High
School Football Standings and Results
TWIN VALLEY LEAGUE VOLLEYBALL
SCORES
2004
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GREAT SCOTT! HOLTON TRIES TO
BREAK THROUGH FORT IN 4A PLAYOFFS
JF 11-11-04
The
defending Class 4A State Football Champions from Holton get their toughest test
of the season tonight traveling to play at undefeated Fort Scott at 7:00.
Something has to give when the two unbeaten teams collide with both defenses
allowing less than 7 points per game, and both offenses scoring more than 43 an
outing with over 380 yards. Despite the recent state history with the Tigers
making it to four straight state title bouts before last season, and the
Wildcats winning a Regional the past three years after falling in the 98 and 99
state title games, but… the two teams have never met.
Tiger 13th
year Coach Bob Campbell says his team is excited to finally get a shot at the
Wildcats.
Holton has
eclipsed the 4,000 yard rushing mark again already this season, but Wildcat
Coach Brooks Barta believes that his teams size, not speed, is the key factor in
tonight’s tilt.
Both teams
are plus 15 in the turnover department and tonight’s game could come down to a
single mistake. It a clash of 4A powers meeting for the first time after being
ranked in the top three all season, Holton at Fort Scott tonight at 7:00 with
pre-game at 6:40 on KNZA 103.9 FM.
TROY LOOKS TO ADVANCE IN CLASS 2-1A PIGSKIN PLAYOFFS
JF 11-11-04
The Troy Trojans high school football
team will make history Saturday with a home Sectional Playoff game against Sedan
in Class 2-1A. It is the first time the Trojans have advanced to the third
round of the post-season, and they look for their 8th consecutive
victory against the undefeated Blue Devils.
19th year coach Don Cash is
excited coming off another first and monumental victory at Onaga 47-21 in
Regionals.
Sedan Head Coach Les Davis is in his 37th
year, and doesn’t believe his team is playing their best football of the season
in the playoffs following a 22-6 victory at Peabody.
After becoming the second winningest
coach in Kansas surpassing 300 victories earlier this season, Davis talks about
what it will take to win at Troy and continue a magical campaign.
Troy’s
defense has allowed only 7 points per game this season, but the Trojans have had
to come from behind in 5 of their 10 wins, and Coach Cash isn’t worried about
having to rally against Sedan.
It’s
undefeated
Sedan
at 10-1 Troy Saturday afternoon at 1:00 on KNZA 103.9 FM with the winner meeting
a Panther team in either St. Mary’s Colgan or Centralia.
TOP FALL LEAGUE HONORS PROVIDED FOR
DELAWARE VALLEY
JF 11-11-04
The
Delaware
Valley
has dished out their 2004 fall All-League Selections for both football and
volleyball. Pleasant Ridge who captured their first-ever DVL football title was
honored with 10 selection to the first team, while runner-up
Troy was next with five. Five rams
were honored on defense including: Kyle Powers, Chris Allison, Joe Brightwell,
Chris Langley and Russell Strange who was also an offensive top pick. Lineman
Ryan Dercher and Cory Snowberg were honored for P-Ridge on offense as well as
running back Matt Koch and kicker Jacob Hendee. All of
Troy’s
first-team honorees were seniors including back Guy Masters who was also a top
linebacker and the only unanimous selection of the year. Colby Cluck and Miles
Clary were picked on the o-line, while John Hoverson was tabbed on the Trojan
defense. Clary and Cook were also second team defensive picks. The DVL top
quarterback was Travis Smith of Jackson Heights who was also picked at
cornerback, while Doug Self of
Valley
Falls was another two-way selection. Rounding out the first-team offensive
picks were Kevin Stewart of McLouth and Zach Euler of Wathena, while Brandon
Hockenbarger of JCN was a defensive pick along with Josh Saunders of Doniphan
West, while the number was punter was Travis Stalkfleet of Oskaloosa.
The third
place JCN Chargers have five second team picks on offense including quarterback
Chad Mies, Brandon Herring, Jordan Piha, Blake Hoffman, and David Campbell.
Hoffman along with Joe Hill were also picked on defense. Derek Shelton was a
second team center and kicker, while Nolan Franken, Kyle Greaser and Kyle
Koehler were defensive picks for Troy. Horton juniors David Paden and Nick
Pederson received 2nd team defensive honors, while Justin Martinez of
the Cobras, Kyle Gurss of the Rams and Zach Euler of Wathena round out the
second team defense. Beau Sigrist of the Cats was picked on offense, as well as
Kip Peters and Clint Merkel of Doniphan West, while McLouth juniors Jonah Wise
and Jason McGhee round out the second team offensive picks.
Honorable
mention DVL football honors went too: Daniel Kuhnert and Brad Clark of Doniphan
West, Casey Baker and Andrew Montgomery of Horton, Danny McMillan and Brett Coy
of Wathena, Tel Wood and Ridge Bunde of Valley Falls, Tim Sneed and Jay Johnson
from Troy, Todd Newell and Tyler Metzger of Oskaloosa, Charlie Clemmons and Matt
Grolmes of Jackson Heights, Matt Morgan and Luke Finley of JCN, Ripp Harrison
and Joel Gill of McLouth, and Luke Ezell and Chris Barnes of P-Ridge.
The DVL
Volleyball awards including six unanimous picks including both Jessica
Seichepine and Danae Gigstad of league champion Jeff Co. North. Tiffany Henry
of KC Christian, Amy Gerhardt of
Jackson
Heights
and Abby Winder of Troy were all tabbed first team by each league coach. JCN
also had Whitney Kraxner and Ashton McMillan on the first-team, while Keyley
Pfrang of Jackson Heights, and Julie Johnson of the Panthers also were honored.
Rounding out the top DVL netters were: Heidi Compton of Horton, Morgan Twombley
of Doniphan West, McLouth’s Emily Nitzsche, Ali King of Oskie, Kristie Crook of
Pleasant Ridge, and Cari Massey from Valley Falls. KC Christian had two other
honorable mention players in Mackenzie Castle and Kristen Knoth, while Kim
Fuhrman of the Mustangs, Leigh Anna Thompson of McLouth, Jessica Schrick of JCN,
Jessica Layden of Oskie, Ashley Meinert of P-Ridge, and Mallory Haedt of Wathena
all were honorable mention picks in the DVL.
BIG 7 NAMES FALL TOP LEAGUE SELECTIONS
JF 11-11-04
The Big 7
has announced their 2004 All-League fall selections. Two time defending
champion Holton has three players on the first team, as does Hiawatha who
finished runner-up for the second straight season. The league unbeaten Wildcats
placed their only senior Kim Middlemist of the list, as well as the Big 7’s only
first-team juniors in Nikki Cannon and Kelsey Nelson. Hiawatha three seniors
were Whitney and Robyn Korthanke and Amanda Jones. Lisa Ronnebaum and Danielle
Hammes were picked from Nemaha Valley, while Sabetha was represented by Jenny
Gaskell and Riley Speers. Rounding out the first-team list is Miranda Mullins
of Jeff West and Melinda Morrison of the Mount Academy.
Earning honorable mention status for Big
7 Volleyball was Jami Deghand and Misty Stone of Royal Valley as well as Stacie
Westermann and lone sophomore honoree Cassie Thompson of ACCHS. Phylicia
Schultejans and Sarah Helm of Nemaha Valley were also mentioned as well as
Holton’s Jessica Beam, Mallory Pickman of Mount Academy, and Nichole Palmateer
and Ashley Garretson of Jeff West.
There was a pleasant blend of athletes
honored from each Big 7 school in the football selections, but three-time
champion Holton leads the way with five offensive and defensive picks in 2004.
Offensive lineman Cody Cobler, Corey Miller, Mike Roberts and Travis Spiker were
all first-team as well as runningback Fielding Brenner. Quarterback Cody
Zimmerman, plus tight-end John Mahon, back Nick Allen and lineman Sean Thomas
were all give honorable mention. Defensively, Brenner, Zimmerman, Blake Raaf,
and Caleb Nickelson were honored, while Roberts, and Nathan Doyle and Jesse
Strawn were honorable mention and Colja Homann was the Big 7 League kicker.
Runner-up ACCHS had four first-team
defensive picks in Chris Pursel, Andy Linscott, Blake Alexander and Derrick
Todd, while Matt Thorne, Gus Kautz and Austin Handke were mentioned. Pursel,
Handke, Alexander and back Ben Rodvelt were tabbed on offense for the Tigers.
Maur Hill had the top quarterback Justin
Pregont who was also tabbed on defense as well as Ted Henry, and Sterling
Jackson was named a superior receiver with Daniel Portenier honorable mention.
Royal Valley was represented by defensive back Justen Dreasher, while William
Mitchell and Zac Luthi were honorable mention on offense.
Hiawatha had two first-teamers in Gabe
Harter and Coulter Lucas on defense, while Ryan Ramey was listed on offense, and
Mark Sudbeck on defense. Nemaha Valley placed Brad Dalinghaus as a top
runningback, while he also was mentioned on defense along with Ryan Shinn and
Michael Fangman and Charlie Strathman were top defensive selections with Jeremy
Love mentioned at tight-end. Jeff West had a pair of first team receivers in
Aric Cherry and tight-end Brady Rodecap, while Morgan Thomes and Jared Brown
were first-team defensive selections. Sabetha had Allyn Plattner and Logan
Synder on the Big 7 first team defense, while Plattner was also honored on
offense as well as the only sophomore selected in back Kaleb Koch.
AXTELL AND B&B WORK TOWARDS A STATE TITLE
BY Wade Gerstner
11-10-04
The Axtell Eagles
last won a state title in 1993, now 11 years later, they are two wins away from
another championship.
Axtell’s road to
the title game goes through Slyvan Grove as the Mustangs are unbeaten at 11-0
and have dominated their opponents week in and week out. The Mustangs have a
big offensive and defensive line, but the Eagles are confident they can build on
their 7 game winning streak after knocking off Little River and #3 St. Paul in
the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Axtell travels
to Slyvan Grove to battle the Mustangs in a sub-state final at 1 p.m.
That game can be heard on KNDY. The winner moves on to the 8-man Division II
title game next Saturday in Russell.
The B&B
Falcons and the Jewell-White Rock Predators continue their quest for
a state championship this Saturday afternoon at
2 o’clock in Jewell.
B&B is the #1 team
in the state and has never trailed in a game this season, so Jewell would like
nothing more than to score first in this game and see how the Falcons respond.
Jewell-White Rock is capable of putting put up basketball like numbers on the
football scoreboard as they proved last Saturday outscoring Southern Coffey
72-42.
B&B, unlike Jewell,
has been stingy defensively, allowing a mere 8.7 points per game. The Falcons
held an explosive Hope offense in check last Saturday and Falcon Head Coach
Steve Tiernan knows that his defense will be tested again Saturday as the
Predators average over 400 yards of total offense per game.
It’s the #1 ranked
and unbeaten B&B Falcons at undefeated Jewell-White Rock Saturday afternoon at 2
o’clock. The winner moves on to the 8-man Division I title game next Saturday
in Russell. Catch all of the action starting with the pregame show at
1:40 p.m. this Saturday
afternoon on 92.1 KMZA.
IT’S CENTRALIA VERSUS
COLGAN AGAIN!
BY Wade
Gerstner 11-10-04
The St. Mary’s
Pittsburg Colgan Panthers and the Centralia Panthers may not play in
the same league, but it sure feels like it as for the 5th time in 6
years as the two teams collide Friday night at 7 p.m. at Carnie Smith Stadium in
Pittsburg in the regional round of the class 2-1A playoffs.
Pittsburg Colgan
has won a state record 64 games in a row and four consecutive state
championships. Colgan’s defense has shut out 6 of it’s 10 opponents and has
outscored their first two playoff opponents, 129-27, including a 48-21 drubbing
of previously undefeated Moundridge last Saturday.
