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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights setter Clara Morgan is closing in on 1,000 assists in her high school volleyball career. She figures to eclipse the mark this weekend at a tournament in Manhattan, overcoming significant obstacles along the way.
Shawnee Heights junior Clara Morgan is on the brink of reaching the 1,000-assist mark for her career. [Submitted photo]
The fact that Morgan is just halfway through her junior season puts the accomplishment in a special light. Starting on varsity since her freshman year has allowed her to rack up a lot of assists early in her career.
Making the feat all the more impressive is that Morgan plays in a 6-2 set, a Shawnee Heights tradition that rotates two setters instead of relying upon just one. Because she is not the team’s sole setter, Morgan has to make the most of her opportunities.
The third obstacle Morgan has overcome is the most significant. Her father passed away when she was nine years old.
“Losing him, he was a really big guy on sports, so he was like my dad but also my coach,” said Morgan, who is also a member of the T-Bird softball team. “I really relied on him. So, him passing, I really grieved with it, but I know he’s left me some good key lessons, and he’s always in the back of my head. When I’m playing, I’ll think of him and everything he taught me.
“I wish he could have seen this. He was never big on volleyball. When I was young, I was big on softball. But if he saw me now, I think he’d be really proud of me.”
Morgan said she finds support in two sources: her faith and her mother.
Before every game, the junior writes Bible verses on her taped wrists. Her go-to verse: Psalm 37:24, which she personalizes.
“‘Though she falls, she will not fail because the Lord supports her with his hand.’ I think that verse really helps especially in volleyball because it’s a game full of mistakes,” Morgan said. “I think, if you make a mistake, I can look down at my wrist and think He’s there to catch me.
“When things get hectic or people are yelling a lot of things at you, I can look down at my wrist and just say the verse in my head and it helps.”
The youngest of four children, Morgan praises her mother, Darlene Morgan, for her support on and off the court.
“When she can’t make a game, I totally understand, as the only parent in the household,” Morgan said. “She does a great job and when she can’t make it, she will send me a prayer over text, and I know she will be watching on Facebook.”
Junior Clara Morgan has overcome personal obstacles to become a standout for Shawnee Heights volleyball. [Submitted photo]
As the T-Birds’ setter, Morgan serves as an extension of her coach, Sami (McHenry) Kearney, a former standout at Shawnee Heights and Washburn in her own right.
“(Coach) is not on the court with you, so I get to help everyone stay calm and tell the hitters what they’re running,” Morgan said. “You’re basically giving instructions of what you think the coach would do if she was in there.”
Morgan’s coach put the junior’s assist total in perspective.
“One thousand assists as a junior is a huge deal,” Kearney said. “That means she is averaging over 300 assists per season and averaging about 10 assist per game. We haven’t had this accomplishment at Shawnee Heights since 2019.
“Because we run a 6-2, she’s in the game about two-thirds of the time, where other setters getting 1,000 assists are the only setter in their games. So, for her to reach this as a junior is a huge accomplishment. It shows how good she is and how she makes us all better because of it.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
It's been a tough three weeks for Highland Park's football team.
But it was smiles all around after the Scots, playing their first game since Sept. 19, rolled to a 42-18 Homecoming win over Meadowlark Conference rival Atchison Thursday night at Hummer Sports Park.
Highland Park senior quarterback Dontrail Fox got the Scots started with a 73-yard touchdown pass in Thursday's 42-18 win over Atchison. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior JoJo Kingcannon had another big night Thursday as Highland Park remained undefeated on the field in a 42-18 win over Atchison. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"It felt great,'' said Highland Park coach Jermaine Monroe, who picked up his first win over Atchison in five tries. "We had two weeks off, so we kind of treated it like it was the end of the season. We analyzed everything, we made some adjustments and changes and we were really competitive in practice.
"I think (the layoff) made us stronger. We went through some situations that were tough, that we could not control, but we learned from it and we bounced back from it and got stronger. And it put us in a position to be mentally stronger this game.''
The Scots, who improved to 4-2 overall and 4-1 in the conference, had been forced to forfeit its previous two games in the wake of a Week 3 onfield altercation with Kansas City-Schlagle, but after forcing an Atchison punt on the Phoenix' opening possession, it took Highland Park just five plays to strike for a 73-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Dontrail Fox to junior JoJo Kingcannon (conversion run failed) and the hosts never looked back.
Junior G'Honi Montgomery helped lead Highland Park to a 42-18 win over Atchison Thursday night at Hummer Sports Park. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Highland Park made it a 14-0 late in the opening quarter on 2-yard run from junior G'Honi Montgomery and a two-point conversion pass from Kingcannon to senior Tremaine Savage and Atchison (3-3, 3-2) got no closer the rest of the night.
