Bruce, Allen take 4th in Class 5A doubles

EMPORIA — For the second straight year, McPherson High had a tennis team place fourth in the state in doubles.

Taylor Bruce has been a part of both teams, last year combining with Maisie Edmonson and on Saturday she combined with CeAnna Allen to make the Final Four.

Unlike last year when the Bullpups were in Class 4A, this was the 5A State Tournament.

Bruce and Allen won their first two matches in the rain-plagued tournament before losing to eventual champions Kelsey Burr and Jacey Arnett of Arkansas City 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinals. The MHS duo then lost to Tara Devine and Gabbi Taylor of St. James Academy, 6-2, 6-2 in the third-place match.

They had opened with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Vanessa Steven and Lauren Estfield of team champion Bishop Carroll and followed that up with a 6-2, 6-2 rout of Jillian Coleman and Alexxa Nunnemaker of Salina South.

With Bruce a junior and Allen a sophomore, no doubt they’ll be considered top state contenders next year. 

The MHS sister team of Ashley and Sydney Achilles started with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Morgan Derley and Sarah Gay of St. Thomas Aquinas before running into champions Burr and Arnett of Ark City, losing 6-0, 6-1. They then lost to Emma Dowd and Aleksandra Sadowksa of Topeka Seaman, 9-4.

MHS singles players Rachel Carlson and Perrin Schneider both went 0-2.

In its first time in 5A since the 2011 season, the Bullpups finished 8th with 12 points. Carroll scored 44 points, while Kapaun (39) and Salina South (25) earned the other plaques. Also ahead of MHS were Salina Central (18), St. James (16), Arkansas City (15) and Maize (13).

Here are MHS coach Tyler Brown’s thoughts on the weekend:

“This weekend was one that would test our mental endurance,” MHS coach Tyler Brown said. “Play didn't start due to the weather until Friday around 4:45. Once the courts finally dried our singles players were first on deck.  They only played one match that day due to the weather, it was a long one. We left the school at 7 a.m. and didn't get to our hotel that night tell around 10:30 p.m. That is a long time to sit around and wait on Mother Nature.”

"Needless to say, the opening round did not go our way. Rachel battled and went into a super tiebreaker with St. Thomas Aquinas for the third set, but was just outlasted 10-5 in the third. Perrin opened up with St. James Academy. Perrin, as always, kept her emotions in check, but just couldn't find her rhythm in this opener against St. James Academy.  It wasn't until the end of the match that you saw what Perrin was capable of.  The next round both Rachel and Perrin ran into the very talented Maize girls, both of them went on to medal.  Good thing is Perrin is only a freshman and has several more years to make some noise.

“As for Rachel, she has been a rock on this team making it to state for the third straight year, all in singles when not too many girls have it in them to step up and play singles.

“Doubles players, Achilles and Achilles didn't let anything bother them in their opener together, they were firing on all cylinders beating St. Thomas Aquinas 6-3, 6-3.  Then they went on and had to play what would be the 4-tme state finalist Burr and her partner Arnett.  The Achilles sisters fought hard but the overall No. 1 seed prevailed 6-0, 6-1.  After that well fought match they went on to play Topeka Seaman just before 10 p.m., which was a tall task.  Even though they left everything on the court Topeka Seaman walked away the winner 9-4. 

“Taylor Bruce and CeAnna Allen played such an outstanding regional and being the Valley Center Regional Champs set themselves up for a great spot on the state bracket as they were the No. 4 overall seed. They played lights-out with high energy in their opening round against Bishop Carroll No. 2 team Steven-Esfeld beating them 6-1, 6-2 and as for the singles Taylor and CeAnna were only able to play that one match Friday.  But coming back on Day 2, Saturday, Taylor and CeAnna found themselves in the quarterfinals against Salina South No. 2s.

“Taylor and CeAnna showed no mercy coming out as in Day One, winning 6-1, 6-2.  It wasn't until the semifinals that Ark City put a halt on our run. Much like our No. 2 doubles team of Achilles and Achilles, Ark City's Burr/Arnett proved to be too much outlasting us 6-4, 6-2.  Losing that semifinal put us in the third-place match against St. James Academy, the overall No. 2 seed.

“Early foot fault calls by the roaming official that you only see at the state tournament had us off tilt. It seemed like with something new to us like that really took us out of our rhythm. Never really finding that energy we saw early on in supreme confidence, St. James Academy was able to get the best of us 6-2, 6-2. Even though most of the girls may of walked away hoping for a few more wins in the tournament, they should be super proud of themselves.  To qualify all six girls the first time moving up to 5A and being regional champions, that says a lot in itself and with the new classification change that happened, 5A has proven to show its depth not just in the top tier but throughout the entire classification.

