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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's football team found the best way to get over heartbreaking loss -- a runaway win.
After taking a 32-30 last-second loss the previous week at nationally-ranked Northwest Misouri, the Ichabods rolled to a 37-9 Homecoming win over Central Oklahoma on Saturday at Yager Stadium, improving to 5-3 on the season.
Washburn senior star James Letcher Jr. scores his third touchdown of the day on a 78-yard punt return in Saturday's 37-9 Homecoming win over Central Oklahoma. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
James Letcher Jr. (left) celebrates his third touchdown of Saturday's 37-9 win over Central Oklahoma with teammate Andrew Pujado. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"This was huge, huge,'' Washburn coach Craig Schurig said. "The kids were good all week but you just tell that type of loss we had last week still stung and it was still on everyone's mind.
"This helps a lot and we played real well. We didn't wallow in it and the leadership of our seniors really took over.''
Washburn senior defensive back Channon Ross, who had one of the Ichabods' three interceptions against Central Oklahoma, said that after being burned on Northwest's game-winning drive, it was important for the Ichabod defense to show out Saturday.
"All week in practice the defense felt like it was on us last week,'' Ross said. "The offense played great, so we felt like this game was us. Everybody was looking at us thinking they could throw the ball and we had to make them pay for it.
"I think we responded very well and did what we had to do.''
After a scoreless first quarter, Kameron Lake got the Ichabods on the scoreboard with a 26-yard field goal with 6:47 to play in the second quarter, capping a 16-play, 66-yard drive to take a 3-0 lead.
After the Ichabods forced a punt, Washburn then wrapped up the opening half with a 15-play, 87-yard drive, capped by Kellen Simoncic's 1-yard run on a quarterback keeper.
Washburn the proceeded to dominate the second half, opening up a commanding 37-3 advantage midway through the fourth quarter.
"We just wanted to continue to keep playing hard,'' said Washburn senior James Letcher Jr., who had three touchdowns on the day. "We knew what we were trying to do. A lot of stuff we tried in the first half wasn't really working so we fixed that in the second half.''
UCO took the opening kickoff of the second half and went backwards one yard in its three plays. Ater a 33-yard punt Washburn needed five plays to march 57 yards in 87 seconds, with Ichabod record-holder Letcher taking a direct snap and scoring from 12 yards out to put Washburn up 16-0 with 12:31 to play in the third quarter.
The Ichabods; Brendan Harden picked off a pass on a Broncho third-down play and returned it to the UCO 20, setting up Simoncic's to 11-yard TD pass to Letcher that stretched Washburn's lead to 23-0.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman's girls cross country team entered Saturday's Class 5A regional at Kanza Park as a heavy favorite and lived up to that billing, with the Vikings placing all of their top five runners in the top 10 on the way to a decisive 22-46 victory over Lansing in the team standings.
Seaman's girls won the team title in Saturday's Class 5A regional cross country meet at Kanza Park by a 22-46 margin over Lansing. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman freshman Ryin Miller finished second individually in Saturdays Class 5A cross country regional, helping lead the Vikings to the team championship. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"I felt really good about it,'' Seaman coach Rick Brading said. "We had a couple of kids who were kind of running all by themselves and that's a hard way to run. And then this is a place where you go out too fast, so a couple of them suffered a little from going out really hard, but in the end we had good performances.
"Kids ran well and we kind of ran where I thought we would be.''
:Freshman Ryin Miller (18:36.38) senior Bethany Druse (19:41.27) and sophomore Stella Appelhanz (19:51.90) finished second, third and fourth behind individual champion Grace Hanson of Piper while the Vikings also got an eighth-place finish from senior Leah Spurlock (20:06.08) and a 10th from junior Savannah Sampson (20:40.25).
Sophomore Anna Becker added a 14th-place finish (21:11.44) and junior Elinor Stallbaumer a 25th-place finish (22:13.40).
"We wanted to take a positive experience into the state meet and it has been,'' Brading said. "I think the kids feel good about it because you run fast here.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka schools swept the boys titles in Saturday's Class 5A cross country regional at Kanza Park, with Topeka West senior Lenny Njoroge posting a 30-second individual win and Shawnee Heights placing three runners in the top eight places en route to winning the team title by a 53-61 margin over Lansing.
