County high school wrestling update

• The Jefferson West High School wrestling team recently won the Mission Valley Invitational and Onaga Double Classic Invitational tourneys.

Two Tigers had individual championships at Mission Valley in Brandon Langston at 145 lbs. and Austin Lee at 152 lbs. Ethan Mumaw and Chris Kirk were second at 152 and 160 lbs., Cass Steele and Clint Lee were third at 103 and 125 lbs., Nathan Martin and Tim Heckel were fourth in the 119-lb. and heavyweight division, and Tim Wright and Steven Skaggs were fifth in the 130 and 171 lb. classes, respectively.

At Onaga, Dylan Mumaw, Langston, Ethan Mumaw and Heckel took home individual championships at the 135-, 145-, 152-lb., and heavyweight classes. Sam Ketcherside, Clint Lee, Kirk, Skaggs and B.J. Higgins were second at the 103, 125, 160, 171 and 215 classes; Colby Ketron was third at 119 lbs. and Tim Wright was fourth at 130 lbs.

• Oskaloosa High School’s wrestling team recently competed at a tournament in Onaga.

Adam Engelken and Dusty Kitchen were second in the 125 and 215 lb. divisions, Jessica Coffman and Alex Garst were third in the 119 and 130 lb. classes, respectively, and Zach Beach was fourth in the 171-lb. division.

Basketball update

Dec. 4 games

Girls
Jefferson West 54, Perry-Lec. 31
• West moved to 1-1 as a 24-4 second quarter run gave the Tigers an 18-point halftime lead and they didn’t look back. The Kaws dropped to 0-2. Sophomore Brianna Ploude scored 13 points while junior Audrey Mullins and senior Nichelle Palmateer scored 10 each. Sophomore Emma Gantz scored 10 to lead the Kaws.

DVL Tourney
Quarterfinals
JCN 41, Pleasant Ridge 23
• JCN outscored the Rams, 21-6, in the fourth quarter, to move to 3-0 and into the tourney semifinals. Junior Amelia Noll scored 18 to lead North.

KC Christian 54, Oskaloosa 45
• KCC pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the Bears and drop them to 2-1 into the consolation semifinals. Freshman Hailey Kelly scored 13 points and junior Nicole Rockhold scored 11 to lead Oskaloosa.

Consolation game
Jackson Heights 32, McLouth 25
• McLouth dropped to 0-3 as they fell back by 3 points at halftime and the Cobras pulled away in the second half. Senior Abby Annis scored 8 to lead McLouth.


Boys
Perry-Lec. 51, Jefferson West 42
• West took a 1-point lead into the fourth quarter but got outscored by the Kaws, 20-10, in the fourth quarter to drop to 0-2. The Kaws moved to 2-0. Junior Kyle Morgison led the Kaws with 19 points while junior Joel Gantz scored 11. Three players scored 8 points to lead West.

DVL Tourney
Quarterfinals
KC Christian 50, Oskaloosa 45
• Oskaloosa dropped to 1-2 as KCC broke open a tie game in the fourth quarter. Junior Chase Tenpenny scored 18 points to lead the Bears.

JCN 54, Valley Falls 32
• North took a 12-point halftime lead and coasted from there to drop Valley Falls to 2-1. North improved to 2-0. Senior Luke Noll scored 18 points, senior Chris Noll scored 15 points and freshman Jeff Hale scored 11 for North. Junior Ray Cook led the Dragons with 10 points.


Dec. 7 games

Girls
Jefferson West 35, Sabetha 24
• The Tigers improved to 2-1 as they took an 8-point halftime lead and made it stand. Senior Marcia Beecham and Palmateer scored 8 points each to lead West.

Perry-Lecompton 49, Maranatha 16
• The Kaws cruised to the win to improve to 1-2. Senior Jamie Fuller led the Kaws with 15 points.

DVL Tourney
Semifinals
JCN 46, Horton 43 (OT)
• North trailed by 10 at halftime but came back to take a late lead before Horton forced overtime. JCN pulled out the win, however, to move to 4-0 and into the tourney championship. Sophomore Mallory Grand Pre scored 23 points to lead North to the win.

Consolation
Valley Falls 30, Jackson Heights 14
• The Dragons moved to 1-2 as they took a 20-2 halftime lead and held on from there. Senior Rebekah Bunde scored 16 points to lead the Dragons.


Boys
Perry-Lecompton 60, Maranatha 44
• The Kaws moved to 3-0 as they blew open a 4-point halftime lead. Junior Shane Gimzo scored 22 points and Morgison scored 16 points in the win.

Sabetha 64, Jefferson West 46
• Sabetha led, 24-13, after one quarter en route to dropping West to 0-3. Senior Tom Shirley scored 12 points to lead the Tigers.

DVL Tourney
Semifinals
Wathena 47, JCN 40
• North had a 14-3 lead after one quarter but the lead shrank to 1 by halftime. The Wildcats outscored JCN, 19-12, in the final quarter to drop the Chargers to 2-1. Junior Riley Noll scored 9 to lead North.

Consolation semis
Oskaloosa 61, Jackson Heights 40
• Oskaloosa pulled away in the second half to move to 2-2. Junior J.T. Thurston scored 15 to lead the Bears.

Horton def. Valley Falls, score n/a
• The Dragons dropped to 2-2.

Consolation
Pleasant Ridge 57, McLouth 43
• McLouth fell to 0-3 as Ridge pulled away from a 5-point halftime lead.


NOTE: We still need a score from the Oskaloosa girls' consolation semi Dec. 7. Saturday's DVL Preseason Tourney games were delayed by winter weather and were again postponed Wednesday.

Nov. 29/30 basketball update

Nov. 29 games

Girls
DVL Tourney
Play-in games
Oskaloosa 40, Valley Falls 37
• The Bears held off a fourth quarter surge from the Dragons to move into the main bracket of the tournament and start the season 1-0. Valley Falls dropped to 0-1. Junior Nicole Rockhold led the Bears with 15 points while freshman Hailey Kelly added 10 points. Valley Falls freshman Abbey Kearney led the Dragons with 21 points while senior Rebekah Bunde added 10 points and had 18 rebounds.

JCN 37, McLouth 33
• A 13-6 second quarter advantage helped North to the 4-point win and a 1-0 start to the season. McLouth started the season 0-1. Junior Amelia Noll led North with 14 points while sophomore Melissa Rome led McLouth with 18 points.


Boys
DVL Tourney
Play-in games
Valley Falls 60, Doniphan West 58
• The Dragons got a basket from junior Ray Cook with time running down to get the win and start the season 1-0. Cook had 27 points in the win.

Oskaloosa 46, McLouth 34
• The Bears pulled away from a 4-point halftime lead to win by 12. Senior Boone Heston scored 13 points and junior J.T. Thurston scored 11 points for Oskaloosa. McLouth was led by 10 points from senior Mark Stewart.


Nov. 30 games

Girls
Oskaloosa 51, Nemaha Valley 50
• The Bears pulled off the road win to move to 2-0. A 10-7 advantage in the fourth quarter gave Oskaloosa the victory. Kelly scored 16 points while senior Emily Heston scored 15 to lead the Bears.

JCN 38, Maur Hill-Mt. Academy 30
• The Chargers pulled away over the first three quarters and held on for the 8-point win to move to 2-0. Noll scored 9 points and sophomore Sara Navinskey and junior Lisa Weishaar each scored 8 for North.

Silver Lake 40, Jefferson West 32
• The Tigers trailed by 4 at halftime and couldn’t keep pace in the second half to start the season 0-1. Senior Marcia Beecham scored 12 points to lead West.

ACCHS 44, Valley Falls 28
• The Tigers took a 12-point halftime lead and coasted from there to drop the Dragons to 0-2. Bunde led the Dragons with 15 points.

St. Marys 70, McLouth 37
• McLouth started the season 0-2 as St. Marys took a 33-16 halftime lead and didn’t look back. Rome had 15 points while senior Abby Annis scored 10 in the losing effort.

Bishop Ward 57, Perry-Lec. 27
• Ward led, 31-15, at halftime on the way to dropping the Kaws to 0-1. Senior Katie Davis led the Kaws with 10 points.


Boys
Valley Falls 57, ACCHS 55
• The Dragons moved to 2-0 as Cook scored off an offensive rebound with 2 seconds left. Sophomore Riley Bunde scored 14 points while Cook scored 10 in the win.

Perry-Lec. 39, Bishop Ward 36 (OT)
• The Kaws came back from a 6-point deficit to start the final quarter to force overtime and then pulled out the win to move to 1-0. Junior Joel Gantz scored 13 points and junior Andy Bowman added 10 in the win.

JCN 45, Maur Hill-Mt. Academy 33
• North used a 16-9 fourth quarter to put the game away and start the season 1-0. Senior Luke Noll scored 17 points to lead the charge for the Chargers.

Silver Lake 41, Jefferson West 36
• A 12-6 third quarter gave Silver Lake the lead and the Eagles held on to drop West to 0-1. Senior Tom Shirley led the Tigers with 13 points while junior Willie Barnett scored 10 points.

Nemaha Valley 55, Oskaloosa 39
• The Bears trailed, 31-12, at halftime en route to dropping to 1-1. Senior Brock McGinnis scored 16 points to lead the Bears.

St. Marys 60, McLouth 50
• McLouth dropped to 0-2 as St. Marys took a 15-point lead into the fourth quarter and held on. Senior Mike Rome scored 14 points, sophomore Cole Batman scored 11 and senior Ryan Smith scored 10 in the loss.

Oskaloosa, Perry-Lecompton eliminated in bi-district play

The Oskaloosa and Perry-Lecompton high school football teams had short post-season runs as both lost Tuesday in bi-district playoff action.

The Bears were shut out, 19-0, by Rossville in Rossville to end the season at 5-5 in 3A action.

