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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

The Washburn Ichabod football team put together a strong second-half rally, but could not overcome a big rushing day from No. 24-ranked Colorado School of Mines, falling 41-27 on Saturday afternoon in Golden, Colo.

Zach Watkins put together a strong second half but fell at Colorado School of Mines 41-27 on Saturday in Golden, Colo. [File photo/TSN]

Washburn and Mines were forced to withstand more than four hours of lightning delays in the second half.

The Ichabods dropped to 1-2 overall while the Orediggers moved to 2-0 on the season.

Mines jumped out to a 27-7 lead at halftime, leaning on a ground attack that piled up 365 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the day.

Washburn struggled to contain the Orediggers' explosive plays, but the Ichabods battled back after the break with 20 second-half points, including a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns that narrowed the deficit.

Quarterback, Logan Madden, playing near his hometown of Arvada, Colo., completed  11 of 17 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns in his first action as an Ichabod. 

Justin Lewis added 106 yards through the air on 9 of 20 passing with two scores of his own.

Combined, the duo accounted for all four Ichabod touchdowns, throwing passes to eight different receivers.

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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Veteran Washburn University volleyball coach Chris Herron isn't necessarily known for passing out praise freely.

So Herron's comments about Ichabod 6-foot senior rightside hitter Austin Broadie Saturday night after the Ichabods wrapped up a perfect 4-0 weekend in the Washburn Invitational should carry some real weight.

"Austin Broadie's playing like an All-American,'' Herron said. "She's hitting the crap out of the ball.''

Senior Austin Broadie (23) is congratulated by her Washburn teammates after one of her 17 kills Saturday against William Jewell in the Washburn Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Broadie was named the tournament most valuable player after helping 12th-ranked Washburn cap off a dominating weekend with 3-0 wins over Newman and William Jewell in the final day of the tournament.

Shawnee Heights product Taylor Rottinghaus was one of four Washburn players named to the Washburn Invitational All-Tournament Team after the Ichabods went 4-0 on the weekend. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Broadie was joined on the all-tournament team by WU teammates Taylor Rottinghaus, Bella Limback and Brynne Topolski after the Ichabods beat Newman 25-10, 25-16, 25-20 and William Jewell 25-22, 25-16 and 22-12.

"I felt good,'' Broadie said. "We started out a little rusty and then everyone started flowing. I felt like the setters were doing a really good job reversing the flow, so that's helpful.

"We did what we wanted to do. We know some stuff we need to work on now and I feel like that's going to give us an objective for the next weekend.''

Washburn is now 8-0 on the season, the first time the Ichabods have done so since the 2022 season that began 11-0.

The Ichabods started slowly against winless William Jewell (0-8) in the tournament finale, trailing as late as 18-17 in the opening set, but the Ichabods rallied for the three-point win and got stronger as the match wore on.

Herron admitted that he was not happy with the Ichabods' play out of the gate against the Cardinals.

"Absolutely, I was upset,'' Herron said. "This is something I try to tell these kids all the time, 'You're going to get people's best shot,' and that's the best they played all weekend, that team we just played. They were scrappy, they were hitting the crap out of the ball, they were finding holes and doing things that they hadn't done all weekend and good for them. 

"But we didn't respond in kind. We were just like, 'Oh, they'll make mistakes and we'll beat them in the end,' and that's the way we played for all of Set 1. In Set 2 we kind of found ourselves at the end and it carried into Set 3.''

With the second set score at 20-16, Washburn started a run of five straight kills, three coming from Broadie to end the set with a nine-pont win.  

The Cardinals got out to a 7-6 lead in the third set until a Topolski kill started a 6-1 Washburn rally.

The Ichabod offense took over shortly after, hitting .481 as a team in the set, including a 7-0 burst to create some separation at 20-11. The momentum carried over into a streak of five points to end the set and match on a Sydney Conner ace.

Washburn celebrates a match-ending ace from Sydney Conner (15) against William Jewell in Saturday'sWashburn Invitational. Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]  

Washburn tallied 49 kills across the three sets to hit .388 while William Jewell hit .128 and managed just 26 kills. The Ichabods nearly doubled the assist total at 46-24 while each team picked up exactly 37 digs.

Broadie started the match hot and stayed hot, registering a team-high 17 kills while hitting .607 for the match, good for the 17th highest attack percentage in a game in program history with a minimum of 20 attempts.

Corinna McMullen led the way with 23 assists while Rottinghaus snagged 10 digs from the back row.  

The Ichabods set the tone early in Saturday's first match against Newman, rolling to a 15-point win in the first set before securing 25-16 and 25-20 victories in the next two sets to top Newman (2-5).  

A 9-1 run highlighted the beginning of the match and was capped off by a kill from Natalie Hedlund that put Washburn up 10-2.

Newman was able to keep the match close until a 6-0 Ichabod burst pushed the lead to double figures, ending at 20-7 with an Abby Leaf block. Washburn's offense highlighted the first set, hitting .516 as a team with 18 kills.  

