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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural's football team did exactly what heavy favorites are supposed to do Friday night at Bowen-Glaze Stadium, never giving underdog Wichita West the slightest hint of hope that the Pioneers could pull off an upset.
The Junior Blues. the No. 4 seed in the Class 6A West playoff bracket, built a commanding 21-0 lead in less than seven minutes of work and went on to take a commanding 49-0 halftime lead on the way to a 52-7 romp.
"I was really happy with the intensity,'' Washburn Rural coach Steve Buhler said. "We came out and focused. We talked all week about making sure we got off to a good start in the playoffs and do all things that we've been doing up to this point in the season and I thought the kids did a nice job of carrying everything over.''
Robby Bolin (11) celebrates a Washburn Rural touchdown with teammate Amr Sabbarini in the Junior Blues' 52-7 romp past Wichita West Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Now 8-1 on the season, Washburn Rural will be at home again next Friday, hosting a 7-2 Free State team which rolled to a 49-22 win over Wichita South Friday night.
Rural set the tone for the night when it needed just four plays and 1:10 to score its first touchdown, a 14-yard run from sophomore JC Heim (Giles Frederickson kick).
The Junior Blues went up 14-0 at the 8:01 mark on a 31-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Branton DeWeese to senior Robby Bolin (Frederickson kick) and senior Austin Fager put Rural up 21-0 at the 5:09 mark of the opening quarter on a 6-yard run (Frederickson kick).
Washburn Rural senior Austin Fager recovers a Wichita West fumble in the Junior Blues' 52-7 win Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The second quarter was more of the same, with Rural scoring TDs on a 1-yard run from junior Kason Williams, a 12-yard pass from DeWeese to Heim, a 45-yard run from Williams and a 34-yard pass from DeWeese to junior Amr Sabbarini. Frederickson converted all four extra points to go 7 of 7 on the night.
"We looked sharp on offense and the defense played really well,'' Buhler said. "From a head coaching standpoint, everything was really clean and really crisp. There was a good rhythm to the game and that's how you want to start the playoffs.''
The pace slowed considerably in the second half, with Buhler emptying his bench, but junior Dayten Smoot scored Rural's final points on a 33-yard field goal with 11:13 to play.
Wichita West (2-7) scored its only points of the night on a 10-yard run from junior Kobey Figuers with 3:13 remaining.
DeWeese completed nine of 11 pass attempts for 187 yards and three touchdowns while Bolin caught three passes for 78 yards and a TD.
Williams led Rural with 59 yards and two TDs on just six carries while Heim had 48 yards on five totes and scored two touchdowns.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman volleyball team assured itself of a top-four finish in Class 5A with a 2-1 record in Friday pool play at the Tony's Pizza Events Center in Salina.
The Vikings opened Pool II play with a 25-17, 25-11 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas and then dropped a 25-20 first-set decision before winning their next four sets of the day.
Seaman took 25-18 and 22-25 wins over Spring Hill to take that match and the Vikings closed out their day with a 25-21, 25-22 win over Centennial League rival Emporia.
Seaman's volleyball team's hopes for a Class 5A state title are still alive after the Vikings posted a 2-1 record in pool play Friday to advance to Saturday's 9 a.m. semifinals. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman, now 27-11, finished as the runner-up in Pool II and will face Pool I winner Lansing (36-1) in a 9 a.m. semifinal Saturday.
St. Thomas Aquinas (37-3), the Pool II winner, will play Pool I runner-up St. James Academy (29-10) in the other semifinal, also at 9 .m.
The championship and third-place matches will follow the semifinals.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's football team has a good thing going and doesn't want that to end any time soon.
Coming off a 29-17 comeback win at Central Oklahoma, the 6-2 Ichabods will be looking for their fourth straight win in Saturday's Homecoming game when Northeastern State visits Yager Stadium for a 1 p.m. MIAA matchup.
Last week's win clinched Washburn's second straight winning season and the 14th in coach Craig Schurig's 20 seasons at WU.
Washburn has put itself in a position to challenge for an NCAA Division II playoff berth or a spot in the bowl game, but Schurig said the key now is to continue moving forward.
"We're focused on improving as a team and there's still fundamentals we need to improve on and you just want to build momentum and keep it going,'' Schurig said. "You can't be hot and cold. You want to stay hot.''