In 4A action in Perry, the host Kaws had a 21-14 fourth-quarter lead but Marysville fought back to score with 6:23 left in the game and ran a successful fake on an extra-point kick for a 2-point conversion that made the difference in a 22-21 Bulldog win. The Kaws' season ended at 8-2.

Week 9 high school football update

Week 9 games (Oct. 25)

Perry-Lecompton 31, Atchison 7
• The Kaws went to Atchison and came home district champions to finish the regular season 8-1 and qualify for the 4A bi-district playoffs. The Kaws scored on a 6-yard run from junior Kyle Morgison, a 22-yard interception return by senior Dillon Harrell, a 28-yard pass from junior Shane Gimzo to junior Joel Gantz and a 51-yard Gimzo run. Junior Neng Artwichai added a 24-yard field goal and 4 extra-point kicks. Gimzo ran 18 times for 112 yards and was 6-for-16 passing for 104 yards. The Kaws were set to play host to Marysville Tuesday night for a bi-district game.

Oskaloosa 54, McLouth 20
• Oskaloosa locked up a 3A bi-district playoff spot by drubbing McLouth in McLouth. The Bears moved to 5-4 while McLouth finished the season at 1-8. Oskaloosa senior Boone Heston scored on runs of 1 and 31 yards and also connected with junior Chase Tenpenny on a 53-yard TD pass. Junior Trent Newell added TD runs of a 41 and 15 yards, senior Brandon Hawks scored on a 13-yard run and junior Lakota Coffman scored on a 23-yard run. The Bears added 2-point conversion runs from Hawks, sophomore Brandon Barnes and two from Heston as well as two extra-point kicks from freshman Adam Bowser. McLouth scored on a 4-yard run by junior Derrick Crouse, a 15-yard run by senior Kent Sparks and an 82-yard kick return by senior Mark Stewart. Crouse and Stewart connected for a 2-point conversion pass. The Bears were set to travel to Rossville Tuesday for a bi-district playoff game.

Jefferson West 20, Tonganoxie 14
• West ended its season on a good note by defeating Tonganoxie to finish 4-5. Junior Garrett Stewart scored on a 1-yard run and got the game-winning score on a 29-yard fumble return. Junior Kyle Sanders and senior Charlie Smith also connected for a 2-yard TD pass. Stewart added a 2-point conversion run.

Silver Lake 54, JCN 3
• The Chargers wrapped the season at 2-7 as Lake built a 47-0 lead entering the fourth quarter and coasted to the win. North’s only score came on a 37-yard field goal by senior Vince Foulk.

Wathena 26, Valley Falls 0
• The Dragons were shut out to finish the season at 4-5.

JCN 1-2 at state / JW runner fifth at CC state

North has short run at 3A state tourney

The Jefferson County North High School volleyball team made the trek to Salina Friday for the 3A state tournament but enjoyed only a short run by going 1-2 in pool play.

The Chargers played the first game of the day in pool II versus second seed Hutchinson-Trinity and lost, 25-17, 25-17. Three matches later they faced third seed Silver Lake and lost, 25-15, 25-14, to be eliminated from semifinal contention. They finished the day’s 3A action by defeating Jayhawk Linn, 23-25, 25-18, 25-19, to end the season at 29-13.


Brees places fifth among 4A CC girls

Three countians ran at the 4-1A state cross-country meet in Wamego Saturday and Jefferson West freshman Taryn Brees came away with the best finish of the three by placing fifth in the 4A girls’ race.

Brees ran a time of 15:35.73 to place fifth in the race and was less than a minute behind the individual champion from Baldwin. She was third among non-seniors in the race.

In the 3A boys’ race, Jefferson County North junior Riley Noll placed 52nd in 19:11.84 while fellow Charger senior Spencer Wilson placed 68th in 19:38.13.

Substate volleyball -- JCN qualifies for 3A state

The hometown Jefferson County North Chargers found a way to the state tourney for the third time in four years at the 3A substate in Winchester Saturday.

The top-seeded Oskaloosa Bears started the day’s action with a relatively easy 25-13, 25-14 win over eighth seed Horton and ACCHS followed by downing fifth seed McLouth, 25-17, 26-24. The Bulldogs led, 21-15, in the second game but the Tigers came back to win the game and end McLouth’s season at 14-22.

The Chargers defeated Maur Hill Mount Academy, 25-18, 25-13, to coast into the semifinals, which were set with Oskaloosa taking on ACCHS and JCN facing Sabetha.

Game one of the Oskaloosa-ACCHS matchup was tightly played as ACCHS squeaked out a 25-23 game win. Game two started out the same but ACCHS built a 20-13 lead only to see Oskaloosa come back to tie it at 20. ACCHS went back ahead but the game was tied at 22-22 when the Tigers got a late push to take a 25-23 game win and the match. The Bears finished the season 28-9.

JCN faced a foe in Sabetha that had previously beaten them this season but dug out a 25-23 game one win and then led, 22-14, before holding off the Blue Jays for a 25-19 match win.

In the championship versus ACCHS, JCN grabbed the early advantage in game one at 10-5 only to watch the Tigers come back and take the lead at 13-11. JCN came back to take a 20-18 lead before nailing down the 25-20 game win. Game two saw ACCHS grab the early momentum and hold on for a 25-15 win to force a third and deciding game in the match. Game three would play out completely different as the Chargers built a 7-1 lead and the Tigers couldn’t seem to get in synch. JCN's lead grew to 17-4 and the Chargers scored the final four points of the match to take a 25-7 win and set off a celebration of the school’s third state bid in the last four years.

The 28-11 Chargers will be the seventh seed at state in Salina this weekend. They enter pool play with second seed Hutchinson Trinity, third seed Silver Lake and sixth seed Jayhawk Linn Friday. Should JCN qualify for the semifinals, those matches and the championship and consolation matches would take place Saturday.

At the 4A substate in Tonganoxie, second seed Jefferson West knocked out Perry-Lecompton in the first round, 25-19, 25-20, to end the Kaws’ season at 4-27. West defeated Piper in the semifinals, 25-23, 25-15, to move into the finals versus the fourth seed hosts from Tonganoxie but lost to the Chieftains in the championship, 25-9, 25-11, to end the season at 29-10.

At the 2A substate in Lyndon, fourth seed Valley Falls lost to fifth seed Jackson Heights in the first round, 25-13, 25-12, to end the season at 20-15.

Odds and ends from county sports

Cross-country runners qualify for state meet

The county will send three high school cross-country runners to the state meet Saturday morning in Wamego after regional action Oct. 20.

At the 4A regional in Marysville, Jefferson West freshman Taryn Brees qualified as the lone West runner to make state with a fourth-place individual finish in the girls’ race.

At the 3A regional in Riley County, Jefferson County North had two boys qualify for state as Riley Noll was 10th and Spencer Wilson was 11th.

No runners from Valley Falls, Oskaloosa, McLouth or Perry-Lecompton qualified for state this season.


North boys finish second at Heights

The Jefferson County North boys’ cross-country team placed second Oct. 16 at the Jackson Heights Invitational.

Leading North were Riley Noll in sixth, Jon Peres in 11th, Dalton Speer in 13th, Spencer Wilson in 14th and Matt Finley in 15th. Landon Noll and Scott Noll also competed for North. In girls’ action, Lincoln Kingman was 14th and Sara Polson was 15th. Gavin Trexler was second and Cody McMahon was third in the junior varsity race.

Weeks 7 and 8 county football update

Week 7 games (Oct. 12)

Perry-Lecompton 34, Tonganoxie 13
• The Kaws took a 21-7 lead in the first quarter and took off from there to move to 6-1. Junior Shane Gimzo scored on runs of 10 and 5 yards and also connected on two touchdown passes – one to junior Joel Gantz for 17 yards and another to senior Dillon Harrell for 14 yards. Senior Caleb Denton scored on a 57 yard run. Junior Neng Artwichai added 4 extra-point kicks.

Atchison 26, Jefferson West 14
• Atchison took a 13-7 halftime lead and held on to win by 12 in the first game of district play. West scored on a 20-yard run by junior Garrett Stewart and a 10-yard pass from junior Kyle Sanders to junior Cole Buckman. West dropped to 3-4 with the loss.

JCN 35, McLouth 28
• JCN scored two touchdowns with time dwindling in the first half and held off the Bulldogs in the fourth quarter to move to 2-5. McLouth fell to 1-6. McLouth scored on 2-yard and 15-yard runs by senior Ryan Smith, and senior quarterback Mark Stewart connected on a 35-yard TD pass to junior Derrick Crouse as well as a 43-yard TD pass to Smith on the final play of the game. Junior Phillipp Wnuck added 2 extra points while Stewart and Crouse converted a 2-point conversion pass. North scored on runs of 11, 3 and 22 yards by senior Vince Foulk and a 7-yard pass from senior Luke Noll to Foulk. Sophomore Austin Gaspard also scored on a 7-yard run with Foulk adding 5 extra points.

Silver Lake 63, Oskaloosa 0
• The Bears dropped their fourth straight game to fall to 3-4 on the season as the top-ranked Eagles cruised to the win.

Valley Falls 21, Jackson Heights 6
• The Dragons moved to 4-3 as all the scoring came in the fourth quarter. The Dragons scored on runs of 1 and 9 yards by sophomore Chance Gier and a 2-yard run by sophomore Tyler Wynkoop. Sophomore Mitchell Streeter added 3 extra points. Junior Josh Kearney had 21 carries for 112 yards for Valley Falls while Gier ran 19 times for 104 yards.


Week 8 games (Oct. 19)

Perry-Lecompton 39, Jefferson West 0
• The Kaws clinched a 4A playoff spot by blanking West to move to 7-1. West dropped to 3-5 and was eliminated from the playoff chase with the loss. The Kaws held West to 55 yards of offense and got scores from senior Caleb Denton on runs of 4 and 5 yards as well as an 11-yard TD catch on a pass from junior Shane Gimzo. Senior Aaron Brooks scored on a 43-yard run and Gimzo connected with Joel Gantz on a 4-yard scoring play. Senior Brandon McMullin also returned an interception 73 yards for a score as junior Neng Artwichai added an extra-point kick and junior Kyle Morgison scored a 2-point conversion.

