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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
CLASS 3A
ANDALE (12-0) vs. HAYDEN (12-0)
6 p.m. Friday at Hutchinson Community College
Hayden, the No. 1 Class 3A East seed, advanced to its third straight state championship game with a 46-0 home semifinal rout over No. 2 East seed Santa Fe Trail last Friday while No. 1 West seed Andale rolled to a 41-7 win over No. 2 seed Rock Creek.
The semifinal romps set up a second straight title game showdown between the two 12-0 state powers.
Hayden's closest game of the season was a 43-29 state quarterfinal win over Jefferson West while Andale's closest game of the year was last week's 34-point win over Rock Creek.
Andale scored a season-high 104 points in its season opener against El Dorado and the Indians have posted four shutouts while Hayden scored a season-high 70 points in a 70-7 playoff win over Columbus and has recorded five shutouts and limited opponents to seven or fewer points in 10 games.
Connor Hanika, Hayden
Kade Mitchell, Hayden
Hayden senior quarterback Connor Hanika has completed 100 of 164 passes for 1,659 yards and 23 touchdowns with three interceptions while senior Kade Mitchell has rushed for 941 yards on 89 carries, caught 21 passes for 463 yards and has scored 21 total TDs. Mitchell did not play last week against Santa Fe Trail due to an injury, but is expected to play Friday.
Xander Blasing, Hayden
Jackson McGivern, Hayden
Jude Krentz, Hayden
Wildcat senior Jackson McGivern has carried the ball 70 times for 457 yards and 11 touchdowns while recording 79 tackles (50 solo) on defense with seven tackles for loss.
Senior Jude Krentz leads Hayden with 112 tackles (58 solo) and six tackles for loss while rushing for 399 yards on 66 attempts. Senior Xander Blasing has 84 stops (62 solo) and nine tackles for loss and has caught 24 passes for 296 yards while senior Makhi Kidd has caught 28 passes for 314 yards.
Junior Mason Becker has carried the ball 32 times for 438 yards, caught nine passes for 292 yards and is perfect on extra-point kicks on the year. Junior Logan Power leads the Wildcats with five pass interceptions.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
CLASS 1A
STERLING (12-0) vs. ROSSVILLE (11-1)
1 p.m. Friday at Hutchinson Community College
Rossville, the No. 4 Class 1A East seed, earned a shot at its sixth state championship with a come-from-behind 21-18 semifinal win at No. 2 East seed Jackson Heights last Friday while No. 1 West seed Sterling remained undefeated with a 14-6 win over previously-unbeaten Smith Center.
The Bulldawgs have won nine straight games, with Rossville's lone loss a 56-28 Week 3 loss to Nemaha Central, which is in the 2A state championship game for the second straight season. Sterling's closest game of the season was a 44-42 state quarterfinal win over Hutchinson Trinity.
Canann Mitchell, Rossville
Rossville senior quarterback Canann Mitchell has completed 109 of 164 passes for 1,578 yards and 18 touchdowns with just one interception and has rushed for 1,013 yards and 18 TDs on 139 attempts.
Cameron Miller, Rossville
Jack Donovan, Rossville
Senior Cameron Miller has 32 catches for 523 yards and eight TDs while senior Jack Donovan has 38 grabs for 543 yards and three touchdowns.
Conner Bush, Rossville
Senior Conner Bush has rushed for 685 yards and 10 TDs on 69 carries.
Andre Johnson, Rossville
Senior Andre Johnson leads the Bulldawgs with 119 tackles (64 solo) while Bush has 99 stops (34 solo). Junior Charlie Chance has registered 49 stops (39 solo), including 14.5 tackles for loss.
Sterling senior running back Zane Farney has carried the ball 188 times for 2,047 yards and 39 touchdowns while senior Wyatt Newberry has rushed for 1,034 yards and 14 TDs and has 98 tackles (62 solo) with four interceptions.
Sophomore Jacob Lewis leads Sterling with 156 tackles (95 solo), including 15 tackles for loss.
Sterling senior quarterback Logan Isaac has thrown for 209 yards and rushed for 403 yards and 10 TDs on 56 attempts.
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By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
When you look at the dominance of the Running Scots over the last seven years under former head coach Mike Williams, there's no question that’s the standard this program wants to uphold.
Nate Wallace (right), cheering during the 2025 Class 5A state tournament, takes over as Highland Park's new boys basketball coach this season. [File photo/TSN]
Names like Bo Aldridge, Ja'Corey Robinson, Mikey Williams, Tre Richardson, Tamir Anderson, the list goes on of the overall talent this program develops.
All those names and more are no longer there and first-year head coach Nate Wallance is excited to be rooted to this program and continue that winning culture.
“Me and coach Mike come from the same era and we’re both grinders,'' Wallace said. "Iron sharpens iron, just bouncing stuff off each other. I think the best thing to happen was the state runs. We had just to be around other great coaches to see how they prepared for games.''
Now, how do the Scots plan to keep the DNA where they have those dominant players?
“I think it starts early,'' Wallace said. "It’s trust, it’s family. There’s a lot of great young talent in the city and giving the kids the opportunity to want to bleed the red and green. The good thing about the East side of Topeka, they know the history and want to be a part of it.''
G’Honi Montgomery, Kasioun Drew, Davian Anderson and JoJo Kingcannon are the names that will be the leaders of this year's group according to Wallace.
“Coach Nate, his IQ is through the roof and he definitely knows what he’s doing,'' Kingcannon said. "He’s definitely going to put us all in the right position to make great choices.
“The one thing about HP, we’re always going to have dawgs on this team. No matter if we lose or win, we’re still going to be dawg and go compete.”
