GREENLAND -- There wasn't a trace of brown to be seen as sprinklers watered the lush green turf on Greenland's football field on a warm mid-August afternoon.

The field is always in pristine condition around this time of year with the season nearing. But the landscape surrounding the natural grass has changed drastically heading into this particular fall.

New home bleachers and a press box are nearing completion, both major upgrades for the Pirates. A new fieldhouse is under construction in the east end zone, while a new scoreboard will soon go up behind the west end zone.

There are plenty of changes for the Pirates, too.

Talented running back Calvin Giddens graduated in the spring, and three quarterbacks are vying for the starting job. But there are still a few familiar faces returning for the Pirates.

Senior lineman McKenzie Fanning is one of those, a two-year starter who plays both ways and is one of Greenland's biggest, strongest players at 6-foot-1 and 230 pounds. His ability as an all-conference left tackle and starting defensive tackle coupled with his presence as a leader in the locker room are all key for the Pirates.

"I am a leader," Fanning said. "I do what's right. I try. I try to get on people's butt if they aren't doing what they're supposed to."

Fanning wasn't shy about speaking up during his first two years on varsity, but he's taken another step forward in that regard entering his senior year.

"I heard him at the start of practice telling them, 'Let's have a good day,'" longtime coach Lee Larkan said. "I think he has everybody's respect. Because the kids look up to the kids they know are going to do right most of the time and work hard, whether they are that way or not.

"They look up to them and listen to them. And he's one of the ones. And he can back it up on the field, too."

His play on the field will be key for a Greenland team trying to improve on a 6-5 season that ended in a first-round playoff loss and was just the third time in Larkan's nine years the Pirates didn't win at least seven games.

On defense, Fanning will provide a physical presence and experience in the middle. On offense, he and senior Kiersey Beckett return as starters and give the Pirates some stability as bookend tackles.

"They're both leaders," Larkan said. "We've got two good tackles."

Fanning played last season weighing around 250 but has dropped weight for his senior year after spending most of the summer outside trimming weeds for a lawn care company that provides upkeep for houses foreclosed by banks. It isn't easy work, especially working at larger houses that often have obstacles in the backyard to work around.

"One place we do is out in Goshen," Fanning said. "It has two ponds and a big bridge with ton of rocks. It takes nine hours to trim around electrical boxes."

The manual labor work should pay dividends as he enters his senior season. Not that his coaching staff ever had to worry about him getting lazy.

"He's got good work ethic," Larkan said. "If you have a job you have somebody to do, give it to him and he'll do it. Good character. Good, fine upstanding kid. He's a kid you want yours to be like."

Fanning's almost through with his summer full of workouts and lawn care. Soon, it'll be time to paint the lines on the football field and open up his senior season against Johnson County Westside in the new-look stadium.

"It makes me want to not take it for granted and give it my all every game," Fanning said of his senior season nearing. "I want to make it to the playoffs."

Sports on 08/19/2014