KANSAS CITY, Mo. — You can't blame Blue Springs for not knowing how to handle the last couple of years.
"That stuck in our craw pretty hard," said head coach Kelly Donohoe.
The Wildcat football team -- the five-time state champs in Missouri's biggest class -- advanced all the way to the state championship game the previous two seasons. And they lost. Both. By the same score.
31-14.
But the 2018 version of Blue Springs is back and capable again of not only returning to the title game but also winning it all.
"Yeah, we lost a lot of good people, but we've got people right behind them," said senior safety Matt Van Hoecke.
On offense, the Wildcats return four offensive linemen but have to replace their starting quarterback: Chase Donohoe, Kelly's son.
"Compared to last year, this team is all brothers," said Koby Mansfield, new starting quarterback. "We all come together and we work better than last year's team did."
Blue Springs is #1 in the 41 Action News Top 10 Poll and opens with William Chrisman next Friday.
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