- Grandview Bulldogs
- Class 4, District 7
- Last season: 5-5
By Tyler Schneider/Max Goodwin
Grandview finished as a potentially deceptive .500 team last season. They went 4-2 in Suburban-Blue Division play—an improvement from their 3-7 campaign the year prior—but they also struggled with consistency.
Last year’s squad opened up their 2022 regular season with two losses, but then went on a 5-0 surge that was then sandwiched, again, by a pair of losses to close it out. The Bulldogs fell to Carl Junction, 13-42, in the first postseason round of Class 4, District 7 postseason play.
Coach: Dan Joiner enters his third season as the Bulldogs head coach. Grandview went 3-7 in Dan his first year as head coach ahead of last season’s .500 run.
Prior to taking the reins at Grandview, Joiner had spent seven years coaching at North Kansas City, and made “a few other high school stops on the way.” His coaching career initially began at the University of Central Missouri, where he had previously played for two years.
Players to watch: Offensive tackles Derek Joiner (senior), Michael King (senior), and Cortrell Rodriquez (junior), center John Hatcher (senior), running backs Donnell Jamison (junior) and Mikelis Johnson (junior), receivers Ja’Lyne Armstrong (junior) and Maddox Griswold (junior), tight-end Tayvin Phillips (senior). Defensive ends Cameron Vineyard (senior), Anthony Taybron (senior), and Nehemiah Reece (sophomore), linebacker/kicker Nathan Ly (senior), and Cameron Greene (senior).
2023 season outlook: The Bulldogs return eight offensive and six defensive starters from last year’s 5-5 (4-2) squad. Tulane-bound offensive lineman Derek Joiner leads the pack in his senior season, but he has plenty of company as Grandview returns its full offensive line and most of its defensive line—a staple of Bulldog play.
“Our goal since we started this was going ‘one and oh’, so we’re really narrowing our focus,” Joiner said. “We don’t look at the past. We focus on the task at hand, whether it be practice or at the games.”
“We’ve done a great job of competing with each other and showing up. We’ve got some great senior leaders. We’re really excited to see how the rest of the season unfolds,” Joiner said.
First two games: Grandview’s first game of the season provided a boost of confidence entering the season, even if it was against a William Chrisman team that struggled through last season. Grandview earned as good a result as they could have in the first week with a 35-0 win on the road at William Chrisman. Grandview then lost by 21 points at home to Grain Valley, a team that has won a district championship each of the last four seasons.
Tonight’s game at Raytown South will provide a good matchup for the Bulldogs to see what type of team they will be this season. Grandview won five straight games in the middle of last season. That stretch began with Raytown South and included the same teams Grandview plays over the next five games.
Live streams of Grandview football games can be found on Bulldog TV
Date – Opponent (2022 record) – Result/time
Aug. 25 at William Chrisman (3-7) W, 35-0
Sept. 1 Grain Valley (9-3) L, 28-49
Sept. 8 at Raytown South (5-7) 7 p.m.
Sept. 15 Winnetonka (0-10) 7 p.m.
Sept. 22 at Truman (1-9) 7 p.m.
Sept. 29 Excelsior Springs (4-7) 7 p.m.
Oct. 6 at Ruskin (2-8) 7 p.m.
Oct. 13 Kearney (10-1) 7 p.m.
Oct. 20 Smithville (12-2) 7 p.m.
Oct. 27 Class 4 State Tournament