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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn Rural special teams were really special Friday night at Bowen-Glaze Stadium, powering the Junior Blues to a 35-6 Homecoming win over Centennial League and city rival Topeka High.
The Junior Blues, who improved to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the league, were in front 14-0 before the Rural offense ever touched the ball as senior Elijah Gaines got the Junior Blues on the board when he returned a blocked punt 33 yards for a touchdown at the 6:09 mark of the opening quarter and then added a second TD with 45 seconds left in the quarter when he scooped up a blocked field goal attempt and rambled 74 yards to the end zone.
Washburn Rural blocked a first-quarter Topeka High field goal, resulting in an Elijah Gaines touchdown. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Washburn Rural senior Elijah Gaines returns a blocked field goal for a touchdown in Rural's 35-7 win over Topeka High. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
"We watched a lot of film on them and we felt like the line up front was a little soft, so we just wanted to rush through there and try to get blocks as soon as possible,'' said Gaines, who now has three defensive/special team TDs in his career.
"I feel like we take pride in all three levels -- offense, defense and special teams -- and we just want to be the best in eveything we do.''
The Junior Blue special teams struck again on the ensuing kickoff after Gaines' second TD when Rural recovered an onsides kick at the Trojan 48-yard-line.
Finally getting a chance to get on the field, the Junior Blues' offense drove the remaining 48 yards in eight plays, with a 20-yard pass play from senior quarterback John Hoytal to senior Nate Selm setting up a 13-yard touchdown run by junior Jadyn Baum that put Rural in command 21-0 with 9:50 left in the first half.
"The special teams were huge for the defense and for us,'' Hoytal said. "We didn't get the ball until 32 seconds left (in the first quarter) and we're up 14-0, so it was kind of a relief.
"It also kind of threw off our momentum, but I'm super happy, super glad for the guys.''
It took Topeka High (3-2, 1-1) just two plays to find the end zone on its ensuing possession, with Trojan senior quarterback Zane Smith hooking up with junior Courtney Sanders for a 76-yard TD strike with 8:41 left in the half (kick blocked).
Washburn Rural added to its 21-6 lead late in the half when Hoytal broke loose for a 53-yard QB keeper and hit junior Peyton Glaze for a 32-yard pass play to set up a 4-yard Baum touchdown that put Rural up 28-6 with with 38 seconds left before halftime.
The Junior Blues and Trojans continued to move the ball in the second half, but the scoring pace slowed drastically, with Baum's third TD of the night on a 6-yard run with four seconds remaining in the third quarter the only score of the half.
Senior John Hoytal (10) rushed for 144 yards and passed for 131 yards in Washburn Rural's 35-7 win over Topeka High. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Junior Jadyn Baum rushed for 101 yards and three TDs in Washburn Rural's 35-7 win over Topeka High. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Hoytal finished the night with 144 rushing yards on just eight attempts while Baum added 101 yards on17 carries.
Hoytal also passed for 131 yards on a 12 of 17 night.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Silver Lake freshman football quarterback Kipton Kruger and Seaman junior tennis star Emma Sweeney have been selected by the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency as the Rising Stars of the Week.
The Dan Key Agency will recognize top Shawnee County underclassmen throughout the bulk of the 2025-2026 school year.
Here's a brief look at the accomplishments of Kruger and Sweeney over the past week.
Kipton Kruger, Silver Lake
KIPTON KRUGER, Silver Lake
The only starting freshman quarterback at any of the 10 Shawnee County high schools, Kruger has helped lead Silver Lake to back-to-back victories, including a 21-6 Big East League win over St. Marys last Friday.
On the season Kruger has completed 73 of 107 pass attempts (68.2 percent completions) for 753 yards and five touchdowns over the 2-2 Eagles' first four games.
Kruger has also carried the ball 15 times for 81 yards entering Friday's home game against Baldwin.
Emma Sweeney, Seaman
EMMA SWEENEY, Seaman
Sweeney captured the No. 1 singles title in last Thursday's city championships at Kossover Tennis Center while leading Seaman to the team championship.
Sweeney went 3-0 in the city meet without dropping a game, posting three straight 8-0 wins to help the Vikings win the team title by a 32-28 margin over Washburn Rural.
Sweeney, fourth in Class 5A last season, followed up her city title with a championship in Tuesday's 11-school Topeka West Invitational, helping Seaman win the team crown.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
FRIDAY NIGHT'S GAMES
(All kickoffs at 7 p.m.)
John Hoytal, Washburn Rural [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
TOPEKA HIGH (3-1, 1-0 Centennial) at WASHBURN RURAL (3-1, 0-0 Centennial)
Both Topeka High and Washburn Rural are coming off victories, with the Trojans opening Centennial League play wih a 13-12 home win over Emporia while the Junior Blues rolled to a 31-7 non-league road win at Blue Valley Northwest. Friday is Rural's Centennial League opener. Junior Blues senior quarterback John Hoytal threw for three touchdowns against Northwest while junior Jadyn Baum caught a touchdown pass and ran for a TD and senior Brody Haas picked off two passes, returning one for a TD. Topeka High's defense came up big in last week's win over Emporia, including stuffing the Spartans' two-point conversion attempt to preserve the Trojans' one-point lead.