Centralia is a
perfect 11-0 and is coming off perhaps their best performance of the season, a
37-20 victory over #5 ranked St. Mary’s. The Panther defense intercepted 5
passes with Dan Jackson returning one of them for a touchdown. The Centralia
offense cashed 3 of those turnovers into 21 points in the first half.
Will the 5th
time be the charm for Centralia or will Colgan extend their state record winning
streak to 65. Find out Friday night starting with the pregame show at
6:40 p.m. on 92.1 KMZA.
TVL ALL LEAGUE
VOLLEYBALL TEAMS ANNOUNCED
By Wade Gerstner 11-10-04
To no
one’s surprise, the Centralia Lady Panthers, fresh off their 8th
consecutive state title, lead the way on the 2004 Twin Valley All-League
Volleyball selections. The Panthers placed four players on the 1st-Team
including seniors, Alyssa Showman, Anne Bachman, Kristin Haverkamp, and Bonnie
Engelken. State runner-up Axtell had two first teamers in senior Joanna Alfers
and sophomore Abby Kuckelman. B&B and Wetmore also had two selections on the
first team in the form of senior Marcy Sudbeck and sophomore Stacy Sudbeck for
the Falcons and seniors Amanda Kramer and Melissa Burdiek for the Cardinals.
Also making the TVL first team are Onaga senior Becky Zabel and Frankfort senior
Michelle Tynon.
Named to
the TVL-2nd Team were Axtell’s senior Carla Meyer and junior Alison
Strathman along with B&B’s senior Kerri Reinecke and junior Darcie Schmitz.
Senior Alex Weis of Wetmore along with juniors Katie Hale of Frankfort and
Sierra Boswell of Onaga and sophomore Molly Bergkamp of
Valley
Heights also earned 2nd Team TVL honors.
TUESDAY BI DISTRICT PREP FOOTBALL PLAYOFF PREVIEW
JF 10-29-04
Twelve local high school football teams have
qualified for the 2004 post-season including seven district champions. Six
local teams are paired against each other for tomorrow (Tuesday) night
Bi-District action.
In Class 4A, Marysville will
travel to unbeaten Topeka Hayden, while Holton looks for a 10-0 record with a
home game against Wamego (6-3). If the Wildcats are victorious against the
potent Red Raider passing attack, they would play Lansing or Desoto in regionals
on Saturday.
In Class 3A, only two local teams
made the post-season and they will meet Tuesday in Effingham. DVL Champion
Pleasant Ridge travels to take on ACCHS in a matchup of 8-1 football teams, with
the winner likely facing Rossville.
Five local teams made the Class
2-1A Playoffs including Onaga who gets a rematch and a home game against Lebo on
KMZA 92.1 FM. The Buffalos won their district and have notched three straight
wins since a three game losing streak which was started by a 47-22 loss to Lebo
in week four. Jackson Heights also has a revenge game at Troy, as the Trojans
won an 18-6 DVL battle in week five. Troy is 8-1 and will host the 4-5 Cobras
Tuesday on KNZA 103.9 FM.
In Eight-Man action, Axtell (7-2)
gets a home match against Little River (6-3) in Division One. The Eagles game
will be played at 6:00 Tuesday and broadcast on Sunny 101.3 FM. In 8-Man
Division One, Hanover travels to unbeaten Jewell-White Rock, while top ranked
B&B (9-0) hosts Pike Valley (6-3). A Falcon victory on Tuesday would likely set
up a Saturday showdown against 9-0 and second ranked Hope.
TVL STRUTS TRIO OF TOP THREE VOLLEYBALL TEAMS IN STATE
JF 10-30-04
It was quite the exciting weekend for fall sports
teams in Northeast Kansas. Four of the five area volleyball teams that
qualified for state advanced to Saturday play and finished in the top four of
the state. In Hays, the Centralia Lady Panthers made history becoming the first
ever Kansas Volleyball team to win eight consecutive State Championships.
Centralia topped TVL foe Axtell for the 2004 title in a rematch of three years
ago, and stretched their state match win streak to 40 in the process. The
Panthers finished the year with a 40-1 record, while Axtell only lost twice in
Hays, both times to Centralia and finished a superb season at 31-6 in second
place.
In Class 2A, Onaga had their best
ever state volleyball showing earning third place honors, and completing a 28-9
campaign with a win against Hutch Trinity, and helping the Twin Valley League
prove again that they are the toughest league in the Sunflower State. JCN went
1-2 Friday including losses to state runner-up Sublette and to 4th
place Hutchinson Trinity in pool play which prevented JCN from making the
semifinals on Saturday. Salina-Sacred Heart won the 2A title over Subletee.
Holton placed fourth in Class 4A
at Salina after winning back-to-back matches Friday in straight sets to advance
from a very confusing and tie-breaker pool. The Lady Cats lost in three games
to eventual champ Andover before falling to top seed Labette County on Saturday
to end the year 30-10.
LOTS ON THE
LINE IN PREP FOOTBALL WEEK NINE
Justin Fluke
10-28-04
It’s week nine and the final high school
football games on the regular season tonight. While some teams are playing for
only pride or a winning record other most still have playoff aspirations to be
one of two district teams that qualifies for the post-season.
On of the most confusing districts in
number three in Class 2-1A where Frankfort and Washington are both 1-1 and Onaga
is 2-0. The Buffaloes obviously control the title with a win versus Frankfort,
and Onaga Coach Ron Lee wants to win to simplify the situation.
Bruce Gunter, who stepped in this season
for former coach Larry Schroeder, knows his Frankfort team is also alive and
needs a road victory because they trail Onaga by 5 points in a tie-breaker comes
into effect. Frankfort at Onaga can be heard on KMZA 92.1 FM, while Washington
is six points behind Frankfort but holds the tie-breaker as they travel to
Valley Heights.
Things are more clear in District Two,
where Centralia has locked up a district championship; however, Horton plays at
Jackson Heights, are both teams are 1-1 making the district situation easy to
understand.
Horton at Jackson Heights tonight on
103.9 FM KNZA.
In District One, Troy has locked a home
playoff game, while JCN plays at Valley Falls in a battle for survival.
In Class 3A, Rock Creek travels to
Effingham after losing two straight to ACCHS. Both teams are already in the
playoffs, but tonight’s winner takes the district on KAIR 93.7 FM. In District
Two, it is the same scenario where 2-0 rivals Imac and Pleasant Ridge play for a
home playoff game.
In Class 4A, Royal Valley has hopes of
making the playoffs for a second straight year.
Holton looks to wrap up an unbeaten
regular season and District 8 title with a home game against Atchison, who
mathematically is not eliminated, while Marysville needs a home victory against
Hiawatha to clinch a 4A Playoff spot.
While B&B has already secured an 8-Man
District Title, Axtell plays at White City for a home playoff game next week.
Catch a
special edition of Thursday Night Fever tonight at 6:05 on Kanzaland Radio
previewing all the week nine match-ups and complete playoff scenario’s.
FIVE AREA
VOLLEYBALL TEAMS HEAD TO STATE
Justin Fluke
10-24-04
Five
Kanzaland area volleyball teams have qualified for the State Tournaments to be
held this Friday and Saturday. The Holton Wildcats won the Hiawatha 4A
Sub-State Saturday and will compete at state for the first time since the early
1970’s. Holton got revenge and topped Hayden in three sets in the semi’s before
knocking off Hiawatha in two games to take first place. The Lady Cats (28-7)
earned the third seed at state and will play Wamego Friday morning at 9:30,
while also playing against Prairie View and Eudora in pool play at the Salina
Bi-Centennial Center.
Four local
teams are headed to Hays including Onaga and Jeff County North in Class 2A, and
Axtell and Centralia is Class 1A. Centralia knocked off B&B in two games
Saturday to win their Regional, and will be searching for their 8th
consecutive State Championship. Axtell defeated Wetmore to advance to state
where they placed 2nd three years ago. The Eagles and Panthers will compete in
the same pool along with Cunningham and Little River, as Centralia (35-1) is the
top seed, and Axtell (28-4) draws the fourth seed. The 1A teams will compete
Friday afternoon and evening at Gross Memorial Coliseum, as Centralia plays at
3:30 and 5:30 and Axtell takes the court at 4:30 and 6:30 before the two teams
meet at 7:30, and could possible meet again for the state title Saturday
afternoon.
Onaga and
JCN are in opposite 2A Pools as the Lady Buffalos (25-7) are the fifth seed and
play Hoxie at 9:30 Friday morning followed by a match against top-seed Salina
Sacred Heart and then Oxford. Onaga topped Alma-Wabaunsee in the Regional title
match, and will compete in state for the first time since 1985. JCN (29-3) is
seeded 2nd, and plays at 8:30 AM Friday against Wakeeney, before a
10:30 and 12:30 match against Hutch Trinity and Sublette. The Lady Chargers won
their Sub-State Saturday in three games against Lyndon.
No area 3A
teams qualified for state as Rossville won the Sabetha Sub-State against Riley
County, and Silver Lake took the title at Oskaloosa.
Kanzaland
Radio will be providing live play-by-play of state volleyball matches from both
Hays and Salina this Friday and Saturday.
LOCAL RUNNERS QUALIFY FOR STATE MEET IN
WAMEGO
Justin Fluke
10-24-04
Just like the rest of the season, the
Jackson Heights girls cross-country team dominated the 2A Regional at Washington
Saturday and qualified for state this Saturday at Wamego. Jody Wilhelm, Kayla
Harris and Melissa Anderson placed first, second, and third while Kim Evergerd
of Wathena was fourth ahead of Amanda Zeit for Doniphan West. The Lady Mustangs
placed second as a team and will also compete at state after placing 5 runners
in the top 17. JCN was led by Elizabeth Surz who placed 8th. The
Class 2A girls run at 9:00 AM.
The JCN boys placed second as a team
qualifyng for state led by Clayton Libol and Jordan Piha, while Nathan Long of
Wathena placed second, Ashton Lackey placed 11th for Doniphan West,
and Randy Miller grabbed a fifth place medal for Onaga. Seth Stiers of Jackson
Heights also placed in the top 12 of the boys race and will compete this
Saturday in state at Wamego at 10:00 AM, while Troy’s Kameron Duncan just missed
the cut.
In the Class 4A Regional Cross-Country
Meet at Hiawatha Saturday, local teams didn’t fair as well, as Clay Center,
Wamego and Hayden took the boys and girls team race. Individual boys that
qualified include James McDermott of Royal Valley, and Jessie Broxterman and
Josh Campbell of Jeff West who will start running at 11:00 AM.
No area 1A teams qualified for state;
however Centralia qualified a few individuals as Brittany Kramer placed 7th
and Shayla Flentie was 14th, and Chris Yarger placed 16th
to led the Panther boys.
Also at Riley County is Class 3A, the
Sabetha boys won the Regional title led by Kody Livengood’s 2nd place
finish, while Daniel Keim was 8th. Other area athletes that placed
in the top 25 to qualify for state include: Andy Gigstad and Josh Snyder of
ACCHS, third place runner Leo Mangimelli and Joel Haug of Maur Hill, Oskaloosa’a
Joe Crawford, and Todd Heinen who led all Nemaha Valley runners.
Hope Winkler was the girls individual
champion six seconds ahead of Jolama Jylian of the Mount Academy while Hilary
Turner placed 8th to led McLouth, as the Lady Bulldogs finish third
as a team.
FALCONS HEAD
TO HANOVER WITH HIGH HOPES THURSDAY
Justin Fluke
10-21-04
As the
post-season nears, it is a special Thursday night of High School Football and a
match-up of state ranked undefeated clubs tonight as B&B travels to Hanover.
After returning nearly everyone from last year’s state runner-up team, B&B has
outscored their opponents 48-6 and been ranked number one through the season.
The Falcons have won 21 straight in the Twin Valley League, as well as 10
consecutive district contest and 17 of 18.
B&B aims for
their 4th straight TVL title tonight with a 7:00 kickoff in Hanover
on KMZA 92.1 FM.
