An up-tempo rushing attack has always been the calling card for Steve Martin’s Northwest football teams, but the Grizzlies have been at their best when they’ve had a balanced offense.
After a three-year span where Northwest only lost three total times (each year in a state championship game), the program has since lost three games in each of the last three seasons with no playoff runs deeper than the quarterfinals.
It’s not a coincidence that a Northwest quarterback hasn’t thrown for more than 1,700 yards since the team was playing for a title, as the dip in passing production has limited the offense’s potency come November.
That trend is poised to end this season, which kicks off Friday with Northwest playing at Bishop Carroll, as junior Jaylen Mason returns for his second season as signal caller. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound quarterback earned offers from Iowa State and Kansas this summer and Martin believes his ceiling is higher than any other quarterback he has coached.
“Jaylen put in a lot of time in the weight room and he was a pivotal leader for us with what we tried to accomplish this offseason with making sure we had the right people in the boat,” Martin said. “The kids in our program thrive off of Jay because they know he is going to do whatever is best for the team and lead in a positive manner.”
Mason was promoted to starting quarterback as a sophomore and had to work through the growing pains of shouldering so much responsibility at such a young age. He threw for 1,205 yards and 16 touchdowns, but only completed six passes in Northwest’s two postseason games and was picked off three times.
The Grizzlies were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs, their earliest postseason exit since 2016.
“It was definitely tough, but I’m also thankful for it at the same time,” Mason said. “I feel like it made me grow a lot more as a football player and made me mature faster.”
The growth started with his leadership.
“First off, I figured out you’ve got to lead by example,” Mason said. “And then you have to be a great locker room guy. You have to keep everybody’s heads up and keep the team positive and be vocal and lead guys in the right direction.”
Mason has become such a trusted leader within the program that Martin even invited him to sit in on Northwest’s offensive planning meeting for Friday’s season-opening game.
With the intangibles starting to come together, Martin believes the physical side of the game will come naturally for Mason. After all, there’s a reason why he convinced two Big 12 teams to offer the class of 2026 prospect after attending their summer camp.
“There’s not a lot of high school kids who are 16 years old who can throw a 20-yard comeback from the opposite hash to the opposite sideline on a rope,” Martin said. “People have only got to see a glimpse of what Jaylen can really do.”
That should change this fall, as Martin believes Mason is set up to succeed in Northwest’s offense. Maize transfer Augie Fast has brought speed to the backfield to pair with returner Franklin Ekue, while Chase Carter, Ryder Campbell, another Maize transfer, and Griffin Baker are a trio of 6-3 receivers on the perimeter. The offensive line is spearheaded by three underclassmen receiving Division I interest in sophomore Maddox McGinnis, junior Deongelo Williams and Dustin Cochran.
The defense, now run by former Andover head coach Cade Armstrong, returns a talented trio of linebackers in senior Quavon Harris, junior Johnmichael Fountain (six Division I offers) and junior Ja’Mari Bland. The defensive line also figures to be a team strength with seniors Peyton Dean and Brady Johnson, as well as junior Emorjai Buncome back in the fold.
On paper, Northwest should be an improved team, and Mason should give the Grizzlies their most potent passing attack in years. Those notions will be put to the test early and often, as Northwest’s September opponents include Bishop Carroll, Wichita East, Junction City and Kapaun Mt. Carmel.
But Mason isn’t interested in speculating what might happen this season. He’s focused more on proving it every Friday night and restoring the Northwest program to a championship contender once again.
“I’m just here to win as many games as we can,” Mason said. “If we need to throw it, run it, do the speed option, I’ll do whatever it takes. I just want to win.”
Friday’s Kansas high school football schedule
City League games
Andover at Kapaun Mt. Carmel (at Stryker Sports Complex)
Liberal at Wichita North (at Wichita Northwest)
Topeka at Wichita West (at Friends)
Wichita East at Wichita Heights
Wichita Northwest at Bishop Carroll
Wichita Southeast at Wichita South
AV-CTL games
Andover Central at Hutchinson
Chanute at Augusta
Coffeyville at Circle
Derby at Hays
El Dorado at Andale
Great Bend at McPherson
Junction City at Campus
Maize at Goddard
Mulvane at Buhler
Newton at Maize South
Rose Hill at Clearwater
Valley Center at Goddard Eisenhower (Thursday)
Wellington at Wichita Collegiate
Winfield at Arkansas City
Other Wichita-area games
Douglass at Remington
Eureka at Erie
Haven at Hillsboro
Hesston at Halstead
Hoisington at Pratt
Holcomb at Cheney
Hutchinson Trinity at Inman
Kingman at Chaparral
Larned at Smoky Valley
Lyons at Beloit
Marion at Herington
Medicine Lodge at Belle Plaine
Nickerson at Conway Springs
South Sumner County at Pleasanton
Sterling at Sedgwick
Uniontown at Bluestem
Wichita Trinity Academy at Garden Plain
8-man games
Argonia-Attica at West Elk
Burden-Central at Flinthills
Canton-Galva at Centre
Cedar Vale-Dexter at Udall
Goessel at Wakefield
Little River at Chase County
Norwich at Pratt Skyline
Oxford at Sedan
Pretty Prairie at Lyndon
Reno County Homeschool at Stafford (Thursday)
Sunrise Christian at Hutchinson Central Christian
Wichita Life at Wichita Independent
6-man games
Cunningham at South Barber
Tescott at Peabody-Burns
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