Kearney Team Preview & Players to Know

A trend toward the end of last season continues even before the season opener for Kearney. The Suburban Conference Blue Division school battled COVID-19 issues twice last year and had to call off this year’s season opener against Fort Osage due to issues again with the coronavirus. Coach Josh Gray expects his team will be ready to go in Week 2 – and will just view that as the season opener on the road at Class 5 runner-up Platte County. The Bulldogs lost two games late in the season last year due to quarantine issues and the season ended in the district finals against Smithville and Kearney was short handed in that game. “It is a let down, a little letdown, but like we tell the kids we will get through it,” said Gray, who is entering his fifth year at the helm. “We will continue to prepare our guys. They are hungry and ready to play so that they take determination out of practice and hit someone else. We just got to wait another week. It is what it is. It is something that we are working through and we are responding well. We are pretty resilient and continue to do things right away and continue to get better. Our guys do a good job and are smart and understand what to do to be safe. Unfortunately we miss a game this week … It is obviously frustrating but not much you can do about it. Gray said the biggest issue going forward will be the number of practices needed before playing a game. Once they get on the field, Kearney will have most of the players back from last year’s team that went 5-5. The offense returns seven players back, including three offensive linemen, starting quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="192475" first="Ian" last="Acosta"] and three weapons for the signal caller. Senior wide receiver Hayden Douglas, junior [player_tooltip player_id="192488" first="Zach" last="Grace"] and senior running back [player_tooltip player_id="96261" first="KJ" last="Smith"] are also returning. The offensive line returns senior center [player_tooltip player_id="192485" first="Luke" last="Starr"], senior offensive tackle [player_tooltip player_id="177900" first="Keanon" last="McNally"] and senior offensive guard Briggs Terwilliger. The Bulldogs defense will base out of a 3-3 look and will return a bulk of the starters. Up front, Kearney returns junior nose guards Sam Lowman and Kale Conway. All three linebackers are back: Smith, senior Daryn Langford and senior Braxton Breedlove. Junior cornerback Joe Marshal and senior Joe Timchak, as well as [player_tooltip player_id="192490" first="Luke" last="Noland"], who had 37 tackles. Timchak and Marshal shared the team lead with two interceptions last year. Here is a quick look at some of the Kearney players to watch this fall… Class of 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="177900" first="Keanon" last="McNally"], 6-10, 285, OL McNally is a monster on the line and has committed to Tulane over offers from Wyoming, South Dakota and Eastern Michigan. He was part of an offense line that helped pave the way for 127 yards on the ground and 132 yards receiving per game. [player_tooltip player_id="192475" first="Ian" last="Acosta"], 5-10, 170, QB/P Acosta split time last year at quarterback with Dawson Meinert, but was more of a running threat when he was in the game. He ran for 362 yards and four touchdowns, while throwing for 298 yards and a touchdown. While playing wide receiver, Acosta had a team-high 31 catches for 361 yards and two scores. Also averaged 38.2 yards per punt. [player_tooltip player_id="96261" first="KJ" last="Smith"], 6-0, 190, RB/LB Starts both ways for the Bulldogs. He only got 44 carries, but his 7.6 yards per carry is tops among all rushers from last year and finished with 46 tackles. Took second place at the state track and field finals in discus. [player_tooltip player_id="192485" first="Luke" last="Starr"], 6-0, 245, C Gray believes that Starr has what it takes to play at the next level. Starr earned all-conference honors last year and like Smith, is also a thrower for the track and field program. Class of 2023 [player_tooltip player_id="192488" first="Zach" last="Grace"], 6-3, 230, TE/DE Grace hauled only eight catches last year, but had two touchdowns and averaged 29.4 yards per catch. Also an accomplished powerlifter for the school, benching 310 pounds and a 495 pounds squat. [player_tooltip player_id="192490" first="Luke" last="Noland"], 6-2, 180, WR/DB He was third on the team with 11 catches last fall but will see an increase workload with Acosta moving to quarterback. Noland made his mark in the secondary with 37 tackles and two fumble recoveries, second on the team.