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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
In the previous three meetings between Topeka High and Washburn Rural, the Trojans won all three games and outscored Rural, 164-73.
Before Friday the last time the two collided was in 2019, with Topeka High defeating the Junior Blues, 42-28.
Friday was a different a story from years past, however, as Rural thwacked the Trojans, 42-13.
Washburn Rural’s special teams set the tone early that carried them to success for the entire four quarters.
Senior Austin Fager forced three blocked punts on the night, sigh two of his blocked punts resulting in Rural touchdowns and the other block going for a safety.
“We realized the center had his head down the whole time, so we had to shoot the left gap since they were blocking heavier on the right side,'' Fager said. "It was wide open the whole time.”
Austin Fager
The defense played a crucial part in the decisive victory for Washburn Rural, with just two of the Junior Blues' touchdowns coming on offense
Coach Steve Buhler said he was “proud of the staff and the defense for having an excellent week of practice.” “Coach Smith and the defensive coaches did a really good job prepping the defense. There wasn’t anything new from Topeka that we didn’t see on tape. What benefited us was that our guys were playing really hard and really fast all night long.”
Washburn Rural and Topeka High go through the handshake line after Friday's 42-13 Rural win at Bowen-Glaze Stadium. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
Blues running back Ma’kenttis Adams broke off a 31-yard rushing touchdown at the 4:26 mark of the second quarter to give Rural its first offensive touchdown, putting the Junior Blues up, 22-7. Rural's other offensive touchdown came on a dart from Aiden Boleski to Adrian Tibbetts for a 13-yard touchdown at the furthest left corner of the end zone.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
With rivals Seaman and Hayden locked in a 7-7 stalemate inside the final minute of the third quarter, first-year Seaman coach Jared Swafford was looking for a big play to get the Vikings going Friday night at Hayden.
Seaman not only got one big play, but they came in a bunch, with the Vikings scoring four touchdowns between 44 and 97 yards en route to a 35-14 victory over the Wildcats to improve to 2-0 on the year.
"We knew it was going to be physical and it took us a little bit, but we had to step up and make plays and we had some seniors do that,'' Swafford said. "I'm really proud of that group and we were able to find a way to win in the end.''
Seaman senior Camden Barta celebrates a big Viking play in Friday's 35-14 win over Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Seaman broke the tie with 37.5 seconds left in the third quarter on a 65-yard touchdown pass from Camden Barta to senior Casen Stallbaumer, who broke multiple tackles on the way to the end zone.
The Vikings added a 97-yard TD pass from Barta to senior Brody Gormley and sophomore Callen Barta returned a pass interception 66 yards before Seaman ended its scoring with a 44-yard touchdown run from senior Aidan Polter with 5:41 remaining.
Seaman senior Brody Gormley (7) scored a 97-yard touchdown in the Vikings 35-14 win over Hayden Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"We talk about it all the time, that we can be really dangerous if we want to be,'' Swafford said. "That's the big-play capability that we have and we hope to continue to build off that momentum.''
Seaman scored its first touchdown on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Camden Barta to senior P.J. Vargas late in the opening quarter, while senior Gavin Wilhelm was five of five on extra points.
Camden Barta, who also had a pass interception, finished with 244 yards passing and the three TDs on a 7 of 18 performance and credited his teammates for making the big plays happen.
"Credit to those guys,'' Barta said. "They're special, special athletes and I knew with the play calls and with what they can do, I knew it was all going to work out. You can't do it as one player. They help out a lot.
"Credit to Hayden in the first half. They made it a dogfight. The run game was not there, their D-line was insane, but that second half we showed who we really are and I think that will carry us into the rest of the season.''
Hayden tied the game at 7-7 with 8:31 left in the second quarter on a 13-yard touchdown pass from senior Gavin Arnold to senior TL Thompson (Jensen Schrickel kick), but the Wildcats didn't score again until Arnold scored on an 8-yard TD run with 3:10 remaining (Schrickel kick).
Arnold threw for 187 yards while Schrickel had three catches for 71 yards and senior Kaelin Rice had two catches for 81 yards.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Led by freshman forward KhloeSchuckman, Washburn University's soccer team scored two goals in the final 20 minutes Thursday to pull out a 2-1 road victory over Missouri-St. Louis, improving to 3-0 on the season.
Washburn's offense struggled to produce any shots until the 61st minutes, but the Ichabod defense held strong, allowing only one goal to keep WU in the game.
At the 21st minute, Kelli Junglewaelter scored off the bench to give the Tritons a 1-0 halftime lead, but that would be the lone goal of the day for the hosts.
Freshman Carlee Thompson (Omaha, Neb.) and junior MattieMiano (Olathe) played all 90 minutes on defense to keep Washburn within reach.
Khloe Schuckman
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights' volleyball team ruled its home court Thursday night, posting a perfect 3-0 record in a non-league quadrangular.
Led by senior Kali Henry and junior Elise Curry, the T-Birds took a 23-25, 25-16, 25-22 three-set win over Manhattan before sweeping Seaman, 25-23, 25-23, and Silver Lake, 25-21, 25-16.
“I really liked what I saw tonight,'' Shawnee Heights coach Sami McHenry said. "This was the first real competition that we’ve had on our level so far this season, and I’m excited to see what’s in store for us.”
Shawnee Heights' volleyball team went undefeated in Thursday's non-league quadrangular at Heights. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The last time Washburn University played Central Missouri back in 2019, the Mules hung 55 points on the Ichabods in a 55-27 victory.
Washburn's defense turned the tables in a big way Thursday night, limiting Central Missouri to 187 total yards and one touchdown as the Ichabods improved to 2-0 with a 29-10 victory in their home opener in front of 6,354 fans at Yager Stadium.
The Ichabod 'D' set the tone in the first half, allowing Washburn to take a 16-10 lead to the locker room at halftime despite committing four first-half turnovers. WU then pitched a shutout in the second half as the Ichabods pulled away for the decisive 19-point victory.
"We definitely wanted to get back at these guys,'' junior safety Kevin Neal Jr. said. "We've been working super hard with the COVID year and everything, so we wanted to come out here and put our best foot forward and that's what we did tonight.''
Washburn cornerback Christian Clark, a Shawnee Heights product, comes up with a diving interception in the first half of the Ichabods' 29-10 MIAA win over Central Missouri. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Central Missouri, which fell to 0-2, was held to just 70 rushing yards on 28 attempts and 117 passing yards on a 15 of 33 performance.
"The defense just played lights out,'' Washburn coach Craig Schurig said. "We were just all over the place on offense. It was like, 'Man, we should be up.' We had good field position and just not putting in points, but the second half I thought our defense even played better than the first half and it felt like we were playing downhill and it would eventually break.''
Former Shawnee Heights standout Christian Clark stopped one Mules scoring threat with a diving interception and senior Marquise Manning stopped another threat with an interception and 41-yard return.
"We knew we had them,'' Manning said. "We out-played them physically and we knew coming in we had a really good team.''
Neal paced the Ichabods with six solo tackles while former Topeka High standout Jacob Anderson, a senior, added five stops, including two tackles for loss.
Despite its first-half turnover woes (three interceptions and an inadvertant touch on a punt), Washburn rolled up 485 yards of total offense while scoring the final 23 points of the game.
Senior quarterback Mitch Schurig threw for 249 yards and three TDs on a 19 of 34 night (two interceptions) while Washburn rushed for 236 yards on 43 attempts.
