Through the first half, the Sumner Academy Sabres were in a back and forth battle with Topeka Seaman on the road Friday night.

But a 21-0 third quarter for Seaman carried them to a 53-34 victory against the Sabres, who conclude the season 6-4.

Seaman's Spencer Vanderbogart kicked off the scoring quickly, scoring from eight yards out.

Sumner responded the quickest way possible – returning the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown. As he has most of the season, returner Benny Parker provided Sumner a spark with a 92-yard kickoff return.

Sumner would take its first lead of the game after Eli Alexander scored on a 60-yard touchdown pass from Armand Brisbane. Brisbane was 18-32 for 338 yards and three touchdowns.

Trailing 12-7 after Sumner failed to convert on both two-point conversion attempts, Seaman's Nathan Stanley scored from 23 yards out.

Sumner would punch back one more time.

Running back Torrel Saffold scored from seven yards out, giving Sumner its last lead at 20-15 following a two-point conversion from Vernon Vaughn.

From there, Seaman scored 28 unanswered points.

Kyle Dunham was on the receiving end of a 25-yard touchdown pass from Jacob Hurla. Seaman's Stanley punched it in from three yards, providing Seaman its first two possession lead at 29-20.

An interception return from Hurla added to the lead at 36-20.

Sumner's Vaughn scored the Sabres' final touchdown, narrowing Seaman's lead to 50-34.

The Gardner-Edgerton Trailblazers handed Schlagle a shutout loss to close out the season.

The Trailblazers rushed for over 300 yards, defeating Schlagle 49-0.

Quarterback Bubba Starling led the way with 163 yards on just eight carries. He scored three touchdowns, including the game's opening seven points on a 70-yard touchdown run.

Brett Jensen added 111 yards on 12 carries, scoring the second touchdown of the game.

Leading 21-0 at halftime, Gardner-Edgerton scored 14 points early on in the third, including a 24-yard touchdown pass by Starling to Alex Knorr.

Starling scored the game's two final touchdowns from five yards out and 18 yards out, both on the ground.

Schlagle finishes 5-5 on the season, while Gardner improves to 10-0 on the season.

David Gauntt (#7) led Shawnee Heights to an upset victory on the road against Turner Friday night.

Mistakes and a few bad breaks led to an upset loss for the Turner Golden Bears football team.

Shawnee Heights defeated Turner 14-10 Friday night at Piper High School, eliminating the second seeded Wyandotte County team from the Kansas 5A Playoffs.

Both teams scored in the first half behind big running plays.

On the opening play of Shawnee Heights' second drive, running back Donnie Lockhart scored from 71 yards out, giving the Thunderbirds a 7-0 lead.

Turner, who only had one first down in the opening quarter, got things going in the second quarter despite faulty coaching head-sets through the first half.

Rashon Thames, who had 162 yards on the ground on 24 carries, rushed for 71 of them on one play early in the second quarter to set up Turner's opening score.

From the nine, David Bernal scored, tying the game up at seven.

The defenses stepped up in the second quarter, with each team throwing interceptions inside the other's red zone.

But Turner's key mistake came in the third quarter. The Bears were deep in Thunderbird territory when Thames fumbled, turning over the ball back to the Thunderbirds.

Two red zone turnovers were the difference in the game.

"Usually the team that makes the fewest mistakes wins," said Allen Terrell, head coach of the Golden Bears. "We had a lot of things go wrong in the game. It took us longer to adjust without headsets and we had a wrong call on the long score early."

Despite the mistakes, Turner would hold a lead late into the fourth quarter, as kicker Nick Rodriguez drilled a 34-yarder midway through the fourth.

However, quarterback David Gauntt came back and delivered Shawnee Heights a game-winning drive.

He connected on two key plays on the drive, passing for 174 yards in the game. He capped off the drive with a five-yard touchdown run with just over two minutes left.

Turner responded with one more opportunity.

