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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Turnpike Tussle is a big game no matter when it's played.
But the fact that Thursday's 7 p.m. Washburn-Emporia State showdown at Welch Stadium is the 2024 season-opener for both schools adds a little extra lustre to the 120th meeting between the two rivals.
Craig Schurig, the winningest football coach in Washburn University history, will begin his 23rd season Thursday night at Emporia State. [File photo/TSN]
"You could play anyone on opening night and you're excited, but Emporia adds excitement and then Emporia's a good football team and they return a lot from last year's team that was one of the best in the conference so you're also anxious for that, too,'' Washburn coach Craig Schurig said. "You put all those things together and it certainly adds to the enthusiasm and that's what these guys want to be involved in so this is exactly what you want.''
Washburn senior defensive back Caeden Spencer agreed that playing the Hornets in the opener adds a different aspect to the rivalry.
"It does feel a little weird,'' Spencer said. "Usually it's midseason -- Week 5, Week 6 -- but starting out with them first it's a pretty exciting first game for us.
"I don't think that there's really a better way to start than to have them first. I haven't beaten Emporia yet in my career and this is the final one, so we've got to get it done.''
Emporia State coach Garin Higgins said that ESU-WU is a highligh no matter when the game is played.
"Whether it's the first game of the year or the 10th game of the year it's still the same,'' Higgins said. "At the beginning of the year, the first game, you're going to get a lot of college students all coming back and they're looking for something to do, 'Well go to the game on Thursday night.' I think there's little added excitement there.
"I like it and I think it's good for Division II football.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Editor's note: TopSports.news has finished its tour of preseason football practices at all 10 Shawnee County high schools and will post preview stories over the coming days leading into the opening games of the 2024 season on Sept. 6.
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At some point in its building process, most every high school football program needs that one signature win that propels it from pretty good to a state contender.
Jared Swafford's Seaman Vikings are coming off a 6-5 record and a trip to the Class 5A state quarterfinals last fall. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Jared Swafford's is hopeful that last season's 31-28 second-round playoff win over No. 1 East seed De Soto was that kind of victory for his Seaman Vikings.
"It had been 2016 since we had gotten past that second round and I think this was one of those things that we can hopefully build off of,'' Swafford said. "It was a close game, we find a way to win, and we did the same thing against Piper at one point, but there were three other games in there (two losses by 3 points and one by 7) where we were close and you get tired of being close and I know the kids do.
"It would have been really easy to shut it down at that point, but they kept working and kept working and kept working and in the playoffs got to see some of that pay off. I think it's somthing to build off of and help motivate kids and just continue to push the program forward.''
Seaman was sitting at 3-4 after a stretch that saw the Vikings drop four of five games, but the Vikings won three of their last four games, with their lone loss coming against 5A champion Mill Valley, to finish at 6-5.
And Swafford, who is entering his fourth season at Seaman, said his Vikings have rode that momentum through the offseason to get ready for the upcoming 2024 campaign.
"It's the most motivated I've ever seen a collective group without a doubt and everybody that's out here now only knows me as a head coach and what we do now, so I think as far as continuing to build and progress in the way we want to they are hungry, they are excited,'' Swafford said. "We have 120 kids out there again, so we've got great numbers and the numbers in the summer were amazing so we've got really good things going and I'm proud of the work ethic that the kids put in.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Editor's note: TopSports.news has finished its tour of preseason football practices at all 10 Shawnee County high schools and will post preview stories over the coming days leading into the opening games of the 2024 season on Sept. 6.
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Rossville is facing a lot of new heading into the 2024 football season -- a new league (Big East), a new classification (Class 1A) and an earlier than usual showdown with arch rival Silver Lake.
Derick Hammes' Rossville Bulldawgs make the move to Class 1A and the Big East League this fall. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But veteran coach Derick Hammes said his Bulldawgs are approaching all the changes with a positive attitude while keeping the same goal they've always had, to put themselves in the state title picture.
Rossville, which has captured five state championships in Hammes' previous 11 seasons at the school, begins its first season in the new 11-school Big East League, which also includes Nemaha Central (Class 2A), Riley County (2A), Royal Valley (2A), Sabetha (2A), Silver Lake (2A), St. Marys (2A), Hiawatha (3A), Holton (3A), Jefferson West (3A) and Perry-Lecompton (3A).