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By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
Fifth-year Highland Park girls basketball coach Rob Brown said nobody should sleep on his team this season despite the Scots losing quite a few players from last year's 17-5 squad.
Highland Park girls basketball coach Rob Brown has high hopes for this season's Scots team. [File photo/TSN]
Brown said losing Permella Carter, who transferred to Shawnee Heights, will be hard to replace, but with a lot of new faces, he said the players have taken that ownership of it and they’re ready to attack the season.
“Some of these girls have been waiting their turn,'' Brown said. "Our JV has been undefeated the last couple years and will surprise some people.''
Brown said Koralee Jones, Zayah Kincade, Majesty Grace, Miluv Cosey and a transfer from Oregon will all be factors on this year's squad, whether its with defense, shooting or energy.
“They love to play defense,'' Brown said. "They want to get up in you, they talk, they’re real vocal, they have each other's backs. Overall, I think this is going to be one of my most disciplined groups, so that’s going to be big for us because in the past we beat ourselves and we always talk about not beating ourselves.
"And, the numbers in the gym are a lot better than years past, which is great. I’m excited.''
When he first arrived at Highland Park, Brown always told the girls, 'Don’t bring bad habits from last season into the new season.' He said those losses last year were collapses in the second half and the Scots have to learn to keep a lead and keep fighting back if they do get down.
“I’m learning to be more patient, I pride myself in that, but being patient with this group will be good. We’re working on the small detail stuff, too, because that wins games,” Brown said.
“We take a lot of pride in our defense,” Jones said. “Defense wins games. If we’re able to play lockdown defense, that will be the key for us winning games.
“I just try to reflect how our coaches are to our younger classmen because they look up to our coaches just as much as they do to us, so if we can mirror their type of coaching style, mirror their personality, I think it’s good for everyone overall.''
“I think we’re going to be even better than we were last year. We have better communication and better teamwork,” Kincade said.
Highland Park will open the 2025-2026 season at home next Wednesday against Topeka West.
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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
Canaan Mitchell’s moment has arrived.
Slathered in mud that caked his eyebrows and cheeks, the Rossville quarterback paused amidst the raucous celebration on the Jackson Heights field to reflect on the Bulldawgs season, the upcoming trip to the state title game, and all that led to this moment.
Rossville senior quarterback Canann Mitchell starred in adverse conditions last Friday, leading the Bulldawgs to the Class 1A state title game with a 21-18 win at Jackson Heights. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
Mitchell had just led his team to a 21-18 come-from-behind victory to earn a trip to Hutchinson, site of the Class 1A state championship game. The field conditions Friday required that Mitchell carry the team to victory. The slick field and muddy ball turned the game against the Cobras into a battle of quarterbacks. Both signal callers rushed the ball repeatedly, slipping and sliding in search of openings to run up field.
Jackson Heights’ quarterback, senior Drake Mellies, dashed to 168 yards on 29 carries -- providing essentially all the Cobras’ offense -- even though Rossville knew what to expect. It was an impressive rushing effort that Mitchell nearly matched.
“He’s a good player,” Mitchell said of Mellies. “We game-planned for him all week, and he’s fast and he was good. So, we just planned on him, stopping him, and that’s what we did. He got a few broken loose, but we stopped him in the end, so that’s all that matters.”
The difference in the game was Mitchell’s ability, in spite of the conditions, to effectively pick apart the Cobras through the air. What else would you expect from a kid who’s first name is pronounced “cannon”?
Having given Rossville its first score on a 51-yard burst through the slop on the game’s opening drive, Mitchell turned to the air. He hit receiver Cael Horgan for a 10-yard touchdown in the second period. He went right back to Horgan on the same play design for the two-point conversion.
“He’s a great quarterback,” Horgan said of Mitchell. “He kept his hands clean. He was throwing a great ball all game, put it right where we needed it.”
Rossville senior quarterback Canann Mitchell has rushed and passed for more than 1,000 yards, helping lead the Bulldawgs to the Class 1A state title game. [File photo/TSN]
Mitchell really started clicking in the second half. He completed six of eight throws, including a 20-yard strike to Horgan that proved to be the winning touchdown.
“I had to get a little confidence in myself,” Mitchell said. “In the warmups I was throwing the ball all over the place. I had to get the confidence back in me and throw it around and trust my receivers.”
“That was in the game plan,” Rossville coach Derick Hammes said of the passing attack. “I thought that was there for us, and it just allowed us to kind of get some rhythm on offense to kind of move the ball, distribute it around the field a little bit.”
In addition to slipping on several running cuts, Mitchell lost his footing numerous times when setting up to throw. The conditions contributed to at least three quarterback sacks, which cut into the senior’s rushing stats. He finished with 94 yards on the ground, but sacks subtracted 21 yards from what would have been an even more impressive total. Desperate to control the ball and protect a lead, Rossville needed Mitchell to manage the slick track.
“Right at the end there when I slipped, my dad yelled at me to keep my feet under me,” Mitchell said. “But I just, like he said, (it was) trying to keep your feet under you…quick, choppy steps. That’s what I had to do.”
In the biggest game of his career, Mitchell completed 8 of 12 passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns. The senior has been building to this moment for a long time. He grew up watching the Bulldawgs win five state titles. Rossville won three straight Class 3A championships – 2014-2016 – in Hutchinson. It then won back-to-back Class 2A titles in Salina in 2020 and 2021.
“(In 2021), I was a sideline ball boy,” Mitchell recalled. “And just seeing them after they won the game, come together and cheer and everything, that was big to me being on the sideline. I always told my dad I wanted (a championship) ever since I was watching all of them.”
