Pregame News

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Examiner.net

Step by step: Dalton, Jaguars trying to complete unprecedented run
South ready to meet Jefferson City in state semifinals

Two more games, two more wins.
That’s what Blue Springs South High School quarterback Blaine Dalton needs to have completed one of the most amazing runs in the history of Eastern Jackson County sports.

This year, with 21 new starters on offense and defense, the Dalton Gang overcame a 1-2 start and is now two wins away from a second state title in a three-year period.
Over that period the Jaguars are 32-3.
“I said all along that I didn’t want to lose my last game as a member of the South football team,” said Dalton...

On the defensive side of the ball, Derrion Thomas has become the most talked about player in the metro area.
The son of late Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro linebacker Derrick Thomas, Derrion had five sacks last Friday in a 14-9 upset win against the same Rockhurst team that shattered the Jaguars’ dreams last season and handed them a 42-14 loss in the season opener this year.

“I know that Jefferson City is a great team. They average 47 points a game – that’s huge. As an offense, we need to keep them off the field so they can’t score any points. But when their offense is on the field, I have faith in our guys.”

KansasCity.com

Jeff City legend still following his boys

W hen the Jefferson City Jays’ caravan rolls into town on Friday for the Missouri Class 6 semifinals playoff game against the Blue Springs South Jaguars, expect their No. 1 fan to be front and center.
Pete Adkins. How can you not remember him? He’s only won more games than any other coach in state history with a 405-60-4 record, which also ranks him fourth in the nation. The last we saw of Adkins, he was starring in a Melissa Etheridge music video — got a lot of play on VH1 — but he’s kept busy with new hobbies and has a newly shot 8-point buck to prove it.

“Like most retirees it’s a tough call, but I’m an outdoorsman now,” said Adkins, 84, who then joked: “My wife says I have a hard life.”

An old pic with a couple of current Jay players. You might recognize (l-r) #9 and #18, Pete Adkins and #3 from last year in this shot from a scavenger hunt in 2006.

“When you’ve been in it like I was for 44 years,” Adkins said, “that’s a lot of time on a football field and enjoying the game. It never gets out of your system. I wish I was doing it again.”