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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The Jefferson West Tigers are having their best football season in years, but they were no match for Hayden Friday night. Hayden stifled the high-scoring visitors 42-0 to claim the Class 3A District 4 title.
Hayden's defense limited Jefferson West to 129 total yards en route to a 42-0 win over Jefferson West Friday night, with the Wildcats improving to 8-0. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Jefferson West came to Hayden aiming to claim the district crown by defeating the Wildcats for the first time in 15 tries, a string dating back to the consolidation of the school in 1971. The Tigers have put up at least 40 points on nearly every opponent this season. But the stubborn Wildcat defense surrendered just 129 yards of total offense, and the Tigers never came near the goal line.
“I just liked the way our kids competed tonight,” said Hayden coach Bill Arnold. “We made some mistakes early. There were some stupid penalties that extended some of the drives for (Jefferson West). But for the most part, I loved the energy our kids played with.
“They take a lot of pride in (the shutout). That’s the goal every week. But at the same time, we’re going to run into some competition here pretty quick where we just need them to keep plugging away out there.”
The Tigers entered the contest attempting more than 25 passes per game. The Wildcats knew freshman quarterback Brixton Schwinn would challenge them through the air. Hayden responded by holding Schwinn to 7-20 passing for 44 yards and two interceptions.
“It was a long practice week, getting ready for this, I’m not going to lie,” said senior linebacker Jude Krentz. “We got prepared. We were ready. It just came down to communication.
“On defense we have just come together and our camaraderie is just really good. Especially with being heavy on seniors. We’ve been brothers like since eighth grade, probably even longer than that.”
Senior Jude Krentz scored a pair of touchdowns in Friday's 42-0 Hayden win over Jefferson West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior quarterback Connor Hanika threw for three touchdowns to three different receivers in Friday's 42-0 district win over Jefferson West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
On offense, Krentz gave the Wildcats two short touchdown runs in the first half. Quarterback Connor Hanika found three different receivers on touchdown throws, and Jace Wolf capped the scoring with a 25-yard interception return for a score.
Despite the lopsided outcome, Arnold praised the Tigers, who are 6-2 on the season.
“Jeff West is a good team. They’re going to win some games in the playoffs,” Arnold said. “I’m just proud of our kids for the way they fought all night.”
The Wildcats finished the regular season 8-0 and will host the opening round of the postseason next week. No strangers to playoff football, the Wildcats advanced to the Class 3A championship game the past two seasons.
“We’re just looking for 1-0. Every week, 1-0. That’s all we care about. One game at a time,” Krentz said. “I think we’re going to go far and we’re going to get it done.”
HAYDEN 42, JEFFERSON WEST 0
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural football, which played without injured senior quarterback John Hoytal, will quickly put Friday's 43-0 Centennial League home loss to Manhattan in the rearview mirror and turn all of its attention to the Class 6A postseason.
Washburn Rural junior Jadyn Baum tries to elude a Manhattan defender in Friday night's 43-0 Centennial League loss to the Indians at Bowen-Glaze Stadium. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
The Junior Blues, who finished the regular season 5-3 overall and 2-2 in the Centennial League, are likely to be the No. 7 6A West seed and receive a first-round home game next Friday when the playoff pairings are announced by the Kansas State High School Activities Association.
"It's time to get ready,'' Washburn Rural coach Steve Buhler said. "Now the do or die part comes in. We've got to lean on our seniors and they've been good leaders for us all year.''
Washburn Rural got a big break on the first play of the game when Manhattan fumbled the opening kickoff and the Junior Blues recovered the ball at the Indians' 26-yard-line. Manhattan then jumped offside to give Rural a 1st-and-5 situation at the Indians' 21, but the visitors came up with a big defensive stop to take over on downs at their own 15.
Just two plays later Manhattan reached the end zone on a 78-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Finn Watson to senior JJ Dunnigan and the Indians never looked back.
"You've got to build a little momentum when you have opportunities like that,'' Buhler said. "We didn't take advantage of it early in the game and then they take advantage on a quick-hitter, which takes all the wind out of your sails, so you're not only disappointed by not scoring but then you're disappointed about giving up seven really quick.
"It's a 14-point swing in a matter of seconds.''
Manhattan senior Brady Durtschi picked off a Gavin Vantuyl pass to stop Rural's next possession and the Indians turned the turnover into a 1-yard TD from junior Joseph Mortenson and added a two-point conversion to go in front 15-0.
