Clear Fork – When Westside quarterback Kaiden Vance’s brother Bradie was in school, he played all nine positions in baseball his senior season, proving to be the ultimate utility player.
His younger brother Kaiden is showing similar versatility on the gridiron.
Passing for 103 yards and a touchdown, rushing for 142 yards and two touchdowns and intercepting two passes on defense, the younger Vance was a game wrecker in Friday’s season opener at Wyoming East, helping the Renegades to a 28-20 win over their county rivals.
For his efforts Vance has been named the 2022 Lootpress Week 1 Player of the Week by the Lootpress sportswriters.
The award is sponsored by Bodyworks, the Law Offices of Brandon Steele, In Shape and Mid-State Ford.
Making his first career start at QB, the sophomore never imagined he’d shine as bright as he did in his debut.
“I was a nervous wreck before the game,” Vance laughed. “Coach (Justin) Cogar helped me a lot and after the first run play, the nerves went away.”
A former QB at Westside, Cogar knows all too well how mistakes can avalanche for a young player, which is why he knew what to say to Vance when he struggled early in the game. Vance took it to heart and impressed his coach as the game went on.
“The main thing I liked about what Kaiden did is he had two interceptions he threw and he didn’t let that impact him the rest of the game,” Cogar said. “For a young quarterback that’s hard to do and something I struggled with as a player but he was able to bounce back and keep playing. He made up for it on defense as well as in the run game so I was pretty proud of him.”
Vance’s success in the run game helped him settle in, but it isn’t something he’s willing to take credit for.
“That’s all the offensive line,” Vance said. “Without them I wouldn’t have any of that so they deserve the credit for that.”
His coach was willing to give him his own share of credit though.
“I think it was his football IQ, his vision and his instincts,” Cogar said. “Kaiden’s not the fastest guy in the world and he’ll tell you that but he’s got good knowledge of the game and our system so he knows where to look and where to go with it.”
Pushing him over the edge this week was what he did on the defensive side of the ball where he picked off two passes and had a tackle for a loss. Backing up his coach’s praise, Vance explained the interceptions came as a result of scouting and preparation.
“We knew their quarterback, when he rolled out he wouldn’t take off,” Vance sad. “We scouted that and know he’ll run along the line. I just had to stay with the receiver and once he threw it up I knew I had to make a play on it and stay deep.”
As a POTW winner, Vance will be invited to and honored at the Lootpress Winter Sports Award Banquet later this year.
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James Monroe running back Cooper Ridgeway won the fan vote with 10,048 votes, over 40 percent of the total vote tally. In an effort to reward communities for their diligence in voting for their respective players, Lootpress will take the top vote getter each week and advance them to the pool of candidates for the newly created Community Choice Player of the Year. When the regular season concludes, the 11 players that led in total votes their respective weeks will be grouped into a poll where everyone can vote on one player to win the award as well as the $500 scholarship that comes with it.
