ST. THOMAS AQUINAS SAINTS

By Keegan McCullick, Staff Writer

Going into his thirty-fourth season as a head coach, Randy Dreiling and his Aquinas program are poised for a big follow-up to a 2022 campaign that saw the Saints win the ever-brutal Eastern Kansas League and finish the year with a 4A state semifinal appearance and 9-3 record.

Besides their loss to out of state powerhouse Rockhurst (Mo.), Aquinas dropped its only other two games to 4A EKL rivals that they also had wins against on the season, St. James Academy and Bishop Miege.

After their 24-20 loss to the Thunder in Week 4, the Saints got revenge in the state quarterfinals with a 28-13 win. In the semifinals Miege got their own revenge against Aquinas, however, knocking them out of the playoffs 38-28 after losing 29-26 to the Saints in Week 6.

From that 9-3 Aquinas squad Dreiling brings back a solid seven starters on offense, but an incredible nine starters are back from a loaded defense that held all four of their 6A opponents to 14 points or less last season.

Dreiling’s defense features an interior line combination of senior Kian Payne and junior Julian “Juju” Marks, a duo ranked on 247’s Top 10 prospect lists in their respective classes.

Payne, at 6-4, 255 pounds, is coming off a season with 55 tackles, 9 tackles-for-loss, 4.5 sacks, and an interception that earned him All-State honors, and helped gain him enough attraction with DI recruiters to get offers from Wisconsin, New Mexico State, Toledo, and others, before he ultimately committed to North Dakota State in early July

“We saw our team perform well under pressure,” Payne said of the 2022 season. “In the coming season we’ll work to continue to grow as a team and build our leadership.”

Marks, meanwhile, stands at an imposing 6-7, 270 pounds and earned EKL Freshman of the Year in 2021 before dealing with a knee injury during basketball, but still was able to return in time for football and post 23 tackles and three sacks last fall as a sophomore.

“Having to sit there and watch my teammates play and be able to do something that I love really hurt,” Marks said of his injury during basketball season. “I was pretty helpless at the time, but during that time my mind also shifted toward football.”

Marks’ shift in focus, along with his impressive physical tools, are seeing him showered with Power 5 offers including K-State, KU, Notre Dame, Auburn, Tennessee, Michigan, USC, Penn State, Oregon, and many, many others.

“I want to continue getting better and get ready for the next level,” Marks said, “I can be a force to reckon with when I understand everything.”

Senior D-end Owen Charlton (20.5 tkls.), senior linebackers Wyatt Potter (62 tkls.) and Luke Hancock (74 tkls.), and a defensive backfield that includes seniors Wyatt Lewis (21 tkls.), Dillon Marshall (Northern Iowa commit, 58 tkls.), Blake O’Brien (36 tkls.), and junior Joey Goodenow (56 tkls.) all return as starters from last season, along with junior D-lineman Cru Huenfeld, who dealt with an injury last season.

Offensively, Dreiling must replace leading rusher Sean Carroll and his 3,200 rushing yards the past two seasons, but the with seniors PJ Cunningham, Trey Kenefake, Carson Kraft, and sophomore Stephen Carroll back to lead the way for junior signal caller Aiden Skinner (24-55, 417 yds., 4 TDs).

Junior tight end Talan Browne (4 rec., 63 yds., TD) and junior receiver Joe Loughman (5 rec., 46 yds.) round out the list with starting expe rience on O. According to Dreiling the Saints “should develop into a very good team” by the end of the year, which will be key given the goals stated by Marks and Payne…winning a state title.