- 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 2022 season Sept. 1-3.
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Russell Norton was a late hire as Topeka West's football coach, coming on board in early June.
But Norton, who has made several coaching stops at the high school and collegiate level, including Oskaloosa in 2021, hit the ground running and hasn't slowed down as the Chargers get ready to open their first season in the United Kansas Conference.
New Topeka West coach Russell Norton talks to his Chargers during Friday's Prep Football Jamboree at Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Topeka West senior Malachi Berg begins his fourth season as the Chargers' starting quarterback. [File photo/TSN]
"If you stay ready you ain't got to get ready,'' the 42-year-old Norton said. "I was always prepared for this after coaching college football, and this not being my first rodeo, you always are ready if you've got to move.
"I was happy where we were, but some things just changed and when this job came open it looked good.''
Norton gives Topeka West, which is coming off a 3-6 season, credit for giving him complete support as he has transitioned into his new position.
"The staff is what helped us get here,'' Norton said. "Being able to hire good people at a rapid rate, having the administration support us, that's what got us to be able to get where we are today.''
And Norton said he couldn't be happier with how the Charger players have bought in to the new staff.
"They've bought in 100 percent,'' Norton said. "From Day 1, when we walked into the building, you could see it in their faces. Coach (Ryan) Kelly built a great foundation that we're going to reap benefits from, but (the players) could see that I was a little bit different, the staff we hired is just a little bit different.
"Everybody jumps on a change right away whether it's good or bad, but once they saw how it was going they've stayed on it like a starving man on a Christmas ham, so we're good.''
Malachi Berg, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior, headlines Topeka West's returning cast, starting his fourth season as the Chargers' starting quarterback.
Other top returners include senior running back/linebacker Xavier Alexander (6-0, 215) and junior offensive/defensive lineman Kyrece Robinson (6-2, 245).
Berg, Alexander and Robinson all received TopSports.news All-Shawnee County and All-Centennial League honorable mention last season.
Norton is also looking for key contributions from senior receiver Kamen Jones, sophomore receiver Mason Jones and junior offensive/defensive lineman Kris Thomas.
Topeka West will play its first-ever United Kansas Conference game on Sept. 1 at Hummer Sports Park against a very familar opponent, Seaman. The Vikings are also moving to the UKC this fall.
"Our outlook is to be the best we can be,'' Norton said. "We will focus on the little things and the process of being a winner. We are looking to have a clear identity in all three phases of the game.
"We want to compete for all four quarters and not look at the scoreboard.''
TOPEKA WEST
2022 football schedule
(Home games at Hummer Sports Park)
September -- 1 Seaman, 9 Leavenworth, 16 at De Soto, 24 Piper, 30 at Lansing.
October -- 7 at Turner, 14 Shawnee Heights, 21 at Washburn Rural, 28 Playoffs.
Next up: Washburn Rural.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
KEARNEY, Neb. – No. 2-ranked Washburn University volleyball opened the 2022 season with a pair of shutout victories at the Nebraska-Kearney Fall Classic on Friday, with the Ichabods sweeping Central Washington and Minot State.
The Ichabods opened the day with a 25-21, 25-21, 25-15 win over Central Washington before taking a 25-9, 25-12, 25-17 win over Minot State
Jalyn Stevenson
Iyannah Jackson
Washburn will close out its opening weekend of competition on Saturday with matches against Midwestern State and Sioux Falls.
The WU-Central Washington match started out tightly contested with seven lead changes and 12 tied scores in the opening set.
Trailing 15-11, a kill from Halle Meister started a 7-1 run to push the Ichabods in front, 18-16. The Wildcats clawed back and took a one-point advantage at 19-18 and 20-19 when back-to-back kills from Iyannah Jackson and Meister gave Washburn a 21-20 lead.
Central Washington scored only one more point in the set to knot up the score at 21 before the Ichabods rattled off the next four in a row to win, 25-21.
