In a season where three teams shared the Western Athletic Conference football crown, it was the Hays High Indians that took the spotlight with postseason honors as voted by the league’s five coaches.
Jaren Kanak, the Indians’ big, bruising quarterback, was voted the WAC Offensive Player of the Year while his classmate and equally dominating teammate, Gavin Meyers, was honored as the WAC Defensive Player of the Year.
Pretty heady stuff for a senior class that had spent much of their high school years seeing the HHS program elevate itself into not only the league’s elite, but also making a deep run in the Class 5A playoffs before falling in the Sectional Championships after posting wins in the Week 9 Play-In and then the Regional Championship.
“It was a big adjustment at quarterback for me this year,” said Kanak, who powered his way to a WAC-best 1,224 yards rushing through nine games while tallying 18 touchdowns.
On the passing side of the equation, he threw for 866 yards with 12 touchdown passes against just six interceptions for a 2:1 ratio.
“Definitely I’m more of a runner than a passer, but I thought my passing did improve from my junior year,” Kanak said.
Upon learning of the WAC offensive award, Kanak said it was an honor but as much a reflection of the blocking he got from his offensive line.
“For the other coaches to vote for me, it’s an honor to get the award and something I’ll remember,” Kanak said. “Now that the season is over, we can reminisce all the great memories we made and all the successes we’ve had.”
This year’s Hays High team was only the third in school history to make a deep run to the Sectionals, joining teams from 1982 and 1993 in that category.
“Just knowing that all of our hard work paid off and we could be considered one of the best Hays High teams ever is a memory I’ll remember,” Kanak said.
The 6-foot-2-inch, 215-pounder will sign an NCAA Division I letter-of-intent in December’s early signing period with Clemson University in South Carolina, a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference and one of college football’s elite programs.
“I definitely wanted to elevate my game to the highest level so I’m excited about playing at Clemson,” said Kanak, who indicated he will likely be playing linebacker for the Tigers at the next level. “I think I’ve got that combination of speed and strength and have good lateral quickness. I’ve studied a lot of football so I think I have a good feel for the schematics of playing the game.”
The high-powered offense produced 374 points, averaging just more than 41 points per game while compiling an average of 324 yards rushing and 430 total yards each time out. Between his rushing and passing stats, he combined for 30 touchdowns in his senior year.
“I think one of the highlights was beating Andover in the playoffs to get to the next level of the playoffs,” Kanak said. “They (Andover) have a great program and it was a culture win for us and gave us added confidence.”
The Indians’ Meyers, meanwhile, was equally effective on the defensive side of the ball for Coach Tony Crough.
At 6-foot-2-inches and 215 pounds, he was dominating on that side of the ball. He recorded 100 tackles in the 8-game plus Week 9 play-in game schedule, including two sacks and 10 tackles for losses.
“Our season really was a success and I’m happy where we got in the playoffs,” said Meyers, who said he and his teammates would like to still be playing another week. “I think playing middle linebacker I had to be disciplined and fill in the gaps and read the guards who were trying to block.”
Meyers said the Indians would switch from a four-man to a three-man front during games, depending on situations from the other team’s offense.
“I don’t think I saw much difference in my responsibilities with either set we ran,” Meyers said. “I think moving forward is my strongest suit. I’m pretty good at lateral but it wouldn’t be the best part of my game.”
While undecided on his college of choice, Meyers hopes to decide for a Division I offer sometime later in the school year. He will be competing in wrestling for the Indians at 220 pounds.
“I think wrestling really helped my football in form tackling and staying low,” Meyers said of playing both sports. “I am not sure how football helps my wrestling, but I’m sure just staying in shape was good. It keeps me tough-minded.”
Hays and Dodge City had four players named to the WAC first-team offense while on defense the Indians topped the list with four selections.
Coach of the Year: Dodge City’s first-year coach Glenn O’Neil was voted the Coach of the Year by his peers as the Red Demons, Hays and Garden City shared the conference title with 3-1 records. Interestingly, each team beat the other and all on the road with Garden City topping Hays in Hays, the Indians taking a win at Dodge City and the Demons knocking off the Buffaloes in Garden City in the annual Hatchet Game.
2021 WAC All-Conference Football Teams
| First Team Offense | POS | Year | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| *Jaren Kanak | QB | Sr. | Hays |
| Tucker Smith | QB | Sr. | Dodge City |
| Zack Keosengphet | RB | Jr. | Garden City |
| Hunter Huskey | RB | Sr. | Liberal |
| Roy Moroni | RB | Sr. | Hays |
| Bryce Salmans | TE | Jr. | Hays |
| Dylan Smith | WR | Sr. | Dodge City |
| Kaden Whitehurst | OL | Sr. | Garden City |
| Aldo Avalos | OL | Sr. | Liberal |
| Gavin Nutting | OL | Sr. | Hays |
| Kelvin Rico | OL | Sr. | Garden City |
| Omar Velazquez | OL | Sr. | Dodge City |
| Emanuel Aguilar | PK | Sr. | Dodge City |
| First Team Defense | POS | Year | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terrell Elliott | DL | Sr. | Garden City |
| Carson Spray | DL | Sr. | Hays |
| Iden Baalman | DL | Sr. | Hays |
| Santonio Turner | DL | Sr. | Dodge City |
| *Gavin Meyers | LB | Sr. | Hays |
| Mathew Moeder | LB | Jr. | Great Bend |
| Daniel Sanchez | LB | Sr. | Dodge City |
| Caleb Wiese | DB | Jr. | Garden City |
| Remy Stull | DB | Jr. | Hays |
| Paco Hernandez | DB | Sr. | Great Bend |
| D’Andre Vontress | DB | Sr. | Dodge City |
Coach of the Year: Glenn O’Neil, Dodge CIty
| Second Team Offense | POS | Year | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jerry Arteaga | RB | Jr. | Garden City |
| Emmanuel Charite | RB | Sr. | Garden City |
| Jordan Dale | WR | Sr. | Hays |
| Kyreese Groen | WR | Jr. | Hays |
| Brooks Kappelmann | QB | So. | Liberal |
| Stefan Spray | WR | Sr. | Great Bend |
| Izzy Garcia | WR | Sr. | Liberal |
| Colton Brack | TE | So. | Great Bend |
| Michael Camarena | OL | Sr. | Garden City |
| Karson Russell | OL | Sr. | Hays |
| Alejandro Chairez | OL | Sr. | Dodge City |
| Jason Scott | OL | Sr. | Great Bend |
| Second Team Defense | POS | Year | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Erives | DL | Sr. | Dodge City |
| Xavier Soriano | DL | Sr. | Garden City |
| Tyler Cox | DL | Sr. | Dodge City |
| Joel Bellows | LB | Sr. | Garden City |
| Mario Chacon | LB | Sr. | Dodge City |
| Josh Gonzalez | LB | Sr. | Dodge City |
| Trystian Juarez | LB | Jr. | Liberal |
| Ryan Heiman | DB | Jr. | Garden City |
| Alonzo Marquez | DB | Sr. | Garden City |
| Connor Dreiling | DB | Jr. | Hays |
| Shay Kerr | DB | Sr. | Liberal |
