When the Grizzlies line up for the kickoff on Friday, March 26 at Independence the streak of no Butler football in 474 calendar days will finally come to an end.
"It just feels weird," said sixth year head coach Tim Schaffner. "It is unusual, different and unknown. We just continue to navigate the uncharted waters that we have been navigating now for over a year. On the other hand, it is very exciting that we are finally getting to play a football game for first time in 474 days."
The last time the Grizzlies played a game was on December 7th, 2019 when they won their second straight Midwest Classic Bowl game in a 33-23 victory over Trinity Valley.
"I'm not sure we can carry the momentum or build off the 2019 season as that was so long ago," commented Schaffner. "We can build off the work from the fall practices we had and the scrimmages. The energy and work they have put in in 2021 is what we will build on. said Schaffner.
Last season, the Grizzlies reached the 10-win plateau for the first time under head coach Tim Schaffner and the first since the 2012 season. The Grizzlies also recorded back-to-back bowl victories since winning the NJCAA National Championships during the 2007 and 2008 title campaigns. They also finished second in the KJCCC and ended the season ranked No. 5 in the NJCAA poll. They had 17 players named to the KJCCC All-Conference team, nine of which were from the state of Kansas, and one All-American in running back Brock Sturges.
Butler football holds its highest preseason ranking in five years as the Grizzlies are ranked 7th in the Spring 2021 NJCAA preseason poll, which was released by the national office Monday afternoon.
The ranking is the Grizzlies' highest since 2016, when Butler opened the year fifth in the nation. This year's preseason ranking marks the fourth consecutive season Butler has been ranked in the opening poll and the 33rd time in the last 34 polls being inside the Top 20. Butler has opened in the Top 10 a total of 17 times since 1998.
Butler doesn't return much from last year's roster as they had 37 players transfer to the NCAA level. They do return a couple of key offensive positions starting with Nick Davenport at quarterback. Davenport saw time throughout the season but ended up starting the final two games of the year. Butler center and team leader Seth Falley returns for his sophomore campaign along with other offensive lineman JJ Crawford, Colten Cable and Nick Lowe. Adarius Thomas was back up to All-American running back Brock Sturges and took most of the reps in the final half of the season. He finished as the 5th leading rusher in the NJCAA as a freshman. Lawson Schultz also returns as a key part of the offensive playing in the full back position.
It will be a completely different looking chaos tempo defense under Head coach and defensive coordinator Tim Schaffner as they produced 11 NCAA Div. I football players from last year's defense. Only two returners are back who saw significant snaps during the 2019 season. Defensive end Miles Emery and defensive back Shareal Taylor are the only two who were part of the active roster a season ago.
"This is not unusual for us," said Schaffner about having a lot of new faces on both sides of the ball. "It is really hard to play and contribute as a freshman within this program. We pride ourselves in developing our players so we have a lot of two and three year guys taking most the snaps each year and thus turnover the roster a lot year in and year out."
With an extra eight months of preparation compared to the normal three-weeks prior to the first game, the Grizzlies feel they are ahead and have more installed than they would in a regular year.
"This has been great for us especially offensively," commented Schaffner. "We have more installed and we are executing it at a higher level than we would be in the third week of August like a normal year."
Having an entire semester to prepare for a spring season allowed the Grizzlies to slow things down and really focus on specific areas of their schemes as well as player development.
"We spent most of the fall installing our offensive and defensive schemes but also really honing in on our skill, individual and unit development. We then built on everything we worked on in the fall when we returned and started officially on March and it felt completely different. The guys knew more than they would ever have been able to learn in a three week fall camp."
It will be a unique and different football season with the likes of one we have never seen before. The Grizzlies will play a total of eight games, four at home and four on the road. With the changing of the season and all the challenges COVID-19 has brought, the NJCAA reduced the number of games from 11 allowable to only eight plus a postseason game.
Spring 2021 Butler Football Schedule
Friday, March 26 at Independence 7:00pm Independence, KS
Saturday, April 3 vs Hutchinson 7:00pm El Dorado, KS
Sunday, April 11 at Dodge City 4:00pm Dodge City, KS
Sunday, April 25 at Coffeyville 1:30pm Coffeyville, KS
Saturday, May 1 vs Highland 7:00pm El Dorado, KS
Saturday, May 8 vs Arkansas Baptist 7:00pm El Dorado, KS
Sunday, May 16 at Fort Scott 1:00pm Fort Scott, KS
Saturday, May 22 vs Garden City 7:00pm El Dorado, KS
Butler will get tested early as they face two Top 10 opponents in their first two weeks of the season in No. 9 Independence and No. 1 Hutchinson.
The Grizzlies open the season with No. 9 ranked Independence and will look to avenge their loss at Shulthis Stadium back on October 5, 2019. They fell on the road in Independence in week seven suffering their worst loss of the season 49-20. The defeat was the second in as many contests for Butler as they lost to Hutchinson the week before, but also damaged the Grizzlies' chances to be in the national title hunt.
Independence has won two of the last four meetings with Butler, who maintains a 54-26-3 lead in the series.
It has been a long time since the Grizzlies have taken the field in the purple and gold and that time has finally come to its end. Butler football is back.
"I am just excited to see our guys making plays again," finished Schaffner. "I know how hard they have worked over the past calendar year and what they have gone through to get back on the field. I can't wait to kick it off Friday night."