Shawnee Heights won the boys team championship in Saturday's Class 5A cross country regional at Kanza Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Topeka West senior Lenny Njoroge and Shawnee Heights junior Jackson Esquibel finished one-two in Saturday's Class 5A cross country regional at Kanza Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Njoroge, who also plays soccer for the Chargers, continued his dominant season, posting a winning five-kilometer time of 15 minutes, 17.04 seconds while earning his third 5A state berth in as many tries.
"I felt so good,'' said Njoroge, a two-time state placer. "I was ready, I felt prepared. We only had one (soccer) game this whole week so I had time to recover and relax.
"Coming into this race I was really ready and happy.''
Shawnee Heights junior Jackson Esquibel (15:47.09) and senior Kory Sutton (16:04.25) finished second and third behind Njoroge and senior Andrew Emerson (16:55.86) added an eighth-place finish as the Heights trio powered the T-Birds to the eight-point win in the team race.
Evan Carter finished 13th (17:16.88) and Landon Staniec 27th (18:29.42) to round out the T-Birds' top five.
"I'm real excited about how our team's developed and I hope we can get top-five at state,'' Esquibel said.
Sutton was also thrilled with the T-Birds' team win Saturday.
"That was the goal. That's what we were all looking to do today,'' Sutton said. "I felt like everybody did their part, everybody did well. We've been working towards doing well at regionals and then hopefully doing the best we can next week and compete with some of the top teams.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Rossville head football coach Derick Hammes picked up his 100th win at the school Friday night as the Bulldawgs rolled to a 50-6 Class 2A district road win over Maur Hill-Mt. Academy.
Derick Hammes picked up his 100th win as Rossville's head football coach in the Bulldawgs' 50-6 win over Maur Hill-Mt. Academy Friday night. [File photo/TSN]
Hammes, who has led the Bulldawgs to five state championships, reached the century mark at Rossville in his 10th season and is now 100-19.
Rossville improved to 4-4 overall and 3-1 in the district in Friday's rout, building a 19-0 first-quarter advantage and a 43-6 lead at the half.
Sophomore Tayson Horak got the night off to a quick start for the Bulldawgs, returning the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchown. Junior Cedric Leistenschneider added the extra point to give Rossville a 7-0 lead just 14 seconds into the game.
Rossville added two more touchdowns in the opening quarter, with junior quarterback Camden Horak scoring from 3 yards out and sophomore Seth Catron scoring on a 46-yard run.
The Bulldawgs continued to pour it on in the second quarter, outscoring Maur Hill 24-6 in the period.
Senior Braiden Hensley scored on a 5-yard run, C. Horak hit senior Aryon Klesath for a 25-yard TD pass and and T. Horak scored on a 4-yard run.
Hensley ran for 2-point conversions after each of Rossville's three second-quarter touchdowns.
Catron scored Rossville's final TD of the night on a 12-yard run in the third quarter and Leistenschneider tacked on the extra point.
Rossville, which finished second in 2A District 3 will open postseaon next Friday night at home against 5-3 Minneapolis.
The Bulldawgs are the two-time defending 2A state champs.
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
After losing four straight to state contending 8-man teams, Cair Paravel Latin ended its football season on a high note with a 62-12 win over Maranatha Academy Friday night at Highland Park.
The Lions rapidly put 62 points on the scoreboard on their Senior Night, needing just 24 minutes to get the win at the halftime break.
Cair Paravel junior quarterback Evan Will went 7 of 7 passing for 117 yards and three TDs in Friday's 62-12 win over Maranatha Academy. [Photo by Sarah Carson/Special to TSN]
![Senior Jachin Bonura carried the ball three times for 118 yards and caught five passes for 100 yards in Cair Paravel's 62-12 win over Maranatha Academy. [Photo by Sarah Carson/Special to TSN]](/images/aa-images/CPLSFB1.jpg)
Senior Jachin Bonura carried tJunior Noah Collins had a 37-yard pick-six in Cair Paravel's 62-12 win over Maranatha Academy. [Photo by Sarah Carson/Special to TSN]
Cair Paravel junior Jesiah Bonura finds running room in the Lions' 62-12 win over Maranatha Academy. [Photo by Sarah Carson/Special to TSN]
Cair Paravel sophomore Ben Roeder (26) and junior Noah Collins (33) close in on a Maranatha Academy ball-carrier in Friday's 62-12 Lion win. [Photo by Sarah Carson/Special to TSN]
“Our guys came out and executed the way we wanted them to,” Cair Paravel Latin coach Doug Bonura said. “We were able to get a lot of guys in the game tonight and learn on the spot. They responded well after losing last week, which was a rough one for us. Being able to come back and play the way we wanted to play was great to see.
