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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After dropping a five-point decision to Hayden earlier in the season, Emporia took the fight to the Wildcats throughout Tuesday's rematch, taking a 54-40 win at Hayden in the Centennial League opener for both teams.
Junior Brylee Meier scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds in Hayden's 54-40 Centennial League loss to Emporia Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
No. 2-ranked Hayden (Class 3A) led only once on the night, at 2-0, while No. 6-ranked Emporia (5A) led by as many as 20 points midway through the fourth quarter en route to improving to 6-1 overall.
"That was an emphasis for us, we talked about that,'' Emporia coach Carolyn Dorsey said of the Spartans' aggressiveness. "I thought when they were at our place, we were bad. We were on our heels and they punched us and they punched us hard and it took us the entire game to recover.
"I thought tonight the focus was swing first and attack first and don't you stop and I thought that's what we were able to do tonight.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden opened Tuesday night's Centennial League opener short-handed, with senior Jacob Padilla still out with an injury, and the Wildcats suffered another big blow 39 seconds into the second quarter when senior Dom Ridley went down with an injury to his jaw.
Emporia, which had sweated out a six-point victory (50-44) over the Wildcats in early December, took advantage in a big way, rolling to a 58-42 win at Hayden.
Hayden senior Dom Ridley is tended to by athletic trainer Mike Flynn after suffering an injury early in the second quarter Tuesday night as Wildcat coach Trey Brown looks on. Emporia went on to take a 58-42 win at Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"Well, to be honest, their two best players weren't playing,'' Emporia coach Lee Baldwin said when asked to explain the difference between the earlier Emporia-Hayden game and Tuesday's 16-point win. "Obviously, without Padilla and then Ridley getting hurt in the second quarter, that's a huge difference.
"That's their two best players, so I would be lying if I said that didn't make a huge impact. To me, that's the No. 1 reason right there, but we did play well, no doubt about that.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The 2024 portion of the Shawnee County high school basketball season cranks up in a hurry, with all 10 county schools in action this week, beginning with a pair of Centennial League games on Tuesday, Jan. 2.
Here's a glance at all of this week's games involving county boys teams:
TUESDAY
Senior Cooper Colboch is averaging 16.2 points to lead 4-1 Hayden. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
EMPORIA BOYS (4-2 overall, 0-0 Centennial) at HAYDEN (4-1 overall, 0-0 Centennial)
Both Hayden and Emporia will open Centennial League play Tuesday while meeting for the second time this season. Emporia handed the Wildcats their lone loss, a 50-44 decision, in the Paul Terry Classic at Emporia in early Dec. Hayden, ranked No. 6 in Class 3A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, closed out 2023 with a 69-56 win over Class 6A school Shawnee Mission West while Emporia dropped a 45-42 decision to Great Bend in its '23 finale. Senior Cooper Colboch leads Hayden with a 16.2 scoring average while seniors Dom Ridley and Carter Charvat average 10.2 and 10.0 points. Charvat also leads the Wildcats with a 7.2 rebounding average.
Junior Kaden Ballard (2) is averaging a team-high 11.6 points for Washburn Rural. [File photo/TSN]
WASHBURN RURAL BOYS (0-5 overall, 0-0 Centennial) at JUNCTION CITY (6-0 overall, 0-0 Centennial)
Washburn Rural and Junction City will both open their Centennial League schedules on Tuesday. Washburn Rural closed out its pre-holiday slate with a 67-45 loss to undefeated Kapaun Mt. Carmel while Junction City, ranked No. 6 in Class 6A by the KBCA, took a 55-51 overtime win over Bishop Carroll in its 2023 finale. Junior Kaden Ballard leads Washburn Rural with an 11.6 scoring average while
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The 2024 portion of the Shawnee County high school basketball season cranks up in a hurry, with all 10 county schools in action this week, beginning with a pair of Centennial League games on Tuesday, Jan. 2.