Mortenson scored his second TD of the night on a 2-yard run at the 8:47 mark of the second quarter and Watson added a 1-yard score with 34 seconds left in the half to put the Indians in command, 29-0.
The Indians who limited Washburn Rural to 50 total yards, added two more touchdowns in the second half -- an 8-yard run from senior Kha'Mario Davis and a 1-yard Watson plunge -- to finish off the win, improving to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the league.
Watson finished the night with a game-high 136 rushing yards and went six of six passing for 149 yards to lead the Indians.
MANHATTAN 43, WASHBURN RURAL 0
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden junior football standout Mason Becker and Cair Paravel Latin junior state tennis medalist Madilyn Poole have been selected by the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency as the Rising Stars of the Week.
The Dan Key Agency will recognize top Shawnee County underclassmen throughout the bulk of the 2025-2026 school year.
Here's a brief look at the recent accomplishments of Becker and Poole.
Mason Becker, Hayden [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
MASON BECKER, Hayden
A junior multi-sport standout for the Wildcats, Becker has helped Hayden's football team post a perfect 7-0 record this fall, with no game closer than 22 points.
Becker, 6-foot, 160 pounds, plays offense, defense and on special teams for the Wildcats, scoring touchdowns in all three phases of the game.
Becker has established himself as one of the state's top kickers, going 37 of 37 on extra-point attempts while also booting a 40-yard field goal and kicking the vast majority of his kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks. Becker has carried the ball nine times for 150 yards and two TDs and caught seven passes for 187 yards and two TDs.
Madilyn Poole, Cair Paravel Latin
MADILYN POOLE, Cair Paravel Latin
A junior two-time Class 3A-1A state tennis qualifier in singles, Poole became the first-ever Cair Paravel girls player to earn a state medal last Saturday in Salina.
After winning a regional singles championship at Kossover Tennis Center, Poole won her first two matches in the state tournament to advance to the state semifinals.
After falling in the semis, Poole, an All-City honoree, bounced back to finish third at state with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Wichita Classical's Ani Doom to cap a 19-3 season.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Fresh off its first MIAA win of the season last week in a 37-17 decision over Central Missouri last weekend, Washburn football team will host Fort Hays State at 1 p.m. Saturday in Yager Stadium as part of WU's Homecoming Week.
First-year Washburn coach Zach Watkins picked up his first MIAA win as a head coach last week in the Ichabods' 37-17 win over Central Missouri. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn is now 2-5 overall and 1-4 in the MIAA after snapping a four-game losing streak while the Tigers are 4-4 and 3-3 in the MIAA after suffering a 52-3 loss at No. 19 Northwest Missouri last Saturday.
"We keep talking about the fact that we have a very good process that we're implementing and we're running the program in the right way, but you have to see some tangible evidence that are wins to really back that up,'' Washburn coach Zach Watkins said. "Even without the wins for the last few weeks the players and coaches knew we were doing it the right way and kept working, but when you get a win it does validate it and it does give you some positivity that, 'Hey, we are on the right track.' ''
Ichabod sophomore linebacker JC Heim, a former Washburn Rural star, leads the nation in tackles per game with 13.6 stops per contest and junior L.J. Minner Jr. is third in the MIAA with 9.6 tackles per game, ranking 19th in NCAA D-II.
Senior safety Jordan Finnesy, who had two interceptions and a fumble recovery in the win over UCM, has 239 career tackles to rank 16th on the NCAA D-II active chart and he is also 16th on the active solo tackles chart with 146.
Senior Jake Zeller is fifth on the D-II active punting average chart at 41.9 yards per punt and he is seventh in total punting yards (6,196). Zeller is second in the MIAA and ninth in the national rankings in punting average this fall at 43.0 yards and is second on the Ichabod all-time punting average chart at 41.9 and ninth in total yards at 6,196.
Junior Chase Allen-Jackman's seven touchdown receptions lead the MIAA and rank 12th in the nation.
The Ichabod defense is 11th in turnovers gained in the national rankings and second in the MIAA and the Ichabods lead the MIAA in turnover margin and rank 14th in the nation.
The eight turnovers forced by the Ichabods last weekend against Central Missouri was a school record, as were the six interceptions, tying the six pickoffs recorded at Missouri Southern on Oct. 8, 2016.
Making his first career start, redshirt freshman Logan Madden completed 20 of 31 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns against Central Missouri while adding 14 rushing yards and a TD.