“The good news is we have 5 of our 6 girls coming back with what seemed to be a state tournament that had an abundance of seniors. Although our only senior, Ashley Achilles, on the Top 6 will be missed. It is comforting knowing the other five got a taste of the 5A action our first year moving back up.  It's also nice to know we had 11 freshmen along with others on the team that made their presence known every day in practice to this final six girls that went to state.

“I know this year was a successful one and our four seniors Ashley Achilles, Mary Wurm, Caitlin Faulk and Daphne Carrillo they will be greatly missed. They showed great leadership and how to be an example to our future players.  As for the underclassman, I know (assistant) coach (Noah) Lindfors and I are excited where our program is and is going. We have several girls coming back  that I could see giving these state qualifiers/medalist all they want next year in practice. Lastly, I must thank coach Lindfors. He has been an outstanding assistant coach and has done an excellent job for me. Not only does he do an excellent job during the season he gives a ton of his time to youth tennis in the summer which makes our program better.”

28-0 hole dooms Bulldogs in 52-24 loss

OTTAWA — The road continues to be a lonely place for the McPherson College football team.

Still seeking their first road win since 2014, the Bulldogs fell behind Ottawa 28-0 on Saturday, fought back within 28-17, but the rally was extinguished as the Braves finished on a 24-7 run for a 52-24 victory.

Mac is now 3-3 overall and in the KCAC — 3-0 at home and 0-3 the road.

Again, the Mac defense struggled as the Braves, who are tied with Avila in the loss column for second place in the KCAC, piled up 554 yards. It was a balanced Ottawa offense as it passed for 281 yards and ran for 273.

Quarterback Ed Crouch had a decent day for Mac with 247 yards through the air and another 77 on the ground. Jackson Goodmiller snagged 8 balls for 89 yards.

The Bulldogs spotted the Braves the first 28 points before getting on the board in the second quarter on a 28-yard Gabe Reed field goal. Crouch then gave the ‘Dogs some semblance of hope with a 26-yard run to make it 28-10 at the half.

The Bulldogs then made it 17 uninterrupted points early in the third quarter as Crouch went up top to Brandt Wolters for a 22-yard score.

But then the defense collapsed. It gave up back-to-back touchdowns before another Crouch 26-yard TD scamper stopped the bleeding to make it 42-24. Ottawa added 10 points in the final 8 minutes.

Big (6-7) Connor Kagei threw for 269 yards and 3 TDs to lead OU, while Corben Chambers (126 yards) and Kaegi (83) did damage on the ground. 

Mac is still trying to find a ground game other than Crouch as the backs managed just 37 yards on 25 carries.

Joey Hale led the defense with 9 tackles, one more than Cameron Kelemen and Zain Geier. Brett Sykes and Oluwaseyi Johnson picked off passes and Erick Brown had a fumble recovery as Mad did force 3 turnovers.

The Bulldogs return home on Saturday to take on No. 10-ranked Kansas Wesleyan, which has decided all of its KCAC games by halftime this season.

Martins bring home doubles title for Hesston

PRATT — Hesston High’s sisters doubles team of Kylie and Michaela Martin took the final step.

After losing in the Class 3-2-1A state finals last year to teammates Ashley Hubbard and Makaiya Russell, the Martins made the title match again on Saturday.

But this time they prevailed.

The Martins were a 6-0, 6-4 winner over Kansas City Christian’s Juliet Bartels and Emily Arnold to finish the year 26-4. They had toppled Sterling’s Jasmine Bates and Lydia Miller in a tough three-set semifinal, winning 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.

Hesston’s other doubles entry, Hubbard and Mackenzie Unruh, brought home a ninth-place medal.

In the singles title match, KC Christian’s Lilly McNeill handed Central Plains’ super-athlete Emily Ryan her first loss of the year, 6-2, 6-0. Ryan is most likely the top basketball player in Kansas this year.

Hesston’s Halle Krehbiel was fourth in the singles division, losing a three-setter to Sacred Heart’s Lily Perrin, who won 6-2, 6-7, 6-1.

Behind all their good play, the Swathers finished second in the state in the team race for the second year in a row, again trailing only Kansas City Christian.

Swather spikers finish 2-1 at Clearwater

CLEARWATER — Hesston’s volleyball team went 2-1 on Saturday in the Clearwater Invitational, but did not advance out of pool play in what was a high-level field.