Highland Park's defense stops Atchison in Thursday's 42-18 win over the Phoenix. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Scots took a 20-6 advantage to the locker room at the half after a 57-yard TD from Fox to Montgomery and scored three plays into the second half on a 52-yard pass from Fox to Savage and capitalized on an Atchison fumble with a 55-yard highlight-film run from senior Genesis Cooper and a two-point conversion pass from Fox to Montgomery to put the game out of reach at 34-6 with 7:14 left in the third quarter.
"Coming back on the field and really getting that chemistry back, it feels good,'' Cooper said. "This (a win over Atchison) gets a monkey off our back and that feels good.''
The Phoenix scored a pair of fourth-quarter TDs to get within 34-18 before Fox scored on a 31-yard run and Kingcannon hit sophomore Lorenzo Sullivan-Sowell with a two-point conversion pass to account for the final score.
"We got the lead and kept the lead and then when it got down to within two minutes left, that's when the smiles started happening and it was like, 'This thing's really about to happen,' so it's amazing,'' Monroe said.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn volleyball improved to 15-1 on the season with a 3-0 MIAA sweep over Emporia State on Tuesday. [File photo/TSN]Fort Hays State enters Friday's match 13-4 overall and 2-3 inside the MIAA, while the Lopers are a perfect 18-0 and 5-0 in the MIAA entering the week.
The Ichabods enter the weekend with a 15-1 record overall and a 4-1 mark in the MIAA after completing a three-match road trip with a 3-0 sweep over Emporia State on Tuesday.
"We played great, I thought we played really well,'' Washburn coach Chris Herron said.
Senior Austin Broadie said Tuesday's win should give the Ichabods momentum going into this weekend's matches.
"It does for sure,'' Broadie said. "Maybe it will make people a little bit scared of us if they look and check what happened (Tuesday), so it's a lot of momentum.''
Broadie leads the Washburn offense with 185 kills (3.49 per set) while hitting .384, third best on the team. She has started all 16 matches and has logged 33 blocks with 38 digs.
Broadie has nine double-digit kill matches and ranks 20th nationally in hitting percentage and third in the MIAA. She is second among conference players in kills per set.
Bella Limback is slashing a team-high .546 with 103 kills (2.02 per set) while playing and starting in all 16 matches. She has also added 57 blocks, a team high and served seven aces. She has hit over .400 in all but two matches this season with two double-digit kill efforts. Limback leads the nation in hitting percentage and is fifth in the MIAA in total blocks and fourth in blocks per set.
Alex Dvorak is second on the team with 55 blocks (1.08 per set) on the season while starting all 16 matches. Offensively she has made 99 kills (1.94 per set) along with hitting .438, second best on the team. She has recorded five or more blocks in seven matches. The senior ranks fourth in the nation and second in the MIAA in hitting percentage. She is also fifth in the MIAA in blocks per set.
Corinna McMullen has started all 16 matches this season to lead Washburn with 341 assists. She has also chipped in 17 service aces while ranking second on the team with 133 digs. The senior has delivered nine matches of 20-plus assists and six double-doubles.
Taylor Rottinghaus leads the team with 210 digs (3.96 per set). She has chipped in 66 assists while serving a team-high 19 aces. The junior has two matches with at least 20 digs. She ranks eighth in the MIAA in digs per set and 10th in total digs.
Brynne Topolski is second on the Ichabods with 127 kills while hitting .284. She has come off the bench in all 16 matches while making 33 blocks with 26 digs. She has four matches with double-digit kills.
Washburn leads the nation with a .308 team hitting percentage and the Ichabods are ninth nationally and second among MIAA teams with 2.59 blocks per set.
On the defensive side Washburn is limiting opponents to a .109 hitting percentage, good for fourth nationally and first in the MIAA.
The Ichabods are dishing out 13.81 assists per set on offense, good for third in the nation and second in the MIAA.
Washburn knocks down 14.70 kills per set to rank fourth in NCAA D-II and second among MIAA programs.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn University women's soccer team is on a legitimate hot streak, posting four wins and a tie over its last five games while not allowing a single goal.
The Ichabods, 5-2-2 overall and 2-0-1 in the MIAA, will be looking to continue their run with road games at Missouri Southern (6 p.m.) on Friday and at Pittsburg State (1 p.m.) on Sunday.
Freshman Leah Henke has a team-high five goals on the season for Washburn soccer. [File photo/TSN]
Former Washburn Rural star Kate Hinck has scored two goals this fall for 5-2-2 Washburn soccer. [File photo/TSN]
"That's kind of what we talked about as a team is the callouses of success and how hard work prepares you for more hard work and success,'' Washburn coach Davy Phillips said. "There's a difference between trying to get a team there and then once you've reached that level, 'OK, here's the benchmark, now it's just maintaiing the benchmark.' ''
Washburn graduated a strong senior class off the team that won back-to-back MIAA titles and advanced to the NCAA tournament both seasons, but Phillips is very pleased with the progress his Ichabods have made this fall.
"They're doing a really good job,'' he said. "I had to become more patient with them the last few weeks and allow them the space to go and make decisions. I think I was trying to stifle that a little bit and it's funny how trust works because once you give them the freedom and they do it, inherently you develop more trust throughout the process.
