Smithville Team Preview & Players to Know

In Jason Ambroson first year at Smithville there were only 65 players on the roster from freshmen to seniors for the Class 4 school in 2015. Flash forward a few years, the program has not only grown in numbers, it has grown in stature. The Warriors reached the semifinals last year before falling 13-10 to eventual state champion Jefferson City Helias Catholic. It was the second trip to the final four for Smithville in the past three years, falling short in 2018 to MICDS, which finished second that year. From a number standpoint, the suburban Kansas City town continues to grow and the roster will be the largest-to-date since Ambroson arrived from Moberly High School. This year’s roster is heavy in upperclassmen, with the senior and junior group accounting for 50 players alone. The 10-3 mark last year was the sixth straight winning season for Smithville, which plays in the Greater Kansas City Suburban Conference Blue Division, under Ambroson. This year, the Warriors return 21 of 24 starters between offense, defense and special teams. "Confidence and expectations are very high for several reasons," said Ambroson, who played at Iowa State. "One, our kids in this program work extremely hard and have great pride in how they do things. Two, the players that have the most experience playing on Friday nights, and there are many, are in the trenches on both offense and defense. Three, we have been able to replace graduated players with seniors and/or talented, physical and hard-working competitors." Here is a quick look at some of the Smithville players to watch this fall… <strong>CLASS OF 2022</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="96156" first="Hayden" last="Sigg"], 5-11, 190, RB Despite missing a game last year, Sigg ran for 1,130 yards and 15 touchdowns — and average of 102.7 yards per game. He is a ’workhorse’ for the Warriors, carrying the ball 221 times last year. The other nine players that registered at least one carry, tallied a combined 156. [player_tooltip player_id="96260" first="Cody" last="Simoncic"], 6-2, 200, LB A first-team all-state pick, Simoncic racked up 116 tackles, adding 2 sacks, 2 INTs and recovered 2 fumbles. "He is a really good kid, but he is a phenomenal person," Ambroson said. He has an offer from FCS South Dakota State, as well as D-II schools Fort Hays State, Washburn and Missouri Western and NAIA Benedictine. His older brother, Kellen, is a quarterback at Washburn. [player_tooltip player_id="96165" first="Rhett" last="Foster"], 6-3, 175, WR Foster is another first-team all-stater back for the Warriors after leading them in catches (51), yards (769) and touchdowns (12) despite missing two games. He has offers from NSIC schools Concordia-St. Paul and Northern State. He recently ran a 4.5 40-yard dash at the 810 Varsity Combine in Olathe, Kansas. Also an all-state sprinter and hurdler. [player_tooltip player_id="96231" first="Mason" last="Crim"], 6-0, 250, DT/C Veteran football coach Gene Wier, who won 6 state titles at Olathe (Kansas) North High School, competed against the Warriors last year and praised Crim’s play on the defensive line. He had 52 tackles — 14 for loss — with adding a team-high 10 sacks from his interior position on the defensive line. "He is on the the best d-linemen in the entire conference, not just our division," Ambroson said. [player_tooltip player_id="187846" first="Keltin" last="Nitsche"], 6-2, 170, WR/CB Ambroson calls this senior his ’Swiss Army Knife.’ It’s easy to see why looking at what he did last year on both sides of the ball. He threw a touchdown pass, hauled in 34 catches for 462 yards and 7 touchdowns and led the team with three interceptions on defense. He’s also the punter and punt return specialists. <strong>CLASS OF 2023</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="179109" first="Andrew" last="Hedgecorth"], 5-10, 170, QB A talented two-sport athlete —ranked a 7.5 on Perfect Game’s 10-point scale in baseball — was a first-year starter under center last year. He ended up competing 67 percent of his passes for 2,309 yards and 25 touchdowns. A testament to the offensive line though — the new QB was only sacked twice in 13 games. [player_tooltip player_id="101696" first="Caleb" last="Donnell"], 5-10, 170, DB Earned second-team all-state honors last year after having 2 INTs and 23 tackles. The game that helped put him in the spotlight was against Winnetonka last year. Going head-to-head with 6-3 [player_tooltip player_id="96167" first="Jason" last="Essex"], an Iowa State commit, Donnell held him to one catch for seven yards.