The Swathers defeated Wichita Trinity (25-20, 12-25, 25-23) and Conway Springs (25-16, 25-17), but lost to Clearwater (15-25, 24-26).

Hesston, Clearwater and Wichita Trinity were all 2-1 in the pool, but the Swathers lost out on the tiebreaker.

Despite playing just three matches, the Swathers’ Talby Duerksen and Rylie Schilling impressed enough to make the All-Tournament Team.

“We struggled with passing and errors in the first match, but fought through and were able to come back to win against a Trinity team that has some talented hitters and blockers,” Hesston coach Jason Peters said. “In the Clearwater match, we had a lot of missed opportunities on defense, which prevented us from getting any momentum. We bounced back to play well against Conway Springs.”

Hesston has been on quite a run of matches the last 2 weeks.

“We had a tough stretch of matches the past 2 weeks against good competition that has worn us out a bit, but has shown us what we need to work on to be able to play at a higher level,” Peters said. “If we can be more consistent with stretches of high energy and good passing, and good defense at the right times next week, we will have a chance to compete well at sub-state.”

Hesston is 26-7 and wraps up regular-season play at home Tuesday against the Wichita Defenders and Lyons. The 3A sub-state is Saturday at Lyons.

Tiger kickers pick up road wins

Central Christian College’s soccer teams picked up a pair of non-conference road victories this weekend.

The women journeyed east 30 miles and dispatched with KCAC member Tabor College 2-0 as it was all Alexa Riddle, who scored both goals within the first 24 minutes of the game.

“We had a good game today,” said CCC coach Scott Fogarty, whose team has rebounded from last year’s 4-win season for a 10-4 campaign. “We came out early and set the tone and we were able to jump out to an early lead. The danger for us was that Tabor kept things compact and we had to be careful not to get countered down the middle. Our intensity did drop a little in the second half and that's something we have to improve on when sitting on a two-goal lead. In the end, we came away from the game without any injuries and got to give minutes to everyone."

Central, which is in the hunt for the Sooner Athletic Conference championship, has its most important game of the year coming up on Saturday when nationally ranked (No. 7) John Brown University comes to town for a 3 p.m. matchup.

CENTRAL MEN 8, SOUTHWESTERN ADVENTIST 1 — After losing five straight games after a 7-1 start, the Tigers returned to the win column with a rout of the overmatched school from Dallas.

No game information was available.

The Tigers will receive a forfeit on Tuesday from Bacone, so they’ll take a 9-6 record into their game at home Saturday against John Brown University.

Bulldogs, Swedes swap soccer wins

LINDSBORG — It took arch-rival Bethany College to bring out the best in the McPherson College men’s soccer team.

In a season filled with struggles and a spate of injuries, the Bulldogs entered Saturday’s game with just a 2-6-3 overall record after being picked to finish second in the KCAC in the preseason as well as receiving votes in the national poll.

But Mac put together its best game of the year with a 4-1 victory as it still has a chance to make something of its season.

“Tonight I felt we were very organized defensively and built well in possession,” said Mac coach Doug Quint, whose team is actually 3-2-2 in the KCAC so it still can finish the regular season in the upper half. “Our ball movement was good and it created nice opportunities to score. After Wednesday's match it was sweet to see our guys more composed in front of goal."

Mac led only 1-0 at the half on a goal by David Mwinga, who has caught fire in the last couple of games. With 20 minutes left in the game, Aaron McCready scored to make it 2-0 and in the 77th minute Jack Rhys Jones pulled the Swedes within 2-1.

But Mac finished strong with a couple of goals just 5 minutes apart, one by Chris Kelly and the other by Jonas Seitz.

Kelly had a pair of assists on the night and Sadam Ali also had an assist. Mac had a 19-12 advantage in shots, with a 9-6 edge in shots that were on the frame.

Bethany is now 1-6 in the KCAC, 3-10 overall.

The Bulldogs return home on Wednesday to host Sterling.

• BETHANY WOMEN 2, MAC 0 — The Bulldogs continue to play good defense, but a punchless offense prevents them from breaking into the win column.

Mac is now 0-6-1 in the KCAC, 0-11-1 overall.

Bethany had a 14-4 advantage in shots, 9-1 on frame.

