Kansas Pregame 8-Man Top 8: Kyle Bruce
Pictured, left to right: Little River seniors Kaden Schafer, Kyle Bruce and Carter Holloway. Right: Bruce fires off the line in Little River's title game matchup with Meade. (Photos by Everett Royer, KSportsImages.com)
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. Kansas Pregame will provide features for each of the 16 Top 8 selections. Check out the 12th of those profiles below:
Kyle Bruce, OL/DL, 6-0, 235, Little River, 8-Man Division I
Little River’s Kyle Bruce was a member of one of the best offensive lines in 8-Man football during his junior and senior seasons. The 6-0, 235 pound guard frequently pushed defenders around at will, alongside fellow seniors Kaden Schafer and Carter Holloway, a trio that blocked for a Little River program that went 23-3 over the last two seasons.
While Schafer - another 8-Man Top 8 honoree - was known more as the vocal leader, Bruce went a different route.
“He leads by example,” head coach Kevin Ayers said. “He has high expectations for himself and his teammates. He holds our team, and especially the offensive line, accountable.”
Bruce is a hard worker in the classic sense, believing the best way to be ready for gameday, is to spend every other day outworking your opponent. Little River’s W/L column was a direct reflection of that outlook, as the defending 2020 state champs went 12-1 in 2021, losing their only game in the state championship, 22-14 against Meade.
“One of the key components of our success was showing up to the weight room everyday and then being able to apply it to the field,” Bruce said.
Bruce and his fellow O-linemen helped clear the way for 4,447 total yards and 39.7 points per game, but he didn’t limit his dominance to the offensive side of the ball. The senior finished with 62 tackles from his defensive line spot, along with eight tackles-for-loss, four hurries, and 3.5 sacks in 2021.
“Kyle is a finisher,” Ayers said. “He takes pride in being a physical player and has worked hard on perfecting his technique. He plays with great leverage and goes hard from snap to whistle. His work ethic and willingness to do the little things made him one of our most improved players this season.”
Bruce intends to attend Hutchinson Community College to study Farm Management and Diesel Mechanics when he finishes high school, ultimately planning on returning home to take over the family farm.
“I had a lot of fun working with the same guys these last six years,” Bruce said. “I feel our success came from the fact that we know each other so well. We were dedicated to showing up to the weight room all summer long and that just shows how committed we were this season. Coach Ayers always taught us to grow together like brothers this season, and I felt like that is a key part of our success.”
*Editor's Note: Kansas Pregame has opted to include only seniors in our Top 8 list in an effort to reward them for their success in high school. This year, especially in Division II, there were a number of top players who were juniors. Axtell's Isaac Detweiler, Wheatland-Grinnell's Jett Vincent and Thunder Ridge's Dylan Bice are just a few of those likely among the Top 8 players in the classification. Fortunately, multiple other outlets have recognized those athletes for their contributions this season and Kansas Pregame will consider each of them for feature coverage in our 2022 Football Preview along with the many other top returning players from across the state.