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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
After 13 seasons under the leadership of Doug Bonura, the Cair Paravel football program will have a new head coach. Longtime junior high coach Randall Bond will take over for the 2026 season, the school recently announced.
Longtime Cair Paravel Junior High football coach Randall Bond has been promoted to be the Lions' head varsity coach for the 2026 season. [Photo by Jan Pabitzky]
The promotion of Bond to the varsity head coaching position ensures a high degree of familiarity and continuity. Bond has worked closely with Bonura over the years, installing the offensive and defensive systems run at the high school level and promoting similar character traits among the junior high players.
“I think it’s going to be a great transition, and I think he’s going to do a great job,” Bonura said of his successor. “He’s been around the game for a long time. He’s very personable. He loves the boys and really wants to help them grow and mature. The kids know him and trust him. It’s a great opportunity for him to become a head coach.”
Bond is a theatre and choir teacher at Seaman High School. He brings extensive experience to his new coaching position. Prior to joining the Cair Paravel football staff seven years ago, he coached junior high football at Holton for 14 years, where he collaborated with varsity head coach Brooks Barta, a former Kansas State star and son of Kansas coaching legend Roger Barta.
Bond said he is excited to build on the foundation laid by Bonura and to further the relationships he forged with the students as junior high head coach.
“I was lucky enough to coach up at Holton and you talk about a community that is invested in the kids,” Bond said. “It’s not the same here because we’re not a small town, but it has that feel. The parents are invested in the kids. They want what’s best for the kids, and this kind of culture is just hard to find. For me, it’s the best situation to come into. I’ve already coached most of the boys and it’s just a welcoming, supportive community.
“I’ve learned a ton from coach Bonura. He’s a phenomenal leader. He coaches and teaches the boys the right way, has super high expectations for both players and coaches.”
Bonura guided the program as it earned membership in KSHSAA and transitioned to two seasons of 11-man football. The team will return to the 8-man level for 2026. During Bonura’s tenure, the team won Kansas Christian Athletic Association championships in 2013 and 2021, the school’s last year prior to participation in the KSHSAA playoff system.
The decision to resign now was not easy for Bonura, who noted that the team returns a lot of talent for the upcoming season.
“When you have something that you’ve invested in for 13 years and you want to see it continue to grow, it was a very difficult decision for me,” Bonura said. “But I think it was the right decision at this time. And it helps for it to not become my idol. I don’t want it to become about me.”
Family was a motivator for Bonura to coach football at Cair Paravel, and it was a motivator to call it quits. His youngest son was a senior on the 2025 team.
“I have seven kids, so there is a lot of life going on outside of Cair Paravel for me. So, it was the right move for me to be able to do the things my family needs at this time,” Bonura said.
“When I started, I just wanted to have fun with my boys, giving them a chance to play football and to develop a program that honored the Lord and in which young men can learn how to grow up in a world that can be difficult. That’s what football teaches.”
Bonura recalled a situation early in his tenure that illustrated that character development. His team had its undefeated season interrupted by a 50-6 thumping at the hands of Heartland Christian School from Colby. The two teams met again in the playoffs.
“We had a real gut check,” Bonura said. “I told them, ‘You guys were scared.’ There were only 12 boys on that other team, but they were tough as nails. I challenged our guys, that ‘suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope’ from (the Biblical book of) Romans.”
In the rematch, Cair Paravel lost 62-58 in what Bonura calls one of the best games during his time at the school.
“Our boys really grew from that experience,” Bonura said. “And when I see those guys we still talk about that game. They knew that they fought back and weren’t afraid of those guys anymore.”
Bonura thanked Jeff Brown and Ron Thornburgh who coached the team prior to his assumption of head coaching duties for facilitating a smooth transition and laying a solid foundation. He also credited the assistant coaches who have been on his staff over the years.
“I’ve worked with great people along the way,” Bonura said. “Great men committed to help young men grow in their walk regardless of wins and losses. That’s hard to do, because you want to be successful in the wins column.”
Cair Paravel athletic director Gary Cleverdon said Bonura would not be easily replaced, but that the process that ultimately led to Bond’s promotion had been a positive one.
