Outlaws seek repeat in growing league

Winning a league title might be a little tougher this season for the Mid-Missouri Outlaws semi-pro football team — but the Outlaws aren’t about to change that goal.

“I think this year’s going to be better because we have a lot more depth than we did last year,” said linebacker Caleb Campbell. “I expect us to get a championship and win — that’s what I expect.”

The Outlaws went 6-0 last year in the Central Plains Football League and won the championship game on a last-second field goal.

The Outlaws not only won the four-team league, but they did so in dramatic fashion at times — including a last-second win against the Missouri Mustangs on a play that eventually aired on ESPN.

“This year, we’ve really improved all aspects of our game,” said Chad Jackson, co-owner of the Outlaws. “We’ve been able to practice indoors for several months. Time after time, you see (other) teams canceling practice because of weather. We have not had to do that, so I think we’re prepared.”

The CPFL has expanded to eight teams this year and will split into an East and West division. The Outlaws will play in the East Division with the Independence Regulators, Springfield Lightning and the Blue Springs Extreme — all new additions to the league.

“The team out of Independence is, as far as athletically, probably the strongest team out of the new teams coming in,” said Travis Jobe, the Outlaws’ other owner.

The West Division is made up of the Missouri Mustangs, Junction City Tigers, Topeka Savage and St. Joseph Ravens.

The Savage are the fourth addition to the league.

The Outlaws will play a home-and-home series against the other three East Division teams and will face the four West Division opponents once.

Mid-Missouri kicks off its season at 3 p.m. today at State Fair Community College against division foe Blue Springs.

“They’ll be a tough task this weekend,” Jobe said. “We can’t take them lightly; we don’t know much about them.”

The cast of players remains relatively unchanged for the Outlaws. Quarterbacks Kyle Middleton and Jerry Young both return — though Young will move exclusively to wide receiver this year.

They were the tandem that ultimately made the difference in the Outlaws’ thrilling win last year against the Mustangs.

On the final play, the snap sailed over Middleton’s head. Middleton tracked down the loose ball in his own end zone and dodged a couple of defenders.

Scrambling along the right sideline, Middleton chucked a pass across the field to Young, who was wide open for the winning touchdown.

The play is proudly displayed at the top of the Outlaws’ Web site.

“I say, ‘Yeah we were on ESPN,’ and people don’t believe me,” Jackson said. “And they don’t believe me. That’s why we’ve got it on our home page, so I can take people straight there.”

Jackson, a defensive back/kicker, played a key part in another win against the Mustangs to wrap up an 8-1 season.

Jackson kicked the game-winning field goal with 2 seconds left to lift Mid-Missouri to a 42-39 win.

“Our nemesis is the Missouri Mustangs,” Jackson said. “We first said we were going to go for it. ... I figured we’d have a better chance of ending the game if we went for the game-winning field goal. We made the call, nobody second-guessed it, and it turned out good.

“We played those guys three times and all three games were nail-biters.”

The Outlaws return their top two running backs in Tony Arbisi and Jimmy Gronemyer and their leading receivers in Ben Lyles and Josh Holt.

Lyles finished with 23 catches for 272 yards and nine touchdowns last season.

Leading tackler Mike Sleeper hopes to return late in the season from a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

Last season, the defensive lineman/linebacker made 35 tackles and had 6.5 sacks.

Dennis Gerken, who finished with 34 tackles and seven sacks, returns.

The Outlaws’ line will remain much the same with Tommy Kindle, Curtis Walk, Drew Fletcher and Nathan Steenburgen to see plenty of playing time.

“Other teams in the league were pretty sad to see those guys come back,” Jobe said.

The Outlaws should be stout defensively. Last season, Mid-Missouri led the league in both scoring and defense.

The Outlaws scored 224 points while allowing only 74.

Along with the returning cast, the Outlaws have high expectations from some of their newcomers.

Running back Mike Loveless should step into a prominent role this season.

“The kid is unbelievable,” Jackson said. “It’s going to be exciting to watch. We just hope he stays healthy throughout the year because he’s going to be unstoppable.”

Linebacker Reginald Singletary will likely step into a starting role.

Varnell Benn, a 6-foot-6 wide receiver, should play a key role near the end zone for Mid-Missouri.