Quarterback Nick Bloomer connected with Thames on a screen pass on a fourth and five. Thames scrambled for a nice chunk of yardage, driving the ball near the red zone.

The Golden Bears were unable to convert a second fourth down, as a a gadget play did not fool the Thunderbirds.

Concluding the season 8-2, Terrell said the Golden Bears senior class stepped up.

"We're very proud of how far they came," he said. "If people had seen this group four years ago, they would be very proud of how it turned out. We had a great run last year and we didn't want to take a step back this year."

The high school football season in Wyandotte County is officially over.

After Piper was eliminated on Tuesday, Turner, Schlagle and Sumner Academy were all defeated.

Turner lost a tough thriller to Shawnee Heights 14-10 at Piper High School. The Sabres of Sumner Academy lost a shootout with Topeka Seaman 53-34. Schlagle, meanwhile, was banked 49-0 by Gardner-Edgerton.

Recaps soon.

 

Kansas City Wizards defender and captain Jimmy Conrad has been named the 2009 U.S. Soccer Foundation/MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year Award.

While this is the first time Conrad has won the league award, he's been named Kansas City's Team Humanitarian of the Year three times.

"It's an incredible honor to be thought about in these terms,” Conrad said, “and I know my parents will be very proud of me."

Conrad works with local schools, youth organizations and MLS W.O.R.K.S initiatives in the Kansas City area. He speaks with students about teamwork and presents information to them on setting goals.

“The best gift someone can give is themselves and their time,” Jennifer Currier, Midwest Regional Walk Director for Autism Speaks said. “Jimmy is busy in the community, spreading awareness about Autism and promoting healthy activity among children. He honestly cares about the kids and helps them have fun at clinics and other events.”

Conrad shares the award with Chicago's Logan Pause.

Turner quarterback Nick Bloomer, left, and Rashon Thames (behind him) led Turner to an 8-1 record this year.

The regular season has finished and the 4A State Playoffs have began. Friday's slate of games will include Turner, Schlagle and Sumner Academy.

A look at the final high school football regular season rankings for Wyandotte County.

1. Turner: The Golden Bears go wire to wire in The Kansan's power rankings. At 8-1, the Bears host Shawnee Heights tomorrow night at Piper High School. Running back Rashon Thames has led Turner all season.

2. Piper: While the Pirates were knocked out of the playoffs on Tuesday, they improved five games from last year and defeated Bishop Ward and Sumner Academy, thus giving them the second spot to close the regular season. Jasper Sanders was the team's MVP, as he led the Pirates through the air and on the ground.

3. Bishop Ward: Although the Cyclones missed the playoffs, they finish third in the rankings. Led by a very impressive rushing attack all season, the Cyclones finished 6-3 and because of being placed in a tough district with Piper and Basehor-Linwood, they missed out on postseason play.

4. Sumner Academy: The Sabres go back to state for the second straight year. The Kansas City, Kan., League champs look to defeat Topeka-Seaman on the road Friday evening.

5. Schlagle: Finishing 6-3, the Stallions have the biggest challenge of any school in Wyandotte County, playing Gardner-Edgerton Friday night. Gardner-Edgerton is 9-0 on the season.

6. Harmon: The Hawks, losing their final two games, pushed KCK champion Sumner Academy and the Golden Bears to the limit the last two weeks. Defensive improvements for the team were very noticeable this season.

7. Bonner Springs: The Braves were up and down all season long. 

8. Wyandotte: The Bulldogs snapped a lengthy losing streak this season, but lost were unable to get their second win of the season.

9. Washington: Finishing 1-8 and 0-4 in KCK play, the Wildcats were the season's biggest disappointment.

By ALAN HOSKINS, Kansan Contributor

Kansas City Kansas Community College got the 2009-10 basketball season off to a winning start with a sweep of Saint Mary JV Tuesday but the road gets a whole lot tougher in a hurry in the Sixth Annual Keith Lindsey Classic here this weekend.