Aiden Scott, Shawnee Heights [File photo/TSN]
DE SOTO (3-1, 3-1 UKC) at SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (1-3, 1-2 UKC)
Both teams are coming off United Kansas Conference losses, with De Soto dropping a 42-38 nailbiter to undefeated Basehor-Linwood while Shawnee Heights fell 43-29 on the road at Leavenworth. Heights senior quarterback Aiden Scott has completed 95 of 153 passes for 1,330 yards and 12 touchdowns while senior AJ Gallegos has a team-high 28 catches for 391 yards and a pair of TDs and junior Dallas Owens has 27 receptions for 312 yards and two TDs. Senior David Wakes has 281 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 60 attemps. Senior Dayton Vanderpool leads Heights with 36 tackles, including 23 solo stops.
Jackson McGivern, Hayden [File photo/TSN]
HAYDEN (4-0, 0-0 Class 3A District 4) at HIAWATHA (1-3, 0-1 Class 3A District 4)
Hayden is coming of a 42-7 home win over Wamego, with the Wildcats avenging one of their two defeats in the 2024 season, while Hiawatha opened Class 3A District 4 play with a 12-7 loss to Jefferson West. Hayden senior quarterback Connor Hanika hit Jackson McGivern, Xander Blasing and Kade Mitchell for touchdowns and Hanika also ran for a TD in the Wildcats' win. Junior Mason Becker returned a pass interception for a touchdown and also went 6 for 6 on extra-point kicks.
Quentin Moravec, Seaman [File photo/TSN]
SEAMAN (2-2, 2-1 UKC) at LANSING (2-2, 2-1 UKC)
Seaman won its second straight game last Friday, a 56-6 United Kansas Conference win over Kansas City-Turner, while Lansing took a 36-20 conference win over Topeka West. Seaman sophomore running back Quentin Moravec has carried the ball 70 times for 510 yards and nine touchdowns while junior quarterback Cale Ketter has completed 68 of 102 passes for 892 yards and 11 TDs. Junior Josh Brown has 20 pass receptions for 266 yards and six TDs. Senior Cameron Brian leads the Vikings with 54 tackles, including 28 solo stops and five tackles for loss.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 10-ranked Washburn Ichabod volleyball bounced back from its first loss of the season to post a three-set MIAA road sweep over Pittsburg State on Thursday.
Senior Austin Broadie led Washburn with 13 kills in Thursday's 3-0 MIAA road sweep at Pittsburg State. [File photo/TSN]
Junior Taylor Rottinghaus registered 14 digs in Thursday's 3-0 MIAA Washburn road sweep at Pittsburg State. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods will stay on the road facing Newman at 6 p.m. on Friday in Wichita.
In all three sets Washburn (13-1 overall, 2-1 MIAA) hit over .300 as a team, beginning with a commanding 25-12 first-set win followed by 25-17 and 25-19 victories over the Gorillas (7-6, 1-2).
After Pittsburg State went up 4-1 to open the match, the Ichabods responded with a 7-1 run started by a kill from Bella Limback. The score stayed within four until nine straight points for Washburn, beginning with Corinna McMullen setting up Austin Broadie for a kill. The offense hit .379 as a team while holding the Gorillas to a below zero hitting percentage to take the set by 13 points.
In the second set Washburn jumped out to a 3-0 lead with an ace from McMullen beginning the set. The lead continued to grow slowly until the Ichabods broke the set open with five straight points, capped off by two straight kills by Emery Keebaugh to make it 17-8. After a kill by Broadie made it set point at 24-13, Pittsburg State scored four more until Broadie slashed another kill to end the second set.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Both Washburn Rural volleyball coach Kevin Bordewick and Shawnee Heights coach Sami Kearney know that their teams still have plenty to work on as they get deeper into the 2025 season.
But both Bordewick and Kearney also had plenty to feel good about after Thursday's triangular at Shawnee Heights.
Senior Karsyn Horyna (21) celebrates the final point in Washburn Rural's three-set win over Shawnee Heights Thursday night. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
For Bordewick, the biggest positive was that his No. 6-ranked Junior Blues were able to come through when it counted the most to cap a 2-0 night with a hard-earned three-set 25-14, 19-25, 25-23 victory over Shawnee Heights in the final match of the night.
"Shawnee Heights is a good team,'' said Bordewick, whose team is now 11-4 on the season. "They've played some tough competetion and they've scored some points on some of the top teams in the state in 5A and 6A. I knew that for years, forever, they have been feisty and scrappy and that's exactly what they have right there.
"Not taking anything away from Shawnee Heights at all, I think we can play better, but the good news is we fought through adversity and we found a way to win.''
And although she was disappointed that her T-Birds came up just short against Rural, Kearney was thrilled with the way her team battled throughout the night en route to a 1-1 split against Class 6A foes Blue Valley Northwest and Rural, with Heights taking a 27-25, 25-21 win over the Huskies to avenge a recent loss before taking the Junior Blues down to the wire after rebounding from an 11-point first-set loss.
"Other nights we might have just stopped playing and we didn't stop playing,'' said Kearney, whose T-Birds are 12-13. "I was very proud. This is probably one of the better games I've seen and felt with my team and that was a good time to turn it on. If not for a couple of mistakes here and there we would have had it.
"Rural's a great team, I will always admire them. They work hard, they're fast and quick, but I was happy to see that we can get up to the competition and we played really well tonight. I don't like losing, but I'm happy with how we played.''
