Family Business FAMILY BUSINESS Kansas Pregame, Volume 12
Page 13
The Business is Football, and Business is Good!
Derby’s Brandon Clark, Mill Valley’s Joel Applebee, and Valley Center’s Caleb Smith are three of the best young coaches in Kansas high school football. Earlier this year the group gathered with some of their top players to talk about their passion for football, and their common connection to long-time coach Mike Smith (front left) who fueled their love for the Family Business! (Photo by Derek Livingston, dereklivingston.zenfolio.com)
By Brad Hallier For Kansas Pregame Derby is in the midst of the latest big-class dynasty in Kansas high school football. Class 6A state champion in 2013, 2015 and 2016, Derby was a 2012 semifinal loss to Hutchinson and a 2014 quarterfinal loss to Hutchinson away from possibly owning five straight state titles. Meanwhile, in western Johnson County, a new state power has emerged. Mill Valley, which until 2015 had never even reached the state semifinals, has claimed the last two Class 5A state titles. These two elite high school football programs are intertwined by blood, as Derby coach Brandon Clark and Mill Valley coach Joel Applebee are cousins. There’s also a small northern Wichita suburb that has had a direct hand in Derby’s dominance, and an indirect hand in Mill Valley’s rise. The genesis of Derby’s renaissance - the Panthers
also won the 1994 6A title - and Mill Valley’s rapid ascent can be traced to Valley Center. Clark is a 1997 Valley Center graduate who played for some powerful teams under coach Mike Smith. Meanwhile, Smith’s son, Caleb, has helped revive a Valley Center program that did not win a playoff game since his dad was there, until last season. For these three football programs, strength is all in the family. Caleb Smith’s arrival in Valley Center was met with optimism. Valley Center hadn’t had much success since Caleb’s dad left for Garden City in 2002. Caleb Smith was coaching with Clark when the Valley Center job opened after the 2012 season. But even though Valley Center was still close to the Smith family’s heart, Mike was apprehensive of Caleb going back to his roots and following in his dad’s steps. “I was a little scared,” Mike said. “I didn’t know if I
wanted that. Valley had some tough luck through the years, and a lot of good coaches left. Caleb’s mom was nervous too.” Caleb had some pretty good mentors, however, in aiding his reconstruction project. “Dad has had the biggest influence of anybody on me,” Caleb said. “Probably 90 percent of my ideas and philosophies came from him. I was also at Derby for five seasons, and Brandon is a great coach and a better program-builder. What separates him at Derby, and the program, is everything he does off the field, and that is something I picked up.” The off-the-field team activities and making the entire community a family-like atmosphere is something Applebee has likewise duplicated. Bringing a small-town atmosphere to a metropolitan area isn’t the easiest thing to do. Applebee learned how to do just that from Clark, who in turn continued on page 32
This Marion Model #37 Steam Shovel is one of the many artifacts on display at the Crawford County Historical Museum. For more information visit www.crawfordcountymuseum.com, or, find them on Facebook.