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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights was down, but certainly not out in Friday's United Kansas Conference clash with city rival Seaman at Wetter Field.
Down by 21 points early in the third quarter, the T-Birds mounted an impressive comeback, capped by a 10-yard touchdown run from senior quarterback Ryeki Tuley that gave Shawnee Heights a 33-30 overtime win over the Vikings.
Shawnee Heights senior Jayden Holly heads upfield after hauling in a pass from T-Bird quarterback Ryeki Tuley Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Shawnee Heights sophomore David Wakes looks for running room Friday night against Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"We had a designed QB keeper to the left side and I had my running back blocking for me and he told me to just hit that edge and go,'' Tuley said. "I had some fantastic blocking by my tight end and my running back and it was wide open. Anybody could have ran it in, really. It was fantastic.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Freshman Ty Weber didn't know exactly what to expect when he got called into Washburn University head football coach Craig Schurig's office a couple of weeks ago.
Ty Weber
But that meeting ended up providing the former Washburn Rural star linebacker with a fast track to the Ichabod starting lineup on the other side of the ball at tight end.
"Coach Schurig called me into his office and I went in and honestly at first I was a little scared,'' Weber admitted. "I didn't know what I was getting called in for, but he told me, 'We have some injuries and we need somebody to play the spot.' He said he liked my physicality and he thought I'd be good for the position.
"He kind of explained to me what I needed to do and I got a crash course in it and that's how I came to be a tight end. He gave me the decision and I told him I would do whatever I could to get on the field.''
The quick switch ended up with the 6-foot-3, 225-pounder in Washburn's lineup for last Thursday's home game against Missouri Southern and he has continued to get more familiar with the position leading into Saturday night's MIAA contest at Lincoln (6 p.m. kickoff).
"It's been a process, but I've embraced it,'' Weber said. "I've enjoyed the process of becoming a tight end. Coach (Josh) Osborn has helped me a lot to move over and I love the physicality of the position and being able to catch the ball.''
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Though at less than full strength, Topeka High found some positives to take away from a 51-13 non-league defeat at the hands of undefeated Liberal at Hummer Sports Park Thursday.
Topeka High junior Tevante Ewing scored both of the Trojans' touchdowns in Thursday's 51-13 loss to Liberal at Hummer Sports Park. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Trojan head coach Carlos Kelly was unavailable for the game for an undisclosed reason according to Topeka High administrators. Filling his place was assistant Brandon Mitchell.
The Trojans faced a number of obstacles on the night.
Not only was Kelly absent, but Zane Smith, starting quarterback the first two games of the season, was in street clothes on the sideline. Star defensive end BJ Canady exited the game early, apparently due to injury.
“We got a couple of big-game guys who weren’t able to go for us,” Mitchell said. “We were missing our starting linebacker and a starting defensive lineman. That really hurts defensively. And on offense, we were trying some different things out, had some different guys at different positions. We have quarterback issues with our quarterback being out.
“It’s just one of those things. You just live with what you have. We rolled with it.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights boys soccer coach Nic Simons felt like his team was knocking at the door for most of Thursday's United Kansas Conference match at Seaman.
Shawnee Heights junior Owen Phillips (middle) is mobbed by his teammates after scoring the T-Birds' first goal in a 3-0 United Kansas Conference soccer win at Seaman. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
And although it took longer than Simons would have preferred, the T-Birds finally knocked the door down, scoring all three of their goals over the final 16:43 to take a 3-0 shutout win over the host Vikings.
"The whole game we thought we were kind of just knocking on the door,'' Simons said. "We had a couple of goals called out of the net that were offside and at halftime we told the boys, 'Keep battling, keep battling.' We've been injured for the first part of the season and I think the boys just kind of came out ready to work and I really felt like tonight, especially in the second half, we just out-worked them.''
Shawnee Heights sophomore Juan Garcia is congratulated by his teammates after giving the T-Birds a 2-0 lead in Thursday's 3-0 soccer win at Seaman. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Shawnee Heights, which improved to 2-4-0, got the only goal it would need with just under 17 minutes remaining on a shot from junior Owen Phillips and added insurance goals from sophomore Juan Garcia and junior Jackson Freeman over fhe final four and a half minutes.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Faith Rottinghaus will go down in history as one of the all-time best in Washburn University's proud volleyball history, earning All-American honors and playing for a national title with the Ichabods.
Former Shawnee Heights multi-sport standout Taylor Rottinghaus has made a major contribution as a freshman for Washburn volleyball, which opens MIAA play Friday and Saturday at Lee Arena. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Freshman Taylor Rottinghaus has played in all seven matches for 6-1 Washburn, leading the Ichabods with 80 digs and adding 15 assists. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But just a few matches into her freshman season, Faith's younger sister Taylor is well on her way to carving out her own niche at Washburn.
Both Faith and Taylor were three-sport standouts at Shawnee Heights and the two both play the same position, defensive specialist/libero, in volleball.
That makes comparisons between the sisters inevitable, but WU coach Chris Herron said he does his best to avoid such talk.
"I've got to be honest with you, it would be unfair to anybody,'' Herron said. "We never try to compare kids but everybody's going to do that because her sister was not just good, she was great, and going to be a Hall of Fame player.
"But this kid's as athletic or more athletic than any libero we've ever had. She can go get balls, she's ridiculously fast and she's fearless. I don't want to (compare) because she's her own athlete, but she's just as good an athlete as Faith and that's saying something.''
Taylor Rottinghaus said she appreciates her coaches and others involved with Washburn volleyball letting her find her own way.
"They've done a really good job,'' Taylor said. "They talk to me about (Faith) in a different aspect. They'll check up on her and everything but when it's on the court it's Taylor Rottinghaus, it's not Faith Rottinghaus.
"That's really nice because I went to the same high school as her and it was always Faith's little sister, and coming here I was expecting it to be Faith's little sister or Faith's mini-me, but they've done a really good job of making it Taylor Rottinghaus.''
