For the past two weeks, I have been presenting a fun, fantasy tournament on Twitter featuring the best teams to have played football in the KCI Conference since the year 2000.
Each match-up has been determined by fan votes on who they think would win in a showdown between a variety of State Champions, second-place finishers along with semifinal and quarterfinal contenders.
There has been a large amount of interaction from each school within the conference minus North Platte - sorry Panther fans, you guys just didn’t have any teams qualify for my make-believe tournament within the determined time period - with some polls receiving over 200 votes.
Great conversations about which team would emerge victoriously have taken place throughout the week.
The debates between the faithful fans of Lawson and Lathrop along with the inter-program debate between Lathrop squads have been particularly entertaining.
The KCI Conference 2000 & Beyond Football Tournament on Twitter, follow me @cdye56
It’s been an entertaining break from the barrage of political and coronavirus news that seems to be flooding social media during these strange times.
Another thing this fantasy tournament did was once again give merit to the claim that my good friend and colleague at The Clinton County Leader Brett Adkison and I have long made, that the KCI Conference is the best small-school conference in the state of Missouri.
This fun Twitter tournament only considered teams that have played since 2000, before that there is a long line of terrific teams that add to the prestige of the conference.
Having played and now covered KCI Conference football for over a decade, has given me the chance to see a plethora of these teams in person and even though I now live in Iowa, I still follow and cover the KCI Conference when the opportunity arises.
Last season I was able to cover East Buchanan’s week one contest with South Harrison.
The Plattsburg-East Buchanan game, which is still my favorite game to cover every year.
I was there for Mid-Buchanan’s District showdown with East Buchanan along with the Dragons Quarterfinal victory over South Harrison.
Rounding out the 2019 season for me was covering Lathrop’s semifinal contest against Lutheran North.
Shots from the 2019 season in the KCI Conference.
Earlier this week the 2020 football schedule was announced for Missouri high schools and with the KCI Conference on a schedule realignment year, I thought it was a perfect time for a way-too-early look at the upcoming season within the KCI.
The opening week of conference play is an absolute doozy and the best place to start is with the two-time reigning, defending conference champion, Lathrop Mules.
The Mules will be an interesting team to keep an eye on in 2020. They graduated an enormous senior squad from 2019. A senior squad that was very influential in the programs best two year run with a second-place finish in 2018 followed by a semifinal appearance in 2019. It will be interesting to see how head coach Chris Holt has reloaded his Mules line-up.
Meeting the Mules that first week of conference play is the East Buchanan Bulldogs, who are also moving on from an influential piece of their program. But, instead of a giant senior class, the Bulldogs are entering their first season without head coach Kevin Bryan at the helm.
Bryan, who has been the man in charge at East Buchanan since 2007, is retiring at the end of the school year and stepping in to fill his large shoes is new head coach, Daniel Ritter.
The opening week of KCI Conference play against the Mules is putting Ritter right into the fire early in his tenure at East Buchanan.
2020 East Buchanan and Lathrop will open up KCI Conference play against each other.
Also taking place week one of conference play is a massive showdown between Mid-Buchanan and Lawson.
Last season the Dragons were able to defeat the Cardinals for the first time in ages on their way to a semifinal appearance and with the talent returning has to be considered one of the favorites to win the conference this upcoming season.
We will know where the Dragons stand when it comes to the top of the conference in those first two weeks of KCI play because after they play Lawson they turn around and play Lathrop the following week.
Lawson’s only two conference losses in 2019 were to Lathrop and Mid-Buchanan and the Cardinal fan base is chomping at the bit for their first conference title since 2013.
The first week of KCI Conference play isn’t the only one fans should be circling. October 9 features a trio of showdowns to keep an eye on and Armageddon is where we start.
Lawson travels to Lathrop that night for their annual rivalry tilt. The intensity of this rivalry has picked up steam the last few years as it seems to any time Lathrop has the upper-hand.
The Mules have won three in a row in the series including last season's 38-13 victory in Lawson.
Armageddon 2020 will take place on Friday, October 9 in Lathrop.
That same night in Weston, West Platte and North Platte meet for their annual rivalry battle for the Tobacco Stick.
The Panthers have held the edge recently in this rivalry winning four in a row. Both teams have seen their struggles these past few seasons, but their annual clash is always hard-fought.
Rounding out the October 9 trio of games is the “Battle of the Buchanan’s” when East Buchanan hosts Mid-Buchanan.
The Dragons have asserted themselves in this rivalry winning the last three contests by outscoring the Bulldogs, 137-48.
It will be interesting to see if new head coach Daniel Ritter can turn the tide against Coach Aaron Fritz and his Dragons, who after back-to-back semifinal appearances, could be on the cusp of greatness in 2020.
The 2020 "Battle of the Buchanan's" takes place Friday, October 9.
Rounding out the regular season are a pair of intriguing matchups.
Hamilton and Lawson are both looking to rebound from seasons they had to feel like, could have been more.
Both had some ups and downs during the 2019 season and are looking to return to the top of the conference. If things play out in their favor, this could be a contest that has conference title implications.
When the Plattsburg Tigers and Lathrop Mules step onto the Tiger's new field in the final week of the regular season it will be the two teams 100th meeting.
The oldest rivalry in the KCI Conference ends the regular season as these two bitter rivals write the next chapter in their storied history.
Granted the feud has been a bit one-sided in recent years with Lathrop handily defeating the Tigers every year since 2014, but if there was ever a season Plattsburg second-year head coach Ross Rosenbaum - who brought some much-needed toughness back to the Tiger program - was going to get a signature victory over the Mules it would be this year during their reload season.
The historic 100th meeting between the Plattsburg Tigers and Lathrop Mules is set to take place at the end of the regular season.
Hopefully, all this coronavirus stuff is taken care of before the 2020 football season arrives so fans of the KCI Conference like myself, can enjoy what’s sure to be an exciting season.
I'll see you on the sidelines.
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