Oskaloosa 20, JCN 0
• Oskaloosa moved to 4-4 in snapping a four-game skid by dropping JCN. North fell to 2-6 with the loss.

Silver Lake 90, McLouth 14
• Silver Lake was up, 56-0, at halftime en route to dropping McLouth to 1-7. McLouth scored on a 10-yard run by senior Mark Stewart and a 75-yard run by senior Ryan Smith. Derrick Crouse and Aaron Roberts connected for a 2-point conversion pass. Smith had 25 rushes for 141 yards and a TD in the loss.

Immaculata 14, Valley Falls 13
• The Dragons moved into a must-win situation with this week’s game at Wathena after dropping to 4-4 at Immaculata. The Dragons scored on a 1-yard run by sophomore Mitchell Streeter and a 72-yard fumble return by T.J. Breese. Streeter added an extra-point kick as all of the Dragons’ points came in the fourth quarter.

Three West golfers qualify for state

Three members of the Jefferson West High School girls' golf team qualified for state Tuesday at regional play at Village Greens in Ozawkie.

The Tigers placed fourth as a team with a score of 431 as the teams from Hayden and Rossville qualified with 402 and 424 scores for first and second. West senior Becca Cozadd shot a 104 for seventh place individually while junior Abbey Deiter and senior Kristen Brainard tied for ninth at 108 with Deiter winning a playoff for sole possession of ninth. Karly Kennedy, Kyane Stortzum and Tana Kern also competed for West.

The state tournament is Monday at the new Cottonwood Hills course in Hutchinson.

Odds and ends from county sports

JWHS cross-country teams place third

The Jefferson West High School cross-country teams recently placed third in both boys’ and girls’ competition at the Sabetha Invitational.

The varsity boys had one of their best group showings in several years with a cluster of five Tigers coming across the finish line one right after the other. Leading the varsity boys were seniors Tim Wellman, Blake Ross, Lucas Hothan and Eric Renna along with sophomores Trey Bruton and Matt Anderson and freshman Tanner Clark. Freshman Taryn Brees again led the Tiger varsity girls, finishing second. Also earning varsity medals were juniors Heather Wright and Ashley Eckhardt, sophomore Erika Herring, and freshmen Marissa Wright and Ellen Zirkel.

JV boys medals were earned by sophomore Colby Ketron plus freshmen Daniel Sayles and Tyler Hollimon. JV girls medal winners included seniors Marcia Beecham, Stephanie Wilson and Emma Brink. Jeff West returns to Sabetha Thursday for the Big Seven League meet.


JCN runners second at Centralia invite

The Jefferson County North cross-country teams recently finished second at a meet in Centralia.

Medalists for North were Spencer Wilson, sixth, fastest senior runner; Riley Noll, seventh; Dalton Speer, 13th; Matt Finley, 15th; Gavin Trexler, 18th; Jon Peres, 19th; Scott Noll, 22nd; and Landon Noll, 25th. Medalists for the North girls were Sara Polson in 15th and Lincoln Kingman in 20th.


PLHS runners compete at Eudora

The Perry-Lecompton High School cross-country teams competed recently at Eudora with the girls’ team placing second.

The girls were led by a third-place finish from Katie Hirsch in 17:06. Maggie Kuhlman was 10th, Kerry Neil was 25th, Chelsea Cooley was 28th, Belai Mills was 34th, Tayler Blodgett was 41st, Sydney Allen was 50th and Katie Beckwith was 52nd.

The boys’ team placed seventh and was paced by an eighth-place finish from Garrett Jones in 18:26. Josh Payne was 16th, Philip Hinman was 25th, Ethan Merritt was 37th, Lance Morris-Bohannan was 56th, Josh Hurst was 63rd, Gage McMullin was 64th, Michael Mallonee was 68th and Cody Nichols was 72nd.

The Kaws play host the Kaw Valley League meet at 4 p.m. Thursday.


West golfers on a roll

The Jefferson West High School girls’ golf team recently placed third and second in tournaments in Topeka and St. Marys, respectively. At the Silver Lake Invitational in North Topeka, Becca Cozadd was second and Abbey Deiter was fifth. At St. Marys, Cozadd was second, Brainard was eighth, Kyane Stortzum was 12th and Tana Kern was 13th. Karly Kennedy also competed for West.

County high school volleyball update

Oct. 2 games

Royal Valley def. Jefferson West, 17-25, 25-19, 25-23
Holton def. Jefferson West, 25-22, 25-17
• West moved to 13-6 overall and 7-3 in the Big Seven in dropping both matches in a triangular.

Oskaloosa def. Horton, 25-13, 25-20
Oskaloosa def. Pleasant Ridge, 25-16, 23-25, 25-8
• The wins moved Oskaloosa to 10-0 in the Delaware Valley League and clinched the league title. The Bears moved to 23-5 overall.


Oct. 4 games

Jefferson West def. Highland Park, 25-13, 25-13
Jefferson West def. KC-Schlagle, 25-8, 25-6
Jefferson West def. Piper, 25-21, 22-25, 25-21
• The Tigers moved to 16-6 overall with the sweep at Piper.


Oct. 6 games

DeSoto tourney
St. James def. Jefferson West, 25-14, 25-16
Jefferson West def. Spring Hill, 25-12, 25-13
Basehor-Linwood def. Jefferson West, 25-23, 26-24
Jefferson West def. Baldwin, 25-10, 25-17
Jefferson West def. JCN, 24-26, 25-11, 28-26
• West placed fifth while JCN was sixth at DeSoto. West is 19-8 overall.

Week 6 high school football update

Oct. 5 games


Perry-Lecompton 14, Piper 7
• Perry-Lecompton scored early and late to slide past the Pirates to move to 5-1. A long run by junior quarterback Shane Gimzo set up a 12-yard TD pass from Gimzo to junior Joel Gantz to make it 7-0 with the Neng Artwichai extra-point kick in the first quarter. Piper tied the game in the fourth quarter on a touchdown set up by a long run but the Kaws bounced back as Gimzo and junior Kyle Morgison connected on a 56-yard pass play. That set up a 7-yard TD pass from Gimzo to Gantz to make it 14-7 with the Artwichai PAT and the Kaws held on from there. Gimzo ran 21 times for 116 yards and was 6-for-7 passing for 87 yards and 2 TDs. Gantz had 3 catches for 23 yards and 2 TDs and Morgison’s only catch went for the big 56-yard play in the fourth quarter.

Jefferson West 20, Hiawatha 14
• West moved to 3-3 as a third-quarter touchdown by senior Nick Briney on an 8-yard run made the difference. West scored 14 points in the first quarter on a 19-yard run by senior Matt Edington and a 3-yard run by sophomore Austin Siess but Hiawatha tied the game at 14 at the half. Junior Kyle Sanders and senior Charlie Smith also connected on a 2-point conversion play in the win.

JCN 48, Jackson Heights 8
• The Chargers picked up their first win of the season as a 27-point second quarter put the game away. Senior Abe Noll scored 6 touchdowns on runs of 48, 27, 3, 2, 20 and 6 yards while senior Vince Foulk added a 16-yard TD run and 6 extra-point kicks. JCN is 1-5.

Troy 30, Valley Falls 14
• The Dragons dropped to 3-3 despite taking a 14-8 lead into the fourth quarter as Troy scored 22 points in the final period. Senior Josh Kearney scored on runs of 52 and 63 yards for the Dragons and sophomores Mitchell Streeter and Chance Gier connected on a 2-point conversion pass for Valley Falls.

Horton 27, Oskaloosa 18
• Horton came back from an 18-14 fourth quarter deficit to drop the Bears to 3-3. Oskaloosa scored on 5-yard and 14-yard runs from senior Boone Heston and a 35-yard pass from Heston to junior Chase Tenpenny.

Pleasant Ridge 41, McLouth 0
• The Rams rolled to a 34-0 halftime lead and coasted from there to drop McLouth to 1-5. Senior Ryan Smith led McLouth with 11 rushes for 33 yards. Derrick Crouse had 3 catches for 38 yards.

Odds and ends from high school sports

West golfers third at Seaman meet

The Jefferson West girls’ golf team recently placed third at the Seaman Invitational at Village Greens in Ozawkie.

The Tigers were led by an eighth-place finish by Kristen Brainard. Becca Cozadd placed ninth while Abbey Deiter was 11th, Karly Kennedy was 14th and Kyane Stortzum was 15th. Tana Kern placed 24th.

West will play host to the 18-hole regionals Tuesday at Village Greens. The top two teams and five individuals will move on to state the next week.


PLHS runners compete at two area meets

The Perry-Lecompton High School cross-country teams recently competed at meets in Tonganoxie and Horton.

Leading the boys to a ninth-place finish at Tonganoxie was Garrett Jones at 18:22, which qualifies him among the top 10 of all times in PLHS cross-country history. Additionally, Josh Payne earned 22nd with a time of 18:38 along with Philip Hinman finishing in 19:51, Ethan Merritt in 20:50, Lance Morris-Bohannan in 21:52, Michael Mallonee in 22:50, and Gage McMullin in 24:45.

Leading the girls to a fifth-place finish was Katie Hirsch in fourth at 16:01 and Maggie Kuhlman in 12th with 17:02. Additionally, Kerry Neil ran a 19:20, Sydney Allen finished at 19:26, Belai Mills at 20:03, Chelsea Cooley at 20:04 and Katie Beckwith at 22:30.

