- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Editor's note: TopSports.news has finished its tour of preseason football practices at all 10 Shawnee County high schools and will post preview stories over the coming days leading into the opening games of the 2023 season Sept. 1.
-----------------------------------------
As a former college football standout at Washburn University and an assistant high school coach, Trey Parker earned the reputation as being enthusastic and fiercely positive.
Topeka West football coach Trey Parker demonstrates a drill during a Charger preseason practice. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Trey Parker takes over as Topeka West's head football coach this season after serving as interim coach over the final three games of the 2022 season. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
As Topeka West's third head football coach in three seasons, Parker knows he'll need to use those skills this fall.
"We're ready to get this thing started and positivity is the word of the day,'' Parker said. "I'm just happy to be here. "I'm just happy to be alive and happy to be out here helping to try and change lives.
"We know this thing is going to take awhile to get it turned around and we knew that from the get go so that's not a shock to anyone. We want to be positive day-in and day-out.''
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden High's soccer boys team improved to 2-0 on the young 2023 season with its second non-league win in four days, blanking Ottawa 2-0 Monday at Hayden.
The Wildcats, who opened their season with a win over Topeka West last Friday, scored a goal in each half to take the win over Ottawa.
Hayden sophomore J.P. Ayella scored the game-winning goal in Monday's 2-0 non-league soccer win over Ottawal [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Hayden sophomore J.P. Ayella (left) is congratulated by his teammates after scoring the first goal in Monday's 2-0 non-league soccer win over Ottawal [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Sophomore forward J.P. Ayella scored the only goal Hayden would need at the 8:53 mark of the first half to give the Wildcats a 1-0 halftime edge.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Corrinne (Stringer) McGreevy played in 100s of big matches as a volleyball star for Hayden and at the Division I and II college level.
But McGreevy was in a whole new position on Monday night, making her debut as the head coach at her alma mater in a dual match at Topeka High.
Former Hayden star Corrinne McGreevy made a triumphant debut as the Wildcats' volleyball coach Monday night, with Hayden taking a 3-0 dual win at Topeka High. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"I was more nervous than any high school game or college volleyball game,'' McGreevy said. " I'm not going to lie, more nervous than I ever have been.in volleyball.''
Fortunately for McGreevy, her Hayden team did its best to put her nerves at ease, rolling to a 25-10, 25-23, 25-10 dual win over Centennial League foe Topeka High.
"We're getting to know each other and building that trust and they had to see me on the sidelines as their coach, like, 'How's she going to be?' '' McGreevy said. "I know I can be a little fiery, a little nutty, but I mean well.
"We all have to trust each other and connect and that's what it's about is trust because when you can trust each other and you want those people in your foxhole, good things are going to happen.''
Hayden celebrates its 25-10 first-set victory over Topeka High in Monday's 3-0 dual sweep over the Trojans. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Hayden rolled to wins in the first and third sets, but the Wildcats' most impressive win might have come in the middle set as McGreevy's team rallied 17-11 and 19-15 deficits to pull out the win and take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Former Hayden football standout Brent Peavler has had to wait his turn for the Washburn University defense, but now it's Peavler turn.
Former Hayden standout linebacker Brent Peavler (33) will open his senior season for Washburn University Thursday night at Pittsburg State. [File photo/TSN]
The 6-foot-2, 225-pound linebacker, who will kick off his sixth year in the Ichabod program Thursday night at Pittsburg State, has appeared in 25 games while collecting 52 tackles and 23 solo stops while being used primarily in a reserve role.
But with Washburn graduating multiple linebackers, including first-team All-American Grant Bruner, Peavler will get his opportunity to be a marquee player for the Ichabods.
"It's been a long five years, coming up on six now, and I had to wait behind three All-Americans, which is good,'' the 23-year-old Peavler said. "Washburn is known for having really good linebackers and hopefully this year I can prove some people wrong and show that maybe I should have been playing a little bit earlier.
"We lost Bruner and we lost D-Mac (Derrick McClendon) and it's going to be me and it's going to be some younger guys that haven't had a lot of reps so it's up to us. We're big communicators on the back end so it will be up to us to communicate and really just step right into it, especially the younger guys, and get this thing going right away with Pitt.''
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Editor's note: TopSports.news has finished its tour of preseason football practices at all 10 Shawnee County high schools and will post preview stories over the coming days leading into the opening games of the 2023 season Sept. 1.
-----------------------------------------
If there was a high school football team in Kansas that had a tougher schedule than Topeka High did last fall they'll have to prove it to Trojan coach Carlos Kelly.
Carlos Kelly's Topeka High Trojans will be looking to improve on last fall's 1-8 record despite an extremely tough '23 schedule. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
And Topeka High, coming off a 1-8 season in 2022 while facing teams that posted a 72-29 combined record, will face that same gauntlet of a schedule this fall.
"We open up the season in Weeks 1 and 2 with the 2022 (Class) 5A state runnerup, Maize (12-1), and 6A state champion Manhattan (13-0),'' Kelly said.
The Trojans will also take on Hays (10-2 last fall), Washburn Rural (8-3), Wichita Northwest (8-3) and Junction City (7-3).
But although he knows the Trojans will face a tough challenge again this fall, Kelly is counting on four-year starters BJ Canady and Isaiah Kincade to lead the way as Topeka High aims to make progress in '23.
"It's still going to be a tough season but BJ and Isaiah and guys like that are really hungry,'' said Kelly, who is starting his fourth season as High's head coach. "This senior class, and there's very few of them, there's like four, but those four have have pulled the younger classes together so we had a really, really great summer.
"We were able to take 38 kids to Pitt State (camp) and that was a great experience because they were automatically thrown into the fire against teams like Bartlesville, Okla. and all those schools that already have spring ball and we step off the bus with only two practices. A lot of daubers went down and heads went down, but we just had to pick ourselves up. We had three days there and it gave them a good wakeup call about how they needed to prepare this summer.''
