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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Even though Cole Schumacher was a key contributor on back-to-back state championship teams at Rossville, he had to start all over again when he joined the Emporia State football team as a walk-on in the fall of 2017.
Emporia State six-year senior receiver Cole Schumacher is excited to have one last season in a Hornet uniform this fall. [Photo courtesy of Emporia State Athletics]
Fast forward to 2022 and the 6-foot-1, 193-pound six-year senior wide receiver is getting set to wrap up a very solid college career that has made Schumacher, as well as ESU head coach Garin Higgins, very proud.
"He's earned everything that he's got here,'' Higgins said. "I saw him in camp the summer before his senior year and thought he did a good job and I remember going to see him at Rossville High School and talking to him about walking on. I think sometimes you can tell whether or not a kid really cares about Emporia State and I could tell that he did at that time and he wanted to be a part of our football sprogram.
"We gave him an opportunity and he's made the best of it.''
Schumacher, Emporia State's second-leading receiver in 2021 with 40 receptions for 406 yards and three touchdowns, is also proud of what he's been able to accomplish in a Hornet uniform.
"As a Hornet one of our sayings, part of our DNA, is, 'We earn everything,' and I really took that to heart and I've been able to earn the things I've been given here,'' Schumacher said. "I'm very grateful for it and it's exciting. I'm very proud of it.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University women's soccer will open its 2022 season at home Thursday with a 7 p.m. non-conference contest against Oklahoma Baptist.
Washburn University's soccer team will open its 2022 season at home Thursday against Oklahoma Baptist at Yager Stadium. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods return 13 players from its 2021 team that posted a 9-7-2 reord while adding eight freshmen and three transfers.
Washburn, which reached the quarterfinals of the MIAA tournament last season, will be looking to win its season-opening game for the second straight year.
Coach Davy Phillips is starting his sixth season at Washburn, which was voted eighth in the MIAA preseason coaches poll, while this season marks the 20th season of soccer at WU.
The program's overall record is 137-137-44 and 83-110-27 in MIAA play.
The Ichabods' 6-1-2 home record in 2021 was the school's best home record since the 2009 squad went 7-2. Washburn finished last season in sixth place in the MIAA with a 5-5-1 record.
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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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You don't graduate nearly 30 seniors and not feel it, a fact no one knows better than 20-year Shawnee Heights head football coach Jason Swift.
But while the T-Birds aren't loaded with a ton of experience, Swift is counting on the veterans the T-Birds do have, as well the momentum gained from a strong second half of the 2021 season, to make Heights a competitive team on Friday nights.
Shawnee Heights head football coach Jason Swift, who is starting his 20th year at the school, is counting on a small but experienced group of seniors to lead the T-Birds to success this fall. [File photo/TSN]
"Losing 27 seniors and bringing in 10 seniors it looks like (we're short of experience) on paper, but a lot of our 10 seniors had roles with us on Friday night and several of them have two years of starting experience,'' said Swift, whose T-Birds are coming off a 5-5 season.
"We have several senior starters coming back and then we started seven sophomores last year, so even though we lost 27 seniors I think we have some experience. I just don't have a great deal of experience.''
And Swift doesn't want to downplay the fact that Heights has holes to fill this fall.
"We're returning five or six starters on both sides of the ball so we're middle of the road, but we lost a lot of awfully good football players,'' he said. "With 10 seniors I would say a majority of our starters will be juniors.''
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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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Jared Swafford was very pleased with how Year 1 as Seaman's head football coach went.
The Vikings posted a respectable 6-4 record and were competitive from start to finish.
Seaman football coach Jared Swafford demonstrates a technique to his Vikings during a preason practice. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But Swafford admits there's just a higher comfort level this fall as he and the Vikings begin a new year.
"There definitely is,'' Swafford. "I think from just even the kids' standpoint I can see that. They're more familiar with the way that things are going to operate now and practice procedures, offfseason procedures, all those types of things.
"That allows our older guys to now help lead the younger guys. We didn't necessarily have that last year. Not the kids' fault, but it was new to everybody. Now we have that level of comfort for everybody I think and you get into practice and things just kind of start to run themselves. There's always hiccups, but we feel really good about it right now.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Jacob Anderson
Jacob Anderson, Seaman
Anderson, a junior, is being counted on by new Seaman coach Tim Nussbaum to make an immediate impact for the Vikings in the 2022 season, coming over to the soccer program this fall after playing football a year ago.
Easton Bradstreet
Easton Bradstreet, Washburn Rural
A senior, Bradstreet helped the Junior Blues post a 19-1-0 record, including a runner-up finish in Class 6A and a 27th straight Centennial League championship (outright or shared) last fall. Bradstreet received first-team All-Centennial League recognition and All-City honorable mention after scoring 17 goals and dishing out eight assists.
Chris Brown
Chris Brown, Topeka High
Brown was named the Centennial League newcomer of the year as a freshman. A forward, Brown earned second-team All-Centennial League recognition and received All-City honorable mention.
Vellamy Diaz, Highland Park
Diaz, a senior forward, was a first-team All-City and All-Centennial League selection for Highland Park as a junior.
Jordan Garvin
Jordan Garvin, Shawnee Heights
Garvin helped Shawnee Heights win the United Kansas Conference championship last fall with a 9-1 record, earning second-team All-UKC honors. Garvin received All-City honorable mention.
Isaac Gonzalez-Talavera
Isaac Gonzalez-Talavera, Topeka West
Gonzalez-Talavera, who earned All-Centennial League honorable mention last season as a sophomore, will be counted on to provide leadership for the Chargers, who will be looking to take a step forward this fall after going 0-15-1 a year ago.
Chris Hayes
Chris Hayes, Hayden
A senior, Hayes helped the Wildcats reach the Class 4A state quarterfinals last fall, earning second-team All-Centennial League recognition and All-City honorable mention.