After leading just 5-4 in the second set, a 6-0 run for the Ichabods was capped off by an ace from Autumn Gibbs to create separation at 11-4.

As Washburn worked its bench into the game the lead continued to grow, reaching 10 at 21-11 after Shannon Frakes set up Josie Cleveringa for a kill. Washburn closed out the set shortly after with three straight points.  

Both teams split the first 10 points in the third set before the Ichabods took six of the next seven, with kills by four different players in the stretch.

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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Earlier this spring the Kansas State High School Activities Association presented a 60-year service award to an official for the first time in the long history of the organization.

Topekan John "Big Dawg'' Deedrick was honored by the KSHSAA for 60 years of service as an official last month in Manhattan. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Of course there's never been an official quite like the "Big Dawg,'' John Deedrick.

KSHSAA honored Deedrick, who retired at the conclusion of the 2024-2025 school year, on May 30 in Manhattan during the Class 3A state baseball tournament, recognizing the Topeka legend for his six decades of service as a registered official in baseball, basketball, football and volleyball.

"Sixty sounded like a good number and I was kind of shooting for that after I got my 50 year plaque,'' the 81-year-old Deedrick told TopSports.news. "But I did not know at the time that I would be the only official in the state of Kansas that's ever got a 60-year plaque.

"They've never made one before, so I feel like the Lone Ranger.''

The numbers that Deedrick put together in his high school officiating career are mind-boggling.

• Worked KSHSAA regular-season baseball games for more than 50 seasons, regular-season basketball for just under 50 years and football and volleyball for just under three decades.

• 39 state baseball tournaments.

• 22 state basketball tournaments.

• 7 state football championships.

• 1 state volleyball tournament.

Deedrick, who also officiated at the collegiate level for multiple decades, including 15 years as the MIAA commissioner of officials, has fond memories of his time in each sport. 

"I retired from basketball in 2013 and my last state tournament was down in Emporia,'' Deedrick said. "That's kind of a neat story there because the very first state basketbll tournament that I worked was I think in 1977 and it was White Auditorium in Emporia and we dressed upstairs in some little crow's nest, no shower, just a meeting room and we had to walk down a hallway get into some rinkydink shower.

"That was my first state tournament and when I worked my last state tournament I was at White Auditorium in the same locker room upstairs with no shower and all that kind of stuff, so you might say it was like a storybook finish. I worked my first state tournament and my last state tournament in the same building with the same dressing room. Now what kind of a story is that?''

Deedrick also cherishes the memory of working a Class 6A state basketball title game between Danny Manning-led Lawrence and powerhouse Kansas City-Wyandotte and a 6A football championship between powerhouses Manhattan and Lawrence.

Dawg is also proud of the fact that he got the opportunity to work one state volleyball tournament during his career.

"One year I was free of no football playoffs, so I said, 'Hey, why don't I put in for a volleyball state because I could never do that before?'' Deedrick said. "I put in for a state and got a 1A at Fort Hays. I couldn't believe it. I put in for one and got one.''

Although he is a fan of all sports, baseball is probably Deedrick's favorite.

"The reason I like baseball is I get a chance to be with coaches and kids at home plate and you can talk to them during the game,'' he said. "Football and basketball you just work the games and you don't really communicate because the game is so intense. I tell people, 'I'm here for the kids.' I was taught by Dennis Walker, who got me started in college baseball, 'The game is for the kids. We're just part of it.' The coaches are part of it, the fans are part of it. Our job is the kids on the field.

"My goal was to have fun with the kids and I let them know that during the game. I would tell them at home plate what my intentions were, 'We're here to have fun.' And I always said to myself, 'When I can't have fun with the kids I'm walking away.' ''

Deedrick, who will turn 82 on July 30, never reached that point, but does feel like it's time to step back.

"I'm still having fun with the kids,'' Deedrick said. "I love the fans, I like the coaches who have been so respectful to me. I tell the coaches before the game, "I'm here for the kids and I want you coaches to have fun and I want the kids to have fun.'

"Sixty years just seemed like a good time to walk away because every year you get a little bit older. These last few years that I worked I noticed that when I come home from games I just felt like I was a little more tired. But everyone would tell me, 'You're 81.' ''

Deedrick was able to continue his officiating career after surviving a serious car accident while returning home from officiating a game in 1987 and continues to play slow-pitch softball.

In retirement Deedrick wants to help recruit and develop new officials.

"You hear all the time about how we're short on officials in football and basketball and baseball,'' he said. "I still want to work with young kids. I want to help the state and I want to help the supervisors in trying to find young officials. I want to stay in the program. I just didn't want to work a 50-game schedule because I just felt like age was creeping up on me.

"You've got to be lucky, just to survive 60 years. I don't know how I lasted that long. I just thank God for that. I've enjoyed my career and there's just so many nice people out there that have been good to me and I hope I shared a little fun with them and smiled and had a good time. I think that's what sports should be all about.''