“Doug took over a program that was just getting started in the eyes of many. Football at this school was not the big item on the block,” said Cleverdon. “It was always more than just football for Doug. He put his blood, sweat and tears into it, every ounce he had. We would have loved to have him until he just couldn’t coach anymore. But he knew the time was right.
“Turning a program over to anyone else is going to be big shoes to fill. We feel like we have the right person who has been with Doug for many years. It’s been a fantastic transition so far and I think it’s going to be a really good situation.”
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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
Late in the second period Tuesday, the Cair Paravel boys looked up at a 21-7 deficit on the scoreboard. But as a ranked team for the first time in the program’s history, the Lions believe they are capable of overcoming adversity.
Chase Hastert, Cair Paravel [Photo by Barry Benteman/Special to TSN]
Cair Paravel entered the contest with Centralia ranked seventh in Class 2A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association. They didn’t play like it for the first 14 minutes Tuesday, but the Lions found their footing in the second half and turned that 14-point deficit into the team’s ninth win in a row, 50-42.
Cair Paravel outscored the visiting Panthers 18-12 in the third period, then ran away with a 19-6 advantage in the fourth period.
“First half we were selfish and soft. Second half looked night and day different,” said Cair Paravel coach Chip Kueffer. “(The Panthers) were hitting some tough shots, too. Not all of them were easy looks. But they got hot and then it can be tough to battle back when you’re down double digits.”
Sophomore Chase Hastert, who led the Lions with 14 points, echoed and added to his coach’s criticism of the first half.
“We were not going after loose balls, letting them go after it, not attacking the boards and playing selfish. We were taking first-side shots, not getting it inside. We had like four paint touches in the first half,” Hastert said. “In the second half, coach was like, ‘We can’t shoot any bad shots.’ We went on a run and we were just playing a lot harder, not just moping around.”
Kueffer credited his seniors for leading the turnaround.
“Our leaders do a great job,” Kueffer said. “We have three senior captains -- Drew Fay, Caleb Cleverdon and Lucas Marichal. They’re kind of our quarterbacks out on the court. Those floor generals can kind of rally each other and huddle everyone up to get it going.
“But the way (you stage a comeback) is one stop at a time. You can’t get 10 in a row. You can’t look at it that way. It’s just one good possession at a time, one good guard, one good rebound at a time. When you don’t get stops it’s hard to run in transition. Once we did get stops, we finished possessions. We were able to pitch ahead and score in transition.”
Fay scored 13 points for Cair Paravel and Marichal added 11. After going scoreless in the first half, sophomore Blaine Durbin turned in nine second-half points. The Lions outscored the visitors 13-3 over the final 4:41.
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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The Cair Paravel girls faced another tough test Tuesday when the Centralia Panthers – ranked third in Class 1A Div. I – came to Topeka. The Lions hung tough for a half but fell off the pace and lost 58-22.
The Lions have been tested by some of the best small school programs in the state, including Wabaunsee, which sits one spot ahead of Centralia in the 1A-I rankings. On Tuesday, Centralia applied a stifling press to the Lions to add its twelfth victory against just two losses on the season. Junior Josie Haverkamp led the Panthers with 22 points on 9-16 shooting.
“It’s always fun (playing Centralia). It’s always a good challenge,” said Cair Paravel coach Jaley Barkley. “It’s tough playing teams that press the whole game. We’ve seen Wabaunsee do a run-and-gun trap against us. Osage City kind of presses. So, we’ve seen it a lot. But I think it’s good for the girls to learn how to adapt. There will be turnovers that come with it, but it helps them learn and grow a lot.”
Barkley hopes that the experience of playing top-ranked teams will pay dividends later in the season.
“There are games on the schedule that I think will be good matchups for us,” Barkley said. “So, I think the hard teams that we’ve faced has allowed us to learn some lessons that will hopefully allow us to be victorious.”
The Lions fell to 5-9 with the loss Tuesday. Their top offensive threat, London Backman, had trouble getting free for shot attempts against the Panthers. She finished with just three points. Junior Becca Gateley led the Lions with eight points.
