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Shawnee Heights comes into the 2024 season full of youth and potential. With 26 seniors departed from the program last spring, a lot of room is open for younger players to get their first taste of Friday night lights.

“The initial outlook is that we will be inexperienced and young, but reality is that we have several good players that will now get the opportunity to show what they can do on Friday nights.” Thunderbirds head coach Jason Swift said about his team in a statement.

Confidence in the promising youth and athleticism of this group is what is driving this Thunderbirds team heading into 2024, which is going to prove to be a challenging but eventful and hopefully fruitful season. Going into what should be a competitive United Kansas Conference and Class 5A, it will be a trial by fire for Shawnee Heights’ inexperienced squad, but it’s nothing this team can’t handle.

“I believe that once we realize that we will field a competitive team, our players will gain confidence that we will be successful,” Swift said further in his comments.

Swift has confidence in his players for the upcoming 2024 season. Offensively, the Thunderbirds have zero returning starters, but have some strong players coming up from junior varsity that will be sure to wow on Friday nights.

Junior quarterback Aiden Scott (6-foot-5, 192) has seen plenty of interest from Division 1 schools and for good reason. His size is impressive, but looking at his numbers from last year that he is sure to build on, it is another reason to get very excited about this young man. Scott completed 33-of-51 attempts for 397 yards and five touchdowns in 2023 as a sophomore.

His potential is through the roof and there is a high chance for a breakout season from Scott in 2024, as one of the better quarterback prospects in Kansas. With receivers like junior and 2026 three-star athlete Tyren Parker (6-foot-3, 180) and fellow standout two-way player AJ Gallegos (5-foot-10, 170) who had three catches for 60 yards and a touchdown, Scott has the receiving talent as well to be very successful.

Not only do the Thunderbirds have promise in the passing game, but the run game has plenty of potential as well. Junior David Wakes (5-foot-10, 165) rushed for 291 yards off 66 carries (4.4 yards per carry) in 2023 and given that he was only a sophomore, is likely to increase his production further. The Thunderbirds will have a two-headed attack with fellow junior Royce Daniels (5-foot-10, 165) doing his fair share of the lifting as well.

Up front, Shawnee Heights will have a mix of upperclassmen on the offensive line, led by seniors Ty Thompson, Gavin Newberry and Cooper Wohler, along with juniors Henry Schattilly and Leyton Ullery. Soph Quinn Busenitz also will see time in the trenches. Senior Brett Rantz will block and catch passes at tight end.

Defensively, the Thunderbirds will rely on their athleticism more than anything, with plenty of two-way players at their disposal. Running a base 4-2 defense will require a lot of athleticism and experience in the secondary, which the Thunderbirds have plenty of with their lone two returning starters being secondary players in the aforementioned  Tyren Parker and Parker Busenitz (5-foot-10, 170), who led the Thunderbird defense with 40 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 3 interceptions and 6 pass breakups earning all-Shawnee County honorable mention.

“I expect both Parker and Tyren to excel on both sides of the ball this fall,” Swift explained in a statement. “We have good numbers and very athletic kids.”

On top of Parker and Busenitz, the Thunderbird defense will also have the talents of linebackers Dayton Vanderpool (5-foot-11, 150) and Brett Rantz (6-foot-1, 170) bringing some returning production back to this defense. Vanderpool totaled 12 tackles and 1 tackle for loss in varsity play and Rantz 11 tackles, 3 tackles for loss and 1 pass breakup. Having that experience at the linebacking position will be imperative for a front seven that is all but brand new to Friday nights.

The name of the game for the Thunderbirds this season will be to rely on the multi-sport athleticism, endurance, depth and potential that this roster has plenty of. Strong athletes who may not have the experience on Friday nights that other programs’ athletes have, but certainly boast some of the best physical attributes and potential that the UKC has to offer this season. Should the fatigue of having so many two-way players hold off and the athleticism shine through, confidence will build and with that, plenty of wins for this proud Thunderbird program.