ShawneeDispatch.com

Aaron Barnett

Though the areas all around the Shawnee Mission Northwest practice fields show signs of construction from the ongoing renovations of the Cougar athletic facilities, there is one place where the Cougars won't be doing much rebuilding on the football field.

Despite the loss of 2007's starting quarterback and all three starting linebackers to graduation, the Northwest football team enters the 2008 season with several starters returning, including many in impact positions.

Coach Aaron Barnett has been pleased with what he's seen out of his returnees, particularly his seniors through the first two and a half weeks of practice.

"It's been good," Barnett said.. "I'm really happy with the way our upperclassmen have been working. We have great senior leadership, and that sets a good tempo for everyone else."

Barnett credits the work his players have been doing in the offseason as the reason behind the success of the first couple of weeks of practice.

"I think that the core group of guys that we need to be good has gotten a lot better over the summer," he said. "Every summer since I've been here has been better than the one before it."

Though the Cougars lost starting quarterback Alex Carder (now at Western Michigan), linebacker Tyler McGee, and All-Sunflower League defensive end Bryce Murray in the graduating class of 2007, the cupboard for the 2008 season isn't exactly bare.

Second-team All-Sunflower League tailback Bryce Atagi returns with his combination of power and elusiveness that keys the Northwest ground game. Darion Hillman returns to anchor both the offensive and defensive lines after being recognized by the league last season.

One of the most important senior returnees this season is All-Sunflower League kick returner Mark Fancher.

Fancher, who doubled as a defensive back and wide receiver, will see his offensive duties modified this season as he sees action as the Cougars starting quarterback. The potential of having Fancher's speed on the field for the majority of Northwest's offensive plays was an opportunity Barnett could not pass up.

"We have another quarterback, Patrick Lancaster, a senior, and his strength is really throwing the ball," he said. "Having a couple of quarterbacks who can do a couple of different things makes us that much harder to defend. We know that when we have Mark back there that we have the potential to get into the end zone on any play."

Having Atagi in the backfield with Fancher will provide a potent 1-2 running punch for the Cougars with Atagi's leg strength and Fancher's speed. Yet Barnett is not limiting his excitement about Atagi to just the offensive side of the ball.

"He's done really well," Barnett said about Atagi's offseason work and first two weeks of camp. "He's working really hard. He's not only our best running back; he's also our best blocking running back. He's also our best, and most physical, tackling safety. He's really put himself in a great situation to have a special senior year."

Atagi's defensive realm the defensive backfield is one of two thirds of the Cougar defense that remain relatively intact. The Northwest D-line, led by Hillman, is the other. The Cougar linebacking corps, however, returns none of its starters with Ethan Elmer as the lone Cougar returnee with significant varsity experience.

"Our linebackers are green," Barnett stated. "We need some experience there, but I'm positive they're going to come along."

As for new impact players, Barnett is hopeful for the improved play of offensive and defensive linemen Derrick Talley Colin Howe, and Nick Andress all seniors. Injuries kept Talley off the field last year, while the offseason work of Andress and Howe earned them a shot this season.

Barnett feels that the 2008 Cougars have all the tools in place they need to make another run at the Sunflower League title, which they claimed last season. He points to Olathe East, Olathe North and Shawnee Mission West as the other teams on the Northwest schedule with legitimate shots to claim the top spot.

A change in format this season has each school's final six games counting in the league standings, essentially dividing the season into thirds, with the first three games counting to neither league nor district standings, the second three to league standings only, and the final three to both league and district standings.

The Cougars will open the 2008 campaign Friday with a "home" game against Shawnee Mission South at Shawnee Mission South District Stadium. While Barnett plans to take no team in the Sunflower League lightly this season, his focus is more on the Cougars for the opener than it is on the Raiders.

"We're just kind of going in pretty green," said Barnett. "We need to worry about us. We had a scrimmage on Saturday night and we looked pretty rough around the edges. We'll look at a few things that South did against us last year, but we really need to take care of us first."

Game time for the Raiders-Cougars game is set for 7 p.m.