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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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Rossville is facing a lot of new heading into the 2024 football season -- a new league (Big East), a new classification (Class 1A) and an earlier than usual showdown with arch rival Silver Lake.
Derick Hammes' Rossville Bulldawgs make the move to Class 1A and the Big East League this fall. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But veteran coach Derick Hammes said his Bulldawgs are approaching all the changes with a positive attitude while keeping the same goal they've always had, to put themselves in the state title picture.
Rossville, which has captured five state championships in Hammes' previous 11 seasons at the school, begins its first season in the new 11-school Big East League, which also includes Nemaha Central (Class 2A), Riley County (2A), Royal Valley (2A), Sabetha (2A), Silver Lake (2A), St. Marys (2A), Hiawatha (3A), Holton (3A), Jefferson West (3A) and Perry-Lecompton (3A).
"In our league schedule we'll have two common opponents from our the old Mid-East League,'' Hammes said. "We were able to maintain the rivalry with Silver Lake and St. Marys and then we have Nemaha Central the third game and in my 12 years here I think we've ran into them seven or eight times, so it's probably not a big change for us but I think overall it's going to be a good thing for all the communities and schools that are in the new league.''
The longstanding Rossville-Silver Lake rivalry game has normally been played later in the year, but with the Bulldawgs and Eagles now in different classifications the storied "War on 24'' will kick off the 2024 campaign for both schools on Sept. 6 at Silver Lake.
"I'm looking forward to it because we've been able to make that a point of emphasis through the course of the summer,'' Hammes said. "We remind the kids who they open up with and I think we get a little extra out of them and I'm sure they do as well, so let's play it, let's get it going and it will be a good opportunity for us and we'll find out early with the schedule that we have what we're going to need to do as a football team to compete.''
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Editor's note: TopSports.news has finished its tour of preseason football practice at all 10 Shawnee County high schools and will be posting preview stories over the coming days leading into the opening games of the 2024 season on Sept. 6.
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After snapping an eight-year, 65-game losing streak in 2022 on the way to a breakout 6-3 campaign, Jemaine Monroe's Highland Park football team followed that up with a 7-3 campaign last fall, including the Scots' first playoff victory since 1991.
Jermaine Monroe's Highland Park football team will be aiming for its third straight winning season this fall after snapping an eight-year losing streak in 2022. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
And now Highland Park is setting its sights on continuing its impressive climb.
"The guys that we have here in the program, they're now used to winning,'' Monroe said. "So now we're changing out mindset from trying to get some wins to maintaining and reaching for higher goals.
"Our quote this year is, 'Don't witness history, but be a part of history.' ''
Highland Park begins the 2024 season with a wealth of experience, including six players who received All-Meadowlark Conference recognition a year ago.
Senior linebacker Ricky Crawford and junior defensive back Tremaine Savage earned first-team all-conference honors in 2023 while senior slotback/defensive back Jamon Wilson received second-team all-conference recognition on offense and honorable mention on defense and senior lineman Tayseaun Rouser was a second-team pick on offense and junior Andres Ochoa-Perez and senior Jamelle Wms-Sanders received honorable mention.
Other top returning players include senior quarterback/linebacker Craige Sipple, senior slotback CJ Brown, senior lineman Elijah Thomas, junior quarterback/defensive back Dontrail Fox, junior running back/defensive back Genesis Cooper, junior running back/defensive back TJ Austin, sophomore defensive back Rayshon Pollard, sophomore running back/linebacker G'Honi Montgomery and sophomore defensive back Joe Kingcannon.
- 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 2024 season on Sept. 6.
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No matter what players Bill Arnold's Hayden football team graduates from season to season or who the Wildcats return, one thing never changes -- the goal to win a state championship.
Veteran Hayden football coach Bill Arnold exhorts his team, 12-1 and the Class 3A runnerup last fall, during a preseason practice. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
And after coming up just win short of a Class 3A title last fall, with a strong nucleus returning, Hayden's is out to complete that task this fall.
"If you don't have those expecations I don't know what you're doing out here, honestly,'' said Arnold, who is 211-66 as a head coach.
Hayden's only loss in a 12-1 season last fall came in the state final against Cheney and the Wildcats return 33 lettermen, including eight starters on offense and nine on defense, to reload for another run at the championship.
Hayden graduated a banner group of seniors, including Kansas Shrine Bowl participants and TopSports.news All-Shawnee County Top 22 picks Carter Charvat and Finn Dunshee, all-county Top 22 pick Jude Konrade and offensive lineman Josiah Todwong, but two-time all-county honoree Jensen Schrickel leads a strong returning cast.
"Obviously you're going to have a hard time replacing Konrade and Charvat and Todwong, those three guys were really good for us last year on the offensive line, and then you throw in Finn's speed, but I like our nucleus,'' Arnold said.
Senior Jensen Schrickel returns to lead Hayden this fall after earning All-Shawnee County Top 22 honors the past two seasons. [File photo/TSN]
Schrickel, a 5-foot-10, 160-pound senior, is a standout on offense, defense and special teams for the Wildcats, catching 40 passes for 683 yards in 2023, carrying the ball 18 times for 268 yards and booting 16 of 18 extra points. He had three punt returns for 73 yards and 15 kickoff returns for 165 yards while scoring 10 total touchdowns and 82 points.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Former Seaman and University of Kansas pitching star Ryan Zeferhahn was called up to the Major Leagues by the California Angels on Friday.
Ryan Zeferjahn
The 26-year-old Zeferjahn was an All-Stater in baseball and the city co-basketball player of the year as a senior for Seaman before playing three seasons at Kansas.
Zeferjahn was recently picked No. 48 on TopSports.news' list of the Top 100 Athletes in Shawnee County history.
Zeferjahn was a third-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox after a standout career at KU and the right-hander was traded to the Angels organization in late July.
Zeferjahn was promoted from the Salt Lake Bees, the Angels' Triple-A affiliate, where he posted a 2.35 earned run average in 7.2 innings in five relief appearances.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Editor's note: TopSports.news has finished its tour of preseason football practice 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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Coming off its best season as a full member of the Kansas State High School Athletics Association, Cair Paravel Latin finds itself starting over in many ways this fall.
Doug Bonura's Cair Paravel football team will make the jump to 11-man this fall, competing in Class 1A. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Doug Bonura's Lions posted a 9-3 record and advanced to the Eight-Man Division I state semifinals a year ago, but CPLS graduated nine seniors and has only four returning lettermen and 19 total players as it begins its transition into the 11-man ranks this fall.
Cair Paravel's enrollment was two students above the limit for Eight-Man Football, prompting the move to Class 1A.
And although Bonura knows the Lions will face numerous challenges this fall, he said the focus will be on making steady improvement each and every day out.
"If you do everything right and grow and get better and you do the best that you can and you still lose, that's still successful,'' Bonura said. "If there's 100 guys on the other sideline and you've got 19 you still play your heart out and we may be able to win, we play to win. David can beat Goliath but the reality of it is if they're bigger and they're better and they're stronger we just say, 'You know what, hats off to you, you guys are better than us.' ''
