by Brian Turrel
Saturday afternoon, the Midwest Wolfpac defeated the Nebraska Lawdawgs 36-6 in the second game of their Central Plains Football League season.
The Wolfpac’s home base is Kansas City, and their home games are played at the Soccer Nation facility at K-32 and 55th Street in the Turner area.
The CPFL is a semi-professional league, funded by a combination of attendance, player fees, and fundraising. Players range from recent high school graduates still working to improve to veteran players who still want a taste of competitive football.
Pat Harris, Wyandotte High School graduate, long-time area coach, and now assistant football coach at Turner, is the head coach and part-owner of the Wolfpac. He sees the team as a way to give back to the community, “to reach others that did not make it to the professional level or college” and to “bring some excitement.”
David Jones, quarterback and part-owner of the Wolfpac, led the team on the field. Jones made the most of the eight-man, arena-style format, with quick hits to receivers mixed with enough running plays to create defensive confusion in the Lawdawgs’ secondary.
After the game, Jones gathered both teams around him at midfield, and he re-emphasized the theme of community. No matter how competitive the athletes are before and during the game, he said, after the game they remain a community, “a brotherhood,” of mutual respect and a shared commitment.
The Wolfpac’s next home game will be on April 16 against the Topeka Twisters, starting at 4 p.m.
