By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Hayden coach Bill Arnold had just one admonishment for his team Friday night.
“No more sliding on the field! We have to play another game on it!” the coach said, putting a halt to the scrum in the end zone following Hayden’s 49-0 washout of visiting Girard.
Junior Kade Mitchell rushed for 95 yards and scored two touchdowns in Hayden's 49-0 Class 3A playoff win over Girard. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior Jensen Schrickel (9) rushed for 108 yards and scored three touchdowns in Friday's 49-0 Hayden playoff win over Girard. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
With the announcement over the public address system that Perry-Lecompton had defeated Frontenac, the Wildcats knew they would play at home again next Friday against the Kaws.
A steady rain increased in intensity throughout the night, but it didn’t slow the Wildcats, who outrushed their opponent 328 yards to 95.
“We don’t really think about the weather. We just come out and play,” said junior running back Kade Mitchell, who bookended the scoring for the Wildcats. He opened the game with a 22-yard touchdown run and finished the romp with a 20-yard run in the fourth period.
The Wildcats, seeded third in the East side of the Class 3A bracket, didn’t give an inch to Girard, which came to Topeka as the sixth seed. Besides shutting down the Trojans’ run game, Hayden held Girard to just 25 yards passing and intercepted two of the Trojans’ passes.
“I thought our kids came out and executed early,” Arnold said. “I thought we did a good job of bottling them up defensively. We did a much better job tackling.”
Senior Broderick Desch scored a TD for Hayden in the Wildcats' 49-0 Class 3A playoff win over Girard. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden senior quarterback Jett Wahlmeier (7) ran for a touchdown and threw for a TD in Friday's 49-0 win over Girard. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Multi-purpose star Jensen Schrickel rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns and also caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Jett Wahlmeier. Mitchell added 95 yards rushing. Fullback Broderick Desch contributed 44 yards rushing and a touchdown, and Wahlmeier scampered 25 yards for another score.
Winning so handily left Arnold without a lot to complain about.
“When we get back and watch film, trust me, I know we made some mistakes out there,” Arnold said. “But if you get a 49-0 win in a playoff game, it feels good.”
Perry-Lecompton, the 10th seed in the East, upset second-seeded Frontenac 28-22, setting up a rematch with the Wildcats. Hayden handled the Kaws 50-16 on Oct. 18.
“Perry has gotten better,” Arnold said. “They’ve played two really good games back-to-back now. And we’ve got a long, outstanding history against them.”
The Wildcats are on a mission to return to the 3A state championship game, where they fell to Cheney 34-7 in a blizzard last season.
“We want to get back to the state championship,” Mitchell said. “We came up short last year, but nothing is going to get in our way this year. We’ve got everything that it takes. We’ve just got to trust each other, and everything is going to fall in line.”
HAYDEN 49, GIRARD 0
Girard (6-4) 0 0 0 0 -- 0
Hayden (9-1) 13 15 14 7 -- 49
Hayden – Mitchell 22 run (Becker kick)
Hayden – Schrickel 17 run (kick failed)
Hayden – Schrickel 9 pass from Wahlmeier (Blasing pass from Wahlmeier)
Hayden – Wahlmeier 25 run (Becker kick)
Hayden – Desch 1 run (Becker kick)
Hayden – Schrickel 52 run (Becker kick)
Hayden – Mitchell 20 run (Becker kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing – Girard: Love 5-17, Cullen 7-12, Bowin 4-14, Blair 2-8, Gilmore 10-37, Moore 4-3, Sammons 2-2, Ashbacher 1-2. Hayden: Desch 10-44, Schrickel 8-108, Mitchell 6-95, Wahlmeier 1-25, Krentz 2-17, Heinen 1-8, Becker 1-8, Menke 2-14, Huntley 4-9.
Passing – Girard: Cullen 2-6-0 12 yards, Sammons 2-4-2 13 yards. Hayden: Wahlmeier 6-10-0 85 yards.
Receiving – Girard: Brown 1-5, Ashbacher 1-6, Love 1-7, Blair 1-7. Hayden: Schrickel 4-66, Mitchell 1-9, Hanika 1-10.
Punting – Girard: Poland 2-33.0. Hayden: Wahlmeier 1-21.0.