At Horton, Jones again led the boys varsity to a sixth-place finish with his fifth- place finish individually at 18:42 along with Payne at ninth at 19:12. Senior Philip Hinman medaled at 22nd with 20:14, and the remainder of the team results included Ethan Merritt (50th) 21:58, Gage McMullin (62nd) 22:50, Lance Morris-Bohannan (64th) 22:57, Micheal Mallonee (79th) 23:58, Cody Nichols (80th) 24:00 and Josh Hurst (81st) 24:01.

The girls varsity team earned second place behind Jackson Heights and continue to be led by sophomore Hirsch, who earned third at 16:52, and junior Kuhlman, who earned fifth at 18:15. Also medaling were Sydney Allen (16th) at 19:33, Chelsea Cooley (26th) at 20:22, and Belai Mills (29th) at 20:37. Also competing at the varsity level were Kerry Neill (35th) at 20:58, Katie Beckwith (39) 21:13, and Tayler Blodgett (40) 21:21.

The Kaws finish their regular season at Eudora on Oct. 4 and will host the Kaw Valley League meet at Perry Lake on Oct. 11.

County volleyball update

Sept. 25 games

Jefferson West def. Nemaha Valley, 18-25, 27-25, 25-14
Jefferson West def. Maur Hill Mt. Academy, 25-10, 25-22
Nemaha Valley def. Jefferson West, 25-21, 25-22 (JV)
Jefferson West def. MHMA, 25-20, 25-21 (JV)
• West’s varsity swept the home triangular while the JV split.

Oskaloosa def. Doniphan West, 25-23, 25-18
Oskaloosa def. McLouth, 25-16, 25-18
Doniphan West def. McLouth, 25-19, 22-25, 25-19
• The Bears swept two games at McLouth to move to 9-0 in the Delaware Valley League and 16-5 overall.Junior Nicole Rockhold had 18 kills on the day while junior Whitney Artman had 13 kills and senior Emily Heston had 33 assists and 9 aces. McLouth went 1-2 in the home triangular.


Sept. 22 games

Valley Falls tourney
Valley Falls def. McLouth, 25-18, 25-23
Oskaloosa def. Maranatha, 25-11, 25-9
Oskaloosa def. Valley Falls, 25-11, 25-14
McLouth def. Axtell, 16-25, 25-18, 26-24
B & B def. Valley Falls, 16-25, 25-23, 25-19
Oskaloosa def. McLouth, 25-16, 25-9
Valley Falls def. Maranatha, 25-12, 25-17
Oskaloosa def. B & B, 23-25, 25-16, 25-20
Oskaloosa def. Axtell, 25-15, 25-8
McLouth def. Maranatha, 25-18, 25-16
Valley Falls def. Axtell, 25-16, 25-15
B & B def. McLouth, 25-23, 25-19
• Oskaloosa won the tournament at 5-0 while Valley Falls was third at 3-2 and McLouth was fourth at 2-3. Oskaloosa improved to 21-5 overall as Artman and Rockhold were named to the all-tourney team. McLouth junior Kylie Shufflebarger also made the team, as did Valley Falls seniors Rebekah Bunde and Sadie Tichenor and junior Shelbie Glissman.

Silver Lake tourney
St. Marys def. Jeff. Co. North, 25-11, 25-14
JCN def. Jackson Heights, 25-17, 25-15
Sabetha def. JCN, 16-25, 25-16, 30-28
JCN def. Horton, 25-20, 25-6
Silver Lake def. JCN, 25-10, 25-16
JCN def. Lyndon, 25-22, 25-23 (3rd)
• The Chargers finished third at Silver Lake as they went 3-3 on the day.

Week 5 football update

Week 5 games (Sept. 28)

Perry-Lecompton 14, Bishop Ward 3
• The Kaws moved to 4-1 as they held Ward to a third-quarter field goal and got touchdowns from junior Mark Higgins on a 67-yard run and a 57-yard pass from junior Shane Gimzo. Junior Neng Artwichai added two extra-point kicks.

Horton 35, Valley Falls 6
• The Dragons dropped to 3-2 as Horton had four 50-yard rushers propel them to a 21-0 halftime lead. Valley Falls’ only score came on a 9-yard run by junior Josh Kearney in the third quarter. Kearney had 14 rushes for 41 yards in the loss.

Troy 47, Oskaloosa 14
• The Bears dropped to 3-2 with their second straight loss as Troy took a 26-6 halftime lead and scored 21 points in the third quarter to put it away. Oskaloosa scored on an 18-yard run from senior Brandon Hawks and an 8-yard pass from freshman Adam Bowser to senior Boone Heston. Junior Trent Newell added a 2-point conversion run.

Holton 42, Jefferson West 0
• Holton took a 28-0 halftime lead as they shut down the Tigers to drop West to 2-3.

McLouth 21, Jackson Heights 20
• The Bulldogs scored 13 points in the fourth quarter to get a comeback win for their first of the season to move to 1-4. The Cobras had an 8-0 lead at halftime but McLouth senior Mark Stewart scored on a 4-yard run in the third quarter and added a 2-point conversion run to tie the game. The Cobras scored to regain the lead but Stewart scored on a 3-yard run in the fourth to retie it. After the Cobras took a 20-14 lead on a touchdown, Stewart cashed in on a 2-yard run to tie it and the Phillip Wnuck extra-point kick won it for the ’Dogs. Stewart ran 18 times for 128 yards and 3 TDs while senior Ryan Smith ran 20 times for 94 yards in the win.

Wathena 36, JCN 7
• JCN fell to 0-5 as Wathena scored 14 unanswered second-half points to pull away for the win. North’s only score came on an 80-yard kickoff return by senior Abe Noll. Senior Vince Foulk added the extra-point kick.


CORRECTION
Last week’s summary of the McLouth-Valley Falls game left out that the Dragons scored a safety on a play by Cameron Bickford and Jordan Busey. Another 2-point conversion that was reported successful for the Dragons actually failed.

Odds and ends in county sports

Oskaloosa runners compete at Royal Valley

Runners on the Oskaloosa High School cross-country team recently competed in a meet at Royal Valley High School. Following are the Bears’ individual results:

Girls – Audrey Metzger, 12th.
Boys – Adam Engelken, 23rd; Travis Hattemer, 25th; Brian Henry, 27th.
JV boys – Stephen Metzger, seventh; Jacob Rhodes, eighth.


North runners place at Holton, Troy meets

The Jefferson County North boys cross-country team recently finished second at the Holton meet and took the team title at the Troy Invitational. Individuals receiving medals at the events were:

Holton – Varsity: Spencer Wilson, eighth; Jon Peres, 12th; Matt Finley, 14th; Landon Noll, 15th; Cody McMahon, 16th; Dalton Speer, 17th. JV: Scott Noll, second; James Tillotson, third; David Erhart, sixth. Girls JV: Lincoln Kingman, first.

Troy – Varsity: Wilson, third; Peres, sixth; Speer, seventh; Finley, eighth; L. Noll, 12th; S. Noll, 13th; Tillotson, 14th, Erhart, 15th. Girls varsity: Kingman, eighth.


PLHS, West lead county at McLouth CC

The Jefferson West boys and Perry-Lecompton girls paced the county teams taking part Sept. 13 in the McLouth Invitational cross-country meet.

Tonganoxie won both the boys’ and girls’ team titles in fairly convincing fashion. The West boys were sixth while the Kaw boys were seventh. McLouth and Valley Falls also took part but didn’t field enough competitors for a team score. The Kaw girls were second followed by West in third.

The girls’ race featured four countians in the top 10, including individual champ Taryn Brees from Jefferson West and second-place finisher Katie Hirsch of Perry-Lecompton. The Kaws’ Maggie Kuhlman was fifth and West’s Heather Wright was seventh.

Following are the county results from the meet.

Boys – Garrett Jones, PL, eighth; David Collins, VF, 15th; Trey Bruton, JW, 17th; Blake Ross, JW, 19th; Tim Wellman, JW, 21st; Philip Hinman, PL, 23rd; Tanner Clark, JW, 36th; Ethan Merritt, PL, 42nd; Matt Anderson, JW, 49th; Lance Sweeney, VF, 52nd; Martin Lucas, McL., 55th; Gage McMullin, PL, 60th; Lucas Hothan, JW, 61st; Cody Nichols, PL, 62nd; Grant Smelser, McL., 63rd; Lance Morris, PL, 64th; Jarrod Bechard, McL., 68th; Alan Brown, VF, 71st; Cody Cline, McL., 74th; Stevan Nowlan, McL., 77th; and Angel Benton, JW, did not finish.

Girls – Taryn Brees, JW, first; Katie Hirsch, PL, second; Maggie Kuhlman, PL, fifth; Heather Wright, JW, seventh; Sydney Allen, PL, 16th; Kerry Neill, PL, 19th; Ellen Zirkle, JW, 24th; Marissa Wright, JW, 25th; Erika Herring, JW, 30th; Chelsea Cooley, PL, 31st, Belai Mills, PL, 32nd; Tayler Blodgett, PL, 36th; Gelia Gardner, McL., 41st; Marcia Beecham, JW, 43rd; Rhiannon Broxterman, JW, DNF.

County volleyball update

Sept. 18 games


Atchison def. McLouth, 19-25, 26-24, 25-15
McLouth def. Veritas Christian, 25-17, 25-16
McLouth def. Cair Paravel, 25-13, 19-25, 25-19
• McLouth was 2-1 on the day in the home quadrangular.

Oskaloosa def. Wathena, 25-19, 27-25
Oskaloosa def. KC Christian, 25-14, 25-13
Oskaloosa def. Troy, 25-13, 25-10
• The Bears swept the home quadrangular to move to 14-5 overall and 7-0 in the Delaware Valley League.

Sept. 20 games


Jefferson West def. Pleasant Ridge, 25-20, 25-18
Jefferson West def. Immaculata, 25-12, 25-14
Lansing def. Jefferson West, 25-17, 25-13
• West moved to 8-2 overall and 5-1 in the Big Seven.