Samatha Moburg was involved in each of the final four points as she recorded three kills and was a part of a block.
The second set got going with more back-and-forth scoring until Washburn broke the 5-5 tie with seven unanswered points and capitalized on four Wildcat errors during that stint.
Although Central Washington trimmed the deficit to two at 14-12, the Ichabods never trailed in the set and captured another 25-21 win.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden's soccer team had to sweat out its season-opener against Topeka West until the final horn sounded, but even though coach Klaus Kreutzer knows his Wildcats have a long ways to go to be the team he wants it to be, Friday's 2-1 home non-league win was a good start in the right direction.
Topeka West's Jaden Patterson (left) and Hayden's Jake Muller (right), who scored a goal, race for the ball in Friday' 2-1 Wildcat win over the Chargers. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Hayden's Easton Blosser (7) and Topeka West's Aden Shaul, who scored the Chargers' lone goal, battle for the ball on the sideline in Friday's 2-1 Hayden win at Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"It's better to look from the top than looking up from the bottom,'' Kreutzer said. "And I thought we worked hard. They didn't necessarily make good decisions, but I thought the effort was OK.
"I think I learned a whole lot because I've got 10 new players.''
Hayden, which advanced to the Class 4A-1A state quarterfinals a year ago, never trailed after a goal from senior Jake Muller at the 14:43 mark of the opening half and the Wildcats protected their 1-0 halftime advantage when sophomore goalkeeper Chase Blaser came up with a save on a Topeka West penalty kick.
- 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 2022 season Sept. 1-3.
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Topeka High football coach Carlos Kelly knows there's sure to be some challenges ahead this fall for a young Trojan team that faces a brutal schedule.
But Kelly, who has just seven seniors on his roster, will be focused on making steady progress as the Trojans try to work towards re-capturing their place as a Centennial League and Class 6A contender.
Third-year Topeka High football coach Carlos Kelly talks with Trojan quarterback Peyton Wheat during a 2021 game. [File photo/TSN]
"We'll have to be patient and our schedule does not allow us any kind of leeway on patience, but at the same time Coach 'A' (Walt Alexander) was here for quite a while and he went through those nicks and bruises at the beginning to get it started off and then they did a really great job,'' said Kelly, a former assistant on Alexander's staff.
"Coach 'A' was a good coach. A lot of people don't give him credit for what he did off the field in the weight room and getting guys to buy in.''
Now Kelly, whose Trojans are coming off a 2-7 campaign, is trying to follow that same blueprint.
"It starts from everywhere and everything has to be on point for a smooth machine to run tip top,'' Kelly said. "Every cog in the machine has to do their part.''
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
When Washburn University soccer got a penalty kick opportunity with just over 10 minutes left in Thursday's season-opener against Oklahoma Baptist, Ichabod coach Davy Phillips wanted Vivian Soto-Herrera to take the shot.
It turns out that Soto-Herrera's teammates and the sophomore midfielder herself wanted that, too, and Soto-Herrera delivered, snaking the PK past OBU goalkeeper Mia Pendleton to give Washburn a 1-0 non-conference victory at Yager Stadium.
Viviana Soto-Herrera (middle) is congratulated by her Washburn soccer teammates after converting a penalty kick to give the Ichabods a 1-0 season-opening win over Oklahoma Baptist Thursday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"I told my assistant (Jessica Hillebert), 'I want Viv on it,' and she said, 'Viv already has it, she already stepped to the spot,' '' Phillips said. "I think everybody knows that Viv is a fantastic finisher, so we felt confident in her.''
"The whole team just pointed at me and I was like, 'OK, I'll take it,' '' Soto-Herrera said.
Soto-Herrera admitted she likes being in that role.
"I do,'' she said. "I have trust in myself.''
Soto-Herrera's penalty kick was the only goal of the night, but the Ichabods took 15 shots to just two by the Lady Bison and WU held an 8-2 edge in shots on goal.
