By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Hayden football team ran into tough sledding against the Cheney Cardinals and fell 34-7 in the Wildcats’ bid for a 3A championship Saturday in Hutchinson.
Hayden sophomore quarterback Connor Hanika loses the handle on a slick football as he attempts a pass in Saturday's 34-7 loss to Cheney in the Class 3A state championship game. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden sophomore Logan Saenz (18) tackles a Cheney ball-carrier in Saturday's Class 3A state championship game at Hutchinson. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
With the Gowans Stadium field at Hutchinson Community College blanketed with several inches of snow, Hayden was unable to tap into its diverse bag of offensive tricks and failed to match the handful of big plays mustered by Cheney.
Hayden kept the game tight for three quarters, trailing just 13-7. But the Cardinals took command with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
“It was just a tough day. We didn’t make the plays when we had our opportunities,” Hayden coach Bill Arnold said. “Cheney is a good team. I’m not going to take anything away from them whatsoever. They did a good job offensively, but at the same time, we missed some opportunities out there.
“It would have been nice if we could have utilized our speed a little bit more today. But it was tough getting your footing out here. The kids battled, but it just wasn’t our day.”
Hayden senior Finn Dunshee (33) follows Jude Konrade (52) in Saturday's Class 3A championship game. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden senior Jensen Schrickel looks for running room in Saturday's Class 3A championship game at Hutchinson. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden senior Finn Dunshee and junior Jensen Schrickel, track stars who provided explosive plays for the Wildcats all season, were both bogged down by the snow. Dunshee amassed just 55 total yards on 16 touches while Schrickel was limited to 27 yards on seven touches.
“Any advantage of speed that we had, we lost,” Dunshee said. “It really leveled the playing field. Our line is a lot smaller than (Cheney’s) and they are a great team. We were both dealing with (the snow), so you can’t just blame it on that.”
Hayden quarterback Connor Hanika was held to 74 yards passing, with the wet ball slipping from his grip several times.
The Wildcats appeared to be gaining momentum early in the second quarter. An Hayden interception deep in Cheney territory set up a 39-yard scoring pass from Hanika to sophomore Kade Mitchell.
That momentum was ripped away on the very next play, however.
Cheney senior Drew Tolar took the ensuing kickoff 88 yards to put the Cardinals back on top. They never looked back.
Cheney quarterback Josh Burdick threw for 227 yards and four scores. Tolar accounted for three touchdowns, as did Cardinal senior Colter McDaniel.
Hayden athletic director Bobby Taul said there wasn’t a lot of consideration given to moving the game to a different day.
“I know at one time they talked about postponing it today and playing it tomorrow, on Sunday,” Taul said. “But they took into consideration the motels and charter buses and all those types of logistics and decided to go ahead and play it today.”
Kickoff for the 3A title game was moved up one hour, to noon.
“I’m not sure why they only moved our game up an hour,” Taul said. “I thought they could have adjusted the game based on what the weather was doing at each site.”
At kickoff time, only three of the yard lines – the 50 and both 40s – the sidelines and goal lines were cleared. The rest of the field was buried under several inches of snow. Taul said he found no fault with the efforts made by the stadium crew.
“As many people as they’ve got out there working, it looks like they’re doing all they can. I think you can only do so much,” Taul said. “It’s just one of those deals. Both teams are having to deal with the same thing as far as conditions.”
Cardinal fans jammed the smaller visiting grandstand, most of them making the 40-mile drive from nearby Cheney. Hayden supporters were smaller in number.
“Our fans have been great all year,” Taul said. “We’ve got about 40 kids who traveled down on the buses. Our parents are going to follow their kids regardless.
“But the number of people we’ve got here sort of represents the weather. If the weather would have been nice, I think we would have had a lot more. But though people always refer to us as Topeka-Hayden, they have to realize we are just a real small community of people. So, the number of people that we have that travel to our games, we do a good job of supporting our kids, even today.”
Hayden was playing for its first state title since 2008. The lopsided final left the Hayden team and coaches feeling dejected. But they sought to keep things in perspective.
“I’m proud of our group. I’m proud of our seniors,” Arnold said. “They had a fantastic year. It stings right now, but we’ll feel better about it later.”
“I wouldn’t have wanted to have done it with any other boys, with any other coaches,” Dunshee said. “It was a great season. We worked hard all year.”
CHENEY 34, HAYDEN 7
Cheney (13-0) 7 6 0 21 – 34
Hayden (12-1) 0 7 0 0 -- 7
Cheney – Tolar 16 pass from Burdick (Kuehn kick)
Hayden – Mitchell 39 pass from Hanika (Becker kick)
Cheney – Tolar 88 kickoff return (kick failed)
Cheney – Tolar 55 pass from Burdick (Kuehn kick)
Cheney – McDaniel 15 pass from Burdick (Kuehn kick)
Cheney – McDaniel 7 pass from Burdick (Kuehn kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing -- Cheney: Black 4-17, Voth 7-15, Burdick 2-6, Self 1-2, Maass 1-(minus)1. Hayden: Dunshee 11-32, Desch 11-29, Schrickel 3-9, Ridley 2-7, Mitchell 6-(minus)10, Hanika 2-(minus)21.
Passing -- Cheney: Burdick 19-30-1 227 yards. Hayden: Hanika 12-21-2 74 yards, Dunshee 0-1-0 0 yards.
Receiving -- Cheney: Voth 9-76, Tolar 5-115, McDaniel 3-22, Maass 2-14. Hayden: Dunshee 6-23, Schrickel 4-18, Mitchell 1-39, Tetuan 1-(minus)6.
Punting -- Cheney: Summerer 5-33.2. Hayden: Becker 6-26.4.
