By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

NATOMA -- Miles Thomas enjoyed a stellar season last fall for the Downs-Lakeside High School football team. He helped the Knights win the first playoff games since Lakeside was formed from a consolidation of the Waconda East school district before the 2003 school year. Lakeside finished 11-1 and eventually lost to Madison in the Eight-Man, Division I sub-state championship game.

A fullback and linebacker, Thomas scored 40 total touchdowns, rushed 166 times for 1,760 yards and 30 rushing scores, and had 96 tackles, five sacks, three interceptions and two forced fumbles.

The 6-foot, 220-pound Thomas is one of Kansas' top athletes. Last year, he won a state powerlifting championship at 198 pounds when he benched 285 pounds, cleaned 300 and had a 495-pound squat.

Thomas' combination of size, strength and last season's successful year have helped him earn several accolades and sign with national power Butler County Community College for football.

Thomas, recently named KPreps.com's Eight-Man, Division I Defensive Player of the Year, played in the inaugural Blue-Grey National All-Star Classic on Jan. 14 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. Thomas, one of 14 Kansas players on the roster, said he was the only eight-man player in the game.

"It was really neat," Thomas said.

Thomas was one of several thousand athletes who attended various combines last summer and competed in several drills, including bench pressing 185 pounds, 40-yard dash, cone drill, board jump and vertical jump. Thomas said he bench pressed 185 pounds 28 times, had a 34-inch vertical jump, had a 9-foot-7 broad jump and ran 4.72 seconds in the 40-yard dash, numbers that were strong enough to qualify him for the all-star game. He played middle linebacker in the contest.

Thomas, a forward on Lakeside's boys' basketball team that is 17-1 and ranked second in Class 1A, Division I, "really wanted" to play college football at Kansas State University.

The Wildcats wanted Thomas to walk on and it didn't work for him financially. Hutchinson Community College, another national power, recruited him, but Thomas wasn't interested. It came down to Butler, located in El Dorado, and Dodge City, a choice Thomas labeled "very stressful."

"I prayed a lot and made sure I made the right decision," he said. "I said whatever decision I go with, I am going to go 110 percent and just follow through with it."

Dodge City signed multiple area and Kansas eight-man players, but Thomas decided to go to Butler.

"The other eight-man guys, I knew them, I knew what they were capable of, the talent level," Thomas said. "Dodge City I know is going to be good, if not next year, then a couple of years. I know the guys.

"I really wanted to be a part of that, but at the same time, Butler has a lot to offer, too, with their winning tradition, their strength program," he added. "Their strength coach has got national coach of the year a couple times, and that's a big thing that I looked at, is the strength program. I liked where it's located, close to Wichita, a big city."

In basketball, Thomas has averaged seven points and five rebounds, including 15 points and seven rebounds in a 57-39 road victory Friday against Natoma.

"He has really come a long ways and even in basketball, he admittedly told me that he has been really preoccupied with football," Lakeside coach Kyle Beisner said. "... But the last two weeks, he has been not just a scorer, but really a good leader for us, getting kids excited to play and when we play up to that level, it makes us pretty tough."

Grafel rebounding at high rate

The Natoma girls have struggled this season with offense, youth and inexperience. Junior Danica Casey is the main offensive threat with 19 points and 12 rebounds a contest. Freshman Kourtney Grafel, though, is one of the state's top freshmen, especially in rebounding. Grafel averages 6.2 points and 10.2 rebounds a game. Despite a finger issue that forced her to miss a little of the game, she still grabbed 10 boards in Friday's 62-42 home loss to Lakeside. Grafel ranks third among Kansas freshmen in rebounds per game, according to maxpreps.com.

The 5-foot-8 Grafel moved from Healy to Natoma two years ago when her dad, Kurt, took the Natoma boys' basketball job. In junior high, Coach Grafel didn't coach his daughter, but worked with her on rebounding.

"After about three games (in junior high), I kind of helped her with that," Coach Grafel said. "She is pretty tall and thin right now. But even last year, she was pretty stout. She has just lost some weight as she has grown. She has worked hard at that, and that's been one of her things."

Homburg pleased

The Natoma girls are 5-13 this season, but coach Aaron Homburg has been happy with how his team has worked.

"They are a very good group to work with," he said. "We don't have the attitude issues. They aren't fighting with each other. They are a lot of fun to coach. They are a good group of girls that keeps getting better, and that's what we want to do is keep getting better day in and day out."