Hey there, hermanos y hermanas! Hope you had a Labor-less Labor Day, although I know most of you had practice on Monday in spite of the whole national holiday thing. But never fear, nothing says relaxtion like reading one of my blogs. So kick back and let me do the work for you.

First, I want to talk about football. Last Friday, I watched Liberty turn into a real-deal team as the Blue Jays shut down Raymore-Peculiar, 42-6 ... the second consecutive 42-6 score of the season for Lib. Their QB Kevin VanEgdom was quite impressive. At first, I thought he was overthrowing his receivers but he threw a couple fade patterns for TDs that just looked beautiful. Those weren't rookie passes either. He and Marcus Lucas look to be on the same page. I can't say the same for Cameron Coffman and his receivers. Although THE PANTHERS* put up big offensive numbers in Week 1 against Truman, their passing game couldn't get going against Liberty. The Panthers, previously the top-ranked Class 5 team in the state, have two glaring kinks in their armour

1.) Running game: One reason Coffman couldn't find rhythm against Liberty is because he had no run support to open up the passing lanes. The revolving running backs contributed just 40 yards on the ground. In the preseason, I thought THE PANTHERS would have plenty of folks to replace junior Deron Washington, Derrick's little brother who's out for several weeks with a broken wrist. Ray-Pec has tried Anthony DiIorio and Martin Booze and even pulled Marc Harrison from his linebacker spot to take some carries. But without a clear cut No. 1 back, their running game is unsteady. It showed against Truman and it bit them where it hurts against Liberty.

2.) Special teams: Simply put, Ray-Pec doesn't have a place kicker. Although THE PANTHERS scored first on Friday, they missed the PAT and later in the first half, also missed a 30-yard FG very badly. On top of that, Coffman has to handle punting duties and that's not a bad thing b/c the kid can boot. But... it can place their most prized possession in the line of fire like in he did during one particular sequence in the third quarter. Already woozy from two consecutive sacks, Coffman had to punt away from his end zone. Marcus Lucas, showing he can do more than catch, nearly blocked the kick  but it gets down field and the Liberty returner finds the cracks in Ray-Pec's wall and the last man remaining between the end zone and the 5-yard line is ... Cameron Coffman. So Coffman, as the punter, had to fly in and make the touchdown-saving tackle. But Coffman really had no business being on the field at that time and after making that tackle, he takes off his helmet and leaves the game for good. After the game, coach Tom Kruse did not have a prognosis on Coffman, just saying that he had his "bell rung." No place kicker and the punt return team putting Coffman in the line of danger will be concerns down the road.

Well, on to some other sports. I caught up with several of our Missouri defending champs recently. Rockhurst swimming, Lee's Summit West girls' x-country and O'Hara volleyball. All three teams have big weekends coming up.

First, Rockhurst. This weekend in Springfield, the Hawklets get a look at some teams around the state -- or I should rather say, the state will get a look at Rockhurst. Because really, who can beat the five-time defending champs? Rockhurst has at least five TOP boys back from last year's team and appear to be loaded once again. When you talk about Missouri prep dynasties, you have to mention Rockhurst swimming.

The LS West Titans won their first meet of the season, all without Liga Blyholder who was on a recruiting trip to Wisconsin. Again, here's another team stacked and should be considered as the favorite to win this year. Besides Blyholder, there's Chelsey Phoebus, Joanna Kleinsasser and new kid on the block Ashley Wolkomir, who really isn't new at all since she's previously ran for Lee's Summit Community Christian at state. This weekend, their in Columbia at the MU XC Challenge.

Finally, there's O'Hara, the two-time Class 3 volleyball champs and arguably the best regular-season tournament coming this weekend. O'Hara returns to the Mo-Kan tournament (at LS West) for the first time in two years. As one of the smaller teams in competition, it will be interesting to see how the team led by Tori Hurtt, Lindsey Hanaway and Michala Boehm will compete against the big dogs. And again, here's another team I see winning another title this year. Should be a busy fall for our champions, so I suggest getting out and seeing some of these teams in action before the big November send offs.

Till later. That's all for now. Tomorrow, I'm recapping my football picks from last week and will post a fresh round of 'Bulletin Board Material.' Also, don't forget to follow me at www.twitter.com/KCCandace ... it's a great way to stay in contact with me, ask questions, send your thoughts or just shoot the breeze. Feel free to join the party.

* Refer to a previous blog to explain i must bold THE PANTHERS at every reference.