If you’re reading this, congrats! You made it to the season opener of high school football in Kansas. To get ready, we’ve been previewing one team per day as part of our Topeka 7 football previews. To wrap up, we look at Jason Swift and the Shawnee Heights T-Birds on their farewell tour in the Centennial League. Shawnee Heights plays Manhattan to open the year, and you can listen to the game on kmaj1440.com.
Shawnee Heights became permanent residents of Heartbreak City last season.
Shawnee Heights, who finished 3-6, 2-4 in the Centennial League, could have easily finished the regular season 6-2 and ranked much higher in the new 5A playoff format.
In the school’s final season in the Centennial League, head coach Jason Swift is determined to flip those close losses into wins and leave the conference on a high note.
“Take four or five plays out of the season and you flip them around, and it could have been a really successfully season last year,” Swift said.
“We were a good quality team last year, this year we’re going to finish it.”
Swift will rely on an experienced defense. Last year the T-Bird defense ranked fifth in the city in total yards allowed and points allowed. However, the T-Birds return seven defensive starters, which should help lower those numbers.
One of those returners is senior defensive end Cade Holmes. Holmes, who played with current Kansas State freshman Wyatt Hubert, had 51 tackles last season. Having both Hubert and Holmes last year made life a little easier for the 15-year head coach.
“It’s nice because when you talk about both those guys, among others, you’re talking about high quality young men that are coachable and respectful, but then they have that motor where they give it their best every single day and they don’t take a play off.”
Swift credited Holmes’ high motor and work ethic as reasons he succeeds.
“Some of it is just his confidence, knowing that he’s worked hard in the offseason. He has great strength, he has great ability. And then the rest of it is a one-two attitude. …Trying to be the best he can and carry that onto the practice field that pays off in the games.”
“I just come out every day and work hard,” Holmes said. “I got a couple teammates, Tristan Killman and Conner Hicks, that push me every day, make me better. Just going to try and improve on last year’s numbers, give it all I got.”
Holmes, Killman and Hicks will anchor the front seven, with Tanner Buckley and Dane Terry providing stability at the linebacker positions. Terry registered 101 tackles for the defense last year. Seniors Tre Munoz, Michael Hoffer and Mitchell Lady will patrol the secondary, combining for 126 tackles and four interceptions last season.
Coach Swift and Holmes have high expectations for this defense.
“They know the speed of the game and how physical it is under lights,” Swift said. “I expect the jitters won’t be there and as soon as we get playing they’ll have some good confidence.”
“I think it’s going to be one of our strong points this year,” Holmes said. “We’ve got both our linebackers coming back. That’s a huge plus. Same with Trey Munoz coming back at free safety. We’ll be strong on defense.”
On offense, Shawnee Heights will turn to Lady at quarterback. Lady played sparingly the last two seasons behind former T-Bird Trey Brown. Brown led an offense that moved the ball effectively last year, averaging 354 yards per game, second most in the city.
“When you watch Trey, you can just see the amazing athlete that Trey was, and I try to incorporate a lot of that in my game, just being the best athlete that I can and also trying to be a good leader on the field as well just being the quarterback,” Lady said.
Swift has confidence in his new starter: “He’s one of those guys that you got to find a way to get the ball in his hand and no better place to do it then put him at quarterback. He understands the offense, he picks it up. He’s one of the hardest workers on the team. Then you take his athletic ability, his ability to run, his ability to make proper reads on a football field, and he’s going to be a dynamic one for us.”
Lady will rely on Zach Cummings and Tyce Brown to catch his passes. Brown, a junior, caught 24 passes for 433 yards and three touchdowns. Cummings only had two catches last year, but will have an increased role in the offense this season, according to Lady.
“Both of them I can be completely confident that they’re going to be open every time I want them to be,” the senior quarterback said.
Last year, Christian Clark rushed for 752 yards and 7.8 yards per carry. With Clark graduated, Swift will lean heavily on Trey Jenkins. The senior running back had 83 carries for 585 yards and three touchdowns while splitting time with Clark.
His teammates have noticed the work he has done in the offseason.
“I know that Trey Jenkins’s going to do a great job powering through everybody,” Lady said. “He’s gotten bigger, been in the weight room a lot and just looks like a completely different kid. He’s hard to stop.”
The T-Birds begin the season against the Manhattan Indians. That game will air on 1440 KMAJ to start the Big Talker’s high school sports season.
Swift has coached at Shawnee Heights for 15 seasons. He has only known one school and one conference. Now that the school made the decision to leave the Centennial League, Swift said he looks back fondly on his time in this conference.
“Oh, I love the Centennial League and I’ve loved being a part of it. Not just because of it being the Centennial League, but because of the coaches that are in the Centennial League. They are outstanding men, friends. It’s great, the root for the teams inside the city, and so there’s a lot of pride from right there. But, you know what, there’s great kids and great coaches everywhere. If the school, Shawnee Heights, feels that the new league is the best step for us then that’s what it is. I’m kind of loyal, so if they say we play in the Centennial League, we play in the Centennial League. We’re going somewhere else, (then) we’re going somewhere else. But I’ve always had a great deal of pride and appreciation for the coaches, for the schools in the Centennial League.”
Stats from Topeka Capital-Journal and the Shawnee Heights athletic department
