By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After posting an outstanding 27-6 record over a three-year span from 2021-2023, Washburn Rural football struggled to a 3-6 mark last season.
Veteran Washburn Rural football coach Steve Buhler is starting his 13th season at Rural, with the Junior Blues coming off a 3-6 record last fall after going 11-1 and advancing to the Class 6A semifinals in 2023. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
This fall Steve Buhler's Junior Blues will be out to prove that last season was an simply an anomoly and that Rural is ready to get back on track.
"The previous three years were really good for us,'' said Buhler, who is starting his 13th season at the school. "You kind of hope you have something that's going to be continuous, then you hit a road bump.
"Part of that's the schedule, part of it's some other issues, but it wasn't as good as we hoped. But at the same time, you still want to live off the previous three years.''
And with a veteran cast returning, including 26 seniors, Buhler thinks the Junior Blues know what it's going to take to get the job done this season.
"There's enough kids on this team that have been around and that were part of that previous group and the success they had,'' Buhler said. "This year's seniors, they know.
"They had a really good offseason in the weight room and we saw some good senior leadership so far in the summertime, so hopefully they learned from the negative part of last year record-wise and couple that with their knowledge of what it takes to be really successful and they'll put the two together for us.''
Buhler said that the 2024 Junior Blues had their moments where they played very solid football, but were plagued by inconsistency, something they'll need to change moving forward.
"I think if you look back at the games last year with the Kansas City schools and really only the Blue Valley game got out of hand really early,'' Buhler said. "Against Platte County (Mo.) we were up one point with three minutes left in the third quarter and I thought Blue Valley Northwest was competitive until late in the game.
"And when we look back on film there was about a four to five-minute segment in every game where everything you could think of doing wrong we did and we opened the door for some really good football teams. So the key for us is staying consistent and being able to fight through those moments during the game where things don't go your way.''
Senior quarterback John Hoytal (left) and senior running back TJ Minikwu are top returners for Washburn Rural football. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Senior running back TJ Minikwu (6-foot-1, 225 pounds) received first-team All-Centennial League recognition last season while senior quarterback John Hoytal (6-3, 195), senior wide receiver Kellan Roth (6-2, 180), senior defensive lineman Ayden Crosswhite (6-3, 220) and senior linebacker Jordy Heim (6-2, 220) were second-team all-league picks.
Senior offensive lineman Jayden Cooper (6-2, 285), junior running back Jadyn Baum (5-11, 215), junior linebacker Brody Haas (5-11, 200) and senior linebacker Elijah Gaines (6-1, 210) received all-league honorable mention and Minikwu, Cooper, Baum, Hoytal, Roth, Crosswhite, Heim, Haas, Gaines, senior Sammy Brumley (6-0, 265) and senior Dylan Tajchman (6-0, 220) all received All-Shawnee County honorable mention.
Washburn Rural will be on the road Sept. 5 to open its season with a non-league game against city rival Shawnee Heights.
The Junior Blues took a 42-21 win over the T-Birds in the 2024 season-opener.
WASHBURN RURAL
2025 football schedule
September -- 5 at Shawnee Heights, 12 Blue Valley, 19 Platte County, Mo., 25 at Blue Valley Northwest.
October -- 3 Topeka High, 10 at Emporia, 17 at Junction City, 24 Manhattan.
