Entering the 2020 season, the Mid-Buchanan Dragons were the odds-on favorites to not only win the KCI Conference, but also make a deep run into the Missouri Class 1 playoffs.
This challenge was something head coach Aaron Fritz and his coaching staff of Jake Rumpf, Kyle Thompson, Lucas Buhman, Joe Pugh, Mitch Curran, Jacob Anderson and Chris Spence were all ready to meet head on.
"These guys are all my best friends and I am very fortunate to coach with such an amazing group of men," Fritz said. "They give up many hours away from their families so that we can prepare ourselves and the kids the best we can. I love these guys and will never be able to repay them for all the time they dedicate to Dragon Football."
While being considered the team to beat in the KCI was a new concept for Mid-Buchanan, it was something they had been building towards ever since Fritz took the head coaching job in 2015
During the prior two seasons, the Dragons’ overall record was 21-7 with two Missouri Class 1 District Championships and consecutive trips to the Class 1 Semifinals.
Led by an experienced and talented group of seniors, Mid-Buchanan met the challenge of 2020 with confidence and excitement.
The Dragons’ seniors were: Javan Noyes, TJ Runyan, Lane Ellison, Butch Walters, Kaden Anderson, Drew Russell, Leyton Starks, Ethan Vidal, Creed Webster, John Robinson, Chase Davidson and Joel Kiger.
Photo by Susan Pugh
“I have gotten to know these kids the last six years, from junior high summer weights, youth football camp, coaching them in junior high basketball, high school weights, summer football work and football season work,” Fritz said. “I look forward to seeing them continue to succeed in everything they do, and I’m excited to watch them become husbands and fathers. That’s what is most important to me, is knowing that they will be great husbands, fathers, and family members. I love these kids.”
Like most years, Mid-Buchanan opened the regular season with a pair of Grand River Conference foes, easily dispatching Princeton on the road in week one, 41-6, before dismantling Maysville at home 73-8.
The Maysville victory was the first of six times the Dragons scored over 60 points this season.
With the GRC portion of their schedule handled with relative ease, the Dragons were ready to turn their attention to KCI Conference play, and the schedule threw them right into the fire.
Opening with back-to-back road games against perennial contenders Lawson and Lathrop was not going to be an easy task.
But, in this year of the Dragon, Mid-Buchanan handled their business, first defeating Lawson 47-7 before defeating Lathrop 42-6. It was their first victory over Lathrop since 2010.
“One of the things we had not done in the past six years was playing a four quarter, competitive game with Lathrop,” Fritz said. “That was something I was hoping we could accomplish. Fortunately, it worked out where we were able to beat them. I think that gave our kids a ton of confidence.”
After the big win over Lathrop, Mid-Buchanan rattled off back-to-back victories in which they scored 60 points, first defeating North Platte 69-7 followed by a 63-6 victory over Hamilton.
While the Dragons were dominating their way through the early portion of the KCI schedule, so were their rivals at East Buchanan. The Bulldogs started the year off 5-0 and the two top teams in the conference were set to meet in Gower on October 9.
In front of a packed house, these two, top ten-ranked Class 1 teams opened the game with a back and forth first quarter. It would be in the second where Mid-Buchanan would assert their dominance, scoring 28 unanswered points before halftime on their way to a 49-21 victory.
The Battle of the Buchanan's was the biggest game of the KCI Conference regular season. (Slideshow)
The following week, Mid-Buchanan was scheduled to play Plattsburg, but the Tigers’ COVID issues caused a cancellation. Eager to still compete, Mid-Buchanan found an opponent in Atchison County. The small Kansas school proved no match for the Dragons, falling 63-7.
With their 60-6 regular season finale victory over West Platte, the 2020 Dragons did something no Mid-Buchanan team did before them, unanimously won the KCI Conference Championship.
“When we beat West Platte and secured the championship, I had a lot of thoughts going through my head, but what I felt the most was a sense of excitement for our kids,” Fritz said. “Mid-Buchanan Football has been played for over 50 years, and before that was played as Faucett High School. To be the first team to win a conference title was very special and something that I am sure this community will not forget for a long time.”
Entering District play as the top seed of the Missouri Class 1, District 8 tournament, Mid-Buchanan was given a first round bye after St. Joe Christian opted not to finish the season.
With ample time to get healthy and prepare for a postseason run, Mid-Buchanan handily defeated Polo 55-6 to advance to the district championship. Awaiting them was rival East Buchanan and their district championship showdown marked the third year in a row the two would meet twice in a season.
“Playing any team twice is tough, but playing East Buchanan and then Hamilton, twice, for the third-straight year makes it even harder,” Fritz said. “Those teams know everything about us and we know everything about them, and that second matchup becomes more of a chess match with who is going to make what adjustment from the first time and execute better.”
The second meeting ended similar to the first, with Mid-Buchanan emerging victorious, 35-0. This was the Dragons’ first and only shut out of the season and earned them their third District Championship in a row.
In the quarterfinals, Mid-Buchanan had to go through Hamilton once more, and after trailing at halftime for the first time all season, the Dragons found their rhythm en route to a 46-21 victory.
Senior John Robinson celebrates Mid-Buchanan's Quarterfinal victory over Hamilton.
Back in the Missouri Class 1 Semifinals for the third year in a row, Mid-Buchanan had the chance to exorcise their two previous let downs of not reaching the state title game, and they did it in emphatic fashion, defeating Adrian, 63-13.
Led by an out of this world performance by TJ Runyan, the Dragons scored 35 first quarter points to reach the program's first ever state championship game.
“It’s just really exciting for everyone. We have all poured our lives into being the best team and family that we can be. Tons of sacrifice has been made to get us where we are. I’m very proud of everyone,” Fritz said.
While the championship game, a 43-20 loss to Windsor, didn’t pan out like they would have wanted, the Mid-Buchanan Dragons of 2020 left their mark not only on the program, but the KCI, with a dominant season that Dragon football fans will remember for years to come.
Comments