The Lady Blue Devils take on Cottey College Friday at 6 p.m. and then face an early season showdown with arch-rival Penn Valley Saturday at 4 p.m. while the KCKCC men go up against Haskell JV Friday at 8 p.m. before a big early season test against North Arkansas Saturday at 2 p.m.

Four other games are also on tap. Johnson County and Penn Valley women square off in the tournament opener Friday at 2 p.m. with Penn Valley and North Arkansas colliding at 4 p.m. On Saturday, Johnson County will play Cottey at noon with Penn Valley meeting Saint Mary JV in the tourney final at 6 p.m.

KCKCC women’s coach Valerie Stambersky unveiled a promising corps of freshmen in the Lady Blue Devils’ 94-46 win over Saint Mary as a trio of frosh forwards combined for 40 points and 33 rebounds.

Former Piper standout Michelle Selbe had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Melanie Phipps of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, 13 points and 11 rebounds and Laci Schreiber of Shawnee Heights 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Guard Jerae David of Burlington, Colo., also had 15 points, soph Shannon Carlin of Tonganoxie 12 points and 5 rebounds, frosh Alyssa Rushton of Rochester, Minn. 9 points and 9 rebounds and veteran Sarah Craft of Lawrence Free State 8 points and 5 rebounds.

“We had a lot of players do a lot of good things but there’s a lot we need to work on,” said Stambersky, whose team shot 48.6 percent from the field and 86.7 percent from the foul line and grabbed twice as many rebounds (62-31) but committed 19 turnovers.

Blue Devil men’s coach Jon Oler was not as happy with a 79-56 win in the nightcap. “Not with 25 turnovers,” said Oler, whose Blue Devils put up only 55 shots to 59 for Saint Mary although hitting 45.5 percent while holding the Spires to 30.5 percent.

Freshman Dennis Tinnon of Green Bay, Wis., led the way with 18 points and veteran Jonathan Wright of St. Joseph’s LeBlond was perfect from the field in a 12-point effort. Veterans Melvin Gatson and Scott Fruehling added 9 points each.

Tinnon also had 11 rebounds as KCKCC controlled the boards 54-30 with soph Andre Metoyer and frosh Hal Payne of Bishop Miege adding eight each.
 

The Piper Pirates were defeated 37-21 last night by the Holton Wildcats.

Holton, entering the game undefeated, improved their record to 10-0. Piper finishes the season at 6-4.

A longer recap will be available later in the day.

By ALAN HOSKINS, Kansan Contributor

The naming of five Kansas City Kansas Community College players to the All-Jayhawk Conference team highlighted an otherwise disappointing end to the Blue Devil soccer season.

No. 12 ranked Garden City ended the Blue Devils’ season with a 3-2 overtime win after a controversial call stripped KCKCC of a go-ahead goal with five minutes left in regulation. The loss also ended the KCKCC coaching tenure of Dayton Owens, who has announced he will not return next season.

Sophomore Reon Thomas of London, England, repeated as a forward on the first team while sophomore defender Shemiah Davis of SM North and goalkeeper Kyle Joseph of Trinidad Tobago were named to the second team. Sophomore midfielder Ted Wunderlich of Twin Falls, Idaho, and freshman defender Jamie Darroch of Glasgow, Scotland, received named honorable mention.

Playing nine nationally ranked teams on a schedule Owens called the most difficult in the nation, KCKCC defeated four of them including Garden City and No. 9 Barton County, which went on to win the NJCCC district title by defeating Garden City 3-0 and Cloud 2-1. Also, KCKCC prevented Jayhawk champion Johnson County from finishing 10-0 in conference play by battling the Cavaliers to a 2-2 draw at JCCC.

However, numerous injuries and illness plagued the Blue Devils, who were 9-3-1 at one time only to lose six of their final eight and finish 11-9-1. Six players missed the playoffs because of injuries or the flu. “Our bench players really came through and worked incredibly hard so to have the go-ahead goal taken away on a questionable call was very frustrating and disappointing,” said Owens.

