Photo by Carly Pearson
The selections for the 2007 Emporia Gazette All-Area 11-Man Defense are shown. Pictured, front row from left: defensive back Cole Krueger, Olpe; defensive back Shea Kirsop, Lyndon; defensive lineman Cord Stanley, Emporia; defensive lineman David Hanks, Northern Heights; defensive back Keene Niemack, Lyndon; and punter Stephen Nuessen, Northern Heights. Back row: defensive lineman Josh Lambert, Olpe; defensive lineman Josh Klumpe, Olpe; defensive back Brandon Childs, Emporia; linebacker Ryan Bass, Emporia; linebacker Mark Kolmer, Emporia; and linebacker Kade Neilson, Lyndon.
In a year where top-flight running backs were the norm around the area, Emporia High’s Edd Noonan stood out above the rest.
The Spartans’ workhorse over the past three seasons, Noonan had his best season yet as a senior this fall, and he did it in the highest classification in the state of Kansas, Class 6A.
In rushing for 1,405 yards and 14 touchdowns on 235 carries, Noonan had one of the best seasons ever for an EHS back, and he ended his career as a Spartan with 3,322 yards and 34 touchdowns.
Not only that, but late in the season, Noonan also played full-time at linebacker after injuries forced the EHS coaches to shift some players around. He played an instrumental role in Emporia’s 34-33 victory over Junction City that pushed the Spartans into the State playoffs, as he recorded a sack and recovered a fumble.
For all this, Noonan has earned The Emporia Gazette’s 2007 All-Area 11-Man Player of the Year honor.
Noonan, selected to the All-Area team at running back, led a delegation of eight EHS players named the the 2007 All-Area 11-Man squad. Also, Emporia High head coach Bill Lowe was chosen as the Area 11-Man Coach of the Year for the second year in a row after guiding his team to the Class 6A District 5 title and the State playoffs in his third year.
Much of Noonan’s lofty yardage this past season would not have been possible had it not been for the play of Emporia’s offensive line. As such, the Spartans’ top two linemen, senior Troy Pierce and junior T.J. Heins, earned All-Area honors. Pierce (second team) and Heins (honorable mention) each earned All-Centennial League honors as well.
Emporia’s go-to wide receiver, Harrison Stone, also picked up All-Area honors on offense.
Defensively, first-team All-Centennial League linebacker Ryan Bass was a monster for the Spartans this fall, recording 114 tackles to rank among the best in the state. He was joined in the All-Area linebacking corps by second-team All-League sophomore Mark Kolmer, who played full-time at linebacker while joining Noonan in the backfield at running back as well.
Photo by Carly Pearson
The selections for the 2007 Emporia Gazette All-Area 11-Man Offense are shown here. Pictured, front row from left: running back Brian Palermo, Chase County; offensive lineman Alex Wendling, Lyndon; tight end Haydon Parks, Northern Heights; offensive lineman Troy Pierce, Emporia; offensive lineman T.J. Heins, Emporia; and kicker Alex Walsh, Lyndon. Back row: running back and 11-Man Player of the Year Edd Noonan, Emporia; offensive lineman Alex Dreier, Olpe; wide receiver Harrison Stone, Emporia; Coach of the Year Bill Lowe, Emporia; quarterback Kenneth Bronson, Northern Heights; offensive lineman Jeremy Bishoff, Northern Heights; and wide receiver Tyler McClellan, Northern Heights.
The Spartans’ top defensive lineman, Cord Stanley, and interceptions leader, Brandon Childs (4 INTs), rounded out Emporia’s selections to the All-Area squad.
Three other area 11-Man teams made it to State this season, as Northern Heights qualified for the Class 3A playoffs while Lyndon and Olpe each advanced to the Class 2-1A playoffs. As such, all three teams were well represented on The Gazette’s All-Area team.
Pushing Noonan for player of the year honors was Northern Heights quarterback Kenneth Bronson. The Wildcats’ gunslinger was one of the top passers in the state in all classes, going 161-for-267 for 2,144 yards in helping Heights to 6-4 record this season.
On the receiving end of a lot of Bronson’s passes was tight end Haydon Parks, who caught 36 passes for 515 yards. Heights receiver Tyler McClellan also was impressive enough to earn an All-Area selection, along with the Wildcats’ center, Jeremy Bishoff.
Heights also had two defensive selections in lineman David Hanks and punter Stephen Nuessen.
Lyndon, which went 10-2 and advanced to the Class 2-1A quarterfinals, saw All-Lyon County League selections Alex Wending (offensive line) and Alex Walsh (kicker) earn All-Area offense honors, while defensively, Lyndon landed linebacker Kade Neilson and defensive backs Keene Niemack and Shea Kirsop to the squad.
After losing every single starter from last year’s 12-1 team, the Olpe Eagles recovered nicely, going 7-4 and making it to the second round of the State playoffs.
The Eagles’ top offensive lineman, Alex Dreier, was the lone All-Area selection for Olpe on offense, while defensively, defensive linemen Josh Lambert and Josh Klumpe and defensive back Cole Krueger each earned All-Area status.
The only player not from one of the area’s 11-Man State-playoff teams was Chase County running back Brian Palermo, one of the top running backs in the state. Palermo rushed 153 times for 1,702 yards in leading the Bulldogs to a 5-4 record this fall.
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