Sept. 22 tournaments


Wamego tourney
Jefferson West def. Council Grove, 25-20, 25-19
Jefferson West def. Riley County, 25-11, 23-25, 25-17
Nemaha Valley def. Jefferson West, 21-25, 25-23, 25-18
Jefferson West def. Rock Creek, 25-19, 26-24
Valley Heights def. Jefferson West, 24-26, 25-16, 25-23
• West moved to 11-4 with the second-place finish in Wamego.

Axtell tourney
Pawnee City, Neb., def. Valley Falls, 25-19, 26-24
Valley Falls def. SEC, 25-11, 25-14
Valley Falls def. Jewell, 25-16, 25-20
Valley Falls def. Axtell, 25-17, 25-21
Bern def. Valley Falls, 29-27, 25-19
• The Dragons went 3-2 on the day.

County football updates for weeks 3 and 4

Sept. 14 games


Oskaloosa 28, Jackson Heights 14
• The Bears stayed undefeated by running up a 20-0 halftime lead and holding on for the 28-14 win. The Bears scored first on a 34-yard pass from freshman Adam Bowser to junior J.T. Thurston before junior Lakota Coffman scored on a 9-yard run and sophomore Brandon Barnes scored on a 6-yard run. Junior Chase Tenpenny added the final score on a 60-yard kickoff return for a TD. Bowser and senior Boone Heston added 2-point conversion runs. Oskaloosa is 3-0.

Basehor-Linwood 27, Perry-Lec. 21
• A 12-point fourth quarter helped Basehor-Linwood hand the Kaws their first loss of the season. Perry-Lecompton had a 14-7 halftime lead and a 21-15 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Kaws scored on a 5-yard run and a 90-yard kickoff return by junior Shane Gimzo as well as a 75-yard fumble return for a touchdown by junior Josh Durflinger. Junior Neng Artwichai added three extra-point kicks. The Kaws are 2-1.

Valley Falls 20, JCN 0
• Valley Falls defeated the Chargers for the first time since 2003 as sophomore Chance Gier scored 2 TDs and junior Josh Kearney scored another while racking up 179 rushing yards. North was led by 75 rushing yards from senior Abe Noll. Valley Falls moved to 2-1 while North fell to 0-3.

Jefferson West 61, Maur Hill 0
• West earned its first 2007 victory in convincing fashion by running up a 49-0 halftime deficit en route to improving to 1-2.

Wathena 58, McLouth 0
• McLouth dropped to 0-3 as Wathena took a 36-0 halftime lead and didn’t look back.


Sept. 21 games


Perry-Lecompton 28, Santa Fe Trail 7
• The Kaws rebounded from their first loss of the year to take a 28-0 halftime lead and coast to the win over Trail to move to 3-1. Junior quarterback Shane Gimzo scored on runs of 3, 4, and 37 yards and then hit junior Joel Gantz for a 21-yard TD pass in the second quarter. Gimzo and senior Dillon Harrell connected on a 2-point conversion play and junior Mark Higgins also notched a 2-point conversion run. Gimzo had 20 carries for 118 yards and was 7-for-13 passing for 88 yards with 1 interception.

Valley Falls 28, McLouth 14
• Valley Falls scored 22 points in the second half to pull away for a win to move to 3-1. The Bulldogs dropped to 0-4 with the loss. Dragons junior Josh Kearney returned a kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter but McLouth tied it in the second quarter on a 1-yard run by senior Ryan Smith. Valley Falls junior Garrett Jennings scored on a 20-yard run in the third with sophomore Logan Wynkoop adding a 2-point conversion run to make it 14-6. McLouth struck back as Smith scored on a 29-yard run and then caught a 2-point conversion pass from senior quarterback Mark Stewart to tie it at 14. Kearney scored on a 4-yard run with Wynkoop adding the 2-point conversion and senior Devin Brown returned a fumble 54 yards for a score in the fourth quarter to seal the win. McLouth outgained Valley Falls, 355 to 120 yards on the night, but 2 interceptions and the fumble return took a toll on the Bulldogs. Smith ran 32 times for 182 yards and 2 TDs for the Bulldogs and Stewart was 10-for-25 passing for 104 yards and 2 INTs.

Pleasant Ridge 21, Oskaloosa 14
• The Bears dropped from the undefeated ranks to 3-1 as the Rams capitalized on five turnovers. The Rams drove 57 yards on their first possession to take a 7-0 lead and then recovered an Oskaloosa fumble at the Bears 4 and scored from there to take a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Bears sophomore Brandon Barnes scored on a 44-yard run to cut it to 14-6 but the Rams recovered another fumble at the Bears 20 and drove for a score to make it 21-6 at halftime. The score stayed that way into the fourth quarter when freshman quarterback Adam Bowser hit junior Chase Tenpenny for a 71-yard touchdown pass play and senior Boone Heston added the 2-point conversion run to make it 21-14 with 5:10 left. The Bears got two more possessions to try and tie it but Bowser threw an interception with 44 seconds left to seal the Bears’ fate. Heston had 17 rushes for 74 yards and Barnes had 5 rushes for 62 yards and a score. Bowser was 3-for-8 passing for 84 yards and a TD while Tenpenny had 2 catches for 82 yards and a score.

Jefferson West 54, ACCHS 6
• West evened its record at 2-2 in scoring 29 unanswered second-half points to run away with the win. Junior Garrett Stewart scored on runs of 2, 20 and 66 yards, senior Nick Briney scored on 44- and 15-yard runs, senior Matt Edington scored on runs of 2 and 19 yards and sophomore Austin Siess scored on a 6-yard run. Juniors Kyle Sanders and Cole Buckman also connected for a 2-point conversion.

Horton 36, JCN 15
• The Chargers dropped to 0-4 as Horton took a 29-9 halftime lead and didn’t look back. Sophomore Austin Gaspard scored on a 22-yard run for North while senior Abe Noll scored on a 5-yard run. The Chargers also scored on a safety.

News and notes

PLHS runners place at two area events

The Perry-Lecompton High School cross-country teams recently ran well at events in Topeka and Overbrook.

The Kaws competed Aug. 30 at the Jefferson West Invitational at the Shawnee County Community Center in north Topeka. The Kaws earned first place in the overall competition while West placed second.

The PLHS varsity girls earned first place with 28 points, which was followed by Jefferson West with 44. The Kaw girls were led by the overall champion, Katie Hirsch, who ran a 16:16 on the four kilometer course. In addition, Maggie Kuhlman was third in 17:45, Sydney Allen was eighth in 19:04, Chelsea Cooley was 13th in 19:52, Belai Mills was 16th in 20:08, Kerry Neill was 18th in 20:14, and Tayler Blodgett was 34th in 22:33.

The PLHS varsity boys earned third place overall with 78 points. Leading the Kaw boys were Garrett Jones in third (18:56), Josh Payne in fourth (19:11), Philip Hinman in 12th (20:16), Ethan Merritt in 29th (22:08), Lance Morris-Bohannan in 35th (22:41), Cody Nichols in 40th (22:54) and Gage McMullin in 45 (23:33).

The team ran again Sept. 6, at Overbook in the Santa Fe Trail Invitational. Overall, the Kaws placed third as a team with girls varsity earning a title and boys varsity placing fifth.

The first place girls were led by individual champ Katie Hirsch, who won with a time of 16:34. In addition, Maggie Kuhlman was ninth (18:49), Kerry Neill placed 14th (19:41), Chelsea Cooley placed 15th (19:50), Sydney Allen placed 17th (20:00), Belai Mills placed 18th (20:11) and Tayler Blodgett placed 32nd (21:34).

The third place PLHS boys were led by Garrett Jones in fifth with a time of 19:01. In addition, Josh Payne was ninth (19:24), Philip Hinman was 32nd (21:03), Ethan Merritt was 40th (22:12), Lance Morris-Bohannan was 46th (22:53), Cody Nichols was 52nd (23:25), and Gage McMullin was 55th (24:02).

In junior varsity action, Michael Mallonee placed 27th with a time of 25:27.


West golfers third at St. Marys tourney

The Jefferson West High School girls’ golf team recently placed third at a tournament in St. Marys.

Leading the way for West was senior Becca Cozadd with a sixth-place finish and junior Abbey Deiter with an eighth-place finish. Kyane Stortzum, Karly Kennedy, Tana Kern and Christine Chadwell were also participating for West.

County high school volleyball update

Sept. 4 games

McLouth def. Troy, 25-16, 25-23
JCN def. Troy, 25-19, 24-26, 25-22
JCN def. McLouth, 25-12, 25-7
• JCN swept the triangular in McLouth while McLouth split its matches.

Oskaloosa def. ACCHS, 25-21, 16-25, 25-20
Oskaloosa def. Cair Paravel, 17-25, 25-23, 25-14
• The Bears swept a triangular at Cair Paravel in Topeka to make their record 5-3. Nicole Rockhold had 13 kills against ACCHS while Whitney Artman had 4 kills, 5 aces and 2 blocks and Kristen Brey had 3 kills and a block. Emily Heston had 18 assists in the win, Hailey Kelly had 6 digs and Sam Drinkard had 3 aces. Rockhold also led the team with 17 kills against Cair Paravel. Artman had 9 kills, Brey had 5 kills, Drinkard had 4 kills, Heston had 31 assists and Kelly had 7 digs.

Sept. 6 games

McLouth def. Elwood, 25-17, 25-16
McLouth def. Seabury, 25-9, 25-11
• McLouth swept the triangular in Lawrence.

Bishop Ward def. Perry-Lecompton, 20-25, 25-19, 25-8
Eudora def. Perry-Lecompton, 25-7, 25-16
• Perry-Lecompton was swept at a home triangular.

Holton def. Jefferson West, 25-23, 25-19
Jefferson West def. Royal Valley, 17-25, 25-17, 25-21
• West was able to come back and split a home triangular with a win versus Royal Valley.

