoln College Prep (Mo.) to end a two-year losing streak for the program. Senior quarterback Steven King added another 101 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns while also throwing for 85 yards with one passing touchdown to one interception. Junior linebacker Blake Thomas led the team with 10 tackles and shared a sack with senior linebacker Mikey Kellepouris. Senior defensive back David Robinson earned two interceptions in the game.
   
• Lawrence senior quarterback Banks Bowen threw for 254 yards with five touchdowns to one interception to lead the Lions to a wild 69-56 shootout win at Junction City. Bowen also had 210 rushing yards with two more touchdowns on the ground. Junior wide receiver Jaxon Becker earned 102 of those yards as he scored three touchdowns on six catches. Junior running back Tahj Edwards led the team with 255 rushing yards while also scoring two rushing touchdowns and one touchdown reception. Junior linebacker Joshua Galbreath led the team with nine tackles, including three tackles for loss. Sophomore defensive back Adrick Webb earned an interception while sophomore defensive back Caleb Wingerd and junior defensive end Devin Foster recovered fumbles in the game.
   
• Olathe Northwest running back Jaelen Douglas rushed for 110 yards on 13 carries for the Ravens’ in a 36-14 win over Garden City. Olathe Northwest outgained Garden City 366 to 125 in total yards in the game.
   
• KC Schlagle junior quarterback Cincere Lewis threw for 217 yards and four passing touchdowns with no interceptions in the Stallions’ 48-0 win over KC Wyandotte. Lewis also had 147 rushing yards with another touchdown on the ground. Junior tight end Brenaj Price hauled in four catches for 110 yards and two touchdown receptions. Price also led the team in tackles with eight, including two tackles for loss and one sack. Junior wide receivers Micah Taylor and Dymyn Evans combined for 78 receiving yards and two touchdowns receptions. Lewis, Evans and senior safety Pierson Miller each had an interception for Schlagle’s defense.
   
• Blue Valley Northwest senior quarterback Nathan Baxter threw for 106 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in the Huskies’ 38-7 win over Shawnee Mission Northwest. Junior running back LJ Bowens rushed for 90 yards on 10 carries while junior running back Logan Waldorf ran for 68 yards on three carries and one rushing touchdown. Senior Nathan Baxter scored two rushing touchdowns while adding another 56 rushing yards on four carries. Senior wide receiver Trevor Garlington led the team in receiving yards with 95 yards. Garlington and junior Ayden McGibboney both had touchdown receptions. Senior cornerback Luke Wolverton and senior linebacker Sawyer Williamson tied for the team lead in tackles with seven apiece. Junior safety Max Moser recovered two fumbles in the game.
   
• Shawnee Mission East senior Nate Phillips rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns as the Lancers defeated Topeka Seaman 35-7. Junior Jack Reeves added another 112 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. Senior linebacker Crutchfield led the team in tackles with seven, including one tackle for loss and a sack. Senior defensive end Kyler Schuessler sacked the opposing quarterback twice while junior safety Tucker Ward, senior cornerback Brady Haughton and junior defensive end Davis Eakes each had an interception in the game.
   
• Blue Valley Southwest junior running back AJ Keuwo scored four touchdowns, including the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter, to lead the Timberwolves to a 40-33 comeback win over Bishop Miege. Blue Valley Southwest trailed the Stags by two touchdowns after each of the first two quarters, but the Timberwolves scored two touchdowns in each of the final three quarters to earn the win. Keuwo finished with 65 rushing yards on seven carries and two rushing touchdowns while also hauling in four catches for 80 yards and two touchdown receptions. Keuwo also had two of the team’s five interceptions in the game. Senior Ryan Specht threw for 202 yards with one passing touchdown and one interception. He also scored a rushing touchdown and led the team in rushing yards with 79. Senior running back Quinn Lemons added another 69 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. Senior wide receiver Parker Lindman finished with 76 receiving yards on three catches. Senior safety Luke Atkins led the team with 12 tackles, including two tackles for loss. Specht finished right behind him with 11 tackles and three tackles for loss from his linebacker position.
   
• Washington junior quarterback Savion Stone rushed for 137 yards and a rushing touchdown to lead the Wildcats to a 27-12 win over Bishop Ward. Sophomore running back Cam’ron Fields added another 100 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. Fields also gave his team great starting field position with a 29.5 yard average on his two kickoff returns. Senior Xavier Groves and junior Shon Williams tied for the team lead in tackles with five. Williams had three tackles for loss, two sacks and blocked a field goal in the game. Junior Jaylin Washington had two interceptions to lead a pass defense which finished the game with 11 pass deflections.
   
• Blue Valley senior quarterback Christopher Aiello threw for 217 passing yards and three passing touchdowns to lead the Tigers to a 34-7 win over Washburn Rural. Senior running back Charlie Stachowiak rushed for 115 yards and a rushing touchdown. Sophomore wide receiver Grant Westphal led the team in receiving with 96 yards and two touchdown receptions. His older brother, senior Grady Westphal, finished right behind him with 59 receiving yards and a touchdown reception. Senior linebacker Maguire Richman led the team in tackles with 12. Richman and senior Patrick Dennis each had an interception.
   
• Baxter Springs freshman Cole Parrish threw for 117 yards with two passing touchdowns and one interception as the Lions earned a 13-8 win over Afton (Okla.) in Week 2. Senior Jacob Grant hauled in eight catches for 75 yards and a touchdown reception. Sophomore Caleb Grant scored the other touchdown reception as he finished with 40 receiving yards, as well as recording an interception on defense. Junior Sam Weaver led the team in tackles with 10 in the game.
   
• Columbus junior Jett Tanner rushed for 121 yards and two rushing touchdowns as Columbus beat Galena 28-8. Senior quarterback Jack Vilela threw for 82 yards and a passing touchdown. Senior Syler Schuburger added another 87 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. Senior Carter Henry and sophomore Mason O’Banion tied for a team lead in tackles with seven, while the latter also led the team with three tackles for loss and a sack. Senior Jace Midgett led the team in receiving with 43 yards while also recording an interception on defense.
   
• Marmaton Valley senior quarterback Brayden Lawson threw for 191 yards with three passing touchdowns and no interceptions in the Wildcats’ 72-8 win over Yate Center. Sophomore Cooper Scharff rushed for 82 yards on three carries and scored two rushing touchdowns. Senior running back/wide receiver Jaedon Granere racked up 86 receiving yards and scored touchdowns on both his receptions, including a 62-yard bomb. Lawson also found junior Tyler Lord for a 61-yard touchdown pass in the game. Lawson and Scharff tied for a team lead in tackles with six. Lawson had three tackles for loss while Scharff had two interceptions, including a pick-six, and a sack to lead the team in each of those categories.
   
• Oswego freshman Demitri Williamson rushed for 162 yards and three touchdowns as Oswego rolled to a 53-8 win over St. Paul. Junior Owen Jackson added another 74 rushing yards and a touchdown run while senior Hunter Kelly scored two rushing touchdowns with 44 yards on five carries. Seniors Josh Hutchinson and Alex Long led the team in tackles with four, while Hutchinson also had an interception.