Former Topeka High star Ky Thomas posted 87 rushing yards and 33 receiving yards with two total touchdowns, and Allen-Jackman caught seven passes for 73 yards and a TD.
Fort Hays State head coach Chris Brown was an assistant at Washburn as the defensive coordinator for nine years while another former Ichabod coach on the Tiger staff, defensive coordinator Cooper Harris, was at Washburn from 2002-11, serving as linebackers coach and one season as the defensive coordinator before joining Brown in Hays.
Brown is in his 14th season as head coach at Fort Hays State, leading the Tigers to an MIAA Championship in 2017 and a co-championship in 2018 as well as their first NCAA postseason games since 1995.
Watkins has a great deal of respect for both Brown and Harris.
"Coach Brown was my D-Coordinator the whole time I played, coach Harris was my linebacker coach the whole time I played and then coach Brown hired me at Fort Hays for my first full-time coaching job,'' Watkins said. "I coached with him and coach Harris out there for three years after playing under them.
"So this week is not about me of course, but it's a special week to play your mentors in the head coaching role for the first time. We have the utmost respect for everybody we play, but especially guys you know on a personal level like those guys.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
(All kickoffs at 7 p.m.)
FRIDAY NIGHT'S GAMES
Connor Hanika, Hayden
JEFFERSON WEST (6-1, 3-0 Class 3A District 4) at HAYDEN (7-0, 3-0 Class 3A District 4)
Hayden and Jefferson West will square off for the Class 3A District 4 title Friday night. The Wildcats are coming off a 48-7 district win at Perry-Lecompton last Friday while Jefferson West took a 54-12 non-district win over Atchison County. Hayden senior Kade Mitchell has carried the ball 61 times for 586 yards and has scored 14 total touchdowns while senior quarterback Connor Hanika has completed 61 of 106 passes for 950 yards and 13 TDs. Mahki Kidd has caught 18 passes for 178 yards and three touchdowns.
MANHATTAN (5-2, 2-1 Centennial League) at WASHBURN RURAL (5-2, 2-1 Centennial League)
Washburn Rural dropped a 35-20 Centennial League decision at Junction City last Friday after losing standout senior quarterback John Hoytal to an injury in the first half while Manhattan rolled to a 50-0 home league win over Topeka High. Both the Junior Blues and Indians are in line to host a first-round Class 6A West playoff game.
Joseph Kingcannon, Highland Park
HIGHLAND PARK (5-2, 4-1 Meadowlark) at KC-WASHINGTON (7-0, 5-0 Meadowlark)
Highland Park can earn a share of the Meadowlark Conference championship with a win Friday. Both teams are unbeaten on the field, with Kansas City-Washington coming off a 49-33 Meadowlark win over KC-Schlagle while Highland Park picked up a forfeit win over Kansas City-East, Mo. last Friday. Scot senior quarterback Dontrail Fox has completed 16 of 30 passes for 465 yards and six touchdowns in Hi Park's four on-field games while junior Joseph Kingcannon has gained 380 yards and scored four TDs on just 21 attempts and has caught six passes for 273 yards and three TDs. Junior G'Honi Montgomery has 341 rushing yards and three TDs on 41 carries.
PITTSBURG (3-4) vs. TOPEKA HIGH (3-4)
At Hummer Sports Park
Topeka High will close out its regular season with a non-league game against Pittsburg. The Trojans dropped a 50-0 Centennial League decision at Manhattan last Friday while Pittsburg is coming off a 42-0 win over Chanute. The Trojans and Purple Dragons have one common opponent, with Pittsburg opening its season with a 24-14 victory over Emporia while High took a 13-12 win over the Spartans in its league opener.
Cameron Miller, Rossville
WABAUNSEE (4-3, 3-1 Class 1A District 2) at ROSSVILLE (6-1, 4-0 Class 1A District 2)
Rossville remained unbeaten in the District 2 race with a come-from-behind 36-22 win over Olpe while Wabaunsee has won three straight games, including a 36-21 district win over Mission Valley last Friday. Rossville senior quarterback Canann Mitchell has completed 67 of 103 passes for 981 yards and 12 touchdowns and rushed for 566 yards and eight TDs on 73 attempts. Conner Bush has carried the ball 36 times for 435 yards and six TDs while Cameron Miller has 24 catches for 398 yards and six TDs and Jack Donovan has 25 catches for 298 yards and two TDs.