County football updates for weeks 1 and 2

Week 1 -- Aug. 31

Perry-Lecompton 46, Immaculata 0
• The Kaws steamrolled Immaculata to start the season 1-0. Perry-Lecompton had a 36-0 halftime lead en route to the win. Junior Shane Gimzo scored on runs of 5 and 2 yards as well as a 48-yard pass from senior quarterback Caleb Denton. Denton added TD runs of 6 and 24 yards, senior Aaron Brooks had a 26-yard TD run, the Kaws forced a safety and junior Neng Arwichai hit a 28-yard field goal to account for the Kaws scoring.

Oskaloosa 16, Wathena 6
• All the scoring came in the first half as the Bears slugged out a 10-point opening win. Senior Boone Heston had both Bear scores on runs of 52 and 2 yards with sophomore Brandon Barnes adding two 2-point conversion runs.

Valley Falls 26, Doniphan West 12
• The Dragons started the season 1-0 after going without a win in 2006.

Pleasant Ridge 25, JCN 6
• Pleasant Ridge had an 18-0 lead after one quarter and held on for the win to start JCN off at 0-1. North’s only score came on a 6-yard run by senior Vince Foulk. The Rams forced 2 safeties in the win.

Sabetha 36, Jefferson West 8
• A 20-point outburst in the second quarter put West down, 22-8, at halftime and the Tigers couldn’t cash in for any more scores in starting 0-1. West’s only score came on an 18-yard run by Brandon Langston with Kyle Sanders hitting Cole Buckman with a pass for a 2-point conversion. Langston had 44 rushing yards while Sanders had 53 rushing yards for West while Sanders was 14-for-26 passing for 107 yards and 2 interceptions.

Troy 54, McLouth 8
• McLouth fell behind, 30-0, by the early second quarter en route to the loss and also lost senior quarterback Mark Stewart to an apparent ankle injury in the game. McLouth’s only score came on a 40-yard pass play from Stewart to senior Ryan Smith with Stewart hitting junior Derrick Crouse with a pass for a 2-point conversion. Crouse took over as QB for Stewart and was 13-for-22 for 111 yards and an interception. Smith finished with 8 catches for 106 yards. Stewart was 5-for-11 passing for 81 yards and a TD prior to his injury.


Week 2 -- Sept. 7

Perry-Lecompton 42, Lansing 13
• Perry-Lecompton posted more than 40 points for the second straight game as a 23-point third quarter helped them coast past Lansing. Senior quarterback Caleb Denton scored on runs of 5 and 68 yards and also passed for an 11-yard score to junior Joel Gantz. Junior Shane Gimzo passed for 2 TDs of 11 yards to junior Kyle Morgison and 12 yards to Gantz and junior Mark Higgins scored on a 2-yard run. Junior Neng Artwichai added 2 extra-point kicks and Gimzo and senior Dillon Harrell added 2-point runs.

Oskaloosa 20, Valley Falls 14
• A fourth-quarter scoring drive made the difference as Oskaloosa fought off a two-touchdown surge from Valley Falls in the fourth quarter. The Bears took a 14-0 lead into the fourth on touchdown runs by seniors Brandon Hawks and Boone Heston and a 2-point conversion pass from Heston to junior Chance Tenpenny, but Valley Falls scored on a short run by sophomore Chance Gier to cut it to 14-7 in the early fourth quarter. The Bears responded with a 63-yard touchdown drive capped by a 4-yard Heston TD run to make it 20-7 with 1:35 left, but Valley Falls struck back quickly on a 46-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Mitchell Streeter to senior Devin Brown to cut it back to 20-14 with the Streeter extra-point kick and 1:12 left in the game. An onside kick was recovered by the Bears as they ran out the clock to end it. Heston had 20 carries for 79 yards and 2 TDs in the win while Hawks added 16 carries for 84 yards and a score. Gier had 50 rushing yards on 9 carries for Valley Falls before leaving with an apparent knee injury and Streeter had 61 passing yards in the loss. Oskaloosa moved to 2-0 while Valley Falls dropped to 1-1.

Troy 55, JCN 23
• JCN fell to 0-2 with the road loss.

Nemaha Valley 33, Jefferson West 0
• Nemaha Valley scored 19 points in the third quarter to break open a 7-0 halftime lead en route to the win as West dropped to 0-2.

Doniphan West 18, McLouth 7
• A 16-yard touchdown pass from junior Derrick Crouse to senior Aaron Roberts gave McLouth a 7-6 halftime lead with the extra-point kick but West scored 12 points in the third quarter to win and drop the Bulldogs to 0-2. Senior Ryan Smith had 13 rushes for 58 yards and 5 catches for 52 yards while Crouse was 13-for-27 passing for 135 yards, a TD and an interception. Roberts had 4 catches for 65 yards and a score.

2007 Jefferson County high school volleyball preview

One former county high school volleyball head coach has rejoined the county ranks for this fall’s volleyball season while another new coach joins four returning head coaches to the sidelines.

The county had three teams with winning records and three with losing records last season as Jefferson County North fell short of a state berth but finished 19-12, Oskaloosa improved by five wins from 2005 to a 16-12 record and Valley Falls was 16-13. Jefferson West improved by a win from 2005 to finish 13-14 while McLouth went 10-19 for a slight improvement from 2005 and Perry-Lecompton slumped to a 4-27 record.

Perry-Lecompton and McLouth have new head coaches this year as former PLHS head coach Jill Bradney returns to the sidelines after 12 years as middle school head coach and one year off for coaching. Bradney was previously head volleyball coach at PLHS for seven seasons. McLouth, meanwhile, welcomes new head coach Erika Houk, who took over for Amy Bergman after Bergman’s two seasons as head coach.

JCN, Valley Falls, Oskaloosa and McLouth have already started their seasons with the Delaware Valley League Tournament Aug. 25 and regular-season games Aug. 28. Jefferson West and Perry-Lecompton started season play head-to-head with a West win Aug. 30.

Following are capsule previews of each team entering this season in order of their finish last season.

JCN Chargers
Coach: Jeremy Gish, seventh year
2006 record: 19-12
After two consecutive state tournament berths, the Chargers got a year off from the trip to Hays for state last season. Gish returns a potent group of players, however, and has gotten out to a great start with a 6-1 record, including a first-place finish in the DVL Tournament.

Gish’s squad of 32 girls includes only four seniors, including returning hitter Jackie Schrick, who won’t be available until late September at earliest after suffering a knee injury over the summer. Most of the varsity spots are taken up by a cadre of juniors and sophomores, so Gish has youth on his side this season and into 2008. The varsity rotation will include senior hitter Haley Nevins, sophomore hitter Mallory GrandPre, junior middle hitters Devin Gigstad and Emily McFarland, setters senior Kelsey Schuler and sophomore Sara Navinskey, and also juniors Lisa Weishaar and Amelia Noll.

“As far as where they play is still kind of up in the air at this point, but we have our basic rotation pretty much set,” Gish said. “The good thing about our younger girls is they’re not only athletic – they have a good volleyball IQ, I guess I’d say. They play together well.”

Gish said passing has been a strength for this team, although he had issues with the team’s work in that area in the Chargers’ only loss – to Oskaloosa on Aug. 28. He said the biggest area in need of shoring up on the team is probably its back-row play.

“Our passing’s been good and we’re able to get offense from a variety of places,” Gish said. “At each position, we have good enough players to make people respect us.”

With the state streak snapped at two seasons, Gish said his and the players’ standards haven’t changed coming into a new season.

“We come in with the same attitude every year. We always want to be the best passing team we can be,” Gish said. “Winning the league is high on our list, but winning state is also high on our list. Our emphasis this season is to play a little more aggressively. Last year the girls and I both knew we didn’t have quite enough intensity. We’re also working on good communication. We tell them good teams communicate not only during plays but before and after, so that’s something we’re stressing.”


Oskaloosa Bears
Coach: Tosha Landau, second year
2006 record: 16-12
Landau considered her first year as Oskaloosa’s head coach a good one and has a very young team this season, but sees a great deal of potential in her squad.

OHS has 23 girls out for volleyball, including only two seniors. The team has gotten out to an up-and-down start this season at 3-3, but the 3 wins include the aforementioned win versus the previously unbeaten county rival JCN Chargers and a 2-0 league start, as the DVL tournament games don’t count on the teams’ regular-season league records.

Landau is putting youth to the test at the varsity level as her regular rotation is set to include several freshmen and sophomores. Senior setter Emily Heston and senior defensive specialist Hannah Dissinger are the eldest players on the team while sophomore hitter Sam Drinkard, junior hitter Whitney Artman, sophomore hitter Kyra Coffman, junior hitter Nicole Rockhold, freshman hitter Kristen Brey and freshman libero Hailey Kelly flesh out the remainder of the varsity squad to start the season.

“We didn’t play as well as I expected in the league tourney but it was nice to bounce back with a win against JCN,” Landau said. “We’ve got a bunch of freshmen and sophomores, but they don’t play like freshmen and sophomores. The girls were good about being in the weight room all summer and have been working on their volleyball since May and June.”

Landau said the talent at her disposal on the team has both her and the team shooting for higher goals.

“Really, I have the same basic philosophy I had coming in last year,” Landau said. “I wanted us to have a winning record and we accomplished that. This season we want to go a little farther, place first in some tournaments and make it to state. The girls get along pretty well, so chemistry isn’t a problem. The match versus JCN was the best match I’ve seen them play yet, so I’d say we’ve kicked off the season pretty well so far.”


Valley Falls Dragons
Coach: Seth Cooper, second year
2006 record: 16-13
Cooper saw improvement over the course of the 2006 season in his team but would have liked to go a little farther in substate than the Dragons did with an opening-round loss.