SUB STATE VOLLEYBALL BRACKETS RELEASED
JF 10-20-04
In Class 1A at Centralia, Axtell plays Lebo at
1:00, while Wetmore plays against White City. In Sub-State B, Centralia host
Hope at 5:00 and B&B play Marias Des Cygnes Valley in the bottom half of the
bracket.
Four other Twin Valley League teams will compete at
the 2A Sub-State in Washington, and Onaga earned the top seed with a 22-7
record. The Lady Buffaloes open play against Bennington, while 4th
seed Frankfort (14-14) battles Solomon. In the lower half, third seed Valley
Heights plays St. Mary’s, and the host Washington take on second seed
Alma-Wabaunsee who is 18-11.
The other local 2A Volleyball competition will take
place at Jeff Co North where the Chargers are the second seed and play Troy
Saturday. Immaculata is the third seed and will take on Valley Falls while top
seed Lyndon faces Wathena and Doniphan West and Jackson Heights met in the four
and five match-up.
In Class 3A at Sabetha, Rossville earned the top
seed and plays ACCHS, while Sabetha plays fourth seed Rock Creek. In the bottom
of the bracket, Riley County is the second seed and plays Mount Academy, while
third seed Nemaha Valley draws a first-round match-up with Horton.
Hiawatha will host the 4A Sub-State and has a great
draw as the second seed with a first round matchup against Marysville. The Lady
Redhawks are 17-9, while third seed Jeff West is 13-12 and will play against
Royal Valley. The top half of the bracket has top seed Holton against Perry
Lecompton, while Topeka Hayden is the fourth seed and plays Atchison Saturday in
the Round House.
SCOTTIES TABBED FOR LOW FINISH IN
JAYHAWK EAST HOOPS
JF 10-19-04
The Jayhawk Conference held their
preseason media session Monday in Wichita, and also announced the Coaches Poll
for the upcoming basketball season. The Highland women who return three players
and one starter from last year’s 6-23 team are picked to finish 8th
in the 10 team conference ahead of Fort Scott and Neosho County. Coffeyville
was tabbed first ahead of Independence and Cowley County. Toby Harbin begins
her second campaign with the Lady Scotties who went 2-1 in the first three
preseason games at Central Missouri State, and will have three more contest
Thursday at William Jewell College.
The HCC men’s hoop team will be
under the direction of first year head coach Mike Morley who was as assistant at
Northwest Missouri State prior to arriving at Highland. Morley has just one
returning and three other red-shirts back from a team that went 8-22 a season
ago. The Scottie men were picked last, while Coffeyville was also picked to win
the Eastern Division ahead of Cowley and Indy. The first regular season games
are the first week of November for both Highland Basketball teams.
STATE RANKINGS SET UP NE KANSAS SHOWDOWNS
JF 10-19-04
There is no change once again for area high school
football teams in the state rankings after seven weeks of the season. While
Holton remains third in Class 4A following an exciting seven point win at
Marysville, the Bulldogs face another 6-1 team in Atchison this week as both
clubs continue to receive votes in the polls. The game was originally scheduled
at Atchison, but was moved to Marysville because Atchison doesn’t have
availability for a field at 7:00, and Marysville protested a time or venue
change in the original schedule and contract. Consequently, the Bulldogs will
play all three of their district games at home this season.
In Class 3A, Pleasant Ridge is
ranked fourth just ahead of ACCHS, while Centralia is fourth in Class 2A, and
JCN and Troy are outside the top five, and the 6-1 teams collide Friday as the
Trojans travel to Winchester.
Axtell is still mentioned in
Eight-Man Divison II, while B&B remains number one in Division I, and the
undefeated Falcons will play at unbeaten and fourth ranked Hanover Thursday to
decide the Twin Valley League, and possible district champ. KMZA 92.1 FM will
broadcast the B&B at Hanover game Thursday with kickoff at 7:00.
FOUR TVL
VOLLEYBALL TEAMS MOVE ON TO
SUB
STATE
Justin Fluke
10-20-04
The state’s
top ranked Class 1A volleyball teams have qualified for Sub-State Saturday in
Centralia;
however, they both won’t make it to state in Hays where they placed first and
second a year ago.
While Centralia placed first at the Blue
Valley Regional, B&B was runner-up at the Axtell Regional placing both teams in
the same sub-state bracket. Centralia (33-1) topped Clifton Clyde allowing just
14 total points, while Wetmore beat Wakefield and Blue Valley in straight sets
before falling to the Panthers 32-30 and 25-9 in the final. Wetmore (22-10)
still qualifies for Sub-State, and will be paired with Axtell, who won their
Regional with a 25-19, 25-23 victory against B&B, the Eagles second straight
defeat of the Falcons.
RUNNERS GET FINAL TUNE UP FOR REGIONALS
Justin Fluke 10-20-04
Make that six wins in seven tries for
the young Jackson Heights girls Cross-Country team. The Lady Cobras won their
home Invititional Tuesday by 28 points over Doniphan West while Nemaha Valley
was third. Jody Wilhelm, Kayla Harris, and Melissa Anderson were again the top
three individual runners, while Hillari Messer and Lea Anderson medaled 5th
and 6th.
JCN and Wathena actually tied for the
boys team race scoring 50 points each, while Jackson Heights was third ahead of
Troy and Nemaha Valley. Nathan Long of Wathena was the individual champ,
followed by Seth Stiers of the Cobras, Ashton Lackey of Donpihan West, and
Clayton Libel of JCN. Kamerson Duncan placed 7th to lead Troy while
Todd Heinen finished in the top 10 to pace the Raiders.
AREA NETTERS PREPARE FOR POST SEASON
Justin Fluke 10-17-04
There was plenty of
intense volleyball over the weekend as high school teams tuned up for Regional
and Sub-State competition.
At the Sabetha
Invite, Wamego defeated Topeka Hayden for the title, while Nemaha Valley knocked off Big 7
Champion Holton to place third in three games, and Hiawatha went 1-2 with a long
victory against Sabetha.
Jenny Gaskell made
the All-Tourney Team for the Bluejays, while Robyn and Whitney Korthanke were
both picked from Hiawatha. Kelsey Nelson, Nikki Cannon and Kim Middlemist were
all selected from Holton as well as Lisa Ronnebaum and Danielle Hammes of Nemaha
Valley and Kate Klover of Marsyville.
At the McLouth volleyball
tournament, Eudora topped Jefferson County North for the title in three
games including a 26-24 final, while Jeff West beat McLouth to place third.
Named to the All-Tourney team was
Melinda Morrison of the Mount Academy, Miranda Mullins and Jasmine Myers of the
Tigers, and Jessica Seichepine of JCN.
Centralia won the Twin Valley
League Tournament at Onaga defeating Axtell in the Championship as the
Eagles upset regular season league undefeated B&B in the semifinals. The
Falcons took third by beating Valley Heights.
Area TVL teams begin their quest
for the state tourney tomorrow when Regional begins.
The top two teams from each Regional qualify for Sub-State on
Saturday.
FOOTBALL TEAMS FACE
MUST WIN AND NEW LIFE IN WEEK SEVEN
Justin Fluke 10-15-04
It’s week seven of
the high school football season and that means the start of district play for
11-Man teams tonight. There’s a prime time showdown in Class 4A where Holton
and Marysville open District 8 with a spirited battle of undefeated clubs. The
Wildcats are the defending Class 4A State Champs, but lost to the Bulldogs at
home last year by one point in OT.
Both teams have already
wrapped up their third straight league title, it’s the Big 7 versus the NCKL
tonight live from Marysville on KNZA 103.9 FM. Elsewhere in the brutal district
Hiawatha (4-2) plays at Atchison (5-1) at 3:30 this afternoon.
In 4A District 7, it’s a Big
7 battle in Hoyt where Jeff West looks to ride momentum of their first victory
to Royal Valley who has won 2 of 3. Both teams face a must win before games
against Wamego and Topeka Hayden.
In Class 3A, ACCHS tries to
wrap up second place honors in the Big 7 for the second straight year traveling
to play at winless Sabetha. The Bluejays get their final home game tonight.
The other District One game
is also in Nemaha County as the Raiders host Rock Creek in Seneca.
In District Two,
McLouth host Immaculatta while Maur Hill (4-2) takes travels to play unbeaten
and third ranked Pleasant Ridge. The Rams have scored 68 points in back-to-back
weeks while allowing a season low five points per game. The Junior Ravens game
in Easton can be heard on 93.7 FM.
In Class 2-1A, Onaga tries
to snap a three game skid hosting Washington, while Frankfort looks to build
from three straight wins with a home game against Valley Heights. All four
teams are also vying for second place honors behind Centralia in the Twin Valley
league.
Speaking of the Panthers,
Centralia has won 20 of their last 21 district games, with that lone loss to
Jackson
Heights in 2002. Tonight the Cobras host Centralia on 92.1 FM.
Also in District Two,
Doniphan West plays at winless Horton, although many feel the Chargers are a
scary underdog, and after playing well at home this season.
In District One of Class 2A,
Troy travels to
Valley Falls and Jeff Co
North plays at Wathena.
8-Man teams continue district
play tonight as Axtell host St. Xavier, and Bern travels to White City. In
8-Man Division I, Hanover looks to stay unbeaten against Blue Valley, while B&B
host Wakefield. Thursday, the number one Falcons will travel to 4th
ranked Hanover.
Don’t forget to hear pre-game
coverage beginning of all the Northeast Kansas match-ups tonight with Friday
Night Fever at 6:05 on Kanzaland Radio.
VOLLEYBALL TEAM KEEP PERFECT LEAGUE MARK
Justin Fluke 10-13-04
Holton, B&B and JCN all took another step towards an undefeated league
volleyball title on Tuesday evening.
In Holton, the Lady Cats defeated Royal Valley and Mount Academy in straight
sets, while the Panthers grabbed a three game victory against the Lady Ravens.
Elsewhere in the Big 7, Jeff West notched two victories, while Sabetha topped
ACCHS.
In Baileyville, the Lady Falcons
won a quadrangular with convincing TVL wins against Valley Heights, Washington,
and Clifton Clyde, while Centralia won two matches against Onaga and Frankfort,
and the Lady Buffalos went 1-1. Wetmore also picked up two home victories
against Bern and Blue Valley, while the Lady Indians went 1-1, and Axtell was
victorious against Linn and Hanover.
In the Delaware Valley, JCN
survived a scare from in Wathena winning in three games before topping Troy in
two. Wathena also lost to Troy is three games to finish 0-2. KC Christian
still has just one lone loss in the league after wins against Horton and McLouth
Tuesday, while McLouth took a two game triumph against the Chargers.
SABETHA QUALIFIES
DOUBLES TENNIS TEAM FOR STATE
Justin Fluke 10-12-04
After just four loses all season,
Sabetha’s top doubles tennis team qualified for state by placing second at
Monday’s 3-2-1A Regional in Hillsboro. Maddie Allen and Shanna Rokey went 3-1
on the day and will compete in state this Friday, October 15th at
Hesston.
Jessica Neuhues made
the second round of Regionals Monday before being eliminated, while Laura Girton
also concluded a fine singles season with an 18-4 record losing to the state’s
second ranked player after a tough first round draw.
Hiawatha failed to
qualify anyone for state from the Class 4A Regional at Topeka Hayden; however,
Marysville took first place team honors by sweeping the top two doubles and
adding a third place singles finish to more than double the team scores of
Wamego and Hayden.
JEFF WEST GOLF SENDS
TWO TO STATE
Justin Fluke 10-12-04
It was anything but par weather
Tuesday, but the Jeff West girls golf team managed to qualify a pair of
individuals for state despite a 6th place team finish at the 4-3-2-1A
Regional at Village Greens. Council Grove took first place team honors while KC
Piper also qualified for state placing second. For the Lady Tigers, Roxanne
Jensen placed fourth with a round of 90, and Autumn Weaver medaled sixth,
shooting a 94 to qualify for state Monday in Salina.
