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THE PENNANT PLAYER PROFILE
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
In four seasons with the Washburn University men's basketball team, Jace Williams registered 56 blocked shots, including a career-high 24 last season.
But none of those blocks were bigger than the 6-foot-5 senior receiver delivered for the Ichabods' football team in last Saturday's 28-26 MIAA victory at Pittsburg State.
Jace Williams
With Washburn nursing its two-point lead, Pittsburg State drove deep into Ichabod territory and had a 33-yard field goal attempt to take the lead before Williams came up with the play of the game and one of the biggest of the season, swatting away the attempt with 30 seconds remaining to save the day for the Ichabods.
Washburn has used Williams on defense in similar situations, but Saturday was the first time the play ended with a block.
"I've done it every year I've been here, but this is just the first one I've blocked so everyone was kind of wondering if it was a real thing or not, but we've practiced it,'' Williams said. "I've done it a few times before but that was the first time I got my hands on one.
"The D-line tries to get a good push and however far they push is as close as I try to get. They gave me a ton of room so I had plenty of room to step up and just jumped up in the air.''
Still, it took a second or so before Williams knew for sure that his effort was a success.
"It got a pretty good piece of my left hand, but I saw it still moving toward the goalpost so I wasn't sure if I got enough of it,'' he said. "But to see it fall short, obviously I got enough of it.''
Jace Williams' blocked field goal secured Washburn's 28-26 win at Pittsburg State last Saturday. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
It came in a different sport and a different situation, but Williams felt like his basketball instincts kicked in at Pitt State.
"I pretty much took the same steps,'' he said. "The only thing is on a football field you can swing your arms through, there's no foul, so I got a piece of it and finished through. In basketball I'd have to make sure I kept my arms straight up or it's a foul.
"It was a little different but the idea of jumping straight up in the air and getting my hands as high as possible was definitely right in line with trying to protect the rim.''
The game-saving play ranks high on Williams' list in a career that has included numerous highlights.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
It only took Topeka West senior Kadence Jeffries one visit to Omaha to realize that was the place to pursue her college swimming career.
Jeffries, a four-time Class 5A-1A state champion for the Chargers, made her choice official Wednesday, signing a national letter of intent with the NCAA Division I Mavericks.
"It was kind of between between Drury University in Springfield (Mo.) and the University of Nebraska at Omaha, but as soon as I stepped on the campus at Omaha, it just kind of felt right,'' Jeffries said. "It's such a beautiful place and then I met with the team and I met with the coaches and they're just the most incredibly nice people and so supportive.
"Without even really knowing me they were ready to help me and ready to push me and get me to where I feel I need to be. They're just amazing and I just felt like it was the right place to go.''
Topeka West senior Kadence Jeffries, flanked by her parents, talks about her decision to attend the University of Nebraska Omaha for her college swimming career Wednesday at West. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Topeka West senior swimming star Kadence Jeffries makes it official Wednesday at West, signing her letter of intent to attend the University of Nebraska Omaha. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Jeffries swept 5A-1A state championships in the 200-yard freestyle and 500 free last spring as a junior, repeating her double gold-medal-winning performance from her freshman season. Jeffries is four for four in her individual events at state after having her sophomore season canceled due to COVID-19.
A two-time first-team All-State selection in 5A-1A, Jeffries also swept the 200 and 500 free events in both the city and Centennial League meets and also led the Chargers to the city championship and a second-place Centennial League finish in the 200 free relay. Jeffries helped Topeka West add 12th-place finishes in the 200 medley and 200 free relays at state.
Topeka West senior Kadence Jeffries, a four-time Class 5A-1A state swimming champion, is headed to the University of Nebraska Omaha for her college career after signing her letter of intent Wednesday at West. [File photo/TSN]
Jeffries said it was a big relief to get her college choice made.
"It was really stressful after the two visits because I visited both schools and it was really stressful to try and pick which one I wanted to go to because they're both really great schools, but now after signing it's really a lot off of my chest.''
Now Jeffries can turn all of her attention to trying to cap her high school career with a big senior season.
"I didn't really ever think I'd be here today,'' Jeffries said after signing her letter of intent. "Starting swimming 10 years ago it was all new because I'd never done any other sports and I was just going into it but now it's just incredible what I've accomplished and I've surprised myself so much.''
