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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University mounted a furious comeback in the fifth set against No. 5 Nebraska-Kearney Friday night but was turned away at the last moment as the Lopers won in five sets.
Taylor Rottinghaus had 40 digs in Washburn's five-set loss to Nebraska-Kearney Friday night. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods will wrap up their home schedule on Saturday in Lee Arena against Fort Hays State on Senior Day, with first serve at 6 p.m.
After Washburn (18-5 overall, 9-5 MIAA) took the first set 25-23, Nebraska Kearney (25-1, 12-1) battled back to take the next two sets, 25-21 and 25-23. The Ichabods had the largest margin of victory for either team in the fourth set, winning 25-19, before falling 15-12 in the fifth.
The Lopers won the first point of the match before the next four went to Washburn beginning with two kills by Bella Limback.
The Ichabods stayed in front until a 3-0 run by Nebraska Kearney put them on top, 14-13. Both sides traded from there until it was 23-22 with the visitors in front.
A service error and an attack error brought it to set point for Washburn and Alex Dvorak and Taryn Pridgett wasted no time putting the win away with a block for a 25-23 win.
In the second set it was the Lopers that jumped ahead early, leading 7-2.
Two straight kills by Jalyn Stevenson sparked a 5-0 run that would pull Washburn within one at 11-10.
Just like the first set both sides created little separation through the middle of the set. The second time around both teams hit under .100 as a team while slashing over .200 in the first. Stevenson tied the set at 21 with a kill but from there it was all Lopers with four straight points to take it.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Hayden coach Bill Arnold had just one admonishment for his team Friday night.
“No more sliding on the field! We have to play another game on it!” the coach said, putting a halt to the scrum in the end zone following Hayden’s 49-0 washout of visiting Girard.
Junior Kade Mitchell rushed for 95 yards and scored two touchdowns in Hayden's 49-0 Class 3A playoff win over Girard. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior Jensen Schrickel (9) rushed for 108 yards and scored three touchdowns in Friday's 49-0 Hayden playoff win over Girard. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
With the announcement over the public address system that Perry-Lecompton had defeated Frontenac, the Wildcats knew they would play at home again next Friday against the Kaws.
A steady rain increased in intensity throughout the night, but it didn’t slow the Wildcats, who outrushed their opponent 328 yards to 95.
“We don’t really think about the weather. We just come out and play,” said junior running back Kade Mitchell, who bookended the scoring for the Wildcats. He opened the game with a 22-yard touchdown run and finished the romp with a 20-yard run in the fourth period.
The Wildcats, seeded third in the East side of the Class 3A bracket, didn’t give an inch to Girard, which came to Topeka as the sixth seed. Besides shutting down the Trojans’ run game, Hayden held Girard to just 25 yards passing and intercepted two of the Trojans’ passes.
“I thought our kids came out and executed early,” Arnold said. “I thought we did a good job of bottling them up defensively. We did a much better job tackling.”
Senior Broderick Desch scored a TD for Hayden in the Wildcats' 49-0 Class 3A playoff win over Girard. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden senior quarterback Jett Wahlmeier (7) ran for a touchdown and threw for a TD in Friday's 49-0 win over Girard. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Multi-purpose star Jensen Schrickel rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns and also caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Jett Wahlmeier. Mitchell added 95 yards rushing. Fullback Broderick Desch contributed 44 yards rushing and a touchdown, and Wahlmeier scampered 25 yards for another score.
Winning so handily left Arnold without a lot to complain about.
“When we get back and watch film, trust me, I know we made some mistakes out there,” Arnold said. “But if you get a 49-0 win in a playoff game, it feels good.”
Perry-Lecompton, the 10th seed in the East, upset second-seeded Frontenac 28-22, setting up a rematch with the Wildcats. Hayden handled the Kaws 50-16 on Oct. 18.
“Perry has gotten better,” Arnold said. “They’ve played two really good games back-to-back now. And we’ve got a long, outstanding history against them.”
The Wildcats are on a mission to return to the 3A state championship game, where they fell to Cheney 34-7 in a blizzard last season.
“We want to get back to the state championship,” Mitchell said. “We came up short last year, but nothing is going to get in our way this year. We’ve got everything that it takes. We’ve just got to trust each other, and everything is going to fall in line.”
HAYDEN 49, GIRARD 0
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
OK, so not everything went Seaman's way in Friday's second-round Class 5A home playoff game against Valley Center.
The Vikings were hit with nearly 100 yards in penalties, turned the ball over twice, had punts and field goals blocked, gave up a 65-yard pass play and had to deal with intermittent rain throughout the contest.
Seaman senior quarterback Max Huston ran for 117 yards and four TDs and passed for 272 yards and a TD in the Vikings' 43-16 win over Valley Center. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But those things were little more than an annoyance as Seaman opened up a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter on the way to a decisive 43-16 victory over the Hornets, earning a 5A regional title and advancing to the state quarterfinals for the second straight season.
"That's playoff football at its finest,'' Seaman coach Jared Swafford said. "It would be great if every game was perfectly clean and everything went the way you wanted it to, but the kids handled plenty of adversity and did a nice job.
"Give (Valley Center) credit, they're a tough team, but I'm really proud of our guys for finding a way to do enough to get a win.''
Now 8-2 on the season, No. 3 West seed Seaman will travel to Goddard next Friday to face No. 2 seed Eisenhower, a 37-26 winner over Maize South on Thursday night.