This season, the Dragons have 28 players total, including only three seniors. Main returnees for Valley Falls are senior hitter Rebekah Bunde, senior Sara Henthorne and senior Sadie Tichenor. The varsity rotation will also include a corps of juniors including Chelsy Lassiter, Whitney Lindteigen, setter Samantha Pfeffer, Emily Schneider, Kelsey Wessel and Shelbie Glissman. Another junior, Chelsey Horney, will also be in the mix when she heals from a shoulder injury.

The Dragons are off to a 5-2 start with their only losses coming to the Pleasant Ridge Rams. Cooper said the rotation is still a work in progress as he figures out which players play best in which roles.

“The girls have played a lot together, so that’s definitely a positive for us,” Cooper said. “We’ve looked good overall, although they’re a bit rusty at the start of the season. They’re playing well together as a team, though, which is important.”

In a game where the loss of composure can lead to a run of several points for the opposing team, Cooper said the mental aspect of the volleyball game has been a point of emphasis in practice leading into the start of the season.

“We wanted to work on our end-of-game mentality and building more mental toughness,” Cooper said. “We’re still finding that person who’s willing to step up and take that big swing for us when we need it. I’ve been pretty pleased so far. I like the way they’re all working together.”


Jefferson West Tigers
Coach: Sara Canseco, second year
2006 record: 13-14
Canseco has the luxury of no seniors on her 29-player squad this season, so she hopes to build a near-winning record in 2006 into winning seasons in 2007 and beyond.

Canseco did lose some senior leadership from last year’s team but a solid junior varsity team from last season has resulted in some promotions to the varsity level. One big returnee is junior Katie Bigham, who missed all of the 2006 season because of knee surgery. The varsity lineup is all juniors as Bigham is joined by hitter Audrey Mullins, setter Jenna Grimmett, hitter Hayley Hypse, Whisper Livingston and Hilary Mumaw. Even though five seniors graduated from the 2006 squad, Canseco hopes chemistry and club volleyball experience helps the team learn on the court quickly.

“We’re still deciding on a couple players here and there, and everyone is working to understand what their roles are heading into the season,” Canseco said. “Katie (Bigham) brings added knowledge from sitting on the bench last year while she was injured. It was tough for her to not play last season. I think we’ve got a lot of positives going into this season.”

That positivity is one focus Canseco has heading into her second season as head coach, as, like Cooper, she wants to improve the Tigers on the mental side of the game.

“We want to maintain a positive outlook on the court and turn around those downs into ups,” Canseco said. “Momentum is one of the biggest keys in volleyball and we want to get it swinging our way as much as possible. Things are looking great so far. I get really excited when I talk about this team and this season. All the girls seem to be friends so we’re working on gelling together as a team.”


McLouth Bulldogs
Coach: Erika Houk, first year
2006 record: 10-19
Houk takes over a squad that includes several returning starters from the 2006 version.

The Bulldogs have 24 players out for volleyball, including four seniors. The varsity rotation includes main returnees seniors Abby Annis, Leah Hoffhines, Dakotah Roberts and Sam Farris along with juniors Haley Holwick and Kasey Campbell, sophomores Miranda McLaughlin and Kylie Shufflebarger and freshmen Logan Terry and Jessie Troupe.

The Bulldogs are off to a 3-4 start after going 2-2 at the DVL tournament.

Efforts to reach Houk for comments on the team were unsuccessful.


Perry-Lecompton Kaws
Coach: Jill Bradney, first year
2005 record: 4-27
Bradney returns after a long hiatus from the job with a purpose of establishing some continuity in a position that’s undergone many personnel changes over the last few seasons.

Bradney is the third new coach in three years at PLHS but isn’t really new to the job or the district. Bradney teaches at Perry Elementary School and is in her 23rd year with the district. She served two years as a high school assistant volleyball coach before being head coach for seven years, moving to the middle school level as head coach for 12 years, and then taking last year off. With the high school head coaching job back open for this season, Bradney saw a chance to get back into coaching and also help a program in need of some TLC.

“I missed coaching during my year off from it,” said Bradney, who played softball and volleyball at the University of Kansas. “I also wanted to get a little continuity going here. I coach softball, too, and feel like that program is solid. I enjoy volleyball, so along with the administration we felt that maybe we could work on this program.”

Bradney has 28 girls out for volleyball, including four seniors. As the Kaws got into season play Aug. 30, Bradney said she had her varsity rotation pretty much set. It includes senior outside hitters Terra Gauger and Kayla Sneath, junior middle hitter Courtney Kasson, seniors Jessica Zullig and Abby Hurd, sophomore Shelby Erickson, junior Andrea Phillips and setters junior Chelsea Williams and sophomore Katie Volle. Volle will also play some at hitter.

Bradney said the move back into the high school head coaching ranks has taken some adjustment.

“My coaching philosophy hasn’t changed a lot – in my experience what makes teams successful is their grasp on the fundamentals. We’ve worked a lot on them. Some of the rules have changed since I was coaching high school last time. Basically for me it’s just adjusting back to the speed and level of play.”

Bradney’s experience as middle school coach allowed her to have most of the varsity squad at that level, so she has a basic head start on their strengths and weaknesses. She said this year’s team will be a work-in-progress but she has hopes for improvement.

“The seniors have shown a lot of leadership, and we’ve got good defensive play,” Bradney said. “Anytime there’s a change, there’s an adjustment period so I expect that. We’ve got things down to a T in softball, so we’re trying to get this program in a different gear.”

2007 Jefferson County high school football preview

When the dust settled on the 2006 high school football season, only two teams had winning campaigns, but all six coaches are back and looking for more success in 2007 with play starting Friday night.

Only one team – the Jefferson County North Chargers – qualified for the bi-district playoffs in 2006 and the Chargers fell to the Rossville Bulldogs in that round of the postseason. Perry-Lecompton finished at 6-3 but lost out in a tough district in class 4A while Oskaloosa, McLouth, Jefferson West and Valley Falls finished with losing records, including an 0-9 record on a manpower-deficient Valley Falls squad.

Most of the county teams are on the road to start the season Friday. McLouth and Valley Falls play home games versus Delaware Valley League opponents Troy and Doniphan West, respectively. The other four hit the road for the opener as Perry-Lecompton travels to Immaculata, JCN visits Pleasant Ridge, Oskaloosa makes the long bus ride to Wathena and Jefferson West heads to Sabetha. All games begin at 7 p.m.

Pictures and schedules for all the fall sports teams in the county can be found in the annual fall sports preview section in this week’s edition of the Independent and Vindicator.

Following are capsule reviews of each team in order of their finish in 2006.


Perry-Lecompton Kaws
Coach: Mike Paramore, seventh year
2006 record: 6-3
A 14-5 record over the past two seasons has shown Kaws head coach Mike Paramore he has the on-field talent needed to succeed in the Kaw Valley League and a big squad this year has returnees at key positions to give Paramore hopes of keeping the winning going.

One advantage Paramore has is numbers as he has 58 players out for football this season, including a group of 10 seniors. Last season Paramore reaped the benefits of a strong 2005 junior varsity team to put the Kaws in the hunt for the 4A postseason only to fall short in district play. Many of the players who contributed to that success are back in the Kaw starting lineup this season.

Back at quarterback is senior Caleb Denton, who accumulated nearly 1,500 total yards last year passing and rushing. Two seniors were lost to graduation in the backfield but the biggest returning weapon there is junior Shane Gimzo, who stood out in many games last season. Joining Gimzo will be junior fullback Aaron Andrew as senior Aaron Brooks and junior Mark Higgins may also see time in the backfield. The receiving corps features key returnees junior Kyle Morgison and senior Dillon Harrell. Tall tight end target junior Joel Gantz returns and senior Brandon McMullin, sophomore Brad Phillips and junior Nathan Wilbur may also be targets for Denton passes.

The injury bug bit Paramore a little bit on the offensive and defensive lines as senior Alex Hackathorn returns this season from an anterior cruciate ligament knee injury that prematurely ended his 2006 season. Hackathorn’s compatriots on the line will be senior Matt Merritt, senior Drew Pearce, senior Mitch O’Trimble and junior Caleb Wege.

Paramore called the line the deepest part of this year’s Kaw squad as that group will be joined on either side of the line by junior Josh Durflinger, senior Billy Brown, junior Casey Quigley, junior Dillion Freed and junior C.J. Bunce. Durflinger, Brown and Hackathorn will be the main parts of the defensive line along with junior Ryker Morris. Gantz and Gimzo will man the outside linebacker spots while other linebackers will include Andrew, Higgins, Freed, O’Trimble and sophomore Logan Hurd. The defensive secondary will include Morgison, Denton, McMullin and Harrell with some help from Brooks, Phillips, Wilbur and junior Eric Hastert.

“Our junior varsity only lost one game last year, so we were happy with that,” Paramore said. “We bring back a majority of our skill guys. We’re lucky to have great upperclassman kids and the younger kids have also fallen into line.”

As one of the smaller schools in the KVL, the Kaws always have their work cut out for them in league play. Paramore expects that to be the case again this season.

“It’s a tough league, but I think we carry a top group of kids as good as anybody’s top group,” he said. “We want to line up and be as physical as we can be every week. The guys have picked it up really well and our summer camp work helped. Conditioning-wise we had the best numbers we’ve had by far. Right now we’re battling some illness but hopefully that passes and we’re ready to go by next Friday.”


JCN Chargers
Coach: Mark McMillan, 14th year
2006 record: 6-4
McMillan followed the adjustment upward to class 3A play last season with yet another playoff appearance but with a couple key returnees in tow, he has several key contributors to last season’s team to replace, including the starting quarterback.

The numbers in the football program at JCN are again solid as McMillan has a crew of 42, including 10 seniors. Senior Luke Noll takes the reins as Charger quarterback after the graduation of two-year starter Daniel Finley. Even with the loss of running back Drew Kraxner to graduation, the backfield remains solid with seniors Abe Noll and Vince Foulk, who will be joined by junior fullback Chris Hale. Senior tight end Chris Noll, junior split end Matt Perry and sophomore Nick Clark will be the main receivers for McMillan, and the Charger line will include seniors Jared Brown, Mike Miller and juniors Matt Moore, Kyle Domann and Matt Noll with senior Patrick Willard also in the mix.