“Tonight was a typical spirited game with Bethany College” Mac coach Mark Olson said. “Our young players learned a lot with a vocal group of spectators and physical play on the field.  I thought the way we gave up the two goals were very unfortunate. The first came from a second cross into the box while our player was unconscious in front of the goal. The second came when they capitalized on miscommunication between a defender and keeper. This team is doing everything they can to continue to work hard, remain positive, and overcome adversity on a daily basis.”

Kastel Heinold and Stacey Barron scored the goals for the Swedes, now 8-4-1 on the year, 3-4 in the KCAC.

Mac goes to Sterling on Wednesday.

Area roundup: C-G, SV pick up huge wins

You have to remember where the Canton-Galva football team was just a few years ago.

The Eagles once had to forfeit a game due to a lack of players. That same year, they basically had to play eight players both ways in most games.

But now the Eagles are back. And back with a vengeance.

In what was the biggest win in a couple of decades, the Eagles knocked off previously undefeated Solomon 38-20 on Friday to clinch the district championship and improve to 6-1 on the year.

The Eagles outscored the Gorillas 32-8 over the middle two quarters as they twice had to erase Solomon leads of 6-0 and 14-6.

Solomon was defenseless against the Eagles’ high-powered offense, which accounted for an incredible 391 yards when you consider it’s an 80-yard 8-Man game.

Landon Everett rushed for 118 yards and 4 scores to lead the way. Tyson Struber came up huge with 10 catches for 109 yards and a score. Braydon Collins added 98 yards on 17 rushes.

Brandon Huff continued to be a tackle machine with 11 solos and 3 assists, while Everett had 10 solos.

The Eagles are expected to put the finishing touches on a 7-1 regular season when they play next week at Herington, which lost 60-6 to this same Solomon team.

• Central Plains 52, Moundridge 0 — The Oilers looked every bit the No. 1 team in all the land, ending their game with the Wildcats at halftime.

The loss dropped Moundridge to 3-4 on the year.

Central Plains scored 30 points in the first quarter and 22 in the second. Despite snapping the ball just 21 times, the Oilers accounted for 322 yards of total offense, holding the Wildcats to just 89.

Cody Hazelton rushed for 35 yards to lead MHS and Gage Diederich added 33.

Moundridge returns home next week to take on Little River.

• Little River 50, St. John 0 — As expected, the Redskins took care of business with the Tigers, ending this one at halftime.

Matt Dougherty, getting a rare chance to run the ball, totaled 122 yards on just 5 carries and scored twice. Graham Stephens added 113 yard with a touchdown, while Hunter Thomas (92 yards) and Brayden Sears both scored twice.

Little River is now 6-1, the only loss coming to No. 1 Central Plains. The Redskins play at Moundridge next week to complete the regular season and tune up for postseason play.

• Smoky Valley 20, Halstead 14 — The Vikings clinched the top spot in Class 3A District 5 and stayed unbeaten in the process.

It was a comeback win as they trailed 14-6 at the half and still trailed 14-12 going into the fourth quarter.

Lane Schrag scored what proved to be the winner with 1:22 left in the game and then added the 2-pointer.

Tim Lambert rushed for 103 yards on 27 carries and Cort Elliott added 91 yards and tallied twice.

Konrad Anderson led the defense with 6 tackles.

The Vikings will try to complete a perfect regular season next week when they play at winless Rock Creek.

• Inman 28, Meade 27 — Mason Thiessen blocked a kick to preserve the Teutons’ victory as they clinched a postseason berth and will play at Sedgwick next week for the district title.

Game information is not available at this time.

• Chapman 38, Hesston 28 — The Swathers fell to 4-3 and play host to Clay Center on Friday. The Swathers are 2-2 in district play and Clay Center is 1-3, so it will be crucial for the Swathers to win if they want to go beyond Week 9.

No game information is available at this time.

Friday's bowling results

• FRIDAY FRIENDS AND FUN •

Del Ray, 13-5

All In The Family, 13-5

ADD, 10-8

CL Crew, 9-9

No Lane, No Gain, 9-9

Big Bootie, 8-10

Dilly Dilly, 8-10

• Women’s High Games •

1. Starla Gesaman, 222

2. Maysan Groote, 195

3. Diana Groote, 169

• Women’s High Series •

1. Starla Gesaman, 590

2. Maysan Groote, 509

3. Diana Groote, 455

• Men’s High Games •

1. Duke Fattig, 235

2. Dustin Huff, 231

3. Phil Huff, 223

• Men’s High Series •

1. Dustin Huff, 679

2. Phil Huff, 601

3. Lucas McNichols, 585

Jr. Eagles win WSL title, finish 7-0

Tina McMannis

CANTON — Not only is Canton-Galva High School’s football team having its best season in a couple of decades, but the Junior Eagles are roaring as well.

