“Playoffs or Bust” for Vandercook Lake in 2026 Season

Photos by Hannah Tacy & Henry Black, JTV Sports

Trey Richmond | JTV Sports

Wednesday August 12th

(8-12-2026, 12:00PM): Following a 3-6 record in 2025, the Jayhawks look to build consistency and make the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

This is Dan Midena’s fourth year coaching for Vandercook Lake. He is the offensive coordinator along with handling the head coaching responsibilities. In this upcoming season he is looking for his team to execute better. He believes that last season “we hurt ourselves,” but, “if we can clean up our own mistakes, we are talented enough to compete in every game this season.” He will be bringing back Caleb Baird and Mitch Osman as co-defensive coordinators. Also in his staff are Claude Cooper running the special teams unit, and the wide receiver coach, who is a familiar face for Midena, Phil Stiles. Midena has had Stiles on his staff since he started coaching middle school football.

This staff has been welcoming a few extra new faces to the team this season from the Jackson Preparatory & Early College (JPEC) merger. The off-season has been focused on building relationships as a team. The players are following a belief of, “it’s not just JPEC and then Vandercook, we’re a team together.” The JPEC players are inexperienced but talented, “most of them have not played football at all.” Brennan Horne is a sophomore and one such player. Midena said that he “lives in the weightroom.” Horne will be starting on the defensive line for the Jayhawks. Fortunately for Vandercook, a lot of the team is experienced, with senior numbers in the double digits. Coach Midena said, “they’re all leaders… I don’t have to go over there” to teach the newcomers while they’re in their position groups, because the seniors are teaching them the game.

Midena’s offense is a spread concept; the players love “throwing” and “sharing the ball.” They believe they will be able to spread it around “a lot more” this upcoming season. Coach Midena shares that belief, saying he’s most excited about the “amount of playmakers we have.” He continued by saying last year he got the ball to “one kid a lot and this year I feel I can give to four or five different kids, and that’s growing.”

This Jayhawk offense could be running a two quarterback system. There is an intense QB competition going on as the off-season unfolds. The competition is between the incumbent left handed senior, Justin Barnes, who was the starter the last two years, and Landon Halloway, a junior who can really “sling it,” according to Midena.

The co-coordinated Vandercook defense will be “the best it’s been in a while.” The strength of the defense will be the highly experienced linebacking core. The Jayhawks are returning four linebackers including three seniors: Justin Barnes who has been a two time all-conference linebacker, Deshawn Roper and Evin Elsass. The defensive line will feature Micah Crenshaw at defensive end who was first team all-conference in 2025 and Midena says he “could really be all-state.”

Vandercook is going into this season with a “playoffs or bust” mentality. The goal of a playoff push starts in week one.

2026 Vandercook Lake Football Schedule:

(all games at 7pm unless noted)

8/27 @ Laingsburg

9/3 vs Hanover-Horton

9/11 @ Leslie

9/18 @ Addison

9/25 vs Michigan Center

10/2 @ Grass Lake

10/9 vs Manchester

10/16 vs TBD (Cascades Conf. Crossover)

10/23 vs Perry