Kansas Pregame 8-Man Top 8: Kaden Arensman

Kansas Pregame polled 8-Man coaches earlier this month who voted for the top four seniors they coached against this season. Kansas Pregame staffers then used those votes to develop a Top 8 list of seniors for each division. Check out another Top 8 capsule below, and find the complete list of Top 8 selections, and the honorable mention list, here for 8-Man I and here for 8-Man II.

Since first starting his varsity career as a freshman, Kinsley’s Kaden Arensman has been making a major impact for the Coyotes. The two-way lineman is a four-year starter on both sides of the ball and is capable of dominating both, but wasn’t immediately the finely tuned machine he is on the field today.

“Kaden has grown immensely in a couple areas,” head coach Corey Dunlap said. “First of all, he got his body in the right shape for football. When I first saw him play as a junior high kid, he was certainly athletic, but still had some baby fat. When I see him now, he's certainly a grown man and has worked hard to get his body right. Secondly, he's improved tremendously over the last two seasons in terms of his technique. Coach (Kyle) Burkhart has worked with him a ton on getting his feet and leverage right, and it has shown.” 

Burkhart is a Kinsley native and former Division I, CFL, and NFL offensive tackle who played at Southern Mississippi before spending time with the Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets, Hartford Colonials, and British Columbia Lions. For the last seven seasons Burkhart has served as a coach for the Coyotes – including three seasons as head coach prior to Dunlap’s arrival in 2019 – and has been instrumental in helping to develop Arensman and other players along Kinsley’s offensive and defensive front.

Despite not being what he is today, Arensman was still vital as a freshman, leading the way in Dunlap’s I-formation offense while lining up at end in their 3-2 defense with three sacks.

The Coyotes, who have long struggled on the football field, enjoyed a bit of a breakthrough in that 2020 season, going 5-4 after a first round 8-Man I playoff loss to Goessel. The five wins were the most in a season for Kinsley since a 4-4 finish in 2012, and the first season. The Coyotes won three games or less in every season between 2013 and 2018, including a 2-7 finish in Dunlap’s first season on the job, but 2020 would serve as a launching pad for Dunlap, Arensman, and his teammates in the Class of 2024.

In 2021 the Coyotes would enjoy a strong 4-1 start before a tough grouping of games at the end of the year saw them finish 5-4 following a loss in a first round 8-Man I playoff matchup with Argonia-Attica.

Arensman began to see his recognition expand, however, earning All-League on both the offensive and defensive lines as just a sophomore. By this time, Arensman had began to take a turn physically as well, now standing at 6-foot and just under 200 pounds.

“Kaden's biggest strength is his combination of athleticism and mindset,” Dunlap said. “He plays with a lot of confidence and pride, so each game and play was a personal challenge for himself. Couple that with his physical attributes, and you can see why he was as dynamic and productive of a player as he was.”

Entering his junior season, Dunlap and his class had already established themselves as an experienced group with lots of reps on the field as underclassmen. Six offensive and five defensive starters returned in all, and hopes were high as the team made a switch in classification from 8-Man I to 8-Man II. 

Unfortunately, a brutal schedule proved too much to handle for the Coyotes as they went 4-5 with their five losses coming against teams with a combined record of 41-8. Outside of the season-opening 49-0 loss to Victoria, the Coyotes were incredibly competitive, including a 16-point loss to Macksville and a four-point loss to Stafford. Their season ended in a playoff opener against Minneola 68-50.

Despite falling below .500 in the midst of their gauntlet of playing some of the state’s top teams, Arensman saw more individual recognition after dominating on the offensive line and leading the team with seven sacks on the defensive side of the ball. He was again first team All-League, as well as All-State honorable mention at both positions.

Despite not ultimately seeing the playoff success they would have liked with a first round loss, Arensman’s senior season saw the team gain the collective success they’d worked for in years prior, with the Coyotes dominating the regular season with just a loss to eventual state runner-up South Central in Week 6, and ending the 2023 campaign at 7-2.

The Coyotes enjoyed a monumental victory over traditional power Victoria in the season-opener and the seven wins were the most since the 1990s. Kinsley shut out three opponents on their schedule and held six teams to 16 points or less defensively.

At this point in his career, Arensman wasn’t just the best player on the field most of the time, he was also a key emotional leader for the Coyotes.

“Kaden is a very vocal leader,” Dunlap said. “Everybody sees what he can do on the field, but he is also the first one to speak up for the guy around him. He's done a great job keeping the other players engaged and focused on our goals.”

Arensman helped lead an offensive line that cleared the way for a rushing attack that helped put up 48 points or more in five games and had five ball carriers with 330 yards rushing or more on the season. Despite that big impact, it was defense where Arensman shined the most.

“As vital as anyone on the team,” Dunlap said. “He's such a player for us on offense, but even more so as a defensive end. He has the potential to take away an entire side of the field when he's going.” 

Arensman finished the season with 37 tackles and five sacks and was a first team All-State at-large selection defensively, along with his Top 8 selection and another nod as first team All-League on both sides of the ball.

Football is among the ultimate of team sports and certainly Kinsley’s rise over the past four seasons without Arensman’s teammates. Senior running back and linebacker Connor Chamberlain, fellow lineman Efrain Holguin, linebacker Cason Lemuz, and defensive back/quarterback Peyton Schmidt all earned All-League honors, while Holguin and Chamberlain – unanimous selections by league coaches along the offensive line and at linebacker respectively – both also received a vote on our Top 8 ballots.

While the season ended sooner than the Coyotes would’ve liked, the Class of 2024 will hold a special place in Kinsley football history.