Washburn star receiver/returner James Letcher Jr. is having a banner season for the 6-2 Ichabods, scoring touchdowns in five straight games. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn's defense has come up huge during the Ichabods' winning streak, with WU not allowing more than 20 points in the three wins.
"They've come up with huge plays, big-time plays when your back's against the wall,'' Schurig said. "They have a toughness about them physically that you want your defense to have and they're showing it.''
Northeastern State is 2-6 after dropping a 59-7 decision to Northwest Missouri last Saturday, the RiverHawks' fourth straight loss.
Washburn leads the all-time series with Northeastern 9-1, including eight straight wins.
The Ichabods scored in all three phases of the game against Central Oklahoma, taking the lead for good on a 90-yard kickoff return from James Letcher Jr. and clinching the win with a 75-yard fumble return from Braden Rose.
Letcher has scored a touchdown (4 receiving, 1 return) in each of the last five games.
Zach Willis is 12th on Washburn's all-time career rushing chart with 1,563 yards and is tied for 14th place all-time with 15 career rushing TDs.
Quarterback Mitch Schurig ranks fourth time for Washburn with 6,051 passing yards and his 465 career completions rank No. 2 all-time. He is Washburn's all-time leader with a 63.9-percent completion rate.
Schurig is likely to play Saturday after missing last week's game at Central Oklahoma (concussion protocol).
Redshirt freshman Kellen Simoncic has been solid in relief of Schurig, including a 17 of 31 passing performance last week for 204 yards and a TD.
Linebacker Grant Bruner, rebounding from an injury, led Washburn with six tackles at Central Oklahoma while Malick Fall ranks among the national leaders in sacks per game (1.13).
Isaiah Davis has rushed for 305 yards and Keon Moore 270 yards for Northeastern State while Grant Elerick is 98 of 169 passing, averaging 137.1 yards per game with eight touchdown passes.
Mark Wheeland has caught 41 passes for 573 yards and seven TDs.
Washburn will travel to Pittsburg State next Saturday before returning home on Nov. 13 to wrap up the regular season against Missouri Southern.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural's girls have put together a banner 2021 cross country season, and an even more impressive October.
On Saturday at the 4 Mile Creek Resort in Augusta, the Junior Blues will be aiming to end the year with a bang in the Class 6A state meet.
Rural's girls have been on a roll, including a sweep of city, Centennial League and regional team titles and four straight 1-2-3 individual finishes from junior Madeline Carter, senior Khloi Bird and freshman Payton Fink.
But Rural faces an even bigger challege on Saturday in the 12 p.m. 6A girls race, but coach Matt Swedlund believes his Junior Blues are up to the task and can challege for a top-three team finish.
"Olathe West is a very good team,'' Swedlund said. "On paper it is hard to find a way to beat them. Of course, the race isn't run on paper; we always approach races knowing everyone is beatable. Olathe North, Blue Valley Northwest and Manhattan are all good teams. We believe we will be competitive with these schools in the battle for a podium spot.
"There are several very good teams in 6A and we are one of them. Our girls have had a lot of success over the past five weeks but the competition at the state meet is obviously “next level.” We are prepared and ready to run our best race. I believe if we do that, we’ll give ourselves a great chance to be on the podium.''
Washburn Rural's Madeline Carter (left), Khloi Bird and Payton Fink have posted a 1-2-3 individual finish in four straight meets entering Saturday's state meet. [File photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Carter also ranks as a top contender individually after putting together a string of individual wins this fall and earning an eighth- place finish in the 2020 state meet.
"Madeline has really been running strong this season, which is giving her a ton of confidence going into the state meet,'' Swedlund said. "She is going to go out and put herself and her team in the best possible position to be successful.''
Washburn Rural also qualified as a team for the 10:40 a.m. 6A boys race, finishing third in last week's 6A regional meet at Milford State Park as senior Alex Holmes finished third individually and sophomore John Hayden Keller sixth to pace the Junior Bljues.
Topeka High junior Michael Christopher earned a state berth as an individual with a 21st-place finish.
NEWKIRK LOOKING TO REPEAT IN 4A
Hayden senior star Tanner Newkirk will be looking for a fouth straight state medal and a second straight title in Saturday's 11:20 a.m. 4A boys race at Wamego Country Club.
