He didn’t win, but Eudora High’s Andrew Pyle put on his best ‘happy to be here’ face during the Simone award ceremony on Tuesday at Olathe North.

Maybe acting is an option after football.

Pyle, a senior running back for the Cardinals, was a finalist for the Frank Fontana award, given to the KC metro area’s best small-school football player.

It’s part of the Simone award ceremony, given annually to the metro area’s best players. Previous winners of the individual Simone honor include 2001 North graduate Darren Sproles and 1994 Lawrence graduate Jason Thoren. Consider the Fontana award the next best thing.

So Pyle, along with finalists Seth Williams form Grain Valley and Lance Vanlerberg from Overland Park Aquinas, had to feign happiness for the winner, KC Pius X’s Willie Cashmore.

After all, no one wants to be a poor loser.

“How did I look?” Pyle asked.

Consider it a 25-yard touchdown run, Andrew.

Pyle, along with Mill Valley’s Eric Pingleton, were two area players up for four KC metro post-season awards. Pingleton, an All-Kaw Valley linebacker for the Jaguars, was a finalist for the Bobby Bell award, given to the top small-school lineman/linebacker. Pius X’s Charlie Simone won.

Olathe North’s Jim Bouknight won the Simone, while Blue Springs’s Bruce Ringwood won the Buck Buchanan award, given to the top KC metro lineman. Eagles coach Gene Wier was named the Kansas coach of the year, while Rockhurst coach Tony Severino was the Missouri coach of the year.

Still, as Pyle and Pingleton sat among the room of college-bound football players and notable guests – Chiefs’ wide receiver Eddie Kennison and center Casey Wiegmann among them – the appreciation on their faces was evident, ‘happy to be here’ face or not.

That was because they belonged with the big boys, as former Chief Deron Cherry, who presented the Fontana award, pointed out.

“I’m glad to be here because a lot of times, the small schools, the small guys, they get overlooked,” Cherry said.

Pyle’s supporters weren’t overlooking the award. His family, his coach, Gregg Webb, along with the Eudora administration and former Cardinals coach Aaron Barnett were on hand to congratulate him.

Pyle, an All-Frontier back who rushed for 2,053 yards this season, said he knew he was a candidate for the award before the season but almost forgot about it until he was told he was a finalist last week.

And, in typical Pyle fashion, he deflected most of the credit.

“It’s great to be up for this but the real reason is, we had a great team,” he said. “We had a great line, a great fullback, great everything. But that’s Eudora football. That’s what we’re building.”

See? He’s got this award thing down pat.