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Friday, August 1, 2008
Hulding On
Central Kansas, KS
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Mulvane’s college-prospect, two-way starter Huldon Tharp suffered a season-ending ACL injury in June, but the Wildats still have dreams for the 2008 season
Maybe it was cautious optimism, or wishful thinking or perhaps a bit of denial, but everyone in Mulvane, with fingers tightly crossed, seemed to share the same thought after star football player Huldon Tharp suffered a knee injury at summer camp.
Maybe, just maybe, it’s not too serious.
Tharp could simply ice it down, take a little R & R, and all would be right in Wildcat world.
Even Tharp, a two-way standout who sustained the injury on a routine running play at Pittsburg State in June, held out hope until the last possible moment. Based on an MRI, Tharp’s doctors suspected he had a torn ACL in his left knee, but he hoped the tear was less than 20 percent, which might have allowed him to play on one side of the ball (defense, just for the record).
By now, everyone interested in Kansas prep football knows the story didn’t have a happy ending. Tharp, an all-state performer, suffered a 75-percent tear, and his senior season was over before it started. Tharp’s astounding junior-season totals – 1,922 yards and 25 touchdowns rushing and 153 tackles, 91 solo – would remain his career year.
Mulvane coach Dave Fennewald was understandably emotional about losing his best player.
“It’s just devastating because of the investment this young man put into football for so many years,” Fennewald said in June. “To see a young man of his integrity and character not be able to be a part of things this year is difficult to take.
“I’ve coached for 21 years, and Huldon is the best kid, the best football player, I’ve ever coached. Lots of coaches look back and talk about that one really special kid they coached during their careers. Huldon was that one kid for me. It’s hard knowing I won’t get to coach him again.”
Eight days after the surgery, Tharp was beginning to accept the reality of the situation.
“It was definitely devastating because football has been my life pretty much since I was in first grade, and this being my senior year and all made it 100 times worse,” Tharp said. “I guess I had the feeling that I was letting down my teammates, but after talking to them and the coaches, those feelings kind of left. I just had to come to the reality that I’m not playing and deal with it.
“You never think that something like this is gonna happen to you, and you wonder why it’s happening. Faith has helped me quite a bit. You start to realize things happen for a reason. That’s definitely what I believe. This is just part of a plan.”
Last season, Tharp produced one of the best all-around performances in the state, leading Mulvane to a surprising undefeated regular season – the school’s first since 1985 – and into the Class 4A state quarterfinals. A bruising, physical running back, his 1,922 yards on the ground set a new school record. For his three-year varsity career, he compiled 421 tackles at linebacker; as a two-year starter in the backfield, Tharp rushed for 3,195 yards.
After the impressive junior year, several Division I colleges, including Miami, Kansas, Stanford, Illinois, Colorado State, Iowa State and Boise State, began recruiting him. To his relief, Tharp says the programs remained interested when notified of the injury.
“My dad and I contacted all the coaches, and they’re not backing out on me or anything,” says Tharp. “Considering how amazing medicine is these days with ACL recoveries, lots of times kids come back stronger and faster.”
Though Tharp won’t see action this fall, he shall return. He says he has narrowed his list to a top three: Illinois, Stanford and KU. According to Tharp, the coaches at those schools envision him as an outside linebacker, although Stanford said he could perhaps play some running back.
But first things first. Despite the injury, Tharp still has football duties to fulfill his senior year.
“We’re gonna make him one of our assistant coaches,” says Fennewald. “He’s a student of the game, so I know he can help us out a lot.”
The loss of Tharp is significant, of course, and could change the balance of power in Class 4A. The Wildcats were a leading preseason contender, as two-time defending champion Andale loses 19 starters. But Mulvane’s roster remains talented, and Fennewald stresses his players will overcome this early setback.
“We’re still having a football team this year,” Fennewald says with a chuckle.
Here are a few other notables to watch at Mulvane:
Good Gosch
The first thing you notice about quarterback Jordan Gosch is that his throwing motion is somewhat odd – a wind-up of sorts, followed by a sidearm delivery. Unorthodox, but effective.
In last fall’s banner season, Gosch excelled in Mulvane’s wide-open, spread offense, throwing for 1,582 yards and a school-record 25 touchdowns. With Tharp out, balance becomes an issue, and Gosch realizes that he will shoulder even more responsibility.
“Obviously, we’re going to be throwing the ball a lot more now,” says Gosch, who matched through the air Tharp’s scoring output on the ground. “I’m ready for it.”
Fennewald loves Gosch’s confidence, competitiveness and throwing arm, saying that he is the perfect player to run Mulvane’s offense – a shotgun formation with sometimes as many as five wide-outs. Intelligence in addition to athleticism are required to sell play action and check all the options downfield.
The passing attack, which helped Mulvane average 33 points a game last year, could take on added importance this year.
“The thing about Huldon is, his running helped us set up the pass,” Fennewald explains. “Maybe this year we use the pass to set up the run.”
The Natural
Tyler Springer is perhaps the best athlete in Mulvane. He plays point guard in basketball, smashes home runs in baseball, and runs on the school’s state-qualifying relay team.
But as fall approaches, Fennewald is grateful that Springer is a gifted wide receiver.
“He’s got great, great speed, and his jumping ability is just phenomenal,” says Fennewald.
Last season, Springer caught 36 passes for 764 yards and 11 touchdowns, earning first-team all-league honors. He is Gosch’s favorite target.
“Geez, Tyler is so naturally talented – he’s a freak,” says Gosch. “When he wants the ball, he gets it. And if he has a step on someone, they’re not gonna catch him. I’m glad he’s on my team.”
Springer was also chosen as a first-team all-league defensive back last season after making 38 tackles and picking off five passes.
Not to be forgotten
Everyone knows about Tharp, Gosch and Springer, but Fennewald makes a point to stress the importance of Brenton Higgins, a wide receiver and defensive back. Last season, he caught five touchdown passes, and he was second on the team with 86 tackles from his strong safety spot.
Fennewald is expecting bigger things during the coming season from Higgins, who was the team MVP at the Pitt State camp.
“This kid is the ultimate competitor – he doesn’t want to lose at checkers,” says Fennewald. “The Big Three have gotten all the ink and all the press, but Brenton is really our unsung hero.”
The Replacements
Who fills in for Tharp?
At running back, there appear to be two options: junior Dylan Hagerman and senior Mitchell Simon.
Hagerman rushed 23 times for 179 yards (7.8 average) last season and scored two TDs.
“He doesn’t have that explosiveness like Huldon had, but he sees things well, runs very well,” says Fennewald.
Simon rushed just 13 times last season, but he averaged 8.9 yards a carry and scored one touchdown.
“He would have started for a lot of schools but he was sitting behind a pretty darn good football player,” says Fennewald.
Fennewald also says Hagerman, who had 33 tackles last season, is the likely candidate to replace Tharp at middle linebacker.
There are other individuals to watch in Mulvane (Kyle Ericson is the new leader on the offensive line, and tight end Jacob Snider seems poised for a breakout year), but Fennewald is, as expected, talking team. Tharp’s injury will provide opportunities for other players.
“Look, we lost a great, great player, but our expectations will be the same: We’ll strive to get better each week and make the playoffs,” says Fennewald. “We still have 50-60 kids out for football, and it’s the job of coaches to make their dreams come true as best we can.”
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