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Cair Paravel senior Noah Hastert (left) forces a fumble earlier this season against St. Mary's Academy. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Noah Hastert knows that players who play football at small high schools, especially at the Eight-Man level, often face an uphill battle to get noticed by college recruiters.
But the Cair Paravel Latin star felt like if he just continued to work hard and showed what he could do, colleges would take notice.
In the midst of an outstanding senior season for the 10-0 Lions, that has proved to be the case, with multiple schools showing interest in the 6-foot-6, 225-pound receiver/defensive end.
"I think it does hurt (playing Eight-Man) in some ways, but if you just go out there and show what you can do, they will find you eventually and they'll see what you can do,'' said Hastert, who will close out his high school career in Saturday's 1 p.m. Kansas Christian Athletic Association championship game against St. Mary's Academy at Highland Park.
Noah Hastert
Hastert did what he could do to speed up that process, attending several football camps leading into this season, and recruiting interest has continued to ramp up.
"Over the summer I went to like five, six football camps to get my name out there a little bit,'' Hastert said. "It's mainly been MIAA -- Washburn, Pitt State, Emporia State, Central Missouri -- teams like that.''
Hastert has the size that colleges like in a receiver and has the stats to go with that size, catching 41 passes for 870 yards and an amazing 21 touchdowns.
"I think it's really fun,'' Hastert said of the Eight-Man game. "It's fast-paced and there's a lot of big plays.''
Defensively, Hastert has been in on 34 tackles (25 solo) with 14.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks while causing two fumbles and recovering four fumbles.
As a team Cair Paravel has outscored its opposition by a 560-78 margin while not having a game closer than 42 points.
"We knew we had the pieces,'' said Hastert, also a basketball standout for the Lions. "We have a lot of athletes and I think we just came out and worked as a team and practiced hard and worked hard throughout the summer and got reps and I thought we could for sure do this.''
Now Hastert and Cair Paravel are aiming to put a storybook ending on a storybook season.
"It would be amazing and that's the goal,'' Hastert said. "My sixth grade year, the first year to start off, we went defeated for the season. To end it undefeated would be awesome.
"My first year here we never won a game, so it would be nice to come out here and win it. That's obviously our dream and we haven't won (the KCAA title) in a while, too, so that would be great.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural junior Brooklyn DeLeye has been named the Centennial League volleyball player of the year, one of four players from the league-champion Junior Blues on the first team.
Washburn Rural junior Brooklyn DeLeye has been named the Centennial League volleyball player of the year for the 2021 season. [File photo/TSN]
DeLeye, a three-time all-league and All-Class 6A State Tournament selection, helped lead the Junior Blues to a 41-2 record and a fourth-place finish in the 6A state tournament.
Rural also put senior Katelynn Brogan, junior Taylor Russell and sophomore Jada Ingram on the all-league first team, while Rural coach Kevin Bordewick was named the league coach of the year.
Seaman, which finished fourth in the 5A state tournament, is represented on the All-Centennial first team by senior Drew Baxter, junior Laynee Brown and sophomore Taylin Stallbaumer, while Viking freshman Maegan Mills was named the Centennial League newcomer of the year. Seaman posted a 27-13 record on the season.
Drew Baxter
Laynee Brown
Baxter and Brown join DeLeye as repeat All-Centennial League first-team selections.
Topeka West junior Makinsey Jones also earned first-team all-league recognition after helping lead the Chargers to a breakthrough 27-10 season.
Washburn Rural junior Katie Borough and sophomore Zoe Canfield earned second-team all-league honors along with Seaman's Mills and Topeka West sophomore Jaya Miller.
ALL-CENTENNIAL LEAGUE VOLLEYBALL
First team
Drew Baxter, sr., Seaman; Katelynn Brogan, sr., Washburn Rural; Laynee Brown, jr., Seaman; Brooklyn DeLeye, jr., Washburn Rural; Jada Ingram, so., Washburn Rural; Makinsey Jones, jr., Topeka West; Taylor Russell, jr., Washburn Rural; Taylin Stallbaumer, so., Seaman.