Arnaldo Miranda pulled KCKCC into a 1-1 tie with a goal into a strong wind in the first half and then Thomas gave them the lead 2-1 early in the second half. Taking advantage of KCKCC playing with just 10 men, Garden City tied it with 18 minutes left.

“With about five minutes left, Reon took a punt from Kyle Joseph and ran onto it with two defenders all over him as he go to the 18-yard box,” said Owens. “The goalkeeper also broke out to stop him as well but poked the ball through the keep as the defenders were pulling him down to score what we thought was the potential game-winning goal. Instead, a foul was called on Reon for running into the goalie and the goal was not allowed.”

Winning the flip, Garden City got the wind in overtime and scored five minutes into the extra period.

KCKCC finished sixth at 4-5-1 in Jayhawk play and 5-5-1 in the district in Owens’ third and final season as head coach.  “It did not go as we had hoped but it was a team KCKCC should be very proud,” said Owens. “The team worked very hard and did quite well with the toughest schedule in the nation. No one else played nine nationally ranked teams.”
 

Three Wyandotte County teams will be playing this Friday in the opening round of the Kansas 5A State playoffs, while Piper begins its 4A state journey tomorrow.

The Turner Golden Bears, finishing the regular season at 8-1, will host the 3-6 Shawnee Heights team in the first round in a 2-7 seed matchup. If they win, the Bears will take on the winner of the Mill Valley-St. Thomas Aquinas game on Friday, Nov. 13.

Meanwhile, two teams from the Kansas City, Kan., League have advanced to the 5A state playoffs.

The league-winning Sumner Academy Sabres (6-3) will take on Topeka Seaman this Friday. The Sabres are the #5 seed in the bracket, with Topeka Seaman the #4 seed.

Perhaps the greatest challenge any local team will face involve the Schlagle Stallions.

Finishing at 6-3 and second in district play, Schlagle will take on perennial power Gardner-Edgerton, who finished the regular season undefeated.

If Sumner and Schlagle both win, they'll renew their KCK rivalry next week.

Piper, 6-3, will take on the 9-0 Holton team tomorrow at 7 p.m. in 4A play.

The 4A bracket half with Piper:

The 5A bracket portion with the three KCK schools:

Now a headliner with the Harlem Rockets who played an exhibition game at Kansas City Kansas Community College last week, former Blue Devil star Greg Wells shows off some of his ball-handling tricks for his biggest fans, his children Dominee, DeMario and Amaiah. (KCKCC Photo by Alan Hoskins)

By ALAN HOSKINS, Kansan Contributor

With only two returning veterans, a promising corps of freshmen will carry women’s basketball hopes at Kansas City Kansas Community College this season.

The Blue Devils open the season Tuesday, Nov. 3, with a home game against Saint Mary’s JV at 5 p.m. and host Cottey College Friday (6 p.m.) and Penn Valley Saturday (4 p.m.) in the annual Keith Lindsey Classic.

“Obviously, we’ve got a lot of freshmen with no college experience but that could be a blessing in disguise in that they don’t know what to expect and aren’t intimidated,” said Coach Valerie Stambersky, who is beginning her 11th season at the Blue Devil helm.

Also on the plus side will be the most size the Lady Blue Devils have had in several years and the potential for offense.

“This should be one of the better scoring teams I’ve had and we have a lot of depth inside,” said Stambersky. “We have some very talented players who although they haven’t a lot of experience, will continue to improve over the course of the season.”

Leadership is expected to come from the two veterans, 5-10 guard Shannon Carlin (left) of Tonganoxie and 5-10 forward Sarah Craft (right) from Lawrence Free State.

Carlin started 26 games last season and was third in scoring with a 7.1-point average and hauled in 4.6 rebounds a game while Craft was second in rebounding (5.7) while averaging 3.5 points in 12 starts.

