By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden improved to 7-0 with Friday night's 24-7 home win over Holton while wrapping up the Class 3A District 4 championship.
Hayden's Jensen Schrickel (9), who rushed for 57 yards on seven attempts, takes a handoff from Wildcat quarterback Jett Wahlmeier (7) in Friday's 24-7 Class 3A district win over Holton. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden junior quarterback Jett Wahlmeier threw for 101 yards and ran for two TDs in the Wildcats' 24-7 district win over Holton Friday night at Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Wildcats will try to close out a perfect regular season with next Friday's home non-league Senior Night game against Hiawatha.
Hayden never trailed after driving 65 yards in 13 plays on its opening drive for a 9-yard touchdown run from junior quarterback Jett Wahlmeier.
The score remained 7-0 for the bulk od the half, as both teams had scoring threats come up empty, before freshman Mason Becker kicked a 39-yard field goal with 3.3 seconds left in the half to give Holton a 10-0 halftime advantage.
Holton, which fell to 3-4 on the season, took the second-half kickoff and drove to the Hayden 9-yard-line before coughing up a fumble that sophomore Xander Blasing recovered for Hayden, ending a six-minute-plus Holton drive.
Hayden took over at its 9 and kept its drive alive with a 15-yard third-down run from junior Jensen Schrickel for a Wildcat first down.
Hayden went on to build its lead to 17-0 on a 3-yard touchdown run from senior Dom Ridley with 10:11 left to play.
The Hayden drive covered 91 yards on 13 plays after the Wildcat fumble recovery, taking 7:29 off the clock..
Abbot Hundley got Holton on the board with a 62-yard touchdown run, with Holton cutting Hayden's lead to 17-7 with 7:34 remaining..
Holton attempted an onsides kick on the ensuing kickoff but senior Carter Charvat recovered for Hayden.
Hayden went on to drive for an insurance TD, scoring on a 1-yard Wahlmeier run with 4:33 left that capped en eight-play, 54-yard drive.
Unofficially, Wahlmeier completed eight of 15 passes for 101 yards and rushed for 19 yards on four attempts.
Schrickel gained 57 yards on seven attempts for Hayden while junior Broderick Desch rushed for 46 yards on 14 carries and sophomore Kade Mitchell added 17 yards on six carries,
Holton's Hundley rushed for 187 yards on 22 carries while Kyler Jackson had 66 yards on 16 carries.
WASHBURN RURAL 46, EMPORIA 0 -- Washburn Rural wrapped up the Centennial League championship with a 46-0 league win over winless Emporia at Welch Stadium.
Washburn Rural improved to 7-0 overall and went 4-0 in the Centennial.
Rural senior quarterback Brandon DeWeese threw for touchdowns to Kellen Roth, JC Heim and Titan Osburn while Lafayette Thompson rushed for more than 100 yards.
Friday's Rural win, coupled with Free State's loss, put the Junior Blues into the No. 1 West seed for the Class 6A playoffs with one more game in the regular season before the postseason pairings are set.
Washburn Rural will close out its regular season on Thursday vs. Topeka West at Hummer Sports Park.
ROSSVILLE 64, PLEASANT RIDGE 14 -- Rossville put the game out of reach with a 29-point first quarter and went on to take a 62-14 Class 2A District 3 road win over Pleasant Ridge.
Bulldawg senior quarterback Camden Horak opened the game with two touchdown passes over the first four minutes, hitting junior Tayson Horak for a 4-yard TD at the 10:05 mark and connecting with sophomore Jack Donovan for a 10-yard score at the 8:10 mark of the opening quarter.
T. Horak made the score 21-0 with a 52-yard run and sophomore Paxton Willett scored on a 17-yard run to close out Rossville's first-quarter onslaught. Willett kicked extra points after the Bulldawgs' first three scores and sophomore Connor Bush caught a pass for a 2-point conversion to make the score 29-0.
