By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Junior John Hoytal made the most of his first start as Washburn Rural's quarterback Friday night, throwing for 234 yards and four touchdowns as the Junior Blues opened their 2024 season with a 42-21 non-league win over city rival Shawnee Heights at Bowen-Glaze Stadium.
Junior quarterback John Hoytal threw for four touchdowns in his first start as Washburn Rural's quarterback Friday night, leading the Junior Blues to a 42-21 win over Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Washburn Rural's Lafayette Thompson (6), Kellan Roth (7) and Brody Schwinn (11) celebrate a Junior Blues touchdown in Friday's 42-21 win over Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Hoytal and junior Kellan Roth hooked up for 2, 42 and 17-yard touchdowns while Hoytal also hit sophomore Brady Schwinn for a 16-yard score while completing 14 of 21 attempts on the night
"You know I was a little nervous before the game, but you can't tell the difference between nerves and excitement, so I got excited and after that first play it was all just on from there,'' Hoytal said. "I felt like I played good, but it's only up from here.
"We went through a little valley in the game but we've got to get to the top of that peak and get back on the peak.''
Junior TJ Minikwu (24) finds running room against Shawnee Heights in Friday's 42-21 Washburn Rural win at Bowen-Glaze Stadium. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Sophomore Jadyn Baum celebrates a touchdown with his Washburn Rural teammates in Friday's 42-21 win over Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Rural also had a big night on the ground, with junior TJ Minikwu and sophomore Jadyn Baum both topping the 100-yard mark in rushing yards.
Minikwu finished with 131 yards on 24 attempts while Baum had 115 yards on 16 carries.
The Junior Blues drove 80 yards in nine plays for a TD on its opening drive, getting a 2-yard score from Hoytal to Roth (Ryan Austin kick) at the 9:06 mark of the opening quarter.
After missing out on some scoring opportunities Washburn Rural made it a 14-0 game early in the second quarter when Hoytal found Roth for a 42-yard scoring strike (Austin) kick.
Shawnee Heights got on the board with 7:09 left in the half on a 51-yard TD pass from junior quarterback Aiden Scott to junior Tyren Parker (Camden Granado kick) but Rural answered with a 2-yard scoring plunge from Minikwu and a 17-yard Hoytal to Roth TD (Austin kicks) to take a commanding 28-7 lead before Heights cut into its deficit with a 2-yard David Wakes score late in the half (Granado kick).
The score remained 28-14 through the third quarter before Washburn Rural sandwiched a 16-yard Hoytal TD pass to Schwinn and a 7-yard run from Baum around a 37-yard Scott TD pass to senior Parker Busenitz to account for the final score.
Washburn Rural graduated a talented senior class from last year's 11-1 team, but Rural coach Steve Buhler was pleased with what he saw out of his team Friday night.
"Everybody's always that we've got a lot of shoes to fill, and we do, but we have some really talented kids that played some last year in backup roles and we were really excited as a coaching staff to come into this game and see how hard we were going to play and see how these kids were going to kind of answer the bell and be the starters,'' Buhler said.
"We saw some really good things and I thought we got better as the game went, especially on the defensive side.''
Scott had a big night for Shawnee Heights, throwing for 317 yards and the two TDS on a 23 of 43 night while Wakes was productive in the ground game for the T-Birds, gaining 82 yards on 21 carries.
"I thought our kids played with great heart tonight,'' Shawnee Heights coach Jason Swift said. "I was proud of them. They had a never die spirit. I think our legs gave out a little bit but they got to see a glimpse of what Friday night football is. I think they had a lot of fun.
"They may have their chins down a little bit now but they should be awfully proud of themselves and we're going to get better in Week 2.''
Shawnee Heights will open United Kansas Conference play against Topeka West next Friday at Hummer Sports Park while Washburn Rural will travel to Blue Valley for a non-league contest.
WASHBURN RURAL 42, SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 21
Shawnee Heights (0-1) 0 14 0 7 -- 21
Washburn Rural (1-0) 7 21 0 14 -- 42
Washburn Rural -- Roth 2 pass from Hoytal (Austin kick)
Washburn Rural -- Roth 42 pass from Hoytal (Austin kick)
Shawnee Heights -- Parker 51 pass from Scott (Granado kick)
Washburn Rural -- Minikwu 2 run (Austin kick)
Washburn Rural -- Roth 17 pass from Hoytal (Austin kick)
Shawnee Heights -- Wakes 2 run (Granado kick)
Washburn Rural -- Schwinn 16 pass from Hoytal (Austin kick)
Shawnee Heights -- Busenitz 37 pass from Scott (Granado kick)
Washburn Rural -- Baum 7 run (Austin kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing -- Shawnee Heights: Wakes 21-82, Scott 3-10, Purvis 1-(minus)-1, Team 1-(minus)-15. Washburn Rural: Minikwu 24-131, Baum 16-115, Hoytal 10-47, Thompson 4-28, Lone 1-(minus)-1, Leonard 2-(minus)-10.
Passing -- Shawnee Heights: Scott 23-43-0 317 yards. Washburn Rural: Hoytal 14-21-0 234 yards.
Receiving -- Shawnee Heights: Gallegos 8-82, Parker 5-87, Busenitz 5-61, Rantz 4-71, Wakes 1-16. Washburn Rural: Thompson 5-75, Roth 4-94, Schwinn 3-35, Recinos 2-10.
Punting -- Shawnee Heights: Granado 2-49.5. Washburn Rural: Creager 2-32.5.