“Shannon’s biggest strength is her athleticism,” said Stambersky. “She’s quick and can jump and worked a lot in the off-season and pre-season on getting more consistency on her three-point shot. Sarah is a very solid rebounder, very fundamental with a lot of attention to detail who can score with her back to the basket or off the dribble.”

Size in the front court will come from 6-1 Laci Schreiber of Shawnee Heights, 6-0 Michelle Selbe of Piper and 6-0 Melanie Phipps of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, although more will come when Meleane (Ofa) Mace from the isle of Fiji becomes eligible the second semester.    

“Our post players are really solid this year,” says Stambersky, who will also play Craft at the power forward at times.

Three southpaws are among the freshmen guard hopefuls, 5-10 Alyssa Rushton of Rochester, Minn.; 5-6 Jerae David of Burlington, Colo.; and 5-5 Ashley Wham of Burden, Kan., along with 5-5 Brenna Wilson, a righthander from Garnett.

“Rushton can score off the dribble and from the 3-point line and David is very quick and can flat out guard on the perimeter,” said Stambersky. “She’ll get a lot of her offense off steals. Wham is also an aggressive defender on the perimeter while Wilson is a good spot up shooter.”

Two international students, 5-7 Annie Rowan of Portobelle, Scotland, and 5-7 Anna Belousova of Riga, Latvia, will battle it out for playing time at the point guard position.

“Rowan is very fundamentally sound, a good passer and great shooter from three while Belousova is a good defender who shoots well,” said Stambersky, who is being assisted by Alicia Roth and Tony Armstrong.

The Blue Devil mentor is hopeful a busy early season schedule will help her young squad transition into college level play. “There are still a lot of unknowns because of so many newcomers,” she warns.

In addition to the Keith Lindsey Classic Nov. 6-7, the Lady Blue Devils will compete against Hesston and Brown Mackie in Salina Nov. 13-14 and the AIB Classic in Des Moines Nov. 20-21 before returning to host Missouri Valley Nov. 24.

The schedule has a new look. With the annual Jayhawk Shootout at Coffeyville moved back to Jan. 7-8, Jaykhawk Conference play will begin before the semester break with games at Highland Dec. 2 and at home against Jayhawk power Labette Dec. 5.

While the whole game was great, I invite you to watch the last 20 seconds over and over again.

Piper quarterback Jasper Sanders made one of the best individual efforts you'll ever see trying to make something happen on the final play.

He and the Pirates came very close to winning on a hail mary play.

The Sumner Academy Sabres and Schlagle Stallions each wrapped up 6-3 records and 3-1 Kansas City, Kan., League records Thursday night.

• The Sabres defeated Wyandotte 37-6 after a quick start in the game.

The Sabres scored all 37 of their points in the first half. Armand Brisbane scored from seven yards out to give Sumner an 8-0 lead.

Benny Parker's 36-yard touchdown run and Brisbane's touchdown pass to Vernon Vaughn provided Sumner with a 22-0 first quarter lead.

Eli Alexander was on the receiving end of a 27-yard touchdown from Brisbane to give Sumner a 30-0 lead. Torrel Saffold scored Sumner's final touchdown of the game late in the second quarter from eight yards out on the ground.

Wyandotte's Alex Hamilton provided the Bulldogs their only touchdown in the fourth quarter. Hamilton scored from 75 yards out.

Wyandotte finishes 1-8.

• The Stallions defeated city rival Washington 22-7 at Washington High School Thursday.

The tandem of Schlagle quarterback Herman Ming and running back Jeff Jones provided Washington too much of a challenge.

Jones ran for 120 yards on just 13 carries, scoring a touchdown. Ming scored two on the ground, from 13 yards out and 21 yards.

Ming gave Schlagle the first score of the game, as he carried the ball from 13 yards out. Jones' 55-yard touchdown run in the second and Ming's 21-yard touchdown run in the third gave Schlagle a 22-0 lead.

Washington's Jeremy Simmons delivered a touchdown pass to Tim Goode in the third to put the Wildcats on the board.

Washington finishes 1-8 and 0-4 in KCK League play.