A game-by-game look at Friday's Hayden and Rossville state playoff matchups
Details
By RICK PETERSON TopSports.news
FRIDAY NIGHT'S GAMES
CLASS 3A
JEFFERSON WEST (8-2) at HAYDEN (10-0)
Connor Hanika, Hayden
Kade Mitchell, Hayden
Hayden, the No. 1 East seed in Class 3A, has outscored its first two playoff opponents by a huge 112-7 margin, including a 42-0 romp past Wellsville last Friday night. Friday's state quarterfinal game is a rematch of the Week 8 Hayden-Jefferson West district matchup, with the Wildcats taking a 42-0 win over the Tigers in that game. Jefferson West advanced to Friday's game with a 49-14 win over Prairie View. Hayden senior quarterback Connor Hanika has completed 88 of 146 passes for 1,422 yards and 20 touchdowns with just one interception while senior Kade Mitchell has carried the ball 89 times for 900 yards, caught 19 passes for 410 yards and has scored 21 total TDs. Wildcat senior Jackson McGivern has carried the ball 55 times for 378 yards and scored nine TDs while recording 65 tackles (41) on defense with seven tackles for loss. Senior Jude Krentz leads Hayden with 89 tackles (47 solo) and six tackles for loss while rushing for 317 yards on 49 attempts. Senior Xander Blasing has 66 stops (48 solo) and seven tackles for loss and has caught 18 passes for 230 yards while senior Makhi Kidd has caught a team-high 26 passes for 277 yards. Jefferson West freshman quarterback Brixton Schwinn has completed 150 of 255 passes for 2,101 yards and 29 touchdowns while senior Crayton Holmes has 55 receptions for 689 yards and eight TDs and junior Brody Schwinn has 47 catches for 883 yards and 17 TDs. The winner of Friday's game will move on to a 3A sub-state game to face the winner of Friday's game between Holton (6-4) and Santa Fe Trail (10-0). Game time: 7 p.m.
Xander Blasing, Hayden
Jackson McGivern, Hayden
CLASS 1A
ROSSVILLE (9-1) at PITTSBURG-ST. MARY'S COLGAN (10-0)
Canann Mitchell, Rossville
Cameron Miller, Rossville
Rossville, the No. 4 Class 1A East seed, is coming off a 53-18 home win over Jefferson County North last Friday while Pittsburg Colgan remained undefeated at 10-0 with a 56-0 win over Troy. Rossville senior quarterback Canann Mitchell has completed 87 of 127 passes for 1,311 yards and 16 touchdowns with just one interception and has rushed for 821 yards and 15 TDs on 101 attempts. Senior Cameron Miller has 30 catches for 502 yards and eight TDs while senior Jack Donovan has 34 grabs for 426 yards and three touchdowns. Senior Conner Bush has rushed for 656 yards and 10 TDs on 61 carries while senior Andre Johnson leads the Bulldawgs with 85 tackles. Junior Charlie Chance has registered 40 stops, including 12.5 tackles for loss. Colgan has yet to give up a point in postseason, outscoring its opponents by a 119-0 margin. The winner of Friday's game will advance to the state semifinals to face the winner of Friday's game between Riverside (8-2) and Jackson Heights (10-0). Game time: 6 p.m.
Jack Donovan, Rossville
Andre Johnson, Rossville
Rick Peterson
Jared Goehring to turn over reins of Rural girls golf after leading Blues to four Class 6A titles
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural's girls golf coach Jared Goehring is stepping down after a 15-year run that included four Class 6A state championships, two runnerup finishes and three thirds while qualifying for state as a team 14 times.
Jared Goehring is stepping down as Washburn Rural's girls golf coach after leading the Junior Blues to four Class 6A state team championships and nine top-three state finishes in 15 seasons. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Goehring, who informed his Junior Blues girls team of his decision on Thursday, plans to continue as the head boys coach at Rural in the spring but cited family factors as his major reason for turning over the reins of the girls program.
Goehring's daughter, Preslee, is a freshman three-sport athlete at Rural and he said that it was hard to juggle all the schedules, particularly with volleyball in the fall.
"I missed a couple of games this year and I don't want to do that,'' Goehring said. "That definitely played a huge factor in this decision, one that I've been kicking around for the last couple of years. With Preslee being in high school now I wanted to be a part of her successes and watch her play and family's the most important thing and continuing to spend time with my immediate family and help out where I can.''
But although Goehring knew he needed to step away from his fall coaching duties, he said he still struggled with the decision .
"I did,'' Goehring said. "I was probably 80 percent certain I was going to do this a year ago and this year's senior class is kind of what ultimately made me decide to come back. Plus, I wanted to see how my daughter adapted to high school and what she fell in love with as far as activities go.
"She's definitely on the right path and we finished on a strong note this year with this senior group, so it's time for a change.''
Goehring's son, Peyton, will be a senior for the Junior Blues' boys team next spring and Jared, who led Rural to the 2015 boys state title and will be entering his 20th season, said he plans to remain in that role for the foreseeable future.
"Springtime is a little bit more relaxed and continuing on in the springtime will fit my schedule a little bit better,'' he said.
Ichabod football looking to end 2025 season on high note at Missouri Southern
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
There's no doubt that the 2025 season has been a tough one for the Washburn University football team, with the 2-8 Ichabods suffering four one-possession losses, including a pair of three-point defeats and an overtime heartbreaker.
Senior Jordan Finnesy (1) is one of 15 Washburn seniors who will play their final collegiate game for the Ichabods Saturday at Missouri Southern. [File photo/TSN]
But Washburn will have the opportunity to finish off the season on a high note in Saturday's 1 p.m. MIAA contest at Missouri Southern.
"We want to do whatever we can this week to get that win,'' said Washburn standout senior safety Jordan Finnesy. "Not just for the seniors but for the guys who will be going through the offseason. It just leaves a better taste in your mouth and gives you a little bit of momentum going into the offseason and then into next season.
"So it would be big to get a win this week and go out that way.''
The Ichabods, 1-7 in the MIAA, are coming off a 45-17 loss to Emporia State while Missouri Southern is 3-7 overall and has a matching 1-7 record in the conference after a 44-17 loss at Central Oklahoma last Saturday in Edmond.
Sophomore JC Heim leads the MIAA and is second in the national rankings in tackles per game with 12.9 per contest while L.J. Minner Jr. is third in the conference with 9.9 tackles per game, ranking 16th in the NCAA D-II national rankings.
Heim's 6.6 solo tackles per game also leads the MIAA and is second nationally. Heim's 130 tackles this season ranks fifth on the Ichabod single-season chart, trailing Derrick McGreevy (131), Grant Bruner (137), current Washburn coach Zach Watkins (143) and Bill Guidetti (152).
Finnesy's253 career tackles rank 15th on the NCAA D-II active chart and he is 15th on the D-II active solo tackles chart with 158 and 15th on the Ichabod career tackles chart.
Senior Jake Zeller is fifth on the NCAA D-II active punting average chart at 42.2 and he is seventh in total punt yards (7,047). Zeller is second in the MIAA and ninth in the national rankings in punting average at 43.5. Zeller is second on the Ichabod all-time punting average chart at 42.2 and ninth in total yards at 7,047.