Jeremiah Meeks

by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — Jeremiah Meeks has been driving south from McPherson to Wellington these past couple of weeks. He has been getting up at the crack of dawn to open the doors for summer conditioning.

But that is the life of a football coach. No matter the circumstances, the job needs to be done. 

Meeks begins his career as the new Wellington High School head football coach. After six years at the helm in Moundridge, a community south of McPherson, he is now stepping up to Class 4A to guide the red-and-silver Crusaders.

He and his wife and two children, ages 5 and 1, are eager to move here. Unlike most newcomers, they were having a hard time finding a house in Wellington – where median-priced family homes are at a premium.

Still, Meeks is eager to fully immerse himself in the community. This will most certainly be a new challenge – heading up a 4A program after spending six years coaching at the Class 2A and eight-man level. 

“Class 4A head coaching jobs don’t come open very often,” Meeks said. “I saw the job opportunity here and took it. I was intrigued by Wellington and its tradition. And I already knew some good people in the area.” 

Meeks will be replacing Wellington head coach Zane Aguilar, who tendered his resignation this spring. Meeks will be taking over a football team that went 2-7 in 2021. 

The situation in Moundridge has been similar to Wellington’s. In his six years, Moundridge posted records of 3-7, 2-7, 3-6, 4-5, 4-5, and 3-6 records. 

Moundridge is a basketball school and is situated in the heart of a very competitive swath of football – where neighboring schools are engulfed in talent. There is Hesston to the south, McPherson to the north, Inman to the southwest. And then there are eight-man powerhouses like Goessel, Moundridge played on a continual basis.

“I think what I’m most proud of is, we got better as the year progressed and always finished strong,” Meeks said. “We were always competitive and the boys had a lot of fun.” 

He also was proud at the end of his career that the Wildcat program was growing in numbers and had a bright future ahead. When he arrived there were 18 boys out for 11-man football. When he left there were 34 going out for eight-man. And much like Wellington, Moundridge has a strong freshman and sophomore class coming up. 

Meeks comes to Wellington with a diversified resume. He was part of the eight-man juggernaut that was Hanston – a western Kansas school that no longer exists. 

During his career, the team went 48-2 and won two state titles. He was a center. 

But between his junior and senior year, Meeks suffered a hernia and when he had surgery he nearly lost his life due to a medical mishap that left a hole in his stomach. Although he was able to play some junior college ball at Dodge City, Meeks felt he was unable to become the football player he had the potential of being. He eventually dropped playing football and would eventually go to Fort Hays State University and graduate. 

Meeks then took a job as a head coach of a very-small eight-man school in western Kansas called Pawnee Heights. After one year, he would join the McPherson College football coaching staff for four years, before getting the gig at Moundridge. 

2021 Crusaders walking across bridge. Photo by the late great Steve Sturgis.

Now comes Wellington 

Meeks describes himself as an offensive-minded coach. He likes to run a spread offense with multiple formations much like those implemented by former Oklahoma Sooner coach Lincoln Riley.

“We will be running a lot of counters,” Meeks said. 

So far 56 WHS football boys’ have shown up for summer conditioning. He has been impressed with the numbers at the freshman and sophomore ranks but would like to see more upperclassmen. So far there have been just six seniors doing summer weights. 

He said he is implementing a summer program where the players have a football assignment every day leading up to the August workouts.

“I think what is so frustrating about this summer is I’m already two weeks behind,” Meeks said. “I’m going to be relying on a lot of my assistants, especially in the early goings, who know the competition.”

Meeks does not make outlandish predictions. And he knows how the table is set. Andale is the juggernaut of the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League Div. IV. 

“They may not lose another game in five or six years, especially with what they have coming up,” he said. “But there is always an ‘Andale’ at every level. In eight-man football, there was a school like Little River that seemed to always have better athletes and bigger kids.” 

Coincidentally, Andale will be his first opponent coming out of the gate. Wellington travels to play the Indians on Sept. 2 in the season opener.

“We have a tremendously tough schedule,” Meeks said. “We got a lot of work to do.”

Meeks is a big believer in the multi-sport athlete and says few of the big-time college coaches believe in specializations anymore. 

In eight-man football that was never an issue, because there were not a lot of athletes – so they played every sport.

“In eight-man football, the margin of error is more pronounced,” he said. “If you have two athletes who are better than anyone else on the field, chances are you are going to win.”

He said that’s why he liked the idea of moving back to 11-man football. There are just so many more things you can do to get on the winning side.

“I’m nervous,” Meeks admits about coming to Wellington. “This is going to be a whole new challenge for me.” 

This summer, Meeks hopes to implement some 7-on-7 drills and attend some camps. He will also host a couple of youth football camps. The beat will go on for Wellington. 

And in less than three months, the Crusaders will step onto the Andale football field. The Jeremiah Meeks era in Wellington will officially begin.  

Follow us on Facebook.

Follow us on Twitter.