While his high school football season has ended — and he graduated from Parsons High School mid-semester — one game still remains for Chandler Hentzen.
Hentzen will suit up one final time in the Kansas Shrine Bowl, an honor his older brother Caleb also earned during his senior year.
“I’m more than enthusiastic about getting to play in the Shrine Bowl, one last game,” Hentzen said. “I think the Shrine Bowl is the highest honor you can get. All-State is cool — I’ve been All-State all four years — and that recognition is amazing. But being one of those 44 guys for the Shrine Bowl … that’s different.”
He remembers watching the selection.
“When we were watching it on TV, I was literally shaking. I didn’t think I was going to make it,” he said. “When I did, it was like, ‘Wow. This is crazy.’”
The Kansas Shrine Bowl will be Hentzen’s last game, but it is hardly the most important part of his football story. That story is rooted in late starts, hard lessons, close relationships and a program that helped shape who he became - on the field and off.
After his senior season, Hentzen knew his football career was coming to a close. Though he had opportunities to play at the college level, football was never the end goal. Instead, he chose to enlist in the Army, where he sees a natural continuation of the discipline and work ethic football instilled in him, along with opportunities for medical or HVAC training and the intense physical demands he thrives on.
Football, however, was never something he took lightly.
“I just love the game so much,” he said. “I get really emotional before every game. I ended up crying in the locker room before every game.”
Part of that emotion came from the knowledge that each game could be his last. He played every season with injuries, a constant reminder of how quickly the game could be taken away.
That passion didn’t begin early. Hentzen didn’t grow up glued to football on television and didn’t start playing until middle school. A soccer player by background, he moved into the Labette County school district in fifth grade — where soccer wasn’t offered — and friends convinced him to try football.
“I wanted to go kick for them and ended up playing running back and linebacker,” he said.
At the end of his freshman year, he decided he was going to walk away.
“I planned on quitting football. I didn’t enjoy it at Labette County,” Hentzen said. “A lot of the coaching just made me hate playing. At that point, I didn’t really love the game like I do now.”
Midway through that year, his family moved just two blocks from Parsons High School, prompting a transfer — and a turning point.
“We moved here and I was like, ‘I like Coach (Jeff) Schibi. Why not play for him?’” Hentzen said. “The coaching really developed me as a player, and the mentorship from Kato, Schibi, Devin — it helped me grow not just as a player, but as a person.”
That connection went deeper than football.
“These guys are going to get invitations to my wedding someday,” he said. “We’ll probably be in a group chat when I have my first kid. I see them as family — more than some of my family.”
That sense of closeness played a major role in Hentzen’s personal growth.
“As a player, football helped me control my emotions,” he said. “I grew up most of my life without a father figure, and I had a hard time controlling my anger — really, all my emotions.”
Football forced accountability.
“You have 10 other people who have to do their jobs, or you fail at yours,” he said. “You can’t blow up on your teammates or they’re not going to do their job. That really helped me grow as a man and how I handle situations.”
Over four years, Hentzen played nearly every position on both sides of the ball. Senior year marked his first as the starting running back, after beginning the season at safety before coaches shifted him to where they felt he could help the team most.
One lesson stuck with him above all others.
“You can’t control every situation in life,” he said. “I can have a 20-yard run, and the next thing you know, my quarterback throws an interception. It sucks, but at the end of the day, you just go get the ball back.”
When reflecting on his career, one season stands out.
“My favorite year was sophomore year,” Hentzen said. “We won districts, and I was really close with those seniors — the class of ’24. I still talk to a lot of those guys almost every day.”
His favorite moment came this season, when he tied the school record with five touchdowns in a single game.
“One of my best friends tackled me in the end zone,” he said, laughing. “I thought it was someone from the other team, and I was mad. Then he said, ‘Dude, you did it.’ I broke two other school records that night, too. That was kind of the peak for me as a player.”
What he hopes teammates and coaches remember most is his leadership — something he grew into rather than sought out.
“My sophomore year, my teammates told me if I was going to be on the team, I was going to be a leader,” he said. “This year, I was the only senior on varsity. A lot of these guys were first- or second-year varsity players, and they didn’t know what that role takes.I think over the course of time they become great. I think my leadership helped with some of the success we had.”
“Chandler was our captain and in all honesty, a football coach on the field for us. He shattered the school record for rushing yards in a single game. He likely would have shattered the single season rushing record but was injured on the 5th play of the game in Week 7 vs. Atchison, taking him out of that entire game plus severely limiting his ability in Week 8 vs. Columbus and the playoff game vs. Wellsville. Also, he now holds the all time career tackles at PHS with 243 career tackles,” Head coach Jeff Schibi said.
“Chandler has been a blessing to Parsons High School these last 3 years. He is a rare breed with an old school mentality when it comes to football. His rare blend of passion for the game, fierce competitiveness, athleticism, high football IQ and leadership skills are something that all coaches hope for in a high school football player.”
To younger players, Hentzen offers perspective.
“My freshman year, I was 130 pounds playing running back,” he said. “When I came to Parsons, the coaches told me exactly what I needed to do. By sophomore year, I was 165 pounds, benching 235 and squatting almost 400.”
“If you listen, and you want it bad enough, you can get better,” he added. “Regardless of what your record is.”
In the end, Hentzen believes it won’t be scores people remember.
“As long as you leave a positive impact on the program,” he said, “that’s what people are going to see in the future.”
Coach Schibi said Hentzen has done just that.
“I’m extremely proud of Chandler and the legacy he will be leaving at PHS. This past season, we instilled ‘Viking Pride’ within our football team with the pillars being brotherhood, respect, accountability, commitment and effort to help mold young boys into men. He embodies all of those. Chandler Hentzen will be successful in life whatever he chooses to do because of his work ethic, grit and his relentless pursuit of greatness.”
When Hentzen takes the field for the Shrine Bowl, it will mark the end of his playing days. But the discipline, relationships and leadership he carries with him will extend far beyond football - into the next chapter he is already preparing to begin.