Smithville’s Simoncic wins Bobby Bell Award

[player_tooltip player_id="96260" first="Cody" last="Simoncic"] already knew before he arrived at Blue Valley Northwest High School Tuesday, Dec. 7, that he was the winner of the Bobby Bell Award. He learned on Tuesday, Nov. 30 that he won but his focus wasn’t on one of the prized Simone Awards, rather Hannibal for the upcoming Class 4 state championship game. The award is given to the top lineman/linebacker in a Class 1-4 school in Kansas or Missouri. The namesake of the award, Bell, was there to present the award to Simoncic, who led the Warriors in tackles (93), interceptions (5) and fumble recoveries (two) and tied for the lead with forced fumbles (5). <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Senior Season State Champs <a href="https://t.co/9PjAzoPRTl">https://t.co/9PjAzoPRTl</a></p> — [player_tooltip player_id="96260" first="Cody" last="Simoncic"] (@CodySimoncic) <a href="https://twitter.com/CodySimoncic/status/1468679539391750147?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> He came up with plenty of big plays and 11 tackles in the team’s 31-0 win over Hannibal, only days before the award ceremony. “It is surreal, it’s really an honor to be out there with all these guys and be a player to win this award on top of the state championship, it is a dream come true,” Simoncic said. “It really sunk in after we won the state title. Thinking about it all now, it is amazing.” Also up for the award were Piper’s OL/DL [player_tooltip player_id="87681" first="Camden" last="Beebe"], Lansing’s LB [player_tooltip player_id="35558" first="Caden" last="Crawford"], Lincoln College Prep’s LB [player_tooltip player_id="103106" first="Antonio" last="Jones"] and St. James Academy’s [player_tooltip player_id="127767" first="Wade" last="Spencer"]. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">[player_tooltip player_id="87681" first="Camden" last="Beebe"] C/O 2023, Check out my highlight - <a href="https://t.co/bzYvx3qdqR">https://t.co/bzYvx3qdqR</a></p> — [player_tooltip player_id="87681" first="Camden" last="Beebe"] (@Cbeebe_56) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cbeebe_56/status/1460777559717814280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Senior Season💛💙 <a href="https://t.co/AKskTekLWB">https://t.co/AKskTekLWB</a> <a href="https://t.co/iSiUfkG4is">pic.twitter.com/iSiUfkG4is</a></p> — [player_tooltip player_id="103106" first="Antonio" last="Jones"] (@5Antoni0) <a href="https://twitter.com/5Antoni0/status/1465773225149972490?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Couldn’t have asked for a better season! Thanks to all my coaches and teammates and especially you seniors who did a great job leading SJA to our second state title in a row! <a href="https://twitter.com/tradke85?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@tradke85</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Jason_Denton?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Jason_Denton</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/lbeashore?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@lbeashore</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/sbruning29?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sbruning29</a> <a href="https://t.co/btu9mO4PIj">https://t.co/btu9mO4PIj</a></p> — [player_tooltip player_id="127767" first="Wade" last="Spencer"] (@WadeSpencer75) <a href="https://twitter.com/WadeSpencer75/status/1467171663267643393?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Past winners of the award include former NFL players Cale Garrett (Kearney), Maliek Collins (Center), Travis Britz (Harrisonville) and Brock Christopher (Kearney). Simoncic is the first Smithville player to win any of the Simone Awards. Simoncic turns his attention next to playing basketball for the Warriors and will have visits lined up to a majority of the MIAA schools in the region. His brother, Kellen, is a quarterback at Washburn. During a question-and-answer portion with KSHB’s Mick Shaffer, Simoncic thanked his brother for pushing him, as well as his parents and Coach Ambroson. The Warriors had two other candidates up for awards. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="179109" first="Andrew" last="Hedgecorth"] was one of four finalists for the Frank Fontana Award, given to the top all-around player from the small school (Class 1-4) ranks. The other nominees for the award were Richmond’s QB [player_tooltip player_id="37552" first="Keyshaun" last="Elliott"], St. James Academy’s QB [player_tooltip player_id="166977" first="Jackson" last="House"] and Lincoln College Prep’s RB John ‘JB’ Price. The winner was House, who led his squad to a Kansas state championship. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">* Full Sophomore Season Stats *</p> Offensive Stats : 144 Carries, 1410 Yards (9.8 AVG), 22 TD’s , 5 Rec 88yrds Defensive Stats : 76 Tackles, 18.5 TFL, 6.5 Sacks, 1 FR, 5 PBU, 1 Pick 6 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ForTheCity?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ForTheCity</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ItsJustGettingStarted?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ItsJustGettingStarted</a> 💙💛!!<a href="https://t.co/laCVGpXsPb">https://t.co/laCVGpXsPb</a> — John "JB" Price (@John0P) <a href="https://twitter.com/John0P/status/1464372806414700554?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 26, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Full Season Highlights 88 total tackles 8 tfl 7 sacks 2 interceptions 3 caused fumbles 1 defensive touchdown <a href="https://twitter.com/JPRockMO?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JPRockMO</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/RandyWithersKC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RandyWithersKC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Spartan_Footbal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Spartan_Footbal</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Epic7Midwest?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Epic7Midwest</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepsKC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepsKC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/810varsity?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@810varsity</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/GPCwallace?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GPCwallace</a> <a href="https://t.co/AugpPGeIGd">pic.twitter.com/AugpPGeIGd</a></p> — [player_tooltip player_id="37552" first="Keyshaun" last="Elliott"] (@8Keyshaun) <a href="https://twitter.com/8Keyshaun/status/1466114469306806319?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Ambroson was also one of four finalists for the Kansas City Chiefs Chiefs/Eric Driskell Coach of the Year. That award went to Blue Valley Northwest’s Clint Rider, who guided his team to the Kansas Class 6A title. “It is awesome to be considered to be in a group with those coaches,” Ambroson said, who guided the Warriors to a 13-0 record and the first state championship in Smithville history. “What it does, it validates how great my kids are and how great my coaching staff is. I’m fortunate to have my name on top of the list, that is all.”