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By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

A father coaching his son can be complicated. It can also produce some unforgettable moments. Tuesday night’s meeting between rivals Silver Lake and Rossville ended with one of those moments.

Senior Jakoby McDonnell celebrates his game-winning basket in Rossville's 51-50 win over Silver Lake Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]  

Rossville coach Brandon McDonnell shared a special Senior Night memory with his son, Jakoby, in Tuesday's 51-50 win over rival Silver Lake. [File photo/TSN]

Trailing by one point with 8.7 seconds remaining, Rossville coach Brandon McDonnell called a play to produce a shot for the win. The play broke down due to the roar in the crazed Rossville gymnasium. The coach could do nothing but watch helplessly as his son Jakoby improvised. The senior decided it was up to him to win the game.

“At that point, with just (a few) seconds left, you just got to go down the court and get to the basket, either make it or get fouled,” Jakoby McDonnell said. “I knew once I saw a little bit of space, I was going to get downhill and try to get fouled or get the basket.”

The senior stands just 5-foot-6, but he drove into the teeth of the Silver Lake defense, bounced off the chest of an Eagle defender, and banked a jumper through the rim as the buzzer sounded.

“I’ve been smaller my whole life and I’ve been playing against bigger people,” Jakoby McDonnell said. “So, the only way for me to make something happen…is to go downhill, get a little bit of contact and score or get to the free throw line. It’s just something I’ve always done.”

The shot by McDonnell the player gave McDonnell the coach one of the biggest wins in his four seasons as head coach of the Bulldawgs. And it came just shortly after the McDonnells participated in Rossville’s Senior Night ceremony.

“It was definitely a special moment for me because he’s coached me my entire life and especially on Senior Night and still playing for him,” Jakoby McDonnell said. “Just getting him that (win) with this rivalry, it was just great for both of us.”

“As a dad, you know, he hits that shot and the only thing I could think about is, holy hell, man that was awesome,” Brandon McDonnell said.

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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Very few people are more familiar with Washburn Rural's golf program than Hayden Beck.

And now the former Junior Blues' star and 2020 Rural graduate will put that knowledge to work as Washburn Rural's new girls golf coach, beginning in the 2026 fall season.

Former Washburn Rural star Hayden Beck was announced Wednesday as the Junior Blues' new girls golf coach. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Beck takes over for his high school coach, Jared Goehring, as the Junior Blues' girls coach and will serve as an assistant under Goehring as a boys assistant this spring.

Goehring had a 15-year run as Rural's girls coach that included four Class 6A state championships, two runnerup finishes and three thirds while qualifying for state as a team 14 times. Goehring has also led Rural to a 6A boys title and will continue in that role for the foreseeable future. 

Beck, a teacher in Rural's social studies department, said his focus moving forward is to continue his alma mater's outstanding golf tradition while adding his own stamp on the program.

"I've talked to coach quite a bit and I have a lot of respect for the guy,'' Beck said. "Throughout my entire life, even before high school, playing junior golf and taking junior golf lessons through him, I've been able to learn from him and I've been able to learn from the other coaches that came before me, coach (Jeff) Stromgren, coach (Ronnie) McHenry at Washburn, who have been fantastic guys to learn from.

"We've got something great built here. Now my job is to carry on that tradition and keep building. We have that foundation because of all the great work that was done by those before us. Now it's our turn to see what we can do.''   

Beck played golf for the Junior Blues from 2017-2020 before going on to play collegiately at Washburn University.

In addition to his playing career, Beck has spent the past five years working as a junior golf instructor.

"We are excited to welcome Hayden back to Washburn Rural,'' Rural athletic director Charlie Nimz said. "His experience as a player, his passion for teaching and his familiarity with our program and community makes him an outstanding choice to lead our girls golf team.''

 

By JUSTIN BURKHARDT

TopSports.news

With both teams needing a win and each ranked seventh in their respective classes by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, Hayden hosted Manhattan Tuesday in a huge Centennial League matchup.

 Sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein led the way with 20 points in Hayden's 66-61 win over Manhattan Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]

In a game that went down to the wire Wildcats were able to outlast the Indians for a 66-61 win.

Hayden jumped out to a fast start behind sophomore Sophia Wichman, who has earned a start in the last two games due to illness and has stepped up in a big way.

“It's definitely boosted my confidence a whole lot because just playing with Hailey (Schmidtlein) and Blakely (Walter) together, we work so well together,'' Wichman said. "I feel like when us three are in the game together, we just know each other really well, and it builds my confidence because I know I have them to help me.”

Wichman scored the first five points of the game before Manhattan senior Delaney Larson found the basket.

Walter then knocked down a 3-pointer to give Hayden an early 8-2 lead. Manhattan struggled offensively in the first quarter as the Wildcats surged ahead 24-12 by the end of the period.

“We played last week and kind of just played halfcourt basketball, and we really felt like this team's better when we push the tempo,” Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson said. “So we really tried to push the tempo and create space early in possessions, and we did that.

"(Lauren) Borjon hitting some big threes helped us spread them out even more.”

Wichman opened the second quarter with another basket, but Manhattan began to chip away at the lead.

Schmidtlein attacked the rim and got to the free throw line, converting four straight as Hayden built a 33-18 advantage. The Indians responded with a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 33-27.

Schmidtlein answered with two more free throws, and after the teams traded baskets down the stretch, Hayden carried a 42-35 lead into halftime.

Manhattan came out of the locker room energized, scoring two quick baskets to trim the lead to 42-39.

Hayden struggled offensively in the third quarter as the Indians continued to close the gap. With Hayden leading 46-45 and 3:18 remaining in the third, seniors Kat Ball and Delaney Larson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Manhattan its first lead of the game at 51-46.

The surge forced Reynoldson to call a timeout.

“I told them great teams aren't just going to sit back -- they punch back hard, and now we’ve got to counter with everything we have,” Reynoldson said.

“He just said we need to stick together, that we're going to win this game, but we have to get the rebounds because they got so many offensive and defensive rebounds,'' Wichman said.

"We just needed to box out, and whoever was going to fight the hardest was going to win this game. We were all just like, ‘We got this -- we need to fight hard.’ We were encouraging each other.”

Manhattan carried the lead into the fourth quarter, but Hayden refused to back down.

The Indians went ice-cold from the field while the Wildcats opened the final period on a 13-0 run.

Manhattan didn’t score until the 1:55 mark of the fourth quarter.

“It just says a lot,” Wichman said. “It shows that our coach has so much faith in us that we can apply ourselves. I think us working together and knowing we can win as a team -- and encouraging each other -- made the difference.”

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