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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights football coach Jason Swift had a couple of primary goals in mind entering Friday night's United Kansas Conference game against Turner.
First and foremost the T-Birds wanted to win, clinch a .500 regular season and continue to build momentum for the Class 5A playoffs, goals the T-Birds took care of when they went in front 21-0 in the opening four minutes.
And on Homecoming night at Wetter Field, Swift and his coaching staff also wanted to give as many T-Birds as possible the opportunity to get a chance to share in what became a 60-0 runaway win.
"Football's a great sport because it's a team win,'' Swift said. "We always say that it doesn't matter if you play scout team, one play or every play you have an equal value in our program, so seniors, juniors, sophomores they all took a lot of pride in this and let's get everyone on the field and let's throw a shutout, too.
"I think those were the two things we wanted to do and we accomplished them.''
Shawnee Heights senior Jarin Sanders (4) is congratulated by his teammates after scoring one of his three touchdowns in Friday's 60-0 win over Turner. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
With Friday's win Shawnee Heights is expecting to host Sumner Academy in a first-round 5A playoff game next Friday night. Playoff pairings will be announced by the Kansas State High School Activities Association late Friday or early Saturday.
Shawnee Heights, which won for the fourth time over its past five games, put the 1-7 Bears away with 21 points in the first 3:27 of the contest and Heights took a huge 47-0 advantage to the locker room at the half, forcing a running clock through the entire second half.
And as far as sharing the wealth, Heights' sideline looked like a revolving door.
Swift alternated senior quarterbacks Callan Carver, Braeden Brown and Raiden McGrew, and all three had a hand in building the T-Birds' big cushion.
Carver ran for one touchdown and threw for two TDs in his limited duty while Brown and McGrew both passed for scores.
Sanders, the T-Birds' standout senior running back, rushed for 94 yards on 12 attempts and scored three touchdowns -- 24 and 4-yard runs and an 11-yard reception from Carver.
Heights senior Ayden McDaniel also scored three touchdowns, scoring on runs of 27 and 15 yards and catching a 40-yard TD from McGrew. He finished the game with 89 rushing yards on just six carries.
Shawnee Heights senior Carter Olson stretches out to catch a pass in Friday's 60-0 win over Turner. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior Braedon Ginter caught a 17-yard TD pass from Brown while senior Carter Olson caught a 5-yard TD pass from Carver.
In addition to using three quarterbacks the T-Birds also used three place-kickers on extra points, with senior Jaxon Correll, junior Carson Christian and junior Pablo Gonzalez combining for six PATs.
It all added up to a fun night for the T-Birds.
"Man, it was a lot of fun,'' Sanders said. "The crowd was great, there were a lot of people out here, and it was good to see all the young guys get an opportunity because they show up to everything.
"They don't miss anything and they don't get the same opportunities that the varsity does, so it was good to see them out here.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman state doubles champions Grace Unruh and Lauren Sweeney and Hayden state singles champ Ainzley Zulueta have been named to the 2021 Kansas Tennis Coaches Association All-State girls tennis team.
Unruh, a senior, and Sweeney, a junior, capped a perfect 36-0 season with the Class 5A state doubles championship last Saturday at Emporia while freshman Zulueta finished off a 35-5 season with a 4A state singles title last Saturday at Winfield.
Seaman Class 5A state doubles champions Grace Unruh and Lauren Sweeney have received All-State honors from the Kansas Tennis Coaches Association. [File photo/TSN]
Hayden freshman Ainzley Zulueta has received All-State recognition from the Kansas Tennis Coaches Association after winning the Class 4A state singles title. [File photo/TSN]
Unruh and Sweeney, who had finished fourth in 5A in 2020, led the Vikings to a fifth-place team finish while Zulueta led the Wildcats to a third-place state finish.
Manhattan junior Jillian Harkin, the 6A state singles champion, was also named to the KTCA All-State team.
KTCA All State Tennis Teams 2021
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THE PENNANT PLAYER PROFILE
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After more than two years of waiting his turn, redshirt freshman quarterback Kellen Simoncic was suddenly "the guy'' for Washburn University's offense last week against then-No. 2-ranked Northwest Missouri, pressed into service early in the game when senior standout Mitch Schurig went down with an injury.
And the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Smithville, Mo. native responded exactly the way he and his coaches and teammates hoped he would, helping the Ichabods end a 15-game losing streak to the Bearcats with a 17-16 MIAA win at Yager Stadium.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Kellen Simoncic came off the bench to help Washburn knock off No. 2-ranked Northwest Missouri, 17-16, last Saturday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Simoncic, who had seen mopup duty earlier in the year against Lincoln, admitted it took him a few moments to grasp the situation he was in when Schurig went down (concussion protocol), but then just tried to concentrate on the task at hand.
"My first thought was, 'Is he OK, is he getting up, how's he doing?' '' Simoncic said of Schurig. "After that I went and grabbed my helmet and started playing catch a little bit and kind of mentally preparing to get in the game.
"You never want to see anybody get hurt, especially Mitch because he's helped me so much throughout the years, but it was also very exciting. You couldn't ask for a better opportunity.''
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
In Thursday's final regular-season soccer game of the year, Topeka High and Seaman squared off in a thrilling defensive matchup that resulted in a 0-0 tie at Seaman.
Seaman honored its seniors on Senior Night before the first kick with a ceremony honoring Gavin Wilhelm, Kyson Evans, Pablo Font, Jake Moss, Trustin Shafer, Lawson Greig and Justin Kruse.
After the ceremony concluded, it was time to get to work.
Topeka High goalkeeper Logan Murray displayed that he is one of the area’s best young goalkeepers. As a sophomore, he’s opened a lot of eyes with his strong athleticism and his abilities in the goal. On the other side, junior Ayden Thompson has also been impressive for the Vikings with his long reach and blocking abilities and both goalkeepers provided shutouts for their teams throughout the game.
In the first couple of halves, things were mute offensively. Strong, physical pushes by both sides and clutch preventive kicks made the game competitive.
No matter how great the kicks were by either side in the first half, Murray and Thompson prevented them from putting a tally in the score column.
In the first overtime, the Vikes and Trojans sped up the game speed.
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By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
It was a top-five showdown in Lee Arena as No 2 Washburn University volleyball faced the third-ranked University of Central Missouri in a battle to remain atop the MIAA standings.
And with the end of the regular season in sight Washburn is looking for a leader to help the Ichabods get to the end on a strong note.
“At some point you know you think when you have this old of a group that someone on the floor has got to step up and be lead,” said Washburn coach Chris Herron.
Leadership will be important going forward as Washburn fell in four sets, 19-25, 25-17, 28-30, and 22-25. The loss moves WU to third place in the MIAA and snaps the team's undefeated home record.
“I think we just move onto the next game, like obviously it’s disappointing but we can’t let one game define us so we are just focusing on practicing and getting better from here on out,” Washburn senior middle hitter Allison Maxwell said.
Allison Maxwell
Allison Sadler
The match started back and forth, tied at eight points each before the attack errors piled up for the Ichabods putting them in a deficit. A strong offensive attack from Central Missouri, which logged a nearly .400 attack percentage as a team in the set, helped them claim the first set of the match. On the other end senior middle hitter Sydney Fitzgibbons knocked down six kills on her way to hitting .458 in the match.
“But (Kersti) Nix killed us, we couldn’t stop her. I mean hell we could have put a surfboard up there, we couldn’t block her,” Herron said. “I think that’s the key to the match was she just did so much and we did little with her.”