STATE RANKINGS REMAIN SAME BEFORE DISTRICT PLAY
Justin Fluke 10-12-04
There is no change
this week for area teams in the Kansas High School State Football Rankings. In
fact, none of the rankings changed for in Classes 8-Man through 4A with 11-Man
district play beginning this week.
Defending State Champion and third
ranked Holton travels to Marysville in a match-up of unbeatens. The Bulldogs
have won the last two meetings, and handed the Cats their only loss in overtime
a season ago. Also in the same district 5-1 Atchison, who is receiving state
votes, travels to 4-2 Hiawatha as they four teams have a combined 21-3 record
and just two will make the playoffs.
In Class 3A, Pleasant Ridge
remains unbeaten and ranked fourth just ahead of ACCHS. Centralia sits fourth
in Class 2A, while 5-1 teams JCN and Troy are also mentioned and will compete in
the same district.
B&B is still the state’s number
one 8-Man Division One club, while Hanover is fourth setting up a district and
TVL showdown next Thursday. It is week three of district play for 8-Man teams
Friday, including Axtell who is just outside the 8-Man Division Two Ranks.
BALDWIN DOMINATES SABETHA CROSS COUNTRY INVITE
Justin Fluke 10-8-04
Both state ranked
Baldwin Cross-Country teams dominated the Sabetha Invitational with damp
conditions on Thursday. The Jackson Heights girls were placed second just nine
points behind, while Marysville, Sabetha and Holton rounded out the top five.
The Jeff West boys were second but 60 points behind Baldwin, while Sabetha
finished third ahead of Marysville.
LEAGUE RACES ON THE
LINE BEFORE DISTRICT PLAY
Justin Fluke 10-8-04
It’s week six of the high school football season, and a final tune-up for
11-Man teams as district play begins next week.
League races are also beginning to take shape, and tonight Centralia looks to
wrap up their sixth consecutive Twin Valley League Title. The Panthers take an
unbeaten record to Washington in search of their 25th straight league
win dating back to 1999.
Centralia topped Washington twice last year, including a 21-20 victory in the
playoffs, but they are coming off a bye week, and Panthers Head Coach Jerry
Bainum expects a good test.
B&B
has won 20 straight in the TVL 8-Man Division, and the undefeated Falcons are
more focused on week two of district play as they travel to Linn. The Falcons
can’t wrap up a league title, with a game looming against unbeaten Hanover next
week.
In
the Big 7 League, Holton tonight can assure themselves of a sixth league title
in the last seven years, and a victory versus Maur Hill would give the Cats a
third straight league championship. The Junior Ravens are 4-1, and Head Coach
Todd Weaver says although it is an uphill battle, anything can happen and his
team is confident.
In
the Delaware Valley League, Pleasant Ridge (5-0) looks to take another step
towards a league crown, and the Rams would become the fifth different team to
win the DVL title in as many years. The Rams have homecoming tonight against
winless Horton.
Another top DVL match-up pits 4-1 teams as McLouth visits Troy, while a pair of
2-3 teams collide on homecoming in Valley Falls as the Dragons host Jackson
Heights.
THREE AREA VOLLEYBALL
TEAMS REMAIN RANKED
JF 10-7-04
The
latest volleyball poll is out with the Kansas Coaches State Rankings. Centralia
(19-1) remains the top ranked Class 1A team, although B&B (23-1) is right behind
after winning the TVL regular season title this week. Both teams has only a
lone loss to the other. Jefferson County North who recently wrapped up the DVL
title is ranked fifth in Class 2A and stands at 19-2, while Big 7 League teams
Nemaha Valley and Holton remain just
outside the 4 and 3A rankings. The Wildcats won their second ever league title
Tuesday and remain perfect in the Big 7.
LADY SCOTTIE VOLLEYBALL SUFFERS TOUGH DEFEAT
The Highland
Community College Volleyball team remains winless in the Jayhawk Conference
(0-6). The Lady Scotties lost another four game match Wednesday at
Allen County and stand at 5-28
on the season. After falling in the first game, HCC took a 30-13 victory, but
lost games three and four by identical close scores of 30-28.
It was a tune up for
the Sunflower State Football Showdown Wednesday evening, and KU hosted K-State
in a volleyball match of two top teams in the Big 12. The Wildcats prevailed in
five games to win their 18th straight meeting in the series.
AREA VOLLEYBALL TEAMS LOCK UP LEAGUE TITLES
Justin Fluke 10-6-04
Holton, Jeff Co North, and B&B all but wrapped up league volleyball titles with
victories on Tuesday evening.
In the Big 7 League, Holton has
secured at least a tie for the championship after winning the title last year
for the first time in school history. The Lady Wildcats maintained an unbeaten
league mark last night with straight set victories against Hiawatha and Sabetha,
while the Lady Redhawks topped Sabetha at home in two games.
Elsewhere in the Big 7 Tuesday,
Nemaha Valley picked up two home wins against ACCHS and Royal Valley in two
games, while the Tigers went 1-1.
The B&B Lady Falcons secured their
first ever Twin Valley League regular season title Tuesday with a two set win
against Frankfort and three game triumph versus Wetmore. B&B is undefeated in
the TVL, and head coach Jessica Koch is ecstatic about the milestone, despite
knowing there are still several goals to
accomplish.
While Wetmore topped Frankfort in
three sets, Centralia went 3-0 with convincing wins against Valley Heights, Blue
Valley and Linn, and the Rams went 2-1 with a three set victory over the
Mustangs. Onaga went 2-0 with wins against Bern and Clifton Clyde while the
Indians grabbed a three game win to finish 1-1. Axtell also picked up two wins
against Hanover and Washington.
In the Delaware Valley League,
Jackson Heights three year reign as league champions ended when Jeff Co North
secured the title with a two set victory against KC Christian. JCN also beat
McLouth last night improving to 21-2 overall and 9-0 in the DVL. KC Christian
is 8-1 in league play after beating McLouth. Doniphan West had an exciting
Tuesday with three game wins against Oskaloosa and Wathena, while Oskie went
1-1. Horton, Troy and Valley Falls also each went 1-1 as Troy beat Valley
Falls, but the Dragons topped Horton in three games, before the Chargers notched
a win against Troy.
PLEASANT RIDGE JUMPS ACCHS IN STATE FOOTBALL
RANKS
Justin Fluke 10-5-04
Some area high
school football teams have taken a step back in this weeks prep football
rankings. Following their first loss of the season, ACCHS dropped to fifth in
Class 3A, while Pleasant Ridge jumped to fourth and remains unbeaten. Conway
Springs, Garden Plain and Southeast of Saline remain undefeated and ranked in
the top three of Class 3A.
Holton remains third in Class 4A
behind Fort Scott and Topeka Hayden, followed by Andover Central and Wellington
and five other 5-0 clubs including Marysville. Atchison, despite falling for
the first time this year at KC Washington remains just outside the top five.
Centralia is one of seven perfect
teams in Class 2A, ranked fourth behind Colgan, Smith Center and Claflin, while
Troy and JCN, as well as Onaga continue to receive votes.
B&B continues to be the state’s
number one Eight-Man Divison I team although seven other clubs are 5-0 including
fourth ranked Hanover. Axtell and Blue Valley Randolph also received votes this
week.
REGIONAL TENNIS SITES ANNOUNCED BY KSHSAA
Justin Fluke 9-29-04
Regional Tennis destinations have
also been released this week for area girls teams. Regional tennis is scheduled
for Monday, October 11th, where the top four singles and doubles
finishers will qualify for state. The Hiawatha Lady Redhawk will compete in 4A
at Topeka Hayden along with Marysville and Atchison, while the Sabetha and Mount
Academy girls will travel to Hillsboro for the 3-2-1A competition.
REGIONAL SITES ANNOUNCED BY KSHSAA VOLLEYBALL
9-29-04
With the high school
fall sports seasons nearing the home stretch, post-season regional and sub-state
sites have been announced by the KSHSAA. In volleyball, Hiawatha will be
hosting 4A sub-state with Holton, Jeff West, Royal Valley, Marysville, Atchison,
Topeka Hayden and Perry Lecompton.
In 3A, Oskaloosa
will host Pleasant Ridge and McLouth, while Sabetha also host a 3A sub-state
with Nemaha Valley, as well as Horton, ACCHS,
Mount Academy and Riley County among others.
Area 2A volleyball
teams are also divided at either Washington or Jeff Co North. While Frankfort
and Onaga will compete in Sub-State at Washington, all Delaware Valley Schools
will compete at JCN along with Immaculata.
In Class 1A, Centralia will host
Sub-State, but Axtell and Blue Valley each earned Regional host sites. B&B and
Bern will both compete in Axtell, while Centralia and Wetmore will battle at
Blue Valley. Two 1A teams from each Regional will advance to the Northeast
Kansas Sub-State where two teams will qualify for state in Hays October 29th
and 30th.
KSHSAA ANNOUNCES REGIONAL RUNNING SITES
Justin Fluke 9-29-04
Area cross country teams have learned their destinaton for Regionals this week
as the KSHSAA has announced the host sites for 2004. Regionals are set for
Saturday, October 23rd.
Area 4A high schools will compete in
Hiawatha at the Country Club. This
includes: Atchison, Jeff West, Royal Valley, Holton, Marysville,
Topeka Hayden and eight others from Northeast Kansas.
Local 3A cross-country teams will compete
at Riley County’s Leonardville Golf
Course, including Maur Hill Mount Academy, Pleasant
Ridge, ACCHS, Horton, McLouth, Oskaloosa, Sabetha and Nemaha Valley. The Lady Bluejays are
the two-time defending state 3A champions.
Washington earned a host site for area 2A
cross country teams including Troy,
JCN, Doniphan West, Valley Falls, Jackson Heights, Wathena,
Frankfort, and Onaga. Local 1A teams including Centralia and
Hanover will also compete at
Riley County.
Each Classification has four
regionals, while the top three teams and 10 other individual athletes will
qualify for the state cross country meet Saturday, October 30th at
the Wamego Country Club.
JEFF WEST GIRLS GOLF
RECEIVES HOME REGIONAL
Justin Fluke 9-29-04
More good news today for the Jeff
West girls golf team as the Lady Tigers have earned a Regional host site for
2004. Jeff West will host 10 other teams on Monday, October 11th
with the top two teams qualifying for state plus the next five lowest individual
scores. The 4-3-2-1A state girls golf competition will be held Monday, October
18th in Salina.
JEFF WEST LINKSTERS WIN
AGAIN
Justin Fluke 9-28-04
Another
team championship for the Jeff West girls golf team. The Lady Tigers won their
home invitational at Village Greens Monday by 11 strokes over KC Piper with
Rossville third. Roxanne Jensen fired a 83 to finish second, while Autem Weaver
earned a third place medal with a round of 85. Scott also placed in the top 12
for Jeff West.
KSHSAA ANNOUNCES NEW ATHLETIC
CLASSIFICATIONS
Justin Fluke 9-28-04
A few Northeast Kansas schools
have changed classifications for the remainder of the 2004-2005 academic and
athletic year. Monday, the Kansas State High School Activities Association
announced the enrollment figures for the school year based on the 10th,
11th, and 12th grades only. Based on the figures, Horton,
McLouth, Doniphan West, and Frankfort have all changed classification, which
will effect all activities with the exception of football.
Horton has moved back up to a 3A
school after a brief stint in 2A, while McLouth has also jumped to 3A. Doniphan
West is one of the new 2A schools, while Frankfort is now 2A, after being
classified as a 1A school the past several years. Frankfort has 89 students
while the cut-off was 86 for 1A teams. Onaga remains 2A with an enrollment of
87 and will also be among the smallest schools in 2A, while Centralia has 80 and
will remain in 1A. Horton has an enrollment of 129, while the 3A schools begin
at 126, putting the Chargers among the smallest 3A schools in the state while
Sabetha (184) and Nemaha Valley (159) are right in the middle of the 3A
classification.
Hiawatha is among the smallest 4A
teams in the state with a 224 enrollment, just eight over the 3A limit. Royal
Valley is 236, while Holton checks in at 255, and Jeff West is the largest area
4A team at 269 but still among the smaller 4A teams in the state.
