2010 VarsityKansas football highlights: Northwest
This preview is part of a series of high school football previews by VarsityKansas reporters. Look for new previews daily.
All Wichita-area schools will be previewed in The Wichita Eagle on Saturday, Aug. 21. The previews will include photos and video.
NORTHWEST
Coach: Weston Schartz, ninth season
Top linemen
OL Aaron Geddis 6-1 285 Sr.
OL A.J. Putman 6-0 210 Sr.
DL Carl Terrell 6-0 220 Sr.
OL Christian Hood 6-1 240 Sr.
Top skill players
RB-FB A.J. Thurman 5-8 175 Jr.
FB-LB Jacob Davis 6-3 220 Jr.
QB Jordan Wiedemann 6-2 185 Jr.
CB Zach Franklin 6-0 170 Jr.
2010 schedule
All games start at 7 p.m.
Sept. 2 Kapaun Mount Carmel
Sept. 10 Dodge City
Sept. 17 East (at Heights)
Sept. 24 at Bishop Carroll
Sept. 30 Heights
Oct. 8 Southeast (at Carpenter Stadium)
Oct. 15 at Campus
Oct. 22 North
Oct. 29 at South
Projected 2010 record: 6-3
Playoff berth: Yes
Last season: 7-3
Breakdown: Opponents might overlook Northwest, particularly because the Grizzlies graduated Demarcus Robinson (Top 11, All-Metro, fifth in City League single-season history with 1,711 rushing yards) and are young across the board. But the Grizzlies once again have depth in the backfield with A.J. Thurman, transfer Adrian Wallace and T.J. Thurman. They are fast backs who can hurt defenses. Throw in a line that includes three returning starters and another part-time starter, and Northwest, which had the second-best offense in the City League in 2009, will be dangerous. A problem early could be Jordan Wiedemann, who is expected to miss the early part of the season with an ACL injury. When he returns, he adds the ability to pass and run the offense.
Schartz’s focus, though, is the defense. He was humiliated that the Grizzlies, in two losses, gave up 39 points to Carroll and 55 to Heights. The best players will be on the defense, including linebacker Jacob Davis, who started every game as a sophomore.
FB/LB Jacob Davis breaks down the Grizzlies
What do the Grizzlies do well?
“Our backfield is going to be really good. We have pretty good depth back there.ć.ć.ć. We’re going to have some depth and rotate pretty good. And our teamwork. We have a lot of good teamwork. We work together. Last year, we had a lot of talent, but we didn’t work together as a team. That’s not a problem at all this year. We can count on each other.”
What do the Grizzlies need to improve on?
“Finishing games. Last year we couldn’t finish a game. We need to finish it and put it away.” Coach Weston Schartz: “Our weakness will probably be overall team varsity experience. We will play guys in the secondary that are sophomores, but can they get it done on Friday? Our strength is that we’ll be fast on defense. We’re putting major emphasis on defense. It was horrible (in 2009). Absolutely horrible. The reason for it, is when they broke the line of scrimmage, we didn’t make any tackles. We’ll be much better back there. We’re bigger, stronger and faster. We’re just better defensively.ć.ć.ć. I don’t know how good we’ll be early, but watch for us at the end. We’ll be fine.”