HOME on the RANGE Kilian puts Medford on scouts' maps
MEDFORD - Towns don't come much more rural than this community of about 1,200 people, located 13 miles south of the Kansas border. It's nearly impossible for a prep football player to make a name for himself in such a place.
James Kilian, though, has managed to do so. The quarterback for the Medford Cardinals is not only one of the best in the state, he's drawn interest from an impressive list of colleges: Kansas State, Nebraska, Colorado, Stanford, Arkansas and Colorado State and plenty of others, including Oklahoma's three NCAA Division I schools.
He's done so despite playing eight-man football, a form of the game that sometimes is derided by those involved with the 11-man game. Kilian is living proof that no matter where you're at, they'll find you if you're good enough.
"I think James has always had the confidence that he could go play at another level," Medford coach Chuck Goodner said. "I don't think that part was a surprise. It's just the fact that they found him in tiny Medford, Oklahoma."
One glance at Kilian's numbers will tell you why major-college coaches are intrigued by the 6-4, 195-pound senior. In three seasons, Kilian has completed 310 of 667 passes for 6,024 yards and 77 touchdowns. He'll break the state's eight-man record for TD passes (79, by Kyle Krapff of Oklahoma Christian School from 1990-93) this year.
Kilian's glossy numbers came in eight-man football, which is more wide-open offensively than its 11-man cousin. But it seems that's what it takes for an eight-man player to attract attention.
"If I was good enough, they'd see me no matter where I play," Kilian said. "I'm pretty loyal to Medford. I don't get too hung up on (my major-college prospects). If it happens, it happens."
Kilian has used other avenues to boost his stock. He's attended summer camps at K-State, Nebraska, Tulsa, Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma through the years. This summer, Kilian took time off from the wheat harvest at his family's farm north of town to venture to camps at KSU and OU and mini-camps at KU, Arkansas and TU.
"I didn't see how they could ever hear of me," Kilian said. "I figured that the schools that I went to football camps at, if I could impress them... those were the schools I liked. If I got their interest, that would be all that mattered. I didn't expect all these letters from all these other colleges."
Goodner said Arkansas quarterback coach Joe Ferguson - who played 17 seasons in the NFL with Buffalo, Detroit, Tampa Bay and Indianapolis - seemed impressed with Kilian.
"He was very complimentary and really had some nice things to say," Goodner said. "That was really flattering, coming from someone of his stature, with his background as a quarterback. He said he felt like, at that particular camp, that James was the best quarterback there. He was pretty high on him. Coaches see (Kilian's) strength, size and great arm."
Kilian isn't necessarily fast - his quickest time in the 40-yard dash is 4.8 seconds - but Goodner said college coaches, including Ferguson, have praised Kilian's footwork.
"I always want to work on my footspeed, so I'll jump a lot of rope," he said. "I need to work on my mechanics, and get stronger. You can always improve."
Kilian is about to enter his fourth season as the Cardinals' starter, and except for a torn muscle his sophomore season, he's avoided injury. He's accomplished nearly everything he can, with one notable exception: Medford has not won a state title since 1949. The Cardinals made the Class C final in 1996 (Kilian's freshman season), but lost to Balko 24-12.
Winning a gold ball "is our ultimate goal this year," Kilian said. "We've been close too many times."
Archive ID: 775171