That group of linemen will be joined by senior Robert Erhart and sophomore Jake Robohn on the defensive side while the linebacking corps includes Miller, Abe Noll and Foulk. The secondary will include cornerbacks Chris Noll and sophomore Austin Gaspard along with senior safety Pat Booth.

“Luke did some quarterbacking for us at the JV level last year but this season is still a learning process somewhat,” McMillan said. “We’ve got a couple kids moving into the D-line for us, too. I feel like we’ve got a good group of guys.”

McMillan said he looks at the DVL as being fairly even in terms of competition this year. He said the usual teams stand out at the start of the season but the final winner may be hard to call.

“Pleasant Ridge is always tough because of the number of kids they have, and Troy usually comes out tough, but we’ll see where everybody’s at,” McMillan said. “I’ve been pleased with the effort of the guys thus far. They’re hard workers. We have speed, and if we can get that to work for us, we’ll be very competitive, I think. We’re always a run-oriented team but we want to push the pass sometimes too. Over the season we want to get a good mix of that going.”


Oskaloosa Bears
Coach: Scott Whaley, second year
2006 record: 4-5
Whaley led the Bears to a 2-game improvement in wins last season but couldn’t quite get over the hump and lead the Bears to the second playoff spot in a district with eventual 3A champion Silver Lake as well as JCN and McLouth. The season ended on a good note with a win over county rival McLouth but Whaley would like to see a solid group of seniors get Oskaloosa into the postseason.

Whaley has a roster of 30 players with a total of 10 seniors this season. He was middle school head coach when this year’s seniors went undefeated in eighth grade and hopes he has the right mix of players again this year to lead to bigger and better things for the Bears. Back at quarterback is senior Brock McGinnis, who battled knee problems last season. The backfield is a strength for Oskaloosa as seniors Boone Heston, and Brandon Hawks will be joined by converted lineman senior Clay Metzger at fullback. Metzger also battled injury problems with a foot last season and Whaley hopes those injury problems are part of the past. The receiving corps includes junior J.T. Thurston, junior Chase Tenpenny and seniors Dillon Robbins and Colby Artman. Tenpenny came on late last season as an offensive threat at receiver so may be one to watch again. Whaley said the offensive line mix includes senior Derek Brey and juniors Kyle Artman and Jarrod Bates with some help from juniors Drew Beisel and Jake Gamble and senior Joey Adams.

That same group will flip to the defensive line with Beisel joining Heston and Metzger at linebacker. Thurston, Colby Artman and Robbins will join sophomore Brandon Barnes in the secondary.

“They’re a good group of kids,” Whaley said. “They’ve been fun to work with. Last year was an adjustment back to me as head coach and I’m hoping that with them being a year older and some continued work on parts of the game, that will help. I feel like we have some depth on the line that will allow us to rotate some kids around and keep fresh legs in the game.”

Whaley also said there was no single clear frontrunner in the DVL this season but he knows with last year’s improvement and the past performance of the seniors, the Bears won’t be sneaking up on any opponents this season.

“The league will be competitive, I’m sure,” Whaley said. “I figure that everybody we play will be better than they were last year. We have to play well every week. We’ve practiced hard and we’re getting closer but we’ve still got a long way to go.”


McLouth Bulldogs
Coach: Harry Hester, fifth year
2006 record: 3-6
The Bulldogs followed up a stellar 2005 season with a somewhat disappointing 3-6 record in 2006 thanks mostly to departures from the 10-1 2005 team, but Hester is back for a fifth year as coach with a majority of his starters on both sides of the ball back for more action.

The 2006 season got off to a 3-1 start before the Bulldogs ended the season on a five-game slide, so Hester is hoping his team of 30 players is able to stay healthy. The group includes 10 seniors, including top returnees quarterback Mark Stewart, running back and receiver Ryan Smith, lineman Jesse Snyder and nose tackle Brian Kabus. Stewart will be backed by junior Derrick Crouse and sophomore Cody Winborn at quarterback while junior Skyler Terry joins Smith in the backfield. The receivers include Smith, Terry, Crouse, senior Kent Sparks, sophomore Chris Culter, senior Cody Wise and Tonganoxie junior transfer Jake Hullinger. Winborn and sophomore Tyler Drinnon may also see time at receiver. The lines will include Snyder, Kabus, sophomore Sheldon Mills, seniors Dustin Summer and David Buckley and sophomores Brad Spencer and Gus Harrison. Sophomore Robert Saxton may also be in the mix on the defensive line.

Linebackers for the Bulldogs will include Smith, Crouse, Kabus, Buckley, Wise, senior Cameron Stout, Hullinger, Harrison and sophomore Dacoda Reusch. Stewart, Terry, Sparks, Culter, Drinnon and Winborn will all be in the mix in the secondary.

Staying injury free is Hester’s main key for the Bulldogs this season as six starters lost time to injury in 2006, which helped lead in part to the five-game losing streak to end the season.

“We have to stay healthy,” Hester said. “This year’s senior class has worked very hard in the weight room and on the field to continue our tradition. We only have three returning juniors so our sophomores and possibly some freshmen will need to step up to the challenge this season.”

Like McMillan and Whaley, Hester also said the DVL is a multi-team race this season.

“I don’t think there will be any undefeateds in the league this year,” Hester said. “Oskaloosa has a great group of seniors and Pleasant Ridge will have 60 kids out, which means it’s probably not hard to find 11 good ones. It’s gonna come down to turnovers and who can avoid them. We’re getting a great effort from the guys every day. We battled through some injuries last year and I’m sure we’ll have some growing pains this season. I would say they aren’t ready yet but, by next Friday, hopefully we’re ready to go.”


Jefferson West Tigers
Coach: Steve Johnson, second year
2006 record: 3-6
Johnson’s move from St. Marys resulted in a 3-win improvement for the Tigers in 2006 and what Johnson lacks in experience on this year’s squad, he makes up in numbers.

West has 57 players out for football, which is up about a dozen from last year according to Johnson. That group includes 10 seniors. With multi-year starting quarterback Brayden Black lost to graduation, Johnson will plug junior Kyle Sanders in at quarterback. Sanders did get some experience last season with Black fighting injury. Seniors Matt Edington and Nick Briney return in the backfield along with junior Garrett Stewart, sophomore Austin Siess and senior Brandon Langston, who will also play some tight end. Receivers include junior Cole Buckman, senior Charlie Smith and Johnson said Siess may also see some time at receiver.

Johnson pointed to the line as a point of strength for the Tigers as six players who started at some point last season return. Senior C.J. Delfelder, senior Allan Van Noy, senior Garrett Mohney, junior Alex Harris and senior Tim Heckel will key the offensive line with junior B.J. Higgins and sophomore Nick Harris joining on the defensive side. Linebackers will include Briney, Langston, Stewart and senior Austin Lee. The secondary will be manned by Edington, Buckman, Smith and Siess.

“I think offensively we’re better all-around this season,” Johnson said. “Having six guys back (on the line) is huge for us.”

Football in the Big Seven is never an easy slate, but Johnson said he is optimistic for what he can get out of his team in 2007.

“I feel a lot better about the team going into this season,” Johnson said. “We’re a lot farther along now than we were last year at this point. We ended up throwing more than we wanted last season, so hopefully we’ll be a little more consistent in our running game this season. I’m feeling pretty confident at this point, especially in our line strength.”


Valley Falls Dragons
Coach: Rod Bunde, 15th year
2006 record: 0-9
Bunde’s Dragons took their lumps last season as he finished the year with less than 20 players and started several freshmen on both sides of the ball en route to a winless season. The loss of starting quarterback Daniel Nottingham to a knee injury in the first quarter of the first game also didn’t help.

With those being the facts, Bunde hopes the experience gained last year added to a junior varsity team that was undefeated in 2006 can turn this year’s schedule into more positive results for Valley Falls. Bunde has 29 players out this season, including only three seniors and four juniors.

Sophomore Mitchell Streeter returns at quarterback after sharing the position with graduated senior Jake Kearney last season. Junior Josh Kearney is the main returnee in the backfield and will share duties there with senior Devin Brown, sophomore Chance Gier and sophomore Tyler Wynkoop. Receivers will include junior Ridge Glassel, sophomore Logan Wynkoop, junior Garrett Jennings and freshman Alex Nottingham. Senior Cameron Bickford, who was in the backfield last season, has been moved to the line and will join sophomore Justin Sales, sophomore Tyler Miller, junior T.J. Breese and sophomore Riley Bunde there.

That group will also switch to the defensive side and be joined there by sophomore Kyle Heuertz and senior Sam Smith. Linebackers will include Logan Wynkoop, Jennings, Breese, Gier and Kearney with Glassel, Brown and Tyler Wynkoop in the secondary.

Bunde said the added freedom of more numbers is one step toward better results on this year’s Dragon squad.

“Some of the lineup will change somewhat but we’re pretty much set,” Bunde said. “We thought we got more benefit from Cameron by moving him up front and using his size in the line. The kids have had great attitudes in practice and want to do what it takes to improve.”

Bunde said it would be hard to know who the frontrunners are in the DVL this season until the season is a couple weeks old and the teams match up versus one another.

“It’ll be competitive but I don’t know for sure who will be the teams to beat until we get into it,” Bunde said. “Oskaloosa, Horton, JCN, Pleasant Ridge and Wathena come to mind right away. I really think Wathena could surprise with some good size and skill players. We’re definitely looking for improvement. I’m excited about this year. The kids are bigger, faster and stronger, I guess I’d say. Hopefully that translates onto the field.”



An '07 high school volleyball preview will be posted next week.....