Early season surprises in Kansas City area

After four weeks of football there has been some surprise teams and surprise performers — and in some cases those go hand-in-hand. This list will touch on a little on both categories. Two of the three surprise teams listed already matched the team’s win total from 2020. <strong>Surprise team No. 1: Winnetonka</strong> Looking back on last year, the Griffins went 6-4 and that featured a 6-0 start. This year, the first game of the year was a tough one that saw the team throw eight interceptions in a loss. Junior [player_tooltip player_id="199015" first="Devin" last="Sontag"] stepped into the starting quarterback and the Griffins haven’t lost. He has thrown for seven touchdowns and scored four touchdowns on the ground. In each game he’s started, he has accounted for at least three touchdowns. It helps he has a tall target in [player_tooltip player_id="96167" first="Jason" last="Essex"], who can out jump almost anyone. The 6-foot-3 wide receiver — an Iowa State commit — has at least 50 yards receiving and one touchdown in each game Sontag started. It was highlighted by 13-catch, 185-yard showing in a come-from-behind win against Van Horn in Week 3. <strong>Surprise team No. 2: Fort Osage</strong> With a 3-1 start to the season, the Indians jumped into the state rankings and enter play this week at No. 8 in Class 5. After an upset over Raytown last week, Indians matched last year’s win total (3-7). There are key players on both sides of the ball making an impact for the Independence school. On defense, senior LB [player_tooltip player_id="96258" first="David" last="Jacquez"] has a team-high 34 tackles, while adding a forced fumble and a blocked field goal. A pair of juniors are leading the offense in QB [player_tooltip player_id="181613" first="Greg" last="Menne"] and WR [player_tooltip player_id="101698" first="Larenzo" last="Fenner"]. Menne was thrown into the fire as a freshman in Week 6 and has held the job since. This year, he has only nine incomplete passes (32 for 43) and has thrown for 663 yards. With experience also comes learning lessons and what’s standout is Menne’s six touchdowns to zero interceptions. Fenner is a burner on the outside and averages 122.3 yards per game between receiving, rushing, kick returns and punt returns. As a wideout, Fenner has 21 catches for 311 yards and three touchdowns. <strong>Surprise team No. 3: St. Joseph Lafayette</strong> While not technically in the Kansas City metro, the school an hour north of Kansas City plays teams in the city. The Fighting Irish were looking for a new football coach in late May and turned to a former assistant coach in Ryan Shroyer. He has been coaching at Class 1 Polo the past three years but he quickly adjusted to Class 4 again and the Irish are rolling. The team is 4-0 — which includes a forfeit win in Week 1 —and that has matched last year’s win total. A win this week against a winless St. Joseph Central team will match the team’s 2019 record. The key to the resurgence is the play of QB [player_tooltip player_id="198122" first="Jaron" last="Saunders"] and WR [player_tooltip player_id="198124" first="Kingston" last="Oliver"]. The two are the leading passer and receiver in the KC metro area. Saunders set a state record earlier this year by passing for 695 yards against Atchison (Kan.) and is one of two passers in the area with more than 1,000 yards through the air. He has completed 67 of 99 passes for 1,295 yards and 13 touchdowns with zero interceptions. Oliver set the state record for yards (395) in the same game against Atchison and has 557 yards and 7 touchdowns this year on 23 catches. <strong>Surprise player No. 1: [player_tooltip player_id="177888" first="Kendrick" last="Bell"], QB, Park Hill</strong> Bell is very athletic, breaking out for the Trojans basketball team last year as a sophomore. In his first year starting for the football team, he is among the leading passers in the Kansas City area with 666 yards and six touchdowns. He comes from a family of football stars. His dad, Aaron, played at Missouri State and later Pittsburg State. He had a long stint as a wide receiver coach at Division II Missouri Western. Kendrick’s older brother, <strong>Ronnie Bell</strong>, was a standout wide receiver at Park Hill and won the Simone Award in 2017, the equivalent of the high school Heisman Trophy for the Kansas City area. He is at Michigan now but will miss this season due to a knee injury suffered in Week 1. <strong>Surprise player No. 2: [player_tooltip player_id="206398" first="Greg" last="Lyles"], RB, Belton</strong> As a sophomore he put up good numbers (95 carries for 883 yards) but he wasn’t the featured back for the Pirates. That was bruising runner [player_tooltip player_id="96105" first="Ayden" last="Holt"], a Mike Alstott-clone who now plays at NAIA Grand View. Lyles, at 5-foot-10, 170 pounds, is quicker and has run for more than 100 yards in three of the first four games and has 614 yards and eight touchdowns. He is a two-sport star that is good at basketball as well — playing on the Michael Porter Jr. Elite 16U AAU team. <strong>Surprise player No. 3: [player_tooltip player_id="206399" first="Zackary" last="Shelby"], QB, Lincoln College Prep</strong> The Blue Tigers are riding high after scoring 28 unanswered points to beat St. Louis power Cardinal Ritter, 28-20, last Saturday. Shelby, a junior, is a first-year starting quarterback that is vastly different than the last QB for LCP. Shelby stands at 5-10 and 165 pounds, whereas last year’s starting quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="37169" first="Howard" last="Brown"] was 6-2, 292 pounds and now is a defensive tackle at Iowa State. Shelby has thrown for 270 yards and four of his 12 completions have been touchdowns. He is also a key runner in the offense, gaining 212 yards on 27 carries and three touchdowns. Teammates [player_tooltip player_id="203583" first="John" last="Price"] (40/376/11) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="206401" first="Jayden" last="Sudduth"]</strong> (43/296/3) are the top rushers in terms of yards, but Shelby checks in at No. 3 for an offense that has ran for 1,086 yards in four games. &nbsp;