The exact new numbers and
classifications can be found out the kshsaa.org website.
HOMECOMING FRIDAY HIGHLIGHTS WEEK 4 FOOTBALL
JF 9-24-04
Several high school homecomings will highlight week
number four of the football season tonight, and one of the marquee matchups is
in the Big 7 where Maur Hill visits Hiawatha in a battle of 2-1 teams.
Both teams suffered one touchdown
loses to ACCHS, and Redhawk Head Coach Scot Koranda is hoping that defeat last
week will be forgotten with a great homecoming performance against the Ravens.
Maur Hill at Hiawatha tonight on
93.7 FM, while ACCHS looks to stay unbeaten at Jeff West in a matchup of
Tigers. The only other Big 7 unbeaten is Holton who will host high flying
Nemaha Valley.
The Raiders have won two straight
including a dramatic fourth quarter comeback last Friday, and Wildcat head coach
Brooks Barta knows his Cats can’t
take their opponent lightly.
Another homecoming is tonight in
Hoyt, where Sabetha and Royal Valley both search for their first victories of
the season on 103.9 FM. Panther Head Coach Tom Barta has a different take on
homecoming and is looking for some help from the alumni.
The biggest Twin Valley League
showdown is outside the league, as Lebo visits Onaga in a matchup of 3-0
teams. Buffalo head coach Ron Lee knows his team will be tested.
Centralia looks to stay unbeaten before their
matchup with Onaga next week as the Panthers host Valley Heights on homecoming,
and Frankfort looks for their first win of the season at Lakeside.
In eight-man action, Axtell will
try to bounce back from their first loss hosting unbeaten Hanover. Eagle Head
Coach Scott Brumbaugh also knows it was the Cats that cost his team a playoffs
berth the past couple years. B&B plays at Clifton Clyde while Bern looks for
victory number one at Linn.
After winning just three game the
past five years, the McLouth Bulldogs are 3-0 in 2004 and get a tough test
tonight against Jeff County North on homecoming. It is also homecoming in
Horton as the Chargers search for a win against Troy who is coming off their
first loss of the year. Doniphan West travels to Wathena in a battle of 1-2
teams, while Jackson Heights host Oskaloosa on the Cobras homecoming, and Valley
Falls attemps to knock off Pleasant Ridge in Easton.
KANSAS TO OFFER NEW LANE IN HIGH
SCHOOL SPORTS
JF 9-24-04
Strikes and spares and coming to high schools across Kansas in 2005.
The KSHSAA voted to add bowling as a varsity sport for boys and girls by a 46-27
vote. While Kansas becomes the 14th state to offer bowling as a
championship sport at the high school level, the activity has been labeled the
nation’s fastest growing prep sport. It is expected that just over 30 schools
will initially offer the sport mainly in larger communities.
JEFF WEST LINKSTERS TAKE TITLES AT SILVER LAKE INVITE
Justin Fluke 9-22-04
The Jeff
West girls golf team captured a team championship at the Silver Lake Invite
Tuesday in
Topeka.
The Lady Tigers were two strokes better than Rossville in the team standings
followed by Osage City, Silver Lake and Topeka Seaman. Roxanne Jensen of Jeff
West also won the individual title with a round of 37, while teammate Autem
Weaver was third with a 40 and Scott also placed in the top 10.
HOLTON
RUNNERS TOPS AT NEMAHA
VALLEY INVITE IN SENECA
Justin Fluke
9-22-04
The Holton
cross-country teams both claimed first place honors at Tuesday’s Nemaha Valley
Invite in Seneca scoring 38 points.
Nemaha
Valley finished second in both girls and boys standings but more than 15 point
behind the Cats, while Maur Hill and
Mount
Academy were third ahead of Hiawatha. Taylor Strader led the Holton girls
placing second, while Calla Jarboe placed sixth and Melissa Nelson and Libby
Clark also medaled. Four Holton boys earned hardware as well led by Dustin
Theissen’s 5th place run and Andrew Nelson who placed 8th.
Adam Fiedler and Martin Alvaraz were inside the top 15.
TOP TEAMS
PREVAIL IN TUESDAY VOLLEYBALL ACTION
Justin Fluke
9-22-04
The top four Twin Valley League
volleyball teams were all perfect on Tuesday evening, as B&B, Centralia,
Frankfort and Axtell won convincing matches. While Holton remained unbeaten in
the Big 7 league with a three set win against Nemaha Valley, dropping the
Raiders into a second place tie with Hiawatha who won both matches at ACCHS.
The Lady Falcons went 3-0 with
straight set wins at their home quadrangular, while Onaga finished 2-1 and Blue
Valley’s lone victory came against Washington in three sets. Centralia swept
Hanover, then knocked off Wetmore 25-21, 25-27, 25-17. The Lady Cardinals went
1-1 at Hanover. Frankfort defeated Bern before topping the host Valley Heights
in three games including a 26-24 finale. Axtell’s two wins came against Linn
and Clifton Clyde.
In the Big 7 League, it was a meeting
of the top two teams and Holton remained perfect in league play with a three set
win against Nemaha Valley 25-22, 16-25, 25-16. Playing at home, the Lady
Wiildcats built a two game advantage in the standings and are poised to defend
their Big 7 title. Nemaha Valley, who finished 1-1 with a win against Jeff West
is now tied with Hiawatha having two league losses. The Lady Redhawks went 2-0
in Effingham Tuesday with easy match victories against Mount Academy and ACCHS.
The Lady Ravens were 1-1.
In the Delaware Valley League, JCN won
a quadrangular at Oskaloosa by topping Pleasant Ridge 25-18, 16-25, 25-19.
While the Chargers were 3-0, P Ridge finished 2-1 falling to third in the
league, and Oskaloosa’s lone win came against Valley Falls. JCN is undefeated a
top the DVL with only one loss overall this season, while KC Christian is also
without a league loss after home wins against Jackson Heights and Wathena, the
Panthers are 1-2 overall. The Cobras went 1-1 with a three set triumph against
Wathena.
Horton, Troy and Doniphan Went split a
triangular at Highland Tuesday. Doniphan West topped Horton in two sets, then
the Chargers needed just two games to dismantle Troy, before the Trojans rallied
after losing their first game, and won two straight to defeat Doniphan West
leaving each team 1-1.
CENTRALIA DEFEATS TVL RIVAL FOR HIT
VOLLEYBALL TITLE
Justin Fluke 9-20-04
The
Centralia Panther Volleyball team captured first place honors at the Hiawatha
Invite this weekend avenging a loss to the B&B Falcons to claim the 2004 title.
Centralia
went 6-0 on the day, winning every match in two sets until the final against B&B
which they won 25-21, 22-25, and 25-23. The Falcons had also won their pool by
going 4-0 with two set match victories.
Hiawatha
took third place team honors with a three set victory against Imaculata 25-21,
23-25, 25-23.
Centralia and Hiawatha each had three
individuals named to the All-Tourney Team, as Bonni Engelken, Alyssa Showman and
Kristan Haverkamp were chosen for the Panthers, and Kristen McElroy as well as
Robyn and Whitney Korthanke were selected from the Redhawks. Marcy Sudbeck and
Darcie Schmitz were honored by the Falcons, while Abby Winder of Troy, Mallory
Haedt of Wathena, Morgan Twombley of Doniphan West rounded out the area Tourney
Team Selections.
RAVENS ROUT, SCOTTIES
STUMBLE, BODS BODE WELL
In regional small college football,
Benedictine won their first game of the season, while Highland College lost
their third season, and Washburn won their third consecutive contest on
Saturday. In their 2004 home opener, the Ravens(1-2) topped William Jewell
31-15 behind two passing touchdown from Fran Johnson, and a pair of rushing TD’s
for Jeremy Willitz. The Scotties (1-3) fell at Dodge City 38-6 after tailing
22-0 at the half. Nemaha Valley product Kelly Williams threw for 140 yards and
Shawn Cannon rushed for 99 yards including a 23 yard TD. In Topeka, Wasburn
(3-1) shut-out Truman State 62-0 as quarterback Tyler Shuerman accounted for six
touchdowns.
JEFF WEST GIRLS GOLF
REMAINS STEADY
Justin Fluke 9-17-04
The Jeff
West girls golf team continues to roll along placing in the top three at each
meet. Thursday, the Lady Tigers finished third in the team standings at the
Osage City Invite, just five strokes behind first place Council Grove and one
shot behind the host. Autem Weaver of Jeff West placed second with a round of
41, while Roxanne Jensen placed third with a 45.
MCLOUTH GIRLS RUN TO ANOTHER VICTORY
Chalk up
the second victory of the week for the McLouth girls cross country team. The
Lady Bulldogs won their home invite Thursday by 22 points over KC Christian.
The KC Christian boys were however champions defeating Royal Valley by 20
points. The Panthers were led by Brock Mays who finished fourth behind three KC
Christian runners. Watson and Turner led the McLouth girls with top 7 runs,
while Doniphan West placed third in the girls final standings.
HOLTON VOLLEYBALL REMAINS UNBEATEN
The
Holton volleyball team is now 8-0 on the season after straight set wins against
Mount Academy and Royal Valley in Hoyt on Thursday. The Wildcats won a marathon
second game against the Panthers 30-28. Mount Academy went 1-1 with a two set
triumph against the host Royal Valley.
In
Seneca, Nemaha Valley kept pace in the Big 7 League standings just a game behind
the Wildcats, as the Lady Raiders improved to 9-2 with a two set win against
rival Sabetha, then knocked off Jeff West by winning the third and final set
29-27. Sabetha went 1-1 with a straight set win against Jeff West.
JEFF WEST GIRLS GOLF
REMAINS STEADY
Justin Fluke 9-17-04
The Jeff West girls golf team
continues to roll along placing in the top three at each meet. Thursday, the
Lady Tigers finished third in the team standings at the Osage City Invite, just
five strokes behind first place Council Grove and one shot behind the host.
Autem Weaver of Jeff West placed second with a round of 41, while Roxanne Jensen
placed third with a 45.
MCLOUTH GIRLS RUN TO ANOTHER VICTORY
Chalk up
the second victory of the week for the McLouth girls cross country team. The
Lady Bulldogs won their home invite Thursday by 22 points over KC Christian.
The KC Christian boys were however champions defeating Royal Valley by 20
points. The Panthers were led by Brock Mays who finished fourth behind three KC
Christian runners. Watson and Turner led the McLouth girls with top 7 runs,
while Doniphan West placed third in the girls final standings.
HOLTON VOLLEYBALL REMAINS UNBEATEN
The
Holton volleyball team is now 8-0 on the season after straight set wins against
Mount Academy and Royal Valley in Hoyt on Thursday. The Wildcats won a marathon
second game against the Panthers 30-28. Mount Academy went 1-1 with a two set
triumph against the host Royal Valley.
In
Seneca, Nemaha Valley kept pace in the Big 7 League standings just a game behind
the Wildcats, as the Lady Raiders improved to 9-2 with a two set win against
rival Sabetha, then knocked off Jeff West by winning the third and final set
29-27. Sabetha went 1-1 with a straight set win against Jeff West.
TWIN VALLEY LEAGUE DOMINATES STATE
VOLLEYBALL
Justin Fluke 9-16-04
The
latest rankings are out from the Kansas Volleyball Association and B&B and
Centralia have switched places in Class 1A following their two set match earlier
this week. The Falcons are now ranked #1 and undefeated at 11-0. Centralia,
6-1 overall is still second, while 10-1 Axtell is ranked fifth this week.
Frankfort also has just one TVL loss, but holds an 8-4 record overall, while
Wetmore is 5-2 in the league and 10-3 on the fall campaign.
A pair of Big 7 League teams are also
ranked as Holton is fifth in Class 4A, and the reigning league champion Wildcats
are the only undefeated league team remaining at 6-0. Nemaha Valley holds a
fifth place rank is Class 3 A with a record of 7-2. The Lady Raiders have lost
just one Big 7 match, and suffered their other defeat to B&B in their tourney
championship last weekend.