Rossville, which improved to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in district play, opened up a huge 57-8 margin by halftime, outscoring the Rams 28-8 in the second period.
Rossville got three second-quarter TD passes from C. Horak in the quarter, with Horak hitting junior Seth Catron for a 14-yard TD, T. Horak for a 26-yard score and Bush for a 51-yard strike.
T. Horak also ran for a 59-yard TD in the second while Willett kicked four extra points.
Rossville scored its final TD midway through the third quarter on a 16-yard pass from sophomore Canann. Mitchell to junior Mahki Jackson (Willett kick) before Pleasant Ridge (2-5, 1-3) scored its second touchdown of the night late in the game.
Rossville will close out its regular season at home next Friday with a district game against Maur HIll-Mt. Academy.
SILVER LAKE 60, MAUR HILL-MT. ACADEMY 6 -- Silver Lake improved to 6-1 overall and a perfect 3-0 in Class 2A District 3 with a 60-6 road romp at Maur Hill-Mt. Academy.
The Eagles built a 54-0 lead before Maur Hill scored its lone touchdown on a fumble return.
Silver Lake has now won five straight games, with the Eagles' lone loss coming in Week 2 against 3A unbeaten Hayden.
The Eagles will close out their regular season with a home district contest against Atchison County next Friday.
BASEHOR-LINWOOD 27, SEAMAN 24 -- Basehor-Linwood scored the final touchdown to take a 27-24 win in a United Kansas Conference shootout Friday night at Basehor.
Seaman fell to 3-4 on the season and 3-2 in the UKC while Basehor-Linwood improved to 5-2 and 5-1 in the UKL with its fifth straight win.
Seaman will be at home next Friday to host Piper in a UKC game to close out the Vikings' regular season.
JUNCTION CITY 47, TOPEKA HIGH 0 -- It was a nice chilly fall night at Hummer Sports Park for Topeka High’s Senior Night and the Blue Jays of Junction City got to be the party pooper of the evening, leaving Topeka with a 47-0 Centennial League win.
Friday was a battle between two Top 5-ranked players in the Kansas. BJ Canady of Topeka High is ranked No. 3 and committed to Cal while Michael Boganowski of Junction City is ranked No. 4 and is expected to make his decision soon.
In a game that was a very hard fought battle, the Blue Jay defense was a force led by Boganowski.
Junction City held the Trojans to 62 rushing yards and 83 passing yards. The Trojan offense looked like it was ready to make a comeback at times but could not keep it alive.
The Blue Jays, who had 187 rushing yards and 167 passing yards just kept driving all night long while attacking the weak spots on the Trojan defense. -- By Justin Burkhardt
JUNCTION CITY 47, TOPEKA HIGH 0
Junction City (4-3, 1-2) 13 13 21 0 – 47
Topeka High (1-6, 1-3) 0 0 0 0 -- 0
JC- Boganowski 22 Pass from Bazan (Hileman Kick)
JC- Bohanon 2 run (Hileman Kick)
JC- Bogenhagen 12 run (Hileman Kick)
JC- Bohanon 1 run (2-point Fail)
JC- Lovell Autry 40 interception (Hileman Kick)
JC- Bazan 2 run (Hileman Kick)
JC- Norris 25 run (Hileman Kick)
Individual statistics
Rushing—Junction City: Daniels 15-81, Autry 2-17, Bogenhagen 5-30, Bohanon 2-3, Norris 5-39, Gomez 1-5, Turner 1-16, Bazan 2-(minus)-4. Topeka High: Ewing 16-53, Kincade 2-5, Murph 1-4, Smith 2-(minus)-17.
Passing—Junction City: Bazan 5-7,132 yards, Gomez 3-3, 35 yards. Topeka High: Smith 7-12-1, 83 yards.
Receiving—Junction City: Autry 2-60, Boganowski 2-45, Smith 1-13, Caldwell 1-11, Garo 1-9, Brown 1-3. Topeka High: Norman 5-48, Kincade 2-35.