CENTRALIA GIRLS 58, CAIR PARAVEL 22
Centralia 13 15 22 8 -- 58
Cair Paravel 4 10 4 4 -- 22
Centralia (12-2) – Kramer 4-15 1-2 10, Thompson 2-3 1-2 5, Rempe 1-5 0-0 3, Gibbs 1-8 2-2 4, Haverkamp 9-16 4-6 22, Becker 5-7 4-10 14, Tanking 0-0 0-0 0, Heinen 0-1 0-0 0, Niehaus 0-0 0-0 0, Franklin 0-1 0-0 0, McKee 0-0 0-0 0, Osterhaus 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-57 12-22 58.
Cair Paravel (5-9) – Hastert 3-7 0-0 6, Donaldson 0-4 0-2 0, Gateley 3-5 1-1 8, Chada 0-3 0-0 0, Backman 1-8 0-0 3, Wehlshans 2-4 0-0 4, Rosenow 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 9-31 2-5 22.
3-point goals – Centralia 2 (Kramer, Rempe), Cair Paravel 2 (Gateley, Backman). Total fouls – Centralia 7, Cair Paravel 18. Fouled out – Backman. Technical fouls – None.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman senior KaeVon Bonner, one of the state's most prolific scorers, had an off night offensively -- by his lofty standards -- in Tuesday's non-league game at Washburn Rural.
Washburn senior John Hoytal (left) scored a game-high 20 points while Seaman senior Landon Wiltz (5) scored 14 points with four treys in Tuesday's 53-46 Viking win. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
But Bonner, who still led the Vikings with 15 points, got plenty of help from his friends as No. 5-ranked (Class 5A) Seaman used a big third quarter to build a nine-point advantage and held off the Junior Blues for a 53-46 win.
Bonner had a tough shooting night from the field, but hit a pair of 3s, including the game-clincher, and went 7 of 8 from the free throw line.
Viking senior Landon Wiltz hit four first-half 3-pointers and finished with 14 points while senior Griffin Zuniga also scored 14 points with a pair of 3s and senior Cameron Brian chipped in with eight points and a pair of treys.
Brian hit a big 3-pointer with 3:40 remaining after the Junior Blues had clawed within two points and Zuniga nailed a 3 to put Seaman up by a 48-42 margin with about two minutes left before Bonner connected with about 30 seconds remaining to give the 10-2 Vikings a 51-45 cushion
"There were a couple of those shots that some people behind me were like, 'No, no, yeah,'' Seaman coach Craig Cox said. "But Cameron hit a big 3 for us and Griffin hit a big 3 and then Bonner goes to the corner in pretty much the same spot as the other two and those three shots allowed us to escape with the win.''
Tuesday's win was Seaman's second straight victory over a Class 6A school after the then-No. 2 Vikings dropped a disappointing 53-51 decision to Hutchinson in the first round of the McPherson Invitational last Thursday.
"We got a little bit too caught up in the rankings and the headlines and everybody patting you on the back telling you how good you are,'' Cox said. "I knew with the competition (Hutchinson) played that they'd been tested and we weren't going to scare them.
"We gave them too many layups and then they hit a big 3 late. We had a couple of opportunities, but we weren't ready to play and we paid the price for it, which is to (Hutch's) credit because they did what they had to do.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit to outlast host Baldwin 74-68 in double overtime Monday in the weather-delayed final round of the Baldwin Invitational to claim the tournament championship.
Hayden's boys basketball team captured the championship in the 2026 Baldwin Invitational on Monday with a 74-68 double-overtime win over Baldwin. [Submitted photo/Hayden basketball]
The two-time Baldwin Invitational champs went 3-0 in the tournament, with Monday's thriller following a 62-39 first-round win over Wellsville and a 78-53 win over Bishop Seabury in the second round.
Junior Carter Compton led the Wildcats with 13 points in Monday's win over Baldwin while junior Mason Becker added 12 points, senior Makhi Kidd 11 and junior Everett Tourtillot 10 points as Hayden improved to 7-8 on the season while posting its fourth win over its past five games.
Hayden senior Kade Mitchell (2), junior Carter Compton (12) and junior Mason Becker (4), with Wildcat coach Dwayne Anthony, were named to the Baldwin Invitational All-Tournament Team. [Submitted photo/Hayden basketball]
Compton and Becker were named to the all-tournament team along with senior Kade Mitchell.
Hayden will return to action Wednesday, hosting Shawnee Mission West in a non-league contest.
