Sportsink072816

A magazine focusing on all things sports in northwest Kansas

AUGUST 2016

INK.

TAKING OVER TMP

after it won three games in the past three seasons, Jason Cauley hopes to revive the Monarch football program.

The Hays Daily News

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Eye on the prize

Hays’ Payton Ruder eyes a putt at the KJGA tournament June 27 at Smoky Hill Country Club.

Vinny Bedenetto, Sports Ink.

What’s up?

A look inside this issue WHO’S THAT? NOTABLE PERFORMANCES

FROM NORTHWEST KANSAS

5

6

TMP TAKEOVER

FIRST-YEAR FOOTBALL COACH JASON CAULEY HOPES TO BRING SOME EXCITEMENT BACK TO THE THOMAS MORE PREP-MARIAN PROGRAM.

12 BUILDING THE FAMILY NAME

OKLAHOMA NATIVE AUSTIN O’BRIEN IS PUSHING THE HAYS LARKS INTO THE NBC WORLD SERIES. HE HAS EVEN BIGGER PLANS.

SPORTS INK. CONTRIBUTORS: BRANDON ZENNER BZENNER@DAILYNEWS.NET, VINNY BENEDETTO VBENEDETTO@DAILYNEWS.NET,.

ON THE COVER: JASON CAULEY SPEAKS TO THE TMP-MARIAN FOOTBALL TEAM AT THE TEAM’S CAMP JUNE 11 AT LEWIS FIELD STADIUM. PHOTO BY BRANDON ZENNER. Volume 6, Issue 6 Sports Ink. is published and distributed by The Hays Daily News. Copyright © 2016 Harris Enterprises. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Sports Ink. is a registered trademark of The Hays Daily News, 507 Main, Hays, KS 67601 (785) 628-1081.

Larks look like contenders While baseball is a sport characterThe bad news is the Larks won’t have through July 11 and lead the team in ized by its long and grueling seasons, it RBI with 23 and 26, respectively. Both the entirety of their roster that helped comes down to getting hot at the right them reach the world series later this boast batting averages north of .360 time, just like any other competition. month. Biggers and Granberg, two big through 30 games.

If there’s one thing we’ve seen from parts of the Larks’ early success, left the Starting pitcher Austin Isenhart the Hays Larks pitched seven innings team earlier this month to be with the For starters through a month and National Junior College Athletic Assoin the game and kept change of the 2016 ciation squad that will also compete at the Larks in posiseason, it’s that they Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. tion to mount their have an ability to ratThe Larks also got off to a slow start late comeback. He’s tle off wins in bunchin July, which could be expected after joined by returning es, and that should locking in a postseason berth after the pitchers Augie Galserve as a sizable first month of the season. Through six lardo and D.J. Carr advantage when the games in the second-half, the Larks sit and newcomers — team returns to the National Baseball Stephen Yancey and Alex Lopez — that at 3-3 and have not scored more than Congress World Series in Wichita in five runs in any of their games. have routinely kept opponents in early August.

It’s likely too much to ask of a team check. Yancey’s 3.94 earned-run averThe Larks breezed through non-Jayplaying six times a week, sometimes age is the highest of the bunch, while hawk League play with a 4-0 record more, to continue their early season Gallardo is shutting opposing batters before winning 12 of their first 14 form for an entire season. down with a 1.04 ERA. games in the competitive league. Their If the Larks can find that winning When the Larks hand a lead over to two losses during that stretch — both formula for a second time this season Smith, as they did in the clinching one-run games — bookended a 10with the help of some replacements, game, he’s become close to automatic. game winning streak where the Larks however, they appear poised to be able He’s totaled nine saves in 13 appearaveraged 9.3 runs per game compared to play with, and beat, any of the other ances with 14 strikeouts against three to 4