"It's working through the unknown until it's the known.''
Washburn freshman Leah Henke starred again last Friday night in a 3-0 Ichabod win over Nebraska-Kearney, assisting on fellow freshman Kate Hinck's opening goal and then scoring the game's final goal in the second half after Shaye Taylor scored off an assist from Aubrey Tanksley to give WU a 2-0 halftime advantage.
Henke is tied for third in the conference for goals scored with five.
Freshman Lili Everley is third in the conference in shutouts with four on the season in addition to an 0-0 tie and is a two-time MIAA goalkeeper of the week.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
(All kickoffs at 7 p.m.)
THURSDAY NIGHT'S GAME
ATCHISON (3-2, 3-1 Meadowlark) vs. HIGHLAND PARK (3-2, 3-1 Meadowlark)
At Hummer Sports Park
JoJo Kingcannon, Highland Park
Highland Park will play for the first time in three weeks, returning to action after forfeiting back to back games to Kansas City-Harmon and Wichita East. The Scots will be facing an Atchison team that is coming off an 82-44 Meadowlark Conference loss to KC-Washington. Highland Park senior quarterback Dontrail Fox has completed 9 of 20 passes for 274 yards and 3 touchdowns while junior JoJo Kingcannon has caught 5 passes for 200 yards and 2 TDs. Kingcannon leads the Scots with 293 rushing yards and 4 TDs on 13 carries while junior G'Honi Montgomery has 256 yards and 3 TDs on 32 attempts.
FRIDAY NIGHT'S GAMES
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (1-4, 1-3 UKC) at SEAMAN (3-2, 3-1 UKC)
Quentin Moravec, Seaman
Aiden Scott, Shawnee Heights
Seaman ran its winning streak to three games last Friday with a 48-8 United Kansas Conference romp past Lansing while Shawnee Heights is coming off a 50-48 UKC heartbreaker to De Soto. Seaman junior quarterback Cale Ketter has completed 82 of 125 passes for 1,118 yards and 15 touchdowns while junior Josh Brown has 22 catches for 303 yards and 6 TDs, junior Coy Barta has 18 catches for 223 yards and 4 TDs and senior Noah Kobuszewski has 19 catches for 300 yards and 2 TDs. Viking junior Quentin Moravec has carried the ball 92 times for 644 yards and 11 TDs. Heights senior quarterback Aiden Scott passed for more than 600 yards last Friday and has completed 127 of 200 attempts for 1,956 yards and 15 touchdowns while junior AJ Gallegos has 40 catches for 601 yards and 3 TDs, while Dallas Owens has 33 catches for 419 yards and 3 TDs and senior Tyren Parker 22 receptions for 500 yards and 3 scores.
HOLTON (3-2, 1-1 Class 3A District 4) at HAYDEN (5-0, 1-0 Class 3A District 4)
Kade Mitchell, Hayden
Rivals Hayden and Holton square off in a key Class 3A District 4 contest Friday night. Hayden rolled to a 51-0 district win over Hiawatha last week while Holton dropped a 27-17 district decision to Jefferson West. Hayden senior quarterback Connor Hanika has completed 40 of 73 passes for 612 yards and 7 touchdowns while senior Kade Mitchell has carried the ball 38 times for 399 yards and has scored nine total TDs and senior Jackson McGivern has 250 yards on 28 carries and scored five total touchdowns. Junior Mason Becker is 24 of 24 on extra point attempts while also scoring two TDs and two 2-point conversions.
JUNCTION CITY (3-2, 1-0 Centennial League) vs. TOPEKA HIGH (3-2, 1-1 Centennial)
At Hummer Sports Park
Zane Smith, Topeka High
Both the Blue Jays and Trojans are coming off losses, with Junction City dropping a 34-28 non-league decision to Hays and Topeka falling to Centennial League foe Washburn Rural, 35-6. Topeka High senior quarterback Zane Smith completed 12 of 26 passes for 284 yards against Washburn Rural while also carrying the ball 17 times for 85 yards. Junior Courtney Sanders caught 5 passes for 192 yards, including a 76-yard touchdown reception. Junction City is 1-0 in the Centennial League race after beating Manhattan 28-14 two weeks ago.
ROSSVILLE (4-1, 2-0 Class 1A District 2) vs. CAIR PARAVEL LATIN (1-4, 0-2 Class 1A District 2)
At Yager Stadium
Conner Bush, Rossville
Defending Class 1A District 2 champ Rossville is off and running in the district race again this fall, improving to 2-0 with a 55-6 win over Mission Valley last week. Cair Paravel is coming off a 53-25 district loss to Wabaunsee. Rossville, which advanced to the 1A semifinals a year ago, opened up a commanding 43-6 halftime lead over the Vikings and cruised the rest of the way. Senior quarterback Canann Mitchell passed for two touchdown and ran for a 52-yard TD in the Rossville win while Conner Bush ran for a pair of TDs.
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