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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
EMPORIA -- Opening week for Washburn University football got off to a rough start when Ichabod starting sophomore quarterback Sam Van Dyne, who passed for 2,002 yards and 15 touchdowns last fall, was ruled out for Thursday night's season-opener and the foreseeable future with a knee injury.
Washburn junior Jordan Finnesy (1) moves in for the tackle on Emporia State quarterback Gunnar Gundy Thursday night. Gundy passed for 292 yards and three touchdowns while Finnesy was in on seven tackles and had an interception in ESU's 30-14 win. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But the Ichabod defense gave Washburn a chance at an upset when WU held Emporia State without a touchdown until the final play of the third quarter, but the Hornets scored three touchdowns in a span of 8 minutes, 37 seconds to take control in a 30-14 MIAA win at Welch Stadium.
"Defensively, the first half and really the first three quarters, we stiffened when we had to and showed some real toughness and some clutch plays and hit hard,'' Washburn coach Craig Schurig said. "It was good football and then we kind of had some brain lapses in the fourth quarter.
"But we just could never get on track offensively, so we were sputtering around.''
Washburn limited Emporia State, 9-3 a year ago, to just two Caden Dodson field goals -- 29 and 38 yards -- in the opening half and Dodson made it a 9-0 game on Dodson's third field goal of the game at the 12:19 mark of the third quarter after a Washburn turnover.
The Ichabods, looking to bounce back from last fall's 2-9 record, scored the first touchdown of the night with 7:14 left in the third quarter on a 4-yard run from freshman Cam Robinson (Trenton Brehm kick) to cut the Hornets' lead to 9-7, but Emporia State scored the next 21 points of the game to put the game out of reach.
"We had that nice drive and got a touchdown and got it to 9-7 and we felt pretty good but they drove down and scored and we just could never get anything going on offense,'' Schurig said. "We'd have a good play and a bad play and nothing consistent.''
Oklahoma State junior transfer quarterback Gunnar Gundy hit All-American receiver Tyler Kahmann for a 3-yard TD on the final play of the third quarter and hit Ethan Schultze for a 27-yard score with 12:45 remaining and hit Trenden Collins for a 57-yard strike with 6:23 left to put the Hornets in front 30-7. Dodson added the extra point on all three ESU scores.
"We got it done,'' Emporia State coach Garin Higgins said. "We've got a lot of room for improvement, but our kids kept battling and we felt good. Hats off to Washburn. They played their tails off and I knew they would. It was the first game for them, too, as well and it's a good win for our players. I'm proud of them.''
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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 2024 season on Sept. 6.
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Silver Lake football will begin competition in a new league and a new district this fall, but the main focus for the tradition-rich Eagles will continue to be on putting themselves in the Class 2A title picture.
Third-year Silver Lake coach Logan Pegram talks to his Eagles during a preseason practice. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The Eagles, who are coming off an 8-2 record in 2023, are now a member of the 11-school Big East League, which has the potential to be one of the state's premier small-school leagues, and will compete in 2A District 3 but third-year Silver Lake coach Logan Pegram said it will be business usual for his team.
"We're just kind of worried about us,'' said Pegram, a former Silver Lake standout. "Not in a selfish way, but we can only control what we can control and I think our kids are looking foward to the challenge.
"Everybody's like, 'Oh man, that new league you're in,' but KSHSAA kind of dictates our districts and our districts are also no slouch. There's quality teams in there and there's going to be a good team not in the playoff race.''
But as is the case every season, Silver Lake's expectations will remain the same as the Eagles take aim on the ninth state title in program history.
"Our expectations are pretty clear,'' Pegram said. "I think anyone that knows us knows how we define success and our kids know that. We're honest with them and all six of us coaches played here, so we know the expectations and we define success with footballs (state titles) on the fence over there.
"We haven't gotten there yet, but we're going to keep working.''
Logan Pegram's Silver Lake Eagles will be looking to take another step this fall after an 8-2 campaign in 2023. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Silver Lake has posted a 14-5 record over Pegram's first two seasons and the Eagle coach said his team turned in a solid offseason as it looks to take another step this fall.
"We did a great job,'' Pegram said. "We had a lot of kids out here getting better and we had a lot of kids that are stepping up and really embracing the challenge of replacing some of our talented seniors that left.''
Prep parade: Shawnee Heights counting on newcomers to deliver after graduating talented senior class
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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 2024 season on Sept. 6.
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After graduating 20 of 22 starters on offense and defense from last year's 8-3 team, veteran Shawnee Heights coach Jason Swift can either look at the T-Birds' lack of varsity experience as a problem or as an opportunity for those players remaining in the program.
