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By VINCE LOVERGINE

TopSports.news 

The hammer and chain you might see that Washburn Rural boys basketball posts on X after every game, that’s not going away this year.

 

Senior Simon Rowley earned All-Shawnee County Top 10 honors for Washburn Rural last season. [File photo/TSN]

Junior Blues coach Alex Hutchins said that started when he started coaching in 2018 and it became an idea when Hutchins started watching baseball games and believes it came from former MLB player Carlos Beltran.

Regardless of a win or loss, the players choose who gets the hammer and/or chain based on doing it the right way according to Hutchins.

The hammer goes to the player who does things right offensively and the chain is for defense.

 

“It holds us accountable to our core values and being tough and going out there to perform every night. It just makes you have that dawg mentality when you’re out there. You want to compete for the chain and the hammer,” senior standout Simon Rowley said.

Hutchins will be in his fourth year with the Junior Blues and this senior class has been with him the whole time, with the exception of Rowley, who transferred in last season.

Last year's team finished at 18-5 and advanced to the state tournament before falling in the first round to Wichita Heights. That was Rural's first trip to the big dance since 2019 where they were the state runnerups.

“We’ve felt like we’ve hit the ground running more this year than probably any other year and part of that is the decisions as a coaching staff to stick with some things that have worked, but part of it is a deep roster of kids who have been with us through a lot,” he said.

Rowley and John Hoytal return as starters from last year's group, while Draden Chooncharoen, Brooks Ballard and Kieffer O’Connor, who’s won the JV MVP the last two years, are names to look out for, too.

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Created: 27 November 2025

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

CLASS 1A

STERLING (12-0) vs. ROSSVILLE (11-1)

1 p.m. Friday at Hutchinson Community College

Rossville, the No. 4 Class 1A East seed, earned a shot at its sixth state championship with a come-from-behind 21-18 semifinal win at No. 2 East seed Jackson Heights last Friday while No. 1 West seed Sterling remained undefeated with a 14-6 win over previously-unbeaten Smith Center.

The Bulldawgs have won nine straight games, with Rossville's lone loss a 56-28 Week 3 loss to Nemaha Central, which is in the 2A state championship game for the second straight season. Sterling's closest game of the season was a 44-42 state quarterfinal win over Hutchinson Trinity.

Canann Mitchell, Rossville

Rossville senior quarterback Canann Mitchell has completed 109 of 164 passes for 1,578 yards and 18 touchdowns with just one interception and has rushed for 1,013 yards and 18 TDs on 139 attempts.

Cameron Miller, Rossville

Jack Donovan, Rossville

Senior Cameron Miller has 32 catches for 523 yards and eight TDs while senior Jack Donovan has 38 grabs for 543 yards and three touchdowns.

Conner Bush, Rossville

Senior Conner Bush has rushed for 685 yards and 10 TDs on 69 carries.

Andre Johnson, Rossville 

Senior Andre Johnson leads the Bulldawgs with 119 tackles (64 solo) while Bush has 99 stops (34 solo). Junior Charlie Chance has registered 49 stops (39 solo), including 14.5 tackles for loss.

Sterling senior running back Zane Farney has carried the ball 188 times for 2,047 yards and 39 touchdowns while senior Wyatt Newberry has rushed for 1,034 yards and 14 TDs and has 98 tackles (62 solo) with four interceptions.

Sophomore Jacob Lewis leads Sterling with 156 tackles (95 solo), including 15 tackles for loss.

Sterling senior quarterback Logan Isaac has thrown for 209 yards and rushed for 403 yards and 10 TDs on 56 attempts.

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Created: 27 November 2025

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

CLASS 3A

ANDALE (12-0) vs. HAYDEN (12-0)

6 p.m. Friday at Hutchinson Community College

Hayden, the No. 1 Class 3A East seed, advanced to its third straight state championship game with a 46-0 home semifinal rout over No. 2 East seed Santa Fe Trail last Friday while No. 1 West seed Andale rolled to a 41-7 win over No. 2 seed Rock Creek.

The semifinal romps set up a second straight title game showdown between the two 12-0 state powers.   

Hayden's closest game of the season was a 43-29 state quarterfinal win over Jefferson West while Andale's closest game of the year was last week's 34-point win over Rock Creek.

Andale scored a season-high 104 points in its season opener against El Dorado and the Indians have posted four shutouts while Hayden scored a season-high 70 points in a 70-7 playoff win over Columbus and has recorded five shutouts and limited opponents to seven or fewer points in 10 games.

Connor Hanika, Hayden

Kade Mitchell, Hayden

Hayden senior quarterback Connor Hanika has completed 100 of 164 passes for 1,659 yards and 23 touchdowns with three interceptions while senior Kade Mitchell has rushed for 941 yards on 89 carries, caught 21 passes for 463 yards and has scored 21 total TDs. Mitchell did not play last week against Santa Fe Trail due to an injury, but is expected to play Friday.

Xander Blasing, Hayden

Jackson McGivern, Hayden

Jude Krentz, Hayden

Wildcat senior Jackson McGivern has carried the ball 70 times for 457 yards and 11 touchdowns while recording 79 tackles (50 solo) on defense with seven tackles for loss.

Senior Jude Krentz leads Hayden with 112 tackles (58 solo) and six tackles for loss while rushing for 399 yards on 66 attempts. Senior Xander Blasing has 84 stops (62 solo) and nine tackles for loss and has caught 24 passes for 296 yards while senior Makhi Kidd has caught 28 passes for 314 yards.

Junior Mason Becker has carried the ball 32 times for 438 yards, caught nine passes for 292 yards and is perfect on extra-point kicks on the year. Junior Logan Power leads the Wildcats with five pass interceptions.