C-G’s Junior High captured the Wheat State League championship on Thursday with a hard-fought 24-22 victory over previously undefeated Little River.

The victory gave the Junior Eagles a 7-0 record and their third straight WSL championship as it appears the pipeline is flowing with young talent.

C-G had won its first six games by shutout, defeating Peabody (46-0), Centre (46-0), Moundridge (46-0), Wakefield (48-0), Herington (46-0) and Goessel (46-0).

Bullpups overwhelm Rose Hill, 57-7

ROSE HILL — There's no relief in sight for the opponents of the dominating McPherson High football team.

For the sixth straight game, the Bullpup starters were on the bench early cheering on their backups as MHS clinched the No. 1 seed in the West Division of Class 4A with a 57-7 pummeling of overmatched Rose Hill on Friday.

MHS, 7-0 overall, thus will have homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. They host Circle in Week 8 in the regular-season finale and will remain home all the way through Week 12 if they continue to win. Week 13, of course, is state championship weekend in Topeka.

The Bullpups' first-round opponent will be determined when Rose Hill and Independence match up next week, with the loser coming to McPherson the following week.

MHS scored on its first seven drives of the first half to pile up a 57-0 lead and it is the first Bullpup team to start 7-0 since that well-remembered 1921 juggernaut.

"I'm just really proud of our kids again," MHS coach Jace Pavlovich said. "It's pretty common for a high school kid to play down to their competition and we still haven't seen that. Our guys executed very well again tonight. But it is frustrating. We had a long conversation as a staff at half and what do we do? It's inevitable we're going to have to play in the second half eventually this season and we want to be well-versed in that and we haven't done that since Week 1… we've got something special going here and we're just going to have to work them a little harder in practice and get a lot done there."

Bullpup quarterback Kyler Hoppes completed his first 12 passes before missing on a Hail Mary on the final play of the half. He threw four TD passes, with two of them going to Chandler Wiard, and one apiece to Tayln Huff and Gabe Hoover. 

Throw in three TD runs by Jace Kinnamon, who now has 22 scores on the year, along with a suffocating defense that allowed 0 — that’s right 0 — total yards before intermission and it was a half that was near-perfect.

Hoover was subbing as the place-kicker for the injured Jayton Alexander and was 6 of 6 on PATs. On the seventh score, there was a bad snap, but Wiard threw to Cody Stufflebean for a 2-pointer. Jayden Dukes kicked the final PAT.

Leading the defense were Stufflebean and Khalil Lisbon, who set up residence in the Rocket backfield. Lisbon forced three fumbles and Stufflebean came up with two sacks.

Pavlovich lavishly praised both Lisbon and Stufflebean, but also was high on Tanner Pacey.

"Pacey is a kid we don't talk about very much, but he might be one of the best 2-techs that we've had in a long time," Pavlovich said. "He's great with his hands. We took Khalil out because they started to chop block and we couldn't get a call. At the end of the day, if we're not going to get a call on it we're just going to take him out."

The Rockets incredibly were minus-42 yards on the ground, but did have 142 through the air to finish at 100 for the game.

Jakob Feil and Zach Brewer came up with picks, while Stufflebean and Jakub Brown were credited with fumble recoveries. Feil also scored a touchdown on a fumble recovery in the end zone.

On 15 of the Rockets' 43 plays they had minus yardage.

Now that's domination.

• STATS •

• MHS Listed First •

First Downs — 18, 6. Rushes — 17-134; 27-(-42). Passing — 19-25-0-222; 10-16-2-142. Punts-Avg. — 0-0; 6-30.2. Fumbles-Lost — 0-0; 4-2. Penalties-Yards — 3-25; 6-50.

• INDIVIDUAL LEADERS •

• Rushing •

MHS — Kinnamon 12-120, Raymond 5-14.

Rose Hill — Jones 12-14, Patterson 1-0, Barron 4-(-4), Carlson 9-(-58).

• Passing •

MHS — Ky. Hoppes 12-13-0-194, Rinker 7-12-0-28.

Rose Hill — Carlson 10-16-2-142.

• Receiving •

MHS — Wiard 5-104, G. Hoover 4-59, Huff 2-33, Dukes 2-13, Ediger 1-7, Pearson, 2-8, Thrash 1-15, Yowell 2-0.

Rose Hill — Rapp 3-72, Barron 4-39, Barnhart 2-2, Williamson 1-4.