Knox One of Many Leaders

But there's no denying quarterback Travis Partridge likes to frequent the school of hard knocks.

Make that Kyle Knox.

The Platte County grad turned Griffon is making an impact in his senior year.

"This is a team full of winners, and Knox is definitely one of them," Travis said. "He's been one his whole career in everything he's done. He's a person people can look at and say, 'That's a winner. That's the way to do things.'"

The fomer Pirate makes his living in the middle of the field, when chunks of yaradage are a must.

He and Partridge have developed a connection that's helped the Griffons become one of the best in the M-I-A-A at moving the chains.

"Travis and I, it goes back to high school, we give each other a hard time all the time," Knox said. "But we understand the other one is going to make the play."

"He's going to be in the spot that he's told to be in. He's not going to outrun people and he's not going to out-flash people," Partridge said.

Helping lead one of the most even receiving corps in Division II can be a challenge, but Kyle will be the first to tell you he's just one of many leaders.

"It's actually really funny to me because, whenever I stand up in front of a group, I feel like a lot of people don't listen to me," he said. "I'll ask other people what they want to be and they'll be like, 'Dude, you're making the decisions.' Then I say, 'No, I look up to you guys.' I've realized they do listen and they do respect what I think, so it's easier for me to say, 'Let's go get this done.'"

Now, with the biggest game of his college career on the horizon, the corps will need to be at its best against the league's top turnover defense in Northwest.

"Day one, when you come on as a freshman, you wish you could be playing and you could be doing this. Now you're here, and it's like, 'No, this isn't my time. You've still got time.' No, you don't, and it's really sad."