Although no Delaware Valley teams are
ranked, KC Christian and Jeff Co. North both remain without a league loss. The
Panthers are 9-2 overall while JCN is 8-1. Other teams with just one league
loss include: Pleasant Ridge, Jackson Heights, Horton, and Wathena. Only Troy
and Doniphan West have played six league matches and both teams are 2-4.
HOLTON CLAIMS SECOND AT HOME
RUNNING MEET
Justin Fluke 9-15-04
The Jackson Heights girls and Royal Valley boys
captured team championships at Tuesday’s Holton Cross Country Invitational.
Both Holton teams were second but well out of contention. Wilhelm of Jackson
Heights was the girl’s individual champion on the hot and windy day, while
Taylor Strader led the Wildcats placing third.
B&B VOLLEYBALL REMAINS UNBEATEN
TOPS CENTRALIA
Justin Fluke 9-15-04
It was an exciting Tuesday night of high school
volleyball for area teams, highlighted by a full slate of Twin Valley League
action. The Centralia Panthers suffered their first loss of the season and the
hands of B&B in Clifton Clyde. The top two teams in the state from last year,
as well as this year’s rankings went two sets as the Falcons grabbed 27-25 and
25-18 victories. Both teams topped Clifton Clyde in the league contest, and B&B
remains undefeated after topping Nemaha Valley and winning the 25th
annual Raider Classic Tourney in Seneca last weekend.
At Bern, Hanover went 2-0 with victories against
Washington and Bern, although the Indians match went three games, Bern finished
0-2 with a loss to Washington in straight sets. Onaga hosted a quadrangular and
was very successful compiling a 3-0 record on the night. The Lady Buffalos beat
Wetmore and Linn in two sets before topping Valley Heights in three games.
While Wetmore finished 2-1 including a three set triumph against the Mustangs,
Valley Heights had a lone victory against Linn.
Axtell went 2-0 at home last night with straight sets
wins against Blue Valley and Frankfort. The Wildcats are now 8-4 on the season
after a win against the Rams.
It was also a good night for the home squads in the Big 7
League. Sabetha and Jeff West put together two match victories Tuesday.
Sabetha needed three sets to knock off Royal Valley 23-25, 27-25, 25-23, while
Royal Valley grabbed a three set win against ACCHS and the Tigers went 0-2. In
Meriden, Jeff West beat Hiawatha and Mount Academy in straight sets, while the
Redhawks finished 1-1 after topping the Lady Ravens.
In the Delaware Valley League, Doniphan West went 2-0 at
Valley Falls including a pair of 25-23 victories against McLouth. The Lady
Dragons completed a 1-1 evening at home. Troy lost both home matches Tuesday,
while Pleasant Ridge defeated Jackson Heights in three sets to earn a pair of
wins. Everyone came out a winner at Horton last night, as Horton toped Wathena,
but the Wildcats then defeated Oskaloosa in three sets, before the Lady Bears
topped Horton in three games to complete a 1-1 night.
SAME AREA
PIGSKIN TEAMS IN STATE RANKINGS
Justin Fluke
9-14-0
There are no changes this week for area
football teams in the latest prep rankings. The only area team ranked number
one in the state is the B&B Falcons who are 2-0 with a 72-6 combined scoring
margin. Head Coach Steve Teirnan is not quite certain that the top ranking in
8-Man Division I is in the best interest of his Falcon team.
Centralia is still fourth in Class 2A and will play at rival
Frankfort
Friday night as the Wildcats search for their first victory on KMZA 92.1 FM. Two
Big 7 teams are ranked as ACCHS is fourth in Class 3A, and the defending champs
from Holton sit third in Class 4A. The Wildcats have beaten their first two
opponents by a combined margin of 96-13, yet Brooks Barta says a number three
ranking is just fine and provides some motivation for his Holton team.
Holton plays at
Royal Valley this Friday night in a game to be aired on KNZA 103.9 FM.
Other teams
receiving votes this week include undefeated clubs Atchison and Marysville in
4A, Pleasant Ridge in 3A, Onaga and Troy in 2A, and Hanover and Axtell in
8-Man.
ACCHS JUMPS INTO STATE
FOOTBALL RANKS
Justin Fluke 9-7-04
The new high school
state football ranking are out for the week, and to no surprise the ACCHS Tigers
have vaulted into the Class 3A Poll at number four following a 35-29 overtime
win last week at Rossville, who is no longer ranked. However, that is the only
change for area teams, as Holton remains third in Class 4A, Centralia still sits
fourth in Class 2A after knocking Silver Lake from the 3A ranks with a 21-7 home
victory, and B&B is still number one in 8-Man Division I following a shutout at
Falls City Sacred Heart 34-0. Other teams receiving votes after week one
include: Atchison and Marysville, Troy and Onaga, as well as Hanover and
Axtell.
There not ranked,
but the losing streak is over, the McLouth Bulldogs ended a 20 game losing
streak (the second longest in the state) by winning for the first time in three
years Friday night at Horton 20-8. It was also a noteable win Friday night for
Mustangs of Doniphan West who won their first-ever football game against Valley Falls 22-12.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL HITTING FULL STRIDE
JF 9-3-04
In regional college football, Missouri Western
topped Benedictine 34-14 in St. Joe Thursday evening. The Griffons jumped to a
21-0 lead in the first quarter and the Ravens hurt themselves with penalties and
turnovers throughout the evening in both teams season opener.
The Peru State Bobcats of Nebraska
fell to 0-2 Thursday and again failed to score a point in 2004. At Vermillion,
the University of South Dakota cruised to a 58-0 triumph.
Texas A&M got the Big 12 Football
campaign underway, but it wasn’t a good showing as the Aggies lost at #20 Utah
41-21.
Saturday the rest of the
conference kicks off the year at home as K-State host Western Kentucky, Tulsa
visits KU in Lawrence, Colorado host Colorado State, Missouri is home to
Arkansas State, and the new Bill Callahan era begins in Lincoln when Nebraska
welcomes Illinois State.
CROSS COUNTRY SEASON BEGINS AT JEFF
WEST
JF 9-3-04
The Royal Valley boys captured
first place at the Jeff West Cross Country Invite Thursday, narrowly beating the
host Tigers by three points. The Sabetha boys were a close third ahead of
Holton. The Panthers were led by Brock Mays and James McDermottt who placed 7th
and 8th, while Andy Gigstad of ACCHS was fourth. The McLouth girls
were eight point better than Perry Lecompton, while Holton was third ahead of
Royal Valley and Mount Academy. Hope Winkler of Sabetha was the top girls
runner by less than four tenths of a second.
BIG 7 VOLLEYBALL BEGINS WHERE IT
LEFT OFF
JF 9-3-04
The reigning Big 7 League volleyball champions from Holton
got a 2-0 start to their season with wins against Jeff West and ACCHS in
Effingham Thursday evening, while the Tigers of Jeff West went 1-1. Hiawatha
under new head coach Delise Downing also went 2-0, with home wins against Nemaha
Valley and Royal Valley after finishing second in the league a year ago. The
Lady Raiders did beat the Panthers to finish 1-1.
2004 FOOTBALL SEASON BEGINS WITH BIG
EXPECTATIONS
Justin Fluke 9-3-04
Three area high school football teams begin their
2004 season with a state ranking tonight including the B&B Falcons who are
picked number one in Eight-Man Division One. The 2003 state runner-up will face
another top ranked team tonight in Nebraska when they travel to Falls City
Sacred Heart in a game to be aired on 92.1 FM. The Centralia Panthers are
ranked fourth in Class 2-1A and tonight will host Silver Lake who is picked
third in 3A. The defending 4A Champs are tabbed third in this week behind Fort
Scott and Topeka Hayden who they beat for last years state title, as Holton
opens the year at Sabetha tonight on 103.9 FM. Other area teams receiving votes
just outside the top five include Atchison and Marysville in 4A, ACCHS who plays
at fifth ranked Rossville tonight in 3A, Frankfort and Onaga in 2A, as well as
eight-man clubs Hanover and Bern.
STATE
VOLLEYBALL POWERS START SUCCESSFUL SEASON
Justin Fluke
9-1-04
The Twin
Valley League served up a new volleyball season on Tuesday evening and the top
two league and state teams from last season began 2004 with straight-set
victories.
At
Washington, the reigning state champs from
Centralia
won a quadrangular knocking off
Bern
and Washington before being tested by Axtell 25-19 and 25-22. The Eagles
finished 2-1 on the night, while Washington won two games against Bern.
In Hanover, the defending state runners
up from B&B had no problems in defeating Valley Heights and Hanover in two sets,
while the Lady Mustangs went 1-1.
It was a wild night at Frankfort, as the
Lady Wildcats had to rally for a pair of three-set match wins. After defeating
Linn 25-15, 23-25, and 25-15, Frankfort lost their first game to Onaga 25-20,
before winning the final two games by scores of 25-21 and 25-22.
Onaga finished 1-1 in Frankfort after
defeating Linn.
At Clifton Clyde, Wetmore started the
season 2-0 with wins against Blue Valley and Clifton Clyde in two convincing
sets, while the Lady Rams went 1-1.
There were also a few matches in the
Delaware Valley League, as the preseason league champs from KC Christian
remained hot with straight set victories against Troy at the host Oskaloosa.
The Lady Trojans went 1-1 with a three set triumph against the Bears.
The league
runner up from last weekends DVL tourney, JCN won two home matches Tuesday
against Doniphan West and a thrilling three-set win against Jackson Heights
25-22, 19-25 and 25-22. Jackson Heights also was victorious in two close games
against Doniphan West 25-20 and 25-23 to finish the night 1-1.
FALL FOOTBALL WORKOUTS CONTINUE TO BUILD MOMENTUM
Justin Fluke 8-27-04
Football practices continue this week for high school teams, with most area
coaches using two workouts per day. Although the first day of full-pads isn’t
until (tomorrow) Thursday, several coaches use the early workouts for
conditioning and practicing the system.
At Doniphan West, it is a whole
new beginning and learning process for all, as former Midway Head Coach Mark
Martin has begin to piece together a puzzle of both Denton and Highland athletes
into the newly consolidated 11-Man team called the Mustangs.
Doniphan West will be classified
as a 2A team in the Delaware Valley League this year, and open their inaugural
season September 3rd at Valley Falls.
SCOTTIES PREPARE AS UNDERDOGS
AGAIN IN JAYHAWK CONFERENCE
Justin Fluke 8-27-04
The Highland Community College
football team kicks off the 2004 season tomorrow (Saturday) night against the
Fort Scott Greyhounds. While the Scotties are again under the direction of
Marty Allen in his 25th year, Fort Scott is one of two teams in the
Jayhawk Conference (Independence) with a new head coach. HCC tied again for
sixth place in the conference last year with Independence who also has a new
head coach this year, and Dodge City, who will feature highly touted quarterback
Nick Patton of Winfield, who was a top five Division I prospect but failed to
qualify academically after committing to K-State. The Scotties were picked 7th
in the conference this year with just four returning starters.
Four teams from the prestigious Jayhawk
Conference begin 2004 ranked in the top 20 of the nation. Defending National
Champion Butler County is picked 3rd, while Coffeyville is ranked 12th,
Garden City 14th, and Hutchinson tabbed 19th in the NJCAA
Pre-Season Poll. Other games Saturday night include Dodge City at Garden City
and Independence at Hutchison. All games including Fort Scott at Highland kick
of at 7:00 PM.
JEFF WEST OPENS STRONG
GIRLS GOLF CAMPAIGN
Justin Fluke 8-27-04
The
Jeff West Girls Varsity Golf team began their season with a second place team
finish by one stroke at Thursday’s home Invitational. The Lady Tigers finished
with 201 combined shots at Lake Perry County Club, while Osage City took first
with 200 team strokes. Jeff West did have the top two individual linksters in
Weaver who shot a round of 43 for the title, and Jensen, who placed second with
a 45 after winning a playoff.