Newkirk is coming off a dominating win in last week's 4A regional meet at the Kanza Park Course, winning by 54 seconds in a five-kilometer time of 15 minutes, 16.67 seconds to lead Hayden to a second-place team finish and a state team berth.
Hayden senior Tanner Newkirk posted a 54-second win in last Saturday's Class 4A regional cross country meet and will be looking to win a second straight state title on Saturday. [File photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"I think I'm in my best shape of the season and the work has obviously paid off,'' Newkirk said after his regional win. "(Saturday) I felt really good and I was able to come out here and do really well.''
Now Newkirk will be looking for another big day in his final state meet.
"I'm really excited, I'm ecstatic,'' he said. "I'm looking to maybe set the course record and just run a really fast last cross country race.''
Sophomore Aiden Amis added an eighth-place individual finish for the Wildcats at regionals while senior Ryan Rochford narrowly missed a top-10 finish, taking 12th.
Hayden also qualified its girls team for state with a third-place regional finish, led by freshman Elliot Wrench's runner-up individual finish.
The Wildcats also got a 10th-place finish from sophomore Elaina Wolff.
The 4A girls race is scheduled to start at 10 a.m.
Hayden is one of the most successful cross country programs in 4A history, with the Wildcat girls winning seven state team titles and the Hayden boys winning five state championships. Hayden's boys also won a 3A title.
SEAMAN GIRLS, T-BIRD DUO CHASING TOP 5A FINISHES
Coming off strong regional performances last week at the Kanza Park course, Seaman's girls team and Shawnee Heights boys standouts Kory Sutton and Jackson Esquibel lead the city contingent into Saturday's state meet at 4 Mile Creek Resort.
Rick Brading's Seaman girls have been strong all season and are coming off a perfect team score at regionals en route to a 15-77 win over Leavenworth.
Junior Bethany Druse, ninth at state as a sophomore, led the way for the Vikings with a runner-up individual finish while freshmen Joslynn Grace and Stella Appelhanz finished third and fourth followed by senior Emma Schultz in fifth and freshman Anna Becker in sixth to round ouf Seaman's top five.
Now the Vikings will be shooting for a top-three finish at state.
"We think we've got a shot at a trophy,'' Brading said. "That's where we feel like we're at. I think you've got Mill Valley and Aquinas and St. James and us and St. James are very similar. It will be exciting.''
Seaman junior Bethany Druse finished second individually as the Vikings posted a perfect team score in last Saturday's Class 5A regional meet. [File photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Shawnee Heights junior Kory Sutton (right) and T-Bird sophomore Jackson Esquibel are coming off a 1-2 Class 5A regional finish entering Saturday's state meet. [File photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Shawnee Heights' Sutton, a junior, and Esquibel, a sophomore, appear to be strong contenders for high state finishes in the boys race after going 1-2 at regionals to lead the T-Birds to a second-place team finish.
Heights also got an 11th-place finish from junior Andrew Emerson.
Seaman's boys earned the final team berth for state with a third-place finish.
Senior standout Jace Moore led the Vikings, finishing fourth individually, while Seaman used a pack finish of 13-14-15-16 to earn its team berth.
Topeka West had a pair of individual state qualifiers, with senior Anna Phelps placing 10th in the girls race while senior Louis Wilson finished eighth in the boys race.
The 5A girls race is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, with the boys race set for 11:20 a.m.
LIONS SENDING BOYS, GIRLS TEAMS TO 1A STATE
Cair Paravel Latin will be represented by both its boys and girls teams in Saturday's 1A state meet at the Sand Plum Nature Trail in Victoria.
The Lion boys qualified for state with a third-place regional finish at Centrailia, just six points out of first, while Cair Paravel's girls also finished third at regionals.
Junior Jonah Eckert and senior Blake Reynolds placed 10th and 11th for the Cair Paravel boys at regionals while senior Zach Clark finished 16th.
Freshman Zahra Lewis finished 10th to lead the Cair Paravel girls while sophomore Katherine Keys placed 14th and senior Jaley Barkley 19th.
The 1A boys race is set for a 10:40 a.m. start, with the girls to follow at noon.
FOSTER, TENEYCK EARN 3A STATE BERTHS
Rossville junior Amelia Foster and Silver Lake senior Cameron TenEyck earned individual state berths for Saturday's 3A state meet at Wamego Country Club out of the highly-competitive Sabetha regional.
