Chiefs great, NFL Hall of Famer Will Shields cherishes Kansas ties, Kansas Sports Hall of Fame honor
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
In the mind of Kansas City Chiefs’ great Will Shields, he isn’t being inducted to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame on a technicality.
Former Chiefs great Will Shields (68) will be inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame on Oct. 13 in Topeka. [Photo courtesy of Kansas Sports Hall of Fame]
Born at Fort Riley in 1971, he spent just the first two years of his life there while his father was stationed at the Army base in the early 1970s before moving out of state. He gained fame as a football player on teams in Oklahoma, Nebraska and Missouri.
But Shields is quick to point out that, though the Chiefs technically are based in Missouri, he lived in Kansas throughout his NFL career and continues to make Kansas his home.
Shields spent most of his youth in Lawton, Okla. and is a member of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. His number is retired by the University of Nebraska, where he was a highly decorated offensive lineman. But when he was drafted by the Chiefs in 1993, he put down roots in Kansas and currently resides in the Overland Park area.
“It’s a great thing for the place where you were born to give you that recognition. But also, the cool thing about it is that I feel like I am a Kansan because I spent over 30 years of my life in Kansas, including when I played (in the NFL),” Shields said. “The biggest part of my life was spent there and I’m part of the fabric of the community. My kids were born there and that’s where you built your adult life. That’s a deeper-rooted thing than just saying ‘I was born here.’ ”
Shields’ affinity for the Army in general, and Fort Riley specifically, is deep. He is proud of his father’s military service and he credits his mother for leading the family in Lawton while his father served three years in Germany.
“Outside my house, I have Big Red One rock which reminds me of where I was born,” Shields said. “That’s part of the lineage piece of where you came from. I’m proud to be part of the military world.”
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Topeka West Charger football team will continue to hunt for its first win of the season after dropping a meeting with undefeated Basehor-Linwood 59-6 Thursday at Hummer Sports Park.
Topeka West celebrates a big play in Thursday's 59-6 UKC loss to undefeated Basehor-Linwood. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The fifth loss in as many tries ensures the character building will continue for at least another week for the Chargers.
“We knew coming in that this wasn’t an easy turnaround,” said Topeka West coach Trey Parker. “The kids knew. We sat them down and told them it wouldn’t be easy to get where we want to be. But they’re bought in, and they understand that it’s a process.
“Obviously, right now we’re not seeing what we want to see, but we’ll get there soon. I think the kids are starting to see that.”
The Bobcats controlled Thursday’s contest from the outset, scoring on their first play from scrimmage on a long pass. They added scores on another pass, a long run play, and a field goal in the first half to lead 24-0.
The highlight of the night for the Chargers came early in the second half. Topeka High scored on a long pass from quarterback Jacob Brewster to a streaking Alesecio Batson, who finished a 79-yard scoring play.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
A crowded Hummer Sports Park buzzed with a playoff atmosphere Thursday as ascending Topeka soccer teams Topeka High and Topeka West collided. The Chargers claimed the meeting of familiar rivals, 2-1.
Topeka West freshman Valentin Del Real (3) celebrates the Chargers' first goal in Thursday's 2-1 soccer win over USD 501 rival Topeka High. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Topeka West jumped out to an early lead when freshman Valentin Del Real launched a blast from well outside the penalty box that slid just past the fingertips of the Trojan goalkeeper.
Senior LaRon Fulton (3) scored Topeka High's lone goal in Thursday's 2-1 loss to city rival Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Topeka High answered in short order when senior LaRon Fulton played a rebound into the net to tie the score.
It was the Chargers who recorded a second score before intermission.
Sophomore Diego Gonzalez-Talavera received a pass from Del Real and punched home what wound up being the deciding goal.
“Our guys are capable of this kind of play, and I think they’re finally starting to find the back of the net and finishing,” said Charger coach Josh Kutter.
Topeka West improved to 6-2, one win shy of last year’s total.
Gonzalez-Talavera said the Chargers feel the momentum growing.
“Obviously, it’s a good win against our rivals. We came out and showed them how we can play,” the sophomore captain said. “People don’t expect much from us because we’re Topeka West and we don’t have a great history. But now that we’re building up the team year by year, it’s beginning to look better for us and we’re starting to win more games.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
There were a lot of things that veteran Washburn University football coach Craig Schurig felt good about in the wake of last Saturday's 24-16 MIAA road win at Missouri Western.
Al-Mani Jimerson and the Washburn defense gave up just one touchdown last week at Missouri Western as the Ichabods earned their first win with a 24-16 MIAA decision over the Griffons. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
But the thing that Schurig cherished the most was seeing the pure joy his players exemplified after notching their first victory of the season.
"It was cool seeing our players excited after a game because they've been dejected,'' Schurig said. "And that's one of the joys of coaching is seeing your guys excited and smiling after a game.
"That's probably the thing you miss the most, to see them happy after a game, because they had played hard and when you don't get the reward you're not happy. We still made some mistakes but had enough in us to finish it off. We rose up and made the necessary plays, so that's good for our confidence.''
Redshirt freshman noseguard Al-Mani Jimerson agreed with his coach that finding a way to win was huge for the Ichabods.
"It definitely was great, finally getting over that hilltop,'' said Jimerson, a St. Louis, Mo. native. "But we know we're not satisfied. We've still got more to go. We've still got a tough schedule, we've still got to finish the season so this is just one game of many that's going to come.''
"I felt really good about the game,'' added Ichabod sophomore receiver Maury Sullivan, who also hails from St. Louis. "I felt like we responded to going down (10-7 at halftime) very well because a lot of times when you go down it's easy to put our heads down and get under a rock but I thought we responded pretty well and came out the second half striking.''
Now the Ichabods will be aiming to continue their turnaround in Saturday's 3 p.m. MIAA game against Northwest Missouri State in Yager Stadium, part of Washburn's Hall of Fame Day.
Washburn is 1-3 overall and 1-2 in the MIAA) entering Saturday's game while the Bearcats are 3-2, 3-1 in the MIAA after topping No. 11-ranked Emporia State 14-9 for their third straight win last week.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Finally getting a chance to play in the friendly confines of Lee Arena was worth the wait for the Washburn University volleyball team.
Washburn University volleyball celebrates a point in Thursday's 3-1 MIAA win over Pittsburg State at Lee Arena. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Playing at home after 12 straight matches on the road in front of a spirited crowd of 953 Thursday night, the Ichabods delivered a 3-1 MIAA win over Pittsburg State.
"The crowd was awesome,'' Washburn coach Chris Herron said. "Wow! There were like 1,000 people here and it was crazy.
"Our freshmen were like, 'Holy cow! This is amazing.' It was a ton of fun.''
Ichabod senior standout Jalyn Stevenson agreed.
"It was amazing,'' Stevenson said. "It feels like it's been forever. It definitely took a toll on us starting off with the entire first month of our season being away and especially with so many tournaments, but this was really great.
"Our student section brings so much energy and having our fans here and our families it's a great feeling.''
Each of the first two sets went to Washburn (10-3 overall, 1-2 MIAA). 25-16 and 25-15, before the Gorillas (6-7, 1-2) got on the board with a 28-26 third-set victory. The Ichabods then closed out their first MIAA victory of the season with a dominating 25-15 win in the fourth set.