FOOTBALL TEAMS READY FOR REAL ACTION
Justin Fluke 8-26-04
Tonight is a big night for area high school football teams, as most clubs will
have an intra-squad scrimmage of some type under the lights. It is also a
chance for teams to perform in a game-like situation, and a final tune-up for
coaches and athletes before next Friday’s season opener.
In Holton, many fans are anxious
to see the new Wildcat team on the field for the first time since winning the
school’s first-ever Class 4A State Championship in Topeka last November.
Although Holton doesn’t return as many starters as ACCHS, the Cats seem to have
reloaded for a run at their sixth Big 7 League title in seven years.
Holton will open the regular
season a week from tonight in Sabetha on KNZA 103.9 FM.
The Delaware Valley League has
seen a different champion each of the past five seasons. Last year, the Troy
Trojans made an undefeated run, then lured Head Coach Don Cash to return for a
19th season with twelve seniors and letter-winners returning in
2004. However, Troy has just 28 athletes out for football which represents the
lowest number since 1984.
Interesting enough, Pleasant
Ridge opens the season at JCN this year in a game many believe could decide the
league title in week one. The Trojans, who scrimmaged last night, will play at
Oskaloosa September 3rd before their home opener against rival
Doniphan West in week number two.
TVL FOOTBALL
FEATURES FALCONS AND PANTHERS AGAIN AT TOP
Justin Fluke
8-26-04
Area football teams are gearing up for a
Friday night intra-squad scrimmage with the regular season just a week away. In
the Twin Valley League, it appears that everyone is looking up at
Centralia
and B&B again going into a new season. The Falcons, who return 11 starters from
last year’s team that played in the 8-Man State Championship, will be aiming for
their fourth consecutive league title.
Steve Teirnan begins his third year at
B&B, and tells Kanzaland Sports that despite all the lofty expectations, he has
gotten great leadership through the first two weeks of practice.
The Falcons open the new campaign at
Falls City Sacred Heart in a game that will be aired on KMZA 92.1 FM September 3rd.
In 11-Man, Centralia has won five
straight TVL titles and made seven consecutive trips to the post-season. The
Panthers return 11 total starters in 2004 as Head Coach Jerry Bainum begins his
17th year with more high expectations.
Centralia begins their season at home vs
Silver Lake before traveling to Tri-County, Nebraska.
LADY SCOTTIE
VOLLEYBALL TEAM BEGINS NEW ERA
Justin Fluke
8-24-04
The Highland
Community College Volleyball team begins a new season and era tonight
(Wednesday) with a trip to Longview College. The Lady Scotties are coached by
Andrea Collins who was hired to replace Robert Moran this past off-season.
Collins, as well as her sister Jana, played at HCC and was an All-Jayhawk
Conference and Region 6 First-Team Selection.
The
Volleyball team finished 16-28 a season ago, and returns to sophomore’s in Molly
Woodhall from Hartville, Ohio and Twin Valley League product Kim Dowell from
Olsburg, Kansas. There are also 11 freshman on the roster including several
local athletes from the Big 7 league.
Last year Highland
split a pair of matches with Longview College winning in five sets while losing
in four. Match time is 7:00 tonight in Lee Summit, Missouri.
BIG 7 GIRLS
TENNIS TEAMS PREPARE FOR FIRST MATCHES
Justin Fluke
8-24-04
The Hiawatha girls fall tennis team is
going strong after nearly watching the program be eliminated for the third
straight year. After a lack of funds, former coach Kathleen Headrick along with
several parents and athletes were forced to raise money to support the tennis
program the last couple years. After Headrick retired last spring, Hiawatha was
searching for a new coach until the day before the first practice session.
Stacy Charles was named the team sponsor, while 2004 grad Shawn Parker stepped
in as a Rule 10 Coach.
Hiawatha has nine girls out for tennis,
six of which are returning from a year ago. The first junior varsity match is
with Sabetha and Marysville August 31st, while the varsity will
compete at Topeka Seaman September 2nd.
The Sabetha girls tennis team also has
a new coach in Alicia Deters. There are nearly 30 Lady Bluejays out for the
sport this year, forcing Deters to split practices into two separate sessions
with upper and under-classmen.
Sabetha will open their varsity season
August 28th at the KC Christian Invitational.
The only other area school that offers
girls fall tennis is Mount Academy, also in the Big 7 League.
NEW COACHES
COME TO KANZALAND AREA
Justin Fluke
5-20-04
Several high school coaching positions
have been filled. Hiawatha has hired a new football coach to replace Rob
Stinson who has served as the head Redhawk coach the past 12 years. The new man
is Scott Karanda who has spent the past four years as the head football coach at
Wichita South where he guided the most prolific offense in the City League. He
also formerly coached in
Topeka and
is married to the former Ellizabeth Gilfillan of Hiawatha.
USD 415
has also announced the hiring of a new head volleyball and softball coach.
Delise Downing will take over a Lady Redhawk Volleyball team replacing Sara
Albright who also resigned. Downing has spent the past several years coaching
at Atchison.
Marysville announced a well-known name for their new head football coach. Brad
Hamit was named the Bulldogs leader replacing Steve Warner who moved to
Liberal. Hamit is originally from Marysville where he began coaching in the
early 80’s, then went to Horton where he won Deware Valley League Football and
Track championships with the Chargers. Hamit also coached at Wamego High, and
has spend the past couple years as an assistant at Manhattan High School.
Horton High School is still searching for a replacement for Lance Rhodd, who
resigned last week after three years with the Chargers in which he doubled their
win total each season.
SEVERAL NEW COACHING FACES FOR FALL FOOTBALL
Justin Fluke 8-19-04
High School Football workouts continue as today
is the first day of working out with full pads. While many coaches have spent
time conditioning and practicing the system, it has been a learning experience
for many clubs in the area that have new coaches.
After several years at Immaculata, Todd Leonard begins his
first year as head coach at Nemaha Valley. Although the Raiders are a very
young team, Leonard was an assistant on staff last season and says the
transition has gone quite well.
Nemaha Valley has an
interesting schedule with the first two games outside the Big 7 against St.
Mary’s and at Mission Valley. They also won’t play league foe Maur Hill.
In Hiawatha, Scot Koranda is the new man at the help after
12 seasons of Rob Stinson Redhawk football. Koranda, who previously coached at
Wichita South, is looking to expand and open up the Wing-T Offense this season,
and commented that the athletes are progressing nicely.
Hiawatha opens their season September 3rd at Jeff West.
In the Twin Valley League, the most noticeable change is in
Frankfort where Bruce Gunter steps up to fill the departed head coaching shoes
of Larry Schroeder after 36 years.
Frankfort was 11-2 a season ago but lost a large senior
class including all but a couple starters on both sides of the ball. Still, the
new Wildcat man insist that the high expectation remain the same, even with just
three returning seniors, and several new opponents on the schedule.
In The Delaware Valley League, Horton and
Wathena both have a changing of the guard. Fred Winter, who comes from Jewell,
Kansas takes over the Charger program that appears to be on the rise, while
Scott Wilkinson replaces Mark Luedtke at Wathena as Luedtke left to coach
football at Highland Community College. Wilkinson, who also has lots of college
coaching experience, was at Benton High School is St. Joe last season.
Marysville also has a new coach in 2004, Brad Hammet who
coached at Wamego and is familiar with the NCKL. The Bulldogs only loss came in
the playoffs for the second straight year, but they will look for a fifth
consecutive league title this fall after the departure of Coach Steve Warner to
Liberal.
AREA
VOLLEYBALL TEAMS PICKED TOPS IN STATE
Justin Fluke
8-18-04
High School
Volleyball practices are continuing with many two-a-day workouts this week, as
it appears
Northeast Kansas will again have a strong
contingent of state powers. According to the Kansas Volleyball Association
Pre-Season Poll, four Twin Valley League teams are among the tops in the state.
Centralia
is the preseason favorite, and who can argue as the Lady Panthers will aim for
the record eight consecutive 1A State Championship this Fall. Last year’s state
runner-up B&B, is ranked second while Axtell is picked fourth, and Wetmore is
just outside the top five.
Centralia
returns six starters from the 2003 title team, after graduating five seniors,
and Head Coach Kim Tennal enters her 17th year at the helm with 688
wins to just 110 loses. The Panthers have won seven of eight TVL regular season
titles while compiling a record of 95-1.
Last year
the B&B Lady Falcons won their first ever Twin Valley League Tournament Title
before placing second at state. Jessica Koch returns to the sidelines for her
third year as Head Coach with a 62-13 overall record. Although B&B graduated
five seniors, they returns six starters including First Team All-State Product
Marcy Sudbeck.
Axtell also
returns a strong corps of athletes, while Wetmore is another program that has
been on the rise, again making the league balanced and more competitive than any
other area in the state by far.
Besides the
Twin Valley League, the Big 7 has received some recognition from the state.
Nemaha Valley is ranked fifth in the Class 3A Pre-season Poll. Despite
returning just one starter and suffering 10 losses while losing their three year
reign as Big 7 League Champions, the Lady Raiders peaked at the right time, and
make their fourth straight trip to state. This year, Head Coach Betty Peterson
returns four starters and several experienced seniors that have the team poised
for another Big 7 Title and fifth consecutive state appearance.
Holton won
their first ever League Volleyball title in 2003, and they also received votes
in the preseason poll.
The first
volleyball matches of the season are scheduled for August 31st.
FALL
FOOTBALL WORKOUTS CONTINUE TO BUILD MOMENTUM
Justin Fluke
8-17-04
Football
practices continue this week for high school teams, with most area coaches using
two workouts per day. Although the first day of full-pads isn’t until
(tomorrow) Thursday, several coaches use the early workouts for conditioning and
practicing the system.
At Doniphan West, it is a whole new
beginning and learning process for all, as former Midway Head Coach Mark Martin
has begin to piece together a puzzle of both Denton and Highland athletes into
the newly consolidated 11-Man team called the Mustangs.
Doniphan West will be classified as a 2A
team in the Delaware Valley League this year, and open their inaugural season
September 3rd at Valley Falls.
STATE LEGION TOURNEY
BEGINS WITH BANG
Justin Fluke 8-5-04
It was a very interesting opening
day of the 2004 State American Legion Baseball Tournament in Wathena Wednesday,
as a team that won their first round contest has been disqualified and
eliminated from state competition. The Larned Indians who took advantage of
four errors to beat Marysville 3-1, broke state legion rules and codes of
conduct late last night while staying at the Highland Community College Campus,
and Larned was sent home packing because of disqualification.
That was helpful news for Colby
who scored two runs in the opening game Wednesday to defeat Russell 4-2, and
will not earn a second round bye, and next play Friday at 6:00 in the winners
bracket final.
The most lopsided game was a 10-1
Lyons victory against Silver Lake who committed six errors in defeat.
The late game was a pitchers duel,
but the defending state and regional champs from Baxter Springs used a pair of
home runs to knock off Doniphan County 3-0. Matt Page had a lead-off blast in
the first, and with two outs, Trevor Whipkey followed Brent Dinger’s single with
a two-run shot off Jared Sutherland. Sutherland allowed just five total hits,
but the host team was held to just a pair of hits falling to 21-14. Darrel
Dinger stuck out 17 Post 55 batters and had a no-hitter broke up in the sixth by
Austin Stock before A.J. Jensen singled leading off the 7th.
Baxter Springs improved to 27-4
and will look for revenge tonight in a 7:00 game against Lyons after losing to
the Lions in the state high school championship game this spring. Losers
bracket games are at 10:00 and Noon today, as Marysville battles Russell in the
early contest, and Doniphan County will square off against Silver Lake at noon,
with tape delayed coverage about 1:00 today on KNZA 103.9 FM.
Not only does Colby receive a bye
in the winners bracket, but there will also just be one elimination game Friday
morning at 10:00 between the Russell Marysville winners and the loser of Lyons
and Baxter Springs.
