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.''
The opener against Silver Lake, 8-2 last season, is part of a tough opening three-game Big East slate that also includes games against St. Marys (7-4) and defending 2A champion Nemaha Central (13-0).
Rossville, coming off a 5-4 season, will make its 1A debut in District 2 on Sept. 27 against Maranatha Christian Academy and the Bulldawgs will be looking to make a deep playoff run.
"We always hope we compete with the best of them, that's our expectation here,'' Hammes said. "I'm always excited for the start of the year. It's a lot of work and it takes a lot to put it all together, but that's probably what I enjoy.
"And with this group we have enough familiar faces coming back and we have a few weapons that if we can put it all together I think we have a chance to be a good football team.''
The Bulldawgs return 18 lettermen, including six starters on both sides of the ball to build this year's team around.
Top returners include seniors Kameron Badura, Brock Bush, Seth Catron, Jared Cunningham and Tayson Horak and juniors Conner Bush, Jack Donovan, Andre Johnson and Cameron Miller.
Rossville senior Tayson Horak (12) earned All-Shawnee County Second 22 and All-Mid-East League first-team honors last fall. [File photo/TSN]
Horak earned All-Mid-East League first-team recognition on offense and was a TopSports.news All-Shawnee County Second 22 pick last season while Donovan received all-league first-team honors on defense and Badura and B. Bush received All-Mid-East honorable mention.
Other players expected to make a major contribution this fall include seniors Mahki Jackson, Hayden Salmon and Leo Wehrli, juniors Caleb Lehman and Canann Mitchell and sophomores Charlie Chance, Cael Horgan and Easton Webb.
Mitchell and Horak have been battling it out for the starting quarterback job in preseason.
"Both of them are different and both of them bring a little bit something different to the table and they've been pretty competitive and pretty even to this point,'' Hammes said last week. "I want somebody to kind of take it over and win it. I want them to make my decision easy and we would like to know as soon as we can.''
ROSSVILLE
2024 football schedule
September -- 6 at Silver Lake, 13 St. Marys, 20 at Nemaha Central, 27 Maranatha Christian Academy.
October -- 4 at Mission Valley, 11 Cair Paravel Latin, 18 Olpe, 25 Wabaunsee.
Next up: Seaman.