"In our league schedule we'll have two common opponents from our the old Mid-East League,'' Hammes said. "We were able to maintain the rivalry with Silver Lake and St. Marys and then we have Nemaha Central the third game and in my 12 years here I think we've ran into them seven or eight times, so it's probably not a big change for us but I think overall it's going to be a good thing for all the communities and schools that are in the new league.''
The longstanding Rossville-Silver Lake rivalry game has normally been played later in the year, but with the Bulldawgs and Eagles now in different classifications the storied "War on 24'' will kick off the 2024 campaign for both schools on Sept. 6 at Silver Lake.
"I'm looking forward to it because we've been able to make that a point of emphasis through the course of the summer,'' Hammes said. "We remind the kids who they open up with and I think we get a little extra out of them and I'm sure they do as well, so let's play it, let's get it going and it will be a good opportunity for us and we'll find out early with the schedule that we have what we're going to need to do as a football team to compete.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Editor's note: TopSports.news has finished its tour of preseason football practice at all 10 Shawnee County high schools and will be posting preview stories over the coming days leading into the opening games of the 2024 season on Sept. 6.
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After snapping an eight-year, 65-game losing streak in 2022 on the way to a breakout 6-3 campaign, Jemaine Monroe's Highland Park football team followed that up with a 7-3 campaign last fall, including the Scots' first playoff victory since 1991.
Jermaine Monroe's Highland Park football team will be aiming for its third straight winning season this fall after snapping an eight-year losing streak in 2022. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
And now Highland Park is setting its sights on continuing its impressive climb.
"The guys that we have here in the program, they're now used to winning,'' Monroe said. "So now we're changing out mindset from trying to get some wins to maintaining and reaching for higher goals.
"Our quote this year is, 'Don't witness history, but be a part of history.' ''
Highland Park begins the 2024 season with a wealth of experience, including six players who received All-Meadowlark Conference recognition a year ago.
Senior linebacker Ricky Crawford and junior defensive back Tremaine Savage earned first-team all-conference honors in 2023 while senior slotback/defensive back Jamon Wilson received second-team all-conference recognition on offense and honorable mention on defense and senior lineman Tayseaun Rouser was a second-team pick on offense and junior Andres Ochoa-Perez and senior Jamelle Wms-Sanders received honorable mention.
Other top returning players include senior quarterback/linebacker Craige Sipple, senior slotback CJ Brown, senior lineman Elijah Thomas, junior quarterback/defensive back Dontrail Fox, junior running back/defensive back Genesis Cooper, junior running back/defensive back TJ Austin, sophomore defensive back Rayshon Pollard, sophomore running back/linebacker G'Honi Montgomery and sophomore defensive back Joe Kingcannon.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Editor's note: TopSports.news has finished its tour of preseason football practices at all 10 Shawnee County high schools and will post preview stories over the coming days leading into the opening games of the 2024 season on Sept. 6.
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No matter what players Bill Arnold's Hayden football team graduates from season to season or who the Wildcats return, one thing never changes -- the goal to win a state championship.
Veteran Hayden football coach Bill Arnold exhorts his team, 12-1 and the Class 3A runnerup last fall, during a preseason practice. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
And after coming up just win short of a Class 3A title last fall, with a strong nucleus returning, Hayden's is out to complete that task this fall.
"If you don't have those expecations I don't know what you're doing out here, honestly,'' said Arnold, who is 211-66 as a head coach.
Hayden's only loss in a 12-1 season last fall came in the state final against Cheney and the Wildcats return 33 lettermen, including eight starters on offense and nine on defense, to reload for another run at the championship.
Hayden graduated a banner group of seniors, including Kansas Shrine Bowl participants and TopSports.news All-Shawnee County Top 22 picks Carter Charvat and Finn Dunshee, all-county Top 22 pick Jude Konrade and offensive lineman Josiah Todwong, but two-time all-county honoree Jensen Schrickel leads a strong returning cast.
"Obviously you're going to have a hard time replacing Konrade and Charvat and Todwong, those three guys were really good for us last year on the offensive line, and then you throw in Finn's speed, but I like our nucleus,'' Arnold said.
Senior Jensen Schrickel returns to lead Hayden this fall after earning All-Shawnee County Top 22 honors the past two seasons. [File photo/TSN]
Schrickel, a 5-foot-10, 160-pound senior, is a standout on offense, defense and special teams for the Wildcats, catching 40 passes for 683 yards in 2023, carrying the ball 18 times for 268 yards and booting 16 of 18 extra points. He had three punt returns for 73 yards and 15 kickoff returns for 165 yards while scoring 10 total touchdowns and 82 points.