VOTERS GIVE WAY FOR NEW DOWNTOWN KC ARENA
Justin Fluke 8-4-04
Kansas City voters passed one of
the final hurdles in building a new downtown sports arena and possibly luring a
new professional hockey or basketball team back to KC with a vote on Tuesday.
Residents voted 57 percent to 43 in favor of boosting hotel and rental car fees
to aid in the cost of a nearly $250 Million dollar facility called The Sprint
Center. The arena is envisioned as a key component of a larger downtown
redevelopment project, which also will includes a new entertainment-restaurant
complex at 14th Street and Grand Boulevard. Throughout the campaign,
Mayor Kay Barnes touted the arena as essential to boosting the tourist and
convention trade and to bringing back Big 12 and NCAA events that Kansas City
was losing to other cities.
DONIPHAN COUNTY READY FOR
STATE BASEBALL
Justin Fluke 8-4-04
Baseball are flocking to
extreme Northeast Kansas today for the Class AA State American Legion Baseball
Tournament hosted by Wathena. This marks the first time that
Doniphan County has hosted the
event, and played in the competition. Post 55 brings a record of 21-13 to the
tourney and will play the five time defending Mid-State Regional Champs from
Baxter Springs.
Baxter Springs, who lost to Lyons in the high school state
title game this spring, stands at 26-4 this summer, representing the best record
of eight teams at state. Marysville has the next best mark at 37 wins and 5
loses, while Lyons stands at 26-7. Marysville’s first-round opponent today,
Larned, as well as Colby, are the other teams returning to the state tournament
from a year ago. The double-elimination affair will continue through Sunday in
Wathena.
LOCALS TO PLAY IN HOOPS ALL STAR
CLASSIC
Justin Fluke 8-4-04
Three local 2004 high school
graduates will participate tonight (Wednesday) in the KBCA All-Star Basketball
game at Lee Arena in Topeka. The Kansas Basketball Coaches Association will
again feature a girls game at 6:00 and boys contest at 8:00, featuring almost 40
of the best seniors in the state. Sabetha’s Jenna Matson will compete for the
North girls squad, while Adam Schreiner of Frankfort and Marysville’s Paul Byers
will play for the North team in the late game.
AREA ATHLETES PREPARE FOR SHRINE BOWL
Justin Fluke 7-29-04
For the
first time since 1998, the Kansas Shrine Bowl returns to Welch Stadium at
Emporia State, and several area athletes will be participating in the annual
football classic Saturday, July 30th.
The reigning 4A Champs from Holton have
three athletes that will be competing for the East squad including Tyler
Degenhardt, Jared Morris, and Eric Eisenbarth. Degenhardt is one of six
quarterbacks that will vie for playing time, four of which won state titles and
Kyle Kruger of Silver Lake who’s team was runner-up.
The other quarterback on the East squad
is Brandon Warner of Marysville, who like several athletes will be donning the
full football gear for one of the final times. Warner will play baseball at
Seward County, while former Bulldog teammate Paul Byers will also play for the
east team, but then turn his attention to basketball where he will play for the
Washburn Ichabods.
Also on the East team is B&B Falcon
graduate Bret Schmitz who inked with the Butler County football team. Schmitz
is expected to play linebacker for the East squad who is coached by C.J.
Hamilton of Silver Lake.
The West squad has won the last two
games and leads the overall series with 18 wins, 11 losses and a tie in 2001.
The All-Star game is composed of graudated seniors nominated by high school
coaches and selected by Kansas Media, and is a benefit for the Shriners
Hospitals for Children. The athletes in fact were flown to the St. Louis
hospital last week to visit with children before competing in practices all this
week.
The game is scheduled for 7:00 Saturday
evening in Emporia with ticket prices of $10 for adults and $6 at the
door.
CHIEFS READY TO GET DEFENSIVE AT CAMP
Jusitn Fluke 7-29-04
After arriving yesterday in
River Falls,
Wisconsin, the Kansas City Chiefs are anxious to begin football training camp
workouts today. Although the team has only lost starting tackle John Tait and
replaced him with free agents Chris Bober and John Welbourne, the most popular
face has been new Defensive Cordinator Gunther Cunningham who returns to a
position he held in KC in 1995-1998 before becoming head coach for two seasons.
Cunningham has already brought a new attitude and aggressive style to the
defense, hoping to improve a team that has ranked near the bottom of league in
most defensive categories the past two years.
It appears heading into the 2004 campaign
that the Chiefs are 100 percent healthy, and have all athletes under contract
including each of the club’s seven draft picks from April.
KC will practice for two weeks before a
scrimmage with the Minnesota Vikings next weekend. The first preseason contest
in scheduled for August 13th at New York, where the Chiefs will see
the Giants number one draft pick, quarterback, Eli Manning. The regular season
opens September 12th with a night game on ESPN at the Denver
Broncos.
ROYALS STILL DISCUSSING SMALL TRADES
Justin
Fluke 7-29-04
While the
Kansas City Royals are no longer involved in any of the big time trade rumors as
the non-waiver trading deadline approaches this Sunday, several small deals
remain in the works involving the San Diego and Texas.
The Padres have expressed great interest
in acquiring Matt Stairs from the Royals, while the Rangers would like to obtain
Jimmy Gobble. While it doesn’t appear KC is willing to deal the young lefty,
General Manager Allaird Baird has confirmed talks about sending Darrel May of
Brian Anderson to the Rangers for outfielder Kevin Mench.
Baird also acknowledged rumors Wednesday
about a possible Mike Sweeney trade to Seattle for pitcher Gil Meche and
prospects; however, those rumors have no merit whatsoever according to the
Royals GM. Kansas City 31-year-old first baseman is under contract through
2007 at 11 million dollars per season.
THREE MORE AREA LEGION TEAMS END SEASON WITH LOSS
Justin Fluke
7-27-04
After three straight wins faced against
elimination, the Holton American Legion Baseball team fell in the Zone 2
Championship game to Silver Lake Monday 5-3. Post 44 had defeated Ozawkie (2-0)
and Tonganoxie (4-2) Sunday to stay alive, and also avenged a loss to KC Cannons
with a 14-2 triumph earlier Monday.
However, playing Silver Lake for the
second time in the tourney, Holton fell in the title game as Chris Graves earned
his second win against Holton in the tourney. He accounted for three runs with
a homer to propel the 13-time defending High School State Champs from Silver
Lake to a state legion tournament appearance next week in Wathena.
Adam Patch suffered the loss for Holton in
the title bout, after Jude Carson pitched for the victory against the Cannons.
Charlie Clemons had a grand slam to propel the Holton offense who finished the
season 23-10 overall.
In the Zone 1 championship, the host Seneca will be rematched with Marysville
tonight (Tuesday) at Swischer Field. Marysville needs just one win to advance
to state, while Seneca will try to force a decisive winner-take-all final with a
victory tonight at 6:00.
Monday, Sabetha stayed alive by knocking
the top seed Centralia from the tourney with a 6-2 win. Cody Bletscher tossed
another complete game allowing just five hits and striking out six for the
victory although Sabetha struck out 14 times and managed just one hit. Post 126
did get a two-run double from Brian Gilbert and took advantage of six walks and
several errors to advance. Zach Engelken tossed 3 2/3 innings of relief
striking out eight with no walks or hits allowed, but Sabetha had already built
a 5-2 advantage. Centralia ended the season with a 21-6 record overall and 17-4
after being named the NE KS League Tourney and regular season champions.
Sabetha then fell to Seneca 11-1 as Blake
Ronnebaum tossed a complete game two-hitter. While Sabetha’s season ended at
23-13, Seneca advanced to the title match where they will aim to defeat
Marysville twice tonight and avenge a 30-1 defeat on Sunday.
LEGION CONCLUDES REGULAR SEASON
Justin Fluke
7-21-04
The regular
season came to an end Tuesday night for American Legion Baseball teams, as today
Zone competitions begin around the State.
Hiawatha got a complete game from Bryce
Loyd in defeating Nortonville 9-3 at Noble Park. Levi Manche went 3-3, while
Jeff Adkins was 2-2, and Kalen Everhart drove in three runs with a home-run.
Hiawatha secured a league finish ahead of the Knights and Falls City with the
victory, and will begin Zone 1 competition tonight at 8:00 in Seneca against
Sabetha.
The Holton legion team tuned up for
their Zone at Silver Lake by losing at home to KC Cannons 12-8. Jesse Strawn
went 3-3 at the plate but suffered the pitching loss, while Holton (21-8, 13-4)
scored seven tallies vie the long ball. Adam Patch, Brandon Gilliland, and Cody
Zimmerman each had a two-run blast, while Eric Cordell added a solo shot in the
four run defeat to a team that will also compete at the Silver Lake Zone this
week.
Doniphan County, who started the season
12-2, is now 17-12 after dropping their final league games at home to Atchison
Tuesday. The A’s, who forfeited two games last weekend, got superb pitching
from Chris Hager and Brad Holder in cruising to a 9-1 and 11-0 victory.
Atchison ended the regular season 11-6 in the league and 14-11 overall.
MOMENTUM BUILDS TOWARDS POST SEASON
Justin Fluke
7-20-04
The Sabetha and Nortonville American
Legion Baseball teams continued to gain some momentum Monday evening with wins
against county rivals. Sabetha grabbed their 20th win of the season
with a 12-5 victory at Seneca. Both teams allowed nine walks, however Jacob
Stramh settled in for two and a third frames earning the win in relief, while
Brian Gilbert tossed three solid innings for the save. Offensively, Cody
Bletscher went 3-4 with 4 runs scored while Tyler Haverkamp was 4-4 with 4 RBI.
Sabetha improved to 14-7 in the league, while Seneca fell to 7-7.
Nortonville notched their third victory
of the season, jumping past Hiawatha and Falls City in the league ranks. The
Knights knocked off Atchison 13-10 in a shoot-out as Jake Hesston outlasted
Chris Durkin for the pitching victory. Drew Reno went 4-4 with a homer for the
A’s, but Nortonville knocked the ball around all night. Tyler Sheeley went 3-3
while Randy Cattrell went 4-4, and Derek Todd added a couple hits including a
two-run homer. Atchison returns to action tonight in Wathena with a scheduled
double-header against Doniphan County.
CENTRALIA WRAPS UP ANOTHER LEGION TITLE
Justin Fluke 7–19-04
One week
after winning the league tournament championship, the Centralia American Legion
Baseball team wrapped up the regular season league title with two home wins
against Holton on Sunday evening. The first game was shortened by run-rule as
Zack Engelken pitched a two-hit gem in the first contest and Centralia cruised
to an 11-1 victory then started the second contest before leaving with a groin
injury. Tony Hasenkamp and Greg Burdiek starred for the home team, as
Centralia
held on for a 7-6 win in the night-cap. Jude Carson, Brandon Gilliland and Adam
Patch all have home runs for Holton, although Centralia improved their record to
4-0 against Holton this season and wrapped up the league title with a mark of
21-4 overall and 17-4 in the league including a split Saturday at Nortonville.
Holton fell into third place behind
Atchison
with a 13-4 league record now 21-7 overall.
Sabetha locked up a fourth place league
finish with a come-from-behind 11-7 win Sunday at Wathena. Trailing 7-4 with
the bases empty and two outs, Sabetha rallied in the top of the 7th
inning with three runs and hits, as well as a walk and error. Doniphan County
had a chance to win in the bottom of the frame, but left runners stranded on
second and third, and Sabetha scored four runs on three more hits in the 8th
to take the victory. Brian Gilbert pitched two innings in relief earning the
win for Post 126, while he also went 3-4 at the plate. B.J. Johnson drove in
four runs as Sabetha improved to 19-11 on the season and 13-7 in the league.
Doniphan County now stands at 17-10
overall after sweeping Royal Valley on Saturday by scores of 9-3 and 6-4. Jeff
McNemee and Justin Armes went the distance for the wins, while A.J. Jensen
starred at the plate with four hits including a three-run blast in the first
game.