Here's a glance at all of this week's girls games involving county teams:
TUESDAY
Junior Brylee Meier is averaging team-highs of 16 points and 7.6 rebounds for 5-0 Hayden. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
EMPORIA GIRLS (5-1 overall, 0-0 Centennial) at HAYDEN (5-0 overall, 0-0 Centennial)
The Spartans and Wildcats open Centennial League play Tuesday night while meeting for the second time this season. Hayden took a 50-45 win over in the Paul Terry Classic at Emporia in early Dec., handing the Spartans their lone loss in a 5-1 start. Emporia wrapped up the 2023 portion of its schedule with a 43-29 win over Great Bend while Hayden rolled to a 61-7 non-league decision over Kansas City-Ward in its '23 finale. Junior Brylee Meier is averaging a team-high 16 points and 7.6 rebounds for Hayden while Kaliya Fulton averages 10.6 points, Norma Greco 9.2 and Lauren Sandstrom 8.4 points. Fulton averages 3.8 assists. Hayden is ranked No. 2 in Class 3A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association while Emporia is No. 6 in 5A.
Freshman Maddie Vickery (right) is averaging 15 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks for Washburn Rural. [File photo/TSN]
WASHBURN RURAL GIRLS (4-1 overall, 0-0 Centennial) at JUNCTION CITY (0-6 overall, 0-0 Centennial)
Washburn Rural, ranked No. 6 in Class 6A by the KBCA, will put a three-game win streak on the line in its Centennial League opener while Junction City is still looking for its first win as it opens league play. Freshman Maddie Vickery leads the Junior Blues with a 15-point scoring average, 8.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. Senior Zoe Canfield is averaging 14.5 points and 2.5 assists while junior Kate Hinck is averaging 4.0 steals. Washburn Rural wrapped up 2023 with a 52-26 win over Kapaun Mt. Carmel while Junction City dropped a 58-10 decision to Bishop Carroll in its final game before the holdays.
THURSDAY
Freshman Ahsieryrhuajh Rayton leads Topeka High with a 13.2 scoring average. [File photo/TSN]
TOPEKA HIGH GIRLS (2-4 overall) at BLUE VALLEY NORTHWEST (3-1 overall)
Topeka High closed out its pre-holday slate with a 40-33 non-league win over Bonner Springs while Northwest took a 46-45 win over Lee's Summit North, Mo. in its final game of 2023. Freshman Ahsieryrhuajh Rayton averages a team-high 13.2 points for Topeka High
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Six champions County football standouts and two local coaches have been selected to play in the 51st annual Kansas Shrine Bowl, which will be played June 29 in Emporia at Welch Stadium.
Hayden's Carter Charvat and Finn Dunshee, Rossville Barrett Lietz, Seaman's Callen Barta, Shawnee Heights' Christian Gonzales and Washburn Rural's JC Heim have been selected to play for the East while Shawnee Heights coach Jason Swift and Washburn Rural coach Steve Buhler have been named to serve as assistant coaches for the East.
Charvat, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound lineman and Dunshee, a 5-10, 185-pound running back, helped lead Hayden to a 12-1 record and a runnerup finish in Class 3A in the 2023 season.
Rossville's Lietz is a 6-1, 235-pound lineman while Seaman's Barta is a 6-2, 180-pound receiver/defensive back, Shawnee Heights' Gonzales a 6-1, 270-pound lineman and Rural's JC Heim a 6-3, 220-pound linebacker.
Lietz started as a sophomore on the Bulldawgs' Class 2A state championship team in 2021 and helped Rossville post a 5-4 record in '23 while Barta, a Kansas State recruit, helped lead Seaman to a 6-5 record and the 5A quarterfinals this past fall, Gonzales helped Heights post an 8-3 record and the 5A quarterfinals and Heim helped lead Rural to an 11-1 record and the 6A semifinals.
All six local players were named to the TopSports.news All-Shawnee County Top 22 for the 2023 season, with Heim named the county defensive player of the year.
Shawnee County Shrine Bowl selections at a glance:
