photo by: Bobby Nightengale

Eudora High sophomore quarterback Gavin Elston, left, drops back for a pass during football practice on Tuesday, August 23.

The key word around Eudora High’s football program this season is inexperience.

After a trip to the Class 4A-I state semifinals last season, Eudora High’s football team will try to reach the same level of success with a lot of new faces.

The Cardinals lost a large senior class and return only a couple of starters on each side of the ball. But they hope they can avoid some growing pains when they travel to Baldwin in their season opener at 7 p.m. Friday at Liston Stadium.

“It’s nice to have everything in place and you can just roll. But we aren’t,” second-year Eudora coach Phil Katzenmeier said. “We’re going to have to take some baby steps and not go too fast. We have to be careful not to run ahead of them. Getting everyone up to speed is what’s happening now.”

For instance, the Cardinals have about nine seniors on the team this season, but Katzenmeier said only three of them have varsity experience.

photo by: Bobby Nightengale

Eudora High football coach Phil Katzenmeier, right, talks about a play with senior safety Lee Andrews (1) during a practice on Tuesday, August 23.

That doesn’t mean that the Cardinals are stepping into a rebuilding year. The Cardinals didn’t have any returning starters on the offensive line last season, but they averaged nearly 38 points per game in the postseason.

Senior Ethan Leahew returns on the offensive line for this season, hoping to pave running lanes for senior running back Lee Andrews and sophomore quarterback Gavin Elston.

“Offensively, we’re only going to be as good as our offensive line so that’s what we really have to focus on,” Katzenmeier said.

One of the keys for the offensive and defensive lines is raising the intensity in practice, which coaches believe will help in preparation for games.

photo by: Bobby Nightengale

With their teammates watching, Eudora High's Austin Ormsby (22) pushes against sophomore Gage Shepard during a drill in football practice on Tuesday, August 23.

Katzenmeier said the Cardinals have the size to potentially platoon the linemen with one group focusing solely on the offensive side of the ball and another group of linemen specializing on defense.

“We have a lot of young guys on the team this year,” Andrews said. “Our senior class isn’t as big as the one last year. But we’ve got a lot of guys that are willing to put in the work and that are really capable of learning and performing, so I feel like we’ll be all right.”

Defensively, the Cardinals will be led by their linebackers where they return some experience with senior Ryan Verbanic and junior Khalil Thrasher.

“We have some decent guys,” Katzenmeier said. “We had so many seniors play in so many spots last year. … But they were inexperienced a year ago too, so we feel like we can get the job done as coaches.”

The Cardinals are excited to finally return to the field after last year’s playoff run, and ready to prove their newcomers can adjust to the varsity level.

“It’s been getting better each day,” Andrews said. “We’ve had some talks in the locker room because the coaches have kind of got on us, but I feel like we’re doing all right.

“I’m glad that we’re actually getting started again. I’ve been waiting for that.”