Major Statement
EHS backfield looking for big things in 2007
By Michael Ashford
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Call him crazy, call him outspoken or simply call him confident.
Whatever the label, no one can accuse Emporia High sophomore running back Mark Kolmer of shying away from pressure.
After all, he’s putting it squarely on the shoulders of himself and his backfield mates, senior running back Edd Noonan and junior quarterback Taylor Euler.
“It’s going to be the best backfield in the state of Kansas this year,” Kolmer said, flashing a sly smile. “It’s going to be a big year.”
Strong words from a player entering just his second year on the team.
But considering Kolmer was the first freshman to ever play in a varsity game in coach Bill Lowe’s 25-plus seasons as a football coach, he perhaps earned the right to make such a bold prediction.
Last season, Kolmer teamed with Noonan and Euler to rush for a combined 1,722 yards and 18 touchdowns in Lowe’s run-oriented offense, accounting for 92 percent of the Spartans’ rushing yards and 95 percent of the team’s touchdowns on the ground last season.
Euler also passed for 506 yards and seven touchdowns, with Noonan and Kolmer figuring heavily into the passing game out of the backfield.
So while Lowe probably would cringe at the idea of one of his players making a claim like Kolmer’s, he can’t disagree that he has a pretty good setup behind the offensive line this season.
“With our backfield, those guys are all back, and all of them have a year’s experience under their belt,” Lowe said. “I’m kind of counting on those guys to carry the load back there, with Euler and Noonan and Kolmer all back. That’s a pretty good group back there.”
And given what the backfield trio accomplished last season, Kolmer’s prediction might not be too far off provided each one shows the type of improvement the coaches are expecting this year.
All three return as starters for the Spartans one season after helping EHS to a breakout 6-3 campaign.
Noonan was the workhorse, rushing for 1,001 yards and 12 touchdowns on 195 carries. He comes into his final season at Emporia High expected to be one of the top running backs in the Centennial League and, with a strong senior year, possibly the state.
The soft-spoken Noonan said he hoped to exceed the numbers he put up last year, if for no other reason than the fact that it would help the Spartans win more games.
“We want a better record than 6-3,” Noonan said. “Hopefully, I can excel past what I did last year and help us get more wins.”
While big things are expected out of Noonan as a proven commodity for the Spartans, the 2007 season perhaps will be even bigger for Euler, as he now is firmly entrenched as the team’s starting quarterback after having to fight to win the position prior to the start of last season.
The knowledge that the QB position is his has put Euler’s mind at ease, allowing him to focus on improvement in his second year leading the Spartan offense.
“You just feel a lot more confident that you don’t have to watch your back and worry about another guy taking your spot,” Euler said. “It’s easier just to focus and go out there and be smooth with Mark and Edd.”
And then there’s Kolmer.
The now-sophomore said he is much more confident coming off a freshman season in which he graded himself at a C-plus, saying his season was simply “average.”
“It wasn’t breakout or anything,” Kolmer said, “but it wasn’t bad.”
The physically-stout running back has looked good so far in preseason camp despite being asked to also play at linebacker.
“I want to play a lot more loose and play a lot faster and more aggressive,” Kolmer said.
Perhaps the biggest advantage for the Spartans is that with the entire backfield returning, there has been no time spent getting acclimated with each other’s tendencies out on the field.
Instead, Euler said, practices “have been going so smooth.”
Added Noonan: “We feel really comfortable around each other.”
As for the whole best-backfield-in-the-state prediction?
To that, Euler simply said, “we’ll try and back it up.”