By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural rode running back Jadyn Baum to a 34-7 victory over Topeka High at Hummer Sports Park Friday. The Junior Blues improved to 2-2 and picked up a win to open Centennial League play.
Senior Jadyn Baum rushed for 180 yards and three touchdowns in Washburn Rural's 34-7 win over Topeka High. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn Rural was without its top two quarterbacks due to injury, but coach Steve Buhler had a plan. He put the Junior Blues on Baum’s back, and the senior came through.
The state wrestling champion carried the ball 32 times for 160 yards in the first half, scoring all three of Washburn Rural’s touchdowns to stake the visitors to a 21-0 advantage. Once the game was in hand, Baum carried just two more times, resting most of the second half.
“When they told me he had 32 carries at halftime, it kind of shocked me a little bit,” Buhler said. “But with a new quarterback, a young sophomore quarterback, (Baum) knew we were going to have to rely on him and on the offensive line. I thought the line did a really nice job of giving him some room to run. And he just does some phenomenal things.”
“That was a first for me,” Baum said about the number of first half carries. “My body feels good. It was definitely draining, but it’s worth it. If the team needs me to have 30 carries in the first half, I’ll do it every game.”
Sophomore quarterback Jaihonis Wallace made his first career start in Washburn Rural's 34-7 win over Topeka High Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior Isaiah Whiteside caught a 13-yard touchdown pass in Washburn Rural's 34-7 win over Topeka High. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
With senior quarterbacks Gavin Vantuyl and Gabriel Taylor sidelined, the Junior Blues turned to JV starter Jaihonis Wallace. The sophomore fired a touchdown strike to junior Isaiah Whiteside to open the second half. Wallace, who finished up the fourth period of the Junior Blues’ previous game, completed six of his 10 attempts for 72 yards.
“I was helping him out with signals and just helping him on confidence,” Baum said. “Obviously, a sophomore being put in that position after watching two quarterbacks go down in the same game, that’s pretty nerve-wracking. So, whatever I can do to help him, I’m gonna do. I think he did good.
"There’s always room for improvement, but he’s hungry. I love his dedication. He’s like a sponge in practice, just soaking up everything on the varsity level, adapting to everything.”
After the Junior Blues’ Ryan Austin booted field goals of 28 and 22 yards, Washburn Rural went deep into its bench.
“It’s good for our young guys,” Buhler said. “You know, they put in a lot of work. That’s why we tell them, we suit them up to get an opportunity to play on Friday night. It kind of whets their appetite a little bit. We usually see better practices and better JV and freshman performances. So, it’s good to get them in.”
The Junior Blues are on a four-game string of alternating losses and wins. Buhler said the team remains positive with four games remaining, three in the wide-open Centennial League.
“I think it’s a resilient group,” Buhler said. “Week 1 we had a rough week, but we came back, bounced back with a win against Olathe South. Last week was a rough week for us (losing 34-23 to Bishop Carroll). We came back with a good performance tonight.”
The Junior Blues’ defense totally throttled Topeka High in the first half, during which the Trojans never advanced past their own 41-yard-line. Topeka High managed just five yards of total offense prior to intermission and finished with just 117 yards for the entire game, much of which came on a 53-yard scoring dash by Ricardo Dowd late in the contest.
“(I liked) the consistency of the defense all night,” Buhler said. “We talked about that with them all week. Offensively, we didn’t do that, had some penalties that kind of killed some drives. But defensively we played a clean football game. We were disciplined in the things we were doing, and I really liked the effort and the focus they played with tonight.”
WASHBURN RURAL 34, TOPEKA HIGH 7
Washburn Rural (2-2, 1-0) 7 14 10 3 -- 34
Topeka High (1-3, 0-1) 0 0 0 7 -- 7
Washburn Rural – Baum 2 run (Austin kick)
Washburn Rural – Baum 1 run (Austin kick)
Washburn Rural – Baum 7 run (Austin kick)
Washburn Rural – Whiteside 13 pass from Wallace (Austin kick)
Washburn Rural – Austin 28 field goal
Washburn Rural – Austin 22 field goal
Topeka High – Dowd 53 run (Fiedler kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing – Washburn Rural: Baum 34-180, Lone 11-40, Peterson 5-24, Wright 2-16, Ingold 1-4. Topeka High: Dowd 15-97, Sanders 10-30, Arnold 1-(minus)-3, Collins 5-4, Filbeck 1-(minus)-13, Ward 1-2.
Passing – Washburn Rural: Wallace 6-10-0, 72 yards, Ingold 1-1-0, 55. Topeka High: Sanders 1-2-0 minus-6, Filbeck 1-1-0, 6.
Receiving – Washburn Rural: Bervert 2-11, Whiteside 3-52, Bossert 1-(minus)1, Fulton 1-55. Topeka High: Dowd 2-0.
Punting – Washburn Rural: Austin 2-36.0. Topeka High: Stamper 6-38.3.