TenEyck, who placed sixth at state a year ago, posted a third-place individual finist at regionals while Foster punched her ticket to the state meet with an eighth-place finish regional finish.
The 3A boys is scheduled for 10:40 a.m. Saturday, with the girls race to follow at noon.
SHAWNEE COUNTY STATE XC QUALIFIERS
Class 6A
Topeka High -- Boys: Michael Christopher, jr.
Washburn Rural -- Girls: Khloi Bird, sr.; Madeline Carter, jr.;Payton Fink, fr.; Christine Gutierrez, jr.; Rylee Ismert, fr.; Sydney Laster, so.; Brooklyn Nolte, fr. Boys: Easton Dial, jr.; Grayson Fink, jr.; Spencer Haddock, sr.; Alex Holmes, sr.; Davin Johnson, jr.; John Hayden Keller, so.; Ishaan Patel, sr.
Class 5A
Seaman -- Girls: Stella Appelhanz, fr.; Anna Becker, fr.; Bethany Druse, jr.; Joslynn Grace, fr.; Brooke Polter, so.; Emma Schultz, sr.; Leah Spurlock, so. Boys: Anson Appelhanz, sr.; Ryan Buckley, sr.; Zach Jowers, jr.; Jace Moore, sr.; Alexander Newell, fr.; Landon Stuke, jr.; Adrian Swaim, so.
Shawnee Heights -- Boys: Stephen Carter, fr.; Mason Deitcher, so.; Andrew Emerson, jr.; Jackson Esquibel, so.; Alex Lehmann, sr.; Landon Staniec, so.; Kory Sutton, jr.
Topeka West -- Girls: Anna Phelps, sr. Boys: Louis Wilson, sr.
Class 4A
Hayden -- Girls: Catherine Doyle, jr.; Hayden Haas, jr.; Ryann Newkirk, fr.; Riley Schmidtlein, sr.; Elaina Wolff, so.; Elliot Wrench, fr. Boys: Aiden Amis, so.; Nick Lloyd, jr.; Zach Moore, so.; Jake Muller, jr.; Tanner Newkirk, sr.; Nick Padilla, sr.; Ryan Rochford, sr.
Class 3A
Rossville -- Girls: Amelia Foster, jr.
Silver Lake -- Boys: Cameron TenEyck, sr.
Class 1A
Cair Paravel Latin -- Girls: Jaley Barkley, sr.; Amelia Bowling, so.; Katherine Keys, so.; Zahra Lewis, fr.; Cecilia Richards, fr. Boys: Jacob Bowling, sr.; Zach Clark, sr.; Jonah Eckert, jr.; James Keys, sr.; Bryson Leon, fr.; Blake Reynolds, sr.; Nathan Walker, sr.
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
The message was clear from Shawnee Heights soccer coach Nic Simons, that he couldn’t be prouder of the fight the T-Birds put up this fall.
This year’s Heights team posted the best regular-season record in school history, won the United Kansas Conference championship and was able to have the opportunity to chase a state title.
Although the T-Birds' season ended with Thursday's 5-0 loss to perennial state power St. Thomas Aquinas at the Bettis Family Sports Complex, Simons made sure his team didn’t get discouraged.
”I’ve said it numerous times to anyone who would listen, this is a special group,'' Simons said. "We’ve played through a lot of adversity.''.
Shawnee Heights' soccer team, 15-3 on the year, leaves the field Thursday night after a 5-0 regional loss to perennial state power St. Thomas Aquinas. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
With injuries and a tough schedule, the T-Birds still managed to have an extraordinary amount of success.
“This isn’t an excuse, but not one game this year did we have all eleven starters. With all of that, their accomplishments are amazing,'' Simons remarked.
The Saints and Thunderbirds were both playing against Mother Nature on Thursday as a rainstorm, cold weather and high winds didn't help either team.
In the first half, Heights limited the Saints to one goal, while Isaac Wilson, Jake Loy and Jordan Garvin had terrific performances in the first half.
In the second half, St. Thomas Aquinas went on a roll. In the first 10 minutes of the second half, Aquinas kicked in one goal that would give the Saints momentum.
The momentum carried by the Saints would lead to three more goals.
“If they (St. Thomas Aquinas) aren’t in the state championship, I’d be surprised,'' Simons said. "Coach (Craig) Ewing has conditioned those guys very well.”
