​Trio of Eagles are competing for starting QB spot over summer

by Michael Smith


The Grain Valley football team will have some big shoes to fill coming into the 2024 season.
One of the most important ones will be the cleats of quarterback Sal Caldarella, who came in as a transfer from Blue Springs High School, who already had two years of varsity experience.

Caldarella, who will play at Southwest Baptist University next fall, had a strong and accurate arm, and gave the Eagles a passing threat that it hadn’t had in a few years prior to 2023. He helped the Eagles finish 10-2 and win their fourth consecutive district championship completing 112 of his 185 passing attempts for 1,949 yards and 23 touchdowns. He also carried the ball 62 times for 447 yards and five TDs.

Now that he has graduated, head coach David Allie and his coaching staff will look for a replacement for the 2024 campaign, and so far there are three candidates.

Juniors Chase Neer and Anthony Juarez along with sophomore Ethan Page are competing for the starting signal caller spot and are showing what they can do in scrimmages, organized team activities, and camps over the summer.

Neer was the varsity backup to Caldarella last season and he ran the scout team offense during practices to help the Eagles first-team defense prepare for each opponent. His job was to mimic how the upcoming opposing quarterback would play so the defense could be prepared.

“He played the part by running option offenses to running the spread,” Allie said of Neer. “That helps quarterbacks develop their overall ability.”

Of the three competing, Neer has the best understanding of the offense Allie likes to run and knows how to get everyone else in the proper position to run plays effectively. The junior had a high football IQ and can also run with the football effectively when needed.

“I am good at making the right reads in the run-pass option,” Neer said. “I also like to run the ball. I like to get hit and hit people.”

Neer said he’s been working on building his arm strength and throwing the ball accurately. He noted that he wanted to get better at things aside from managing the game.

“There is always room for improvement, but in terms of knowing what I am doing and doing the right things, I feel like I am doing a good job,” said Neer, who is listed at 5-foot-9 and 160 pounds on Hudl.com. “Now I have to work on making the ‘Wow!’ plays and not just the handoffs and check downs and all that.”

Juarez, on the other hand, is working on getting better at reading defenses and understanding the Eagles’ offensive schemes. The junior, who played for the junior varsity team in 2023, has raw talent as he’s a 6-foot-2 athletic quarterback who has a strong arm.

During the summer, Juarez has split time with Neer during scrimmages at a Pittsburg State University football camp earlier in the month.

“I feel like I have improved a lot since last year,” said Juarez, who has also played at wide receiver and cornerback in the past. “I am 10 times better."

“The biggest thing I have gotten better at is reading the field in the passing game and run game. It came to me finally and my eyes have been opened. I’ve gotten a lot faster than last year when I run the ball. I am better on the run. I throw better on the run. I am not saying I am good as him, but I get compared to Josh Allen. I am a tall quarterback who can run and see the field.”

Added Allie: “(Juarez) throws a good ball. He played a lot of 7-on-7 scrimmages this spring. He got some experience there and played with some other wide receivers and honed his craft.”
In addition to getting better at running the offense and making reads, Juarez said his biggest goal is to develop as a leader.

“I want to grow my relationship with the coaches and be the guy the team comes around when everything is going good or bad,” Juarez said. “I want to be a captain of the team.”

Page, who was a quarterback on the freshman team last season, can run and throw the ball well, Allie said. The veteran coach said he’s giving Page an equal chance to earn the spot as Neer and Juarez.

“He’s the second tallest of three,” Allie said. “He played in a lot of games. He played a little bit at Pitt State. He did a pretty good job. He has the desire to be good.”

Whoever ends up being the quarterback will have a solid supporting cast, Allie said. The Eagles have a strong group of running backs led by senior DJ Harris, who was a linebacker last season and was a starting running back as a freshman and sophomore. The Eagles also have a senior transfer from Iowa Robert Palmer, who has looked impressive over the summer.

Grain Valley also returns three out of its five starting offensive lineman last season including Korbyn Goodwin, Chase Kitsmiller and Logan Bennett. The team also returns a two-year starter at tight end in Eli Monrian, who will anchor a pass catching group that will feature some first-year starters at wide receiver.

The goal for Allie is to tailor his offense around the abilities of whomever the starting quarterback is and adjust to the opponent his Eagles are playing on any given week.

“We try to take advantage of our kids abilities,” Allie said “We are trying some things with previous quarterbacks that we have not with those in the past. We are going to build our offense to stay within the abilities of our quarterbacks and not try to make them carry the weight on their back like we did with (Caleb) Larson, sometimes, and (Cole) Keller, both.”

Grain Valley junior Anthony Juarez is one of these players competing for the starting quarterback spot in 2024. He was a quarterback for the junior varsity team last year and is a 6-foot-2 athlete who is solid at running and throwing the football. Photo credit: Michael Smith

Grain Valley junior Chase Neer is competing for the starting quarterback spot in 2024 for the football team. He was the backup signal caller to Sal Caldarella for the varsity squad. He has a strong knowledge of the team's offensive schemes and was the scout team quarterback last season. Photo credit: Michael Smith