Seaman junior Kaden McKinney rushed for 114 yards and a TD in Friday's 43-16 Class 5A playoff win over Valley Center. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Max Huston (7) celebrates one of his four TDs with Bryer Finley (1) in Friday's 43-16 Class 5A regional playoff win over Valley Center. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Seaman senior quarterback Max Huston had a huge night for the Vikings, completing 16 of 25 passes for 272 yards and a touchdown and carrying the ball 14 times for 117 yards and four TDs while junior Kaden McKinney also went over the 100-yard mark with 114 yards and a TD on 28 attempts.
Valley Center (3-7) kept Seaman senior receiving star Bryer Finley relatively in check for much of the night, but Finley still had five catches for 95 yards.
Junior Cameron Brian (6) celebrates a big defensive play in Seaman's 43-16 Class 5A playoff win over Valley Center. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Defensively the Vikings forced three Hornet turnovers and came up with three fourth-down stops while holding the visitors to 50 rushing yards on 23 attempts.
While happy with the win Huston said there's still plenty of room for improvement as the Vikings move on in the playoffs.
"I thought we did pretty good, not our best yet, not even close to our best yet,'' Huston said. "We had way too many penalties and mistakes that we could fix as we keep going in the playoffs.
"I would just say I'm proud of my guys and we're going to keep going.''
Seaman never trailed after driving 80 yards in nine plays on its opening drive for a 1-yard Huston TD run (Ethan Geiger kick).
The Vikings made it a 14-0 game at the 5:13 mark of the first quarter on a 39-yard TD strike from Huston to junior Jayden Evans (Geiger kick) and went up 21-0 at the 9:38 mark of the second quarter on a 51-yard gallop from Huston (Geiger kick).
Valley Center got on the scoreboard midway through the second stanza on a 27-yard TD pass from senior Connor Meyer to sophomore Ray J Logan (CJ Gonzalez kick) and cut its deficit to 21-10 on a 33-yard Gonzalez field goal at the 5:12 mark of the third quarter.
But that's as close as the Hornets would get as Huston scored on 4 and 8-yard runs to put Seaman in command 35-10 with 5:22 remaining.
Valley Center used a 65-yard pass play from Meyer to Logan to set up a 5-yard TD run from junior Rylan Bailey (conversion failed) before Seaman got its final TD of the night on a 8-yard McKinney run after a 42-yard pass completion from Huston to Finley. Junior Kevin Moe ran for the 2-point conversion after a mishandled snap on the extra point try to give the Vikings their final margin.
SEAMAN 43, VALLEY CENTER 16
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The No. 10-ranked Washburn University men's basketball team opened its 2024-25 season with an 89-71 win over Sioux Falls Friday in Kansas City, Mo. as the Ichabods put six players in double figures in the win.
Washburn senior Michael Keegan slams down a dunk in the Ichabods' 89-71 season-opening win over Sioux Falls Friday. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn returns to Kansas City on Saturday to face No. 1-ranked Minnesota State, the defending Division II national champion.
The Ichabods jumped out to a 12-2 lead 3:13 into the game after Andrew Orr scored his sixth point of the night en route to a game-high 21 points on 9 of 11 shooting.
Washburn stretched the lead to as many as 21 with under three minutes to go at 49-28 before taking a 54-37 advantage into the break.
In the second half, the Ichabods (1-0) stretched their lead to as many as 25 twice during the frame en route to the 18-point win, improving to 3-0 against the Cougars all-time.
Orr scored 14 of his 21 points in the first half. He was followed followed by Jack Bachelor with 16 points, Brady Christiansen and Dillon Claussen with 12, Michael Keegan with 11 points and Jacob Hanna with 10.
Hanna and Christiansen each had nine rebounds and Hanna added five assists. Christiansen had five steals as the Ichabods had 14 in the game compared to seven for Sioux Falls (0-1).
Brandon Hrncir had 16 to lead the Cougars.
Washburn finished 32 of 67 from the field and 6 of 17 from deep hitting 19 of 23 free throw attempts. USF was 27 of 56 overall and 7 of 18 from 3-point range. Washburn also held a 40 to 30 advantage on the glass and outscored the Cougars 46 to 38 in the paint turning 14 offensive rebounds into 16 second-chance points. Washburn forced 21 Cougar turnovers leading to 26 Ichabod points.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Los Angeles Angels pitcher Ryan Zeferjahn, a former Seaman and Kansas star, will make an appearance on Friday, Nov. 29, at Westridge Mall for a free autograph signing.
Zeferjahn, who made his Major League debut this past season for the Angels, is scheduled to appear from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. at R & D Collectibles in an event sponsored by Par's Sports Cards and R & D Collectibles.
A 2016 Seaman graduate, Zeferjahn was a multi-sport for the Vikings, earning All-State honors in baseball and being named the Co-City Player of the Year in basketball as a senior.
Zeferjahn went on to pitch three seasons for KU, earning first-team All-Big 12 honors in his final season for the Jayhawks after posting a 5-2 record with a 3.97 earned run average and 107 strikeouts in 88.1 innings pitched.
Zeferjahn was a third-round pick of the Boston Red Sox and rose to the AAA level before being traded to the Angels on July 30.
The Angels called up Zeferjahn on Aug. 22 from AAA Salt Lake and he made his Major League debut on Aug. 25.
Zeferjahn appeared in 12 games for the Angels as a relief pitcher, recording a 2.12 ERA in 17 innings with 18 strikeouts. He compiled an 0.76 WHIP (walks, hits per innings pitched).
Zeferjahn was picked No. 48 this past summer on TopSports.news' list of the Top 100 athletes in Shawnee County history.