Veteran Shawnee Heights football coach Jason Swift talks to his team after a preseason practice. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Swift, who is starting his 22nd season at Heights, is taking the latter approach.
"We lost all 11 starters on offense and we lost nine starters on defense so we're starting the year with two potential starters that started last year on defense and other than that it's everybody's chance to go find a spot,'' Swift said. "It's an awesome opportunity for all those young guys because now you're not fighting for three or four positions, you're fighting for 20 positions.
"We go by the mantra of, 'Work while you wait,' so they've been waiting for their opportunity and it comes down to how much work they have put in and we're going to see. I'm excited about it.''
Swift feels like the T-Birds set the tone for a productive season with their work in the offseason.
"The way we improved throughout the summer has me feeling really good about the season,'' Swift said. "I think we're going to continually grow because in the summer we strived to get better every day. We had a great turnout in the summer. We had some football opportunities and we had the kids there.
"The buy-in was phenomenal and our growth from May 28th to July 18th was night and day and we expect the same thing from Week 1 to Week 3 to Week 6 and throughout the season.''
Junior Tyren Parker is a top returner for Shawnee Heights, which is coming off an 8-3 season in 2023. [File photo/TSN]
The T-Birds return 20 lettermen, led by returning defensive starters Parker Busenitz, a senior safety, and junior Tyren Parker, a junior defensive back. Heights also returns junior kicker Camden Granado.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Turnpike Tussle is a big game no matter when it's played.
But the fact that Thursday's 7 p.m. Washburn-Emporia State showdown at Welch Stadium is the 2024 season-opener for both schools adds a little extra lustre to the 120th meeting between the two rivals.
Craig Schurig, the winningest football coach in Washburn University history, will begin his 23rd season Thursday night at Emporia State. [File photo/TSN]
"You could play anyone on opening night and you're excited, but Emporia adds excitement and then Emporia's a good football team and they return a lot from last year's team that was one of the best in the conference so you're also anxious for that, too,'' Washburn coach Craig Schurig said. "You put all those things together and it certainly adds to the enthusiasm and that's what these guys want to be involved in so this is exactly what you want.''
Washburn senior defensive back Caeden Spencer agreed that playing the Hornets in the opener adds a different aspect to the rivalry.
"It does feel a little weird,'' Spencer said. "Usually it's midseason -- Week 5, Week 6 -- but starting out with them first it's a pretty exciting first game for us.
"I don't think that there's really a better way to start than to have them first. I haven't beaten Emporia yet in my career and this is the final one, so we've got to get it done.''
Emporia State coach Garin Higgins said that ESU-WU is a highligh no matter when the game is played.
"Whether it's the first game of the year or the 10th game of the year it's still the same,'' Higgins said. "At the beginning of the year, the first game, you're going to get a lot of college students all coming back and they're looking for something to do, 'Well go to the game on Thursday night.' I think there's little added excitement there.
"I like it and I think it's good for Division II football.''
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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 2024 season on Sept. 6.
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At some point in its building process, most every high school football program needs that one signature win that propels it from pretty good to a state contender.
Jared Swafford's Seaman Vikings are coming off a 6-5 record and a trip to the Class 5A state quarterfinals last fall. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Jared Swafford's is hopeful that last season's 31-28 second-round playoff win over No. 1 East seed De Soto was that kind of victory for his Seaman Vikings.
"It had been 2016 since we had gotten past that second round and I think this was one of those things that we can hopefully build off of,'' Swafford said. "It was a close game, we find a way to win, and we did the same thing against Piper at one point, but there were three other games in there (two losses by 3 points and one by 7) where we were close and you get tired of being close and I know the kids do.
"It would have been really easy to shut it down at that point, but they kept working and kept working and kept working and in the playoffs got to see some of that pay off. I think it's somthing to build off of and help motivate kids and just continue to push the program forward.''
Seaman was sitting at 3-4 after a stretch that saw the Vikings drop four of five games, but the Vikings won three of their last four games, with their lone loss coming against 5A champion Mill Valley, to finish at 6-5.
And Swafford, who is entering his fourth season at Seaman, said his Vikings have rode that momentum through the offseason to get ready for the upcoming 2024 campaign.
"It's the most motivated I've ever seen a collective group without a doubt and everybody that's out here now only knows me as a head coach and what we do now, so I think as far as continuing to build and progress in the way we want to they are hungry, they are excited,'' Swafford said. "We have 120 kids out there again, so we've got great numbers and the numbers in the summer were amazing so we've got really good things going and I'm proud of the work ethic that the kids put in.''
