February 19, 2022

By Fred Liggett
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At the end of every high school football season changes are made with a team’s coaching staff, sometimes this change can include the head coaching position. The current off season has seen changes in both the Lee’s Summit and Raytown school districts. At Lee’s Summit West the retirement of Vinny Careswell created one opening. Over at Raytown, Logan Minnick’s return to Kearney High School was the reason for another opening.

LS West head coach Vinny Careswell is retiring after having worked at the school since 2004. Careswell has been either a coordinator or a head coach since the school opened that fall. Careswell served as head coach from 2016-22 and finished with a career record of 41-24. Overall record for the program is 158-59. During that time the Titans have won three state championships.

Careswell is being replaced by Michael Horn who comes to LS West after being at Blue Springs South. Horn was a secondary and co-defensive coordinator there last season. Careswell says of Horn, “He’s going to be good, has done well at South.” Before working in Blue Springs Horn worked at William Chrisman on his brother’s coaching staff. Horn knows something about championships due to being a player on a national championship team while at Northwest Missouri State.

New LS West head coach Michael Horn on why interest in the coaching job at LS West “an opportunity to lead, put my stamp on a program.” LS West position is “huge, some place like LS West tradition.” Horn wishes to “remember the tradition while finding our way to build a new tradition.”

What can followers of the Titan football program can expect from a Coach Horn team? “A hard-nosed mentality, force teams to drive the ball.” On offense “scheme based on the players on hand in the program”. Horn adds he plans to “keep it fun on Friday nights.”

Once the announcement was made of Coach Careswell’s plans to retire, Coach Horn talked about the opening with fellow Blue Springs South assistant Chris Miller. After applying and then interviewing with the committee Horn says “five days later got the call I was the guy.”

Another change in coaches this off season is happening with the Raytown Blue Jays program. Head coach Logan Minnick is leaving after five years to take over the program at Kearney High School. In the five years Minnick was at Raytown the Blue Jays won two conference championships and made it to a pair of district title games. Minnick says he “enjoyed seeing the change in culture and the change in community involvement” since his first year. Minnick and his staff liked seeing the “packed houses on Friday nights.” On the move to Kearney Minnick explains having “been there before and knowing what the program is capable of.” Raytown has posted the job opening for a new head football coach but has yet to announce Minnick’s replacement.