Second team
Katie Borough, jr., Washburn Rural; Zoe Canfield, so., Washburn Rural; Gracie Gilpin, sr., Emporia; Jaya Miller, so., Topeka West; Maegan Mills, fr., Seaman; Rylee Peak, sr., Emporia; Maddyn Stewart, sr., Emporia; Grace Xu, sr., Emporia.
Honorable mention
Emporia: Rebecca Snyder, jr. Hayden: Anna Brown, sr.; Jenessa Broxterman, jr.; Abby Dodd, sr.; CC Hammes, sr.; Reagan Huscher, so. Junction City: Ava Deguzman, jr.; Gracie Erichsen, fr. Manhattan: Hayley Hastings, sr.; Aubree Hoffman, sr.; Monroe Say, sr.; Claire Shamburg, sr. Seaman: Brooklyn Gormley, so.; Reagan McGivern, fr.; Lindsey Smith, jr. Topeka High: Jo'Mhara Benning, fr.; Cierra Carranza, jr.; Quincy Smith, jr. Topeka West: Addison Brooks, so.; Malayah Henderson, jr.; Siana Sanchez, so.
Player of the year -- Brooklyn DeLeye, jr., Washburn Rural.
Newcomer of the year -- Margan Mills, fr., Seaman.
Coach of the year -- Kevin Bordewick, Washburn Rural.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Senior Corey Catron may be more comfortable playing running back, but when Rossville star quarterback Torrey Horak went out with an injury in a Week 7 district win over Silver Lake Catron stepped in and picked up the slack, helping the 10-0 Bulldawgs keep their bid for a second straight Class 2A state championship alive.
"The work we put in all summer prepared us for someone to go down, and next man up is really what our mentality is,'' Catron said. "Torrey is one of our best players on the team, but we needed somebody to step up at that spot and we needed me to do that for the team.''
Rossville senior Corey Catron has helped the Bulldawgs remain unbeaten after taking over for the injured Torrey Horak at quarterback. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Catron is not entirely new to the quarterback position, backing up Horak for much of his career, and Catron got the chance to run the Bulldawg offense over the offseason, which is paying dividends now.
"All summer we worked with me at quarterback because Torrey had hip surgery or something like that during the summer and I had to step up there, too, for our little camps that we had and that prepared me for what's going on right now,'' the 5-foot-8, 165-pound Catron said. "That helped a lot.''
Catron helped Rossville rally for a 24-19 win over Silver Lake after Horak suffered a shoulder surgery in the first half and he has been the starter at quarterback for a 51-6 win over Mission Valley to end the regular season and wins over Republic County (56-0) and Nemaha Central (32-12) to open the postseason.
Catron has carried the ball 135 times for 893 yards (6.6 average) and 18 touchdowns and has completed 31 of 55 pass attempts for 453 yards and six touchdowns entering Rossville's home 2A state quarterfinal game against Riverton Friday night.
Catron, also a standout linebacker for the Bulldawgs, would obviously love to have Horak back in the same backfield with him, but said he's enjoying his time guiding the Rossville offense.
"I feel more natural at running back, but when we start running the ball and start doing good stuff on offense, it's a great feeling as you're matching down the field and shoving it down the defense's throat,'' he said.
"Torrey and coach (Jake) Iverson (Rossville assistant) have really helped me out through the last couple of weeks. Even in the Silver Lake game Torrey was trying to help me out as much as he could on the sideline.''
Torrey Horak (6) and Corey Catron (2), taking the field as captains for Rossville earlier this season, have helped the defending Class 2A state champs post a 10-0 record this fall. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
And although he knows there's still room for improvement, Catron has been pleased with his performance at quarterback.
"There's a couple things that I wish I would have done better, but for the most part I'm pretty happy with how we've played around me,'' Catron said.
Rossville coach Derick Hammes, who has led the Bulldawgs to four state titles over the past seven seasons, goes a step farther in his assessment of Catron.
"He might be the second-best quarterback in 2A, if you think about it,'' Hammes said. "We kind of knew what we had in him, especially with his leadership abilities. He's smart and he can really do it all.
"He'd be a good football player wherever you put him and we knew we had that in him.''
