KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County. Tod regularly checks in with area teams to share their stories. Share your story idea with Tod.
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The North Kansas City Hornets have been hungry for success on the gridiron this fall.
“All together as a team, we've just been playing phenomenal this year,” senior wide receiver/safety Tylen Simpson said.
NKC, 5-1, has only one blemish this season, a 24-20 loss against Kearney, but the Hornets are averaging 52 points per game and winning by an average margin of nearly 25 points per game.
Ironically, not being hungry on Friday nights is part of what has helped the Hornets swarm.
“The environment we're in, realistically, we have to make sure our kids eat,” North Kansas City head coach Dan Joiner said.
That’s why he started having pregame meals catered on Friday nights, one of up to four meals NKC provides for players each week.
“It's a fair bet to say that if, if we didn't do what we do, I would probably say 60% of our kids might not eat on Thursdays and Fridays,” Joiner said.
Senior quarterback Mahki Fields sees it every day in the cafeteria.
“A lot of guys don't eat school lunch,” he said, indicating that some can’t afford it, “so a meal before our game helps the guys eat and we appreciate it.”
Olathe native Lucas Vincent, who played at Mizzou and left a career in education this summer to take over Just Another Catering Company from his mom, fuels up the Hornets on Fridays.
He brought pans of chicken pot pie and garden salads ahead of NKC’s lopsided win Oct. 3 against Grandview.
“You’ve got your standard mixture of your veggies, chicken, cream of chicken, all the seasonings make it taste good,” Vincent said. “Then, you’ve got a garlic biscuit crust on top — mixed in garlic butter, oregano, Italian seasoning into the dough before I threw it on top.”
Vincent, who wrestled against NKC offensive line coach Jayson Palmgren in high school before joining him at Mizzou, finished it with a quick butter baste to brown up the crust the final few minutes.
“That was good, really good,” Simpson said.
It’s a personal mission for Vincent, who had been the Oak Park wrestling coach until this season and also worked for many years as a football assistant coach.
“I was a coach in this area for 10 years,” he said. “I'd see kids come in with McDonald's, Taco Bell, walking down the street to Casey's, QuikTrip — getting taquitos, Takis — all these things before it's time to go out there and perform at a high level.”
Simpson admits he was guilty of poor nutrition before games before Joiner started having Vincent feed the team.
“I used to make sure I called my mom and I'll just be like, ‘Can I get some Gatorade, maybe some Doritos?’ stuff like that. Very unhealthy stuff, I'm not going to lie to you.”
It’s become clear the difference proper nutrition makes before games.
Simpson and Fields remember guys feeling sluggish and even throwing up in years past, but the pregame food represents more than a meal.
“Ever since he brought food, it was just like you’ve seen us working harder,” Simpson said. “Our mental was always there, but we’ve played better, played smarter, and, just all together as a team.”
Breaking bread together as a team creates a bonding experience, too.
“It kind of gets our guys energized,” Fields said.
That also makes a difference.
“That really helped with the buy-in of them understanding that we cared and how much they meant to us,” Joiner said. “We're definitely reaping the benefits right now from that.”
The Hornets hope to sting rival Oak Park on Friday as the march toward the playoffs continues.
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