Kirkwood

March 9, 2020

Photo courtesy of Randy Kriewall.

It’s August 2002. The majority of current KHS students were not even born. Jeremy walked into KHS for the first time and, like every other freshman, wondered what his future would hold. He had a better idea by the end of his sophomore year when he received his first college football letter from the University of Illinois.

Flash-forward to November 2005. Jeremy had made his mark as an athlete in football and basketball. He had just recorded his second consecutive varsity football season with over 1,000 receiving yards. Despite the impressive numbers, Jeremy said he was disappointed.

“We did not win the state title, and I still think about that to this day,” Jeremy said. “That’s one of the things I try to tell the kids [at Kirkwood] now is that you want to make the best of all your opportunities. When you don’t achieve the things that you want to achieve and you know you’re capable of doing it, you always have that thought in your head, ‘What if?’”

Jeremy’s high school quarterback was current KHS walking counselor and football coach Matt Krapfl, 2005 KHS graduate. Krapfl led the St. Louis area in passing yards his senior season with 3,147 and went on to play at Missouri State University. Even after a high school season like Jeremy’s junior year (with 1,184 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns), Krapfl said it is still hard to predict where a player will go from there.

“When you’re young, you don’t really realize how good somebody might be,” Krapfl said. “I think I realized how good Jeremy was when I got to Missouri State, and I was like, ‘Where is Jeremy? Where’s my receiver at?’”