Gardner Edgerton is loaded and aims for the top

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Taylor Richardson (33) and Bubba Starling had plenty to celebrate last year after advancing to the Kansas 5A football semifinals.

PHOTOS BY JOHN SLEEZER | STAFF

Running back Brett Jensen’s return is good news for Gardner Edgerton coach Marvin Diener, who said the Frontier League is a very physical conference.

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Tears mixed with sweat and stained the cheeks of many Gardner Edgerton football players last Nov. 21 as the Trailblazers left their home field following a 17-12 Kansas 5A semifinal loss to St. Thomas Aquinas.

“I saw a football team that was crushed after that loss to Aquinas,” coach Marvin Diener said. “A lot of people thought we’d be happy to be there, but our kids really expected to win.”

The game also provided plenty of motivation for the Trailblazers.

Entering their final season before switching from the Frontier League to the East Kansas League, Gardner Edgerton won’t be satisfied with another 10-2 season or another trip to the state semifinals.

“Our sole goal is to not lose, so if we don’t make it to the state championship game it would be very disappointing,” senior wide receiver Justice Berry said.

The Trailblazers hope to live up to their name and demonstrate all that is possible as they enter their fourth season under Diener, who won six 5A titles with Salina Central.

“We’re always trying to take a step forward and make the program better, so if we don’t play for a state championship, then we haven’t done that this year,” senior offensive lineman Cameron McLain said. “If we don’t go to state and eventually win it, then we didn’t succeed this year.”

Glancing at the Blazers’ roster, it’s not hard to see the reason for such lofty expectations.

Rocket-armed junior quarterback Bubba Starling and tough-as-nails junior running back Brett Jensen return in the backfield.

In addition to McLain, senior Jeremiah Reece and junior Lucas Powell return on the offensive line. Also, junior Alex Knorr returns at tight end, and Berry is back at receiver and figures to be Starling’s top deep threat.

The defense is loaded as well with junior Kyle Pacheco and senior Allen Pheiffer back to anchor the line and senior linebackers Jeremy McLennan and Zach Watchous returning. Senior free safety Kyle Wait leads the Blazers’ secondary.

“We’ll be just as good or better defensively,” Watchous said.

“I don’t think people give the Frontier League enough credit for how physical it is,” Diener said. “It’s a real physical style of football.”

That suits the Trailblazers, who are working hard to establish an identity of toughness.

“We want to be the toughest team in everything,” McLain said. “We want to be stronger and faster than every opponent, because if we are we’ll beat them. We hit every day in practice, and we don’t let up.”

During the first three years under Diener, Gardner Edgerton has won 22 of 32 games. Its only losses last season were to St. Thomas Aquinas.

The program has reached the precipice of greatness.

“We’ve been hearing for the last three years from Coach Diener about what it will take to legitimize the program,” Berry said. “We’ve been taking some steps, but this year we really want to take it all the way.”

If you think the Blazers’ journey will be hard and packed with pressure, you’re right.

“It’s new territory for this program, so there’s pressure,” Diener said. “But that pressure is a great pressure. It’s a great reminder never to be complacent.”

GARDNER EDGERTON

Coach: Marvin Diener

2008: 10-2 (lost in the 5A semifinals)

Returning offensive starters: 7

Returning defensive starters: 5

2009 schedule

All games at 7 p.m.

You had better believe that every Trailblazer has this date tattooed into his brain. Gardner Edgerton won’t be overlooking its first seven opponents, but they are merely a warmup in many ways until the chance to avenge the team’s only two losses last season.

Reason to cheer

Few teams in Kansas 5A will be able to match Gardner Edgerton’s talent and tenacity. And there is probably no team more motivated. Plus, Diener knows what it takes to win the 5A crown, although Hutchinson poses a substantial obstacle

Reason to fear

The Trailblazers remain a team that hasn’t come through in the clutch. The fourth quarter in the state playoffs is all about making plays in tight games, and Gardner Edgerton still needs to prove — to itself as much as anyone — that it is capable.

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