“But with all of that being said, I’m disappointed that we’re not going to the playoffs.”
In its first full year as a member of the Kansas State High School Activities Association, Cair Paravel Latin received an un-warm welcome. The Lions were delivered a juggernaut of a schedule for nearly the entirety of the 2022 campaign.
“This year was a bit of a disappointment because we have a tremendous team with a lot of talent,” D. Bonura said. “This year was good and humbling for us. Our district has several teams who are top-20 in the entire state. We learned so much about this year and we look forward to taking those lessons into next year.”
Out of the Lions’ eight regular season games played, only three of the teams that Cair Paravel has played has had a losing record. Cair Paravel Latin has won all of its games against those three teams with a losing record.
In its three games won, Cair Paravel Latin has outscored the opposition, 178-28. The Lions do what they’re supposed to do, blow out the teams that they’re supposed to beat.
On Friday night, Cair Paravel Latin was able to execute the game plan flawlessly against a wounded Maranatha Academy squad.
The Lions 40-point first quarter was impressive.
In fact, it took Cair Paravel under four minutes to put up 24 points on the scoreboard and it was evident that the Lions would roll over the Eagles in the beginning portion of the game.
Lion senior running back Jachin Bonura had an eye-opening game on Friday night, touching the pigskin eight times for 218 yards and four touchdowns.
Cair Paravel junior quarterback Evan Will had a quick but perfect night. Will went 7-7 for 117 yards and three touchdowns.
Defensively, the Lions were stout. Seven sacks, two interceptions, 14 tackles for losses and a defensive touchdown. Noah Collins’ pick-six was for 37 yards.
The game started and ended in a blink of an eye. Similar to Cair Paravel’s season. A dominating home performance to cap off a season filled with lessons was important to this young and aspiring Lions group.
“Our guys competed in every game this year,” D. Bonura said. “We played the way we wanted to. We are going to have to work on our technique going forward and polish a lot of things for us to move in the direction we want to go in.”
Cair Paravel Latin finished its season with a 3-5 overall and 1-4 district record.
CAIR PARAVEL LATIN 62, MARANATHA ACADEMY 12
Maranatha Academy (0-7, 0-4) 6 6 – 12
Cair Paravel Latin (3-5, 1-4) 40 22 – 62
Cair Paravel – Ja. Bonura 46 run (2-pt is good)
Cair Paravel – Ja. Bonura 48 pass from Will (2-pt is good)
Cair Paravel – Collins 37 interception return (2-pt is good)
Cair Paravel – Ja. Bonura 27 pass from Will (2-pt is good)
Cair Paravel – Roeder 38 run (2-pt conversion is good)
Maranatha Academy – Higginbotham 26 pass from Nelson (2-pt is no good)
Maranatha Academy – Higgenbotham 13 pass from Nelson (2-point is no good)
Cair Paravel – Ja. Bonura 47 run (2-pt is no good)
Cair Paravel – Je. Bonura 47 run (2-pt is good)
Cair Paravel – Gossard 9 pass from Will (2-pt is no good)
Individual statistics
Passing: Cair Paravel Latin – Will 7-7, 117 yards; Pavlik 2-2, 24. Maranatha Academy – Nelson 8-16, 105 yards; Smail 1-4, 7.
Rushing: Cair Paravel Latin – Ja. Bonura 3-118, Pavlik 3-26, Je. Bonura 1-47, Roeder 1-38. Maranatha Academy – Nelson 8-(minus)-54, Higginbotham 6-45, Smail 4-17, Wiley 4-(minus)-3.
Receiving: Cair Paravel Latin – Ja. Bonura 5-100, Will 2-24, Gossard 1-9, Helmbold 1-8. Maranatha Academy – Higginbotham 4-63, Smail 4-34, Dean 1-5.
