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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.”

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By VINCE LOVERGINE

TopSports.news

After a third-place Class 3A state finish and a 20-6 record last season for Silver Lake boys basketball, there’s no sugar coating that the goal is to top what the Eagles accomplished. Not to mention, that was the first state tournament appearance for the Eagles since 2017.

 

Shannon Kruger's Silver Lake Eagles will be looking to improve on last season's third-place state finish this winter. [File photo/TSN] 

Shannon Kruger enters year number three with Silver Lake and immediately flipped the script in putting the Eagles back to being a winning program. It was back in the 2018-2019 season where their last winning season occurred.

 

As the Big East League takes shape, Kruger said it’ll be a loaded conference again. He believes the Eagles will be up there but they have to earn it.

They lost five seniors from last year's team, but Kruger likes the young talent his team has and hopes to give them the opportunity to see more minutes at the varsity level.

 

“It’s a part of the culture that’s being established, it’s ongoing, we haven’t gotten there yet but the guys at the senior level the last two years have really bought into everything we’re coaching,'' Kruger said. "We talk about it all the time, 'It’s not what we do, it’s how we do it,' … and there’s a lot of high level competition for those spots and it trickles down.''

Kruger said with this season's group, they’re athletic but not very tall. However, they’re going to play fast to make up for that on both sides of the ball.

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By VINCE LOVERGINE

TopSports.news

Injuries were the story to be told about the Rossville girls basketball team last season, with three key players missing extended time.

Fortunately, it's a new clean slate this year with a lot of returners hopeful of making a state tournament run, something the Bulldawgs have not had since 2006 when they took third. 

Rylee Dick returns for her senior season for Rossville after earning All-Class 2A recognition last season. [File photo/TSN]

Junior Nore Burdiek (22) is a top returner for Rossville girls basketball after missing 11 games with an injury a year ago. [File photo/TSN]

It’s year two of the Derek Dick era with the Rossville girls after ending last season at 10-12 and Dick will build this year's team around his senior daughter, Rylee Dick, an All-Class 2A first-team selection last season, and junior standout Nora Burdiek. 

“We had the best first week of practice that I’ve ever had in my 16 years of coaching and we’re really excited to get going,” Dick said.

 

Something coach Dick doesn’t want to do this season is take things for granted.

“I was really excited going into last year and I thought we were going to have a great year,'' Derek Dick said. "We have a talented group right now, so I need to do a better job of enjoying it and enjoying the ride and not living or dying on every play every game.

 

"Sports are big here at Rossville and I want to make sure that every kid that goes through here looks back with good and positive memories.''

Burdiek is back from injury and coming off an All-State season in volleyball while Rylee Dick is looking to end her prep career with a banner campaign after signing with Division II Rockhurst and Maggie Sanders and Lily Mitchell are among the other Bulldawgs who have stood out in the early going.

 

Coach Dick said he has noticed that the girls who helped Rossville's volleyball team qualify for the 2A state tournament realize this is their last go round in basketball, too, and said the sense of urgency is at an all-time high. On top of that, Dick said that he could see some freshman contributing and earning some minutes this season, too.

 

The scrappiness will be the key ingredient for this Bulldawgs team and Dick said they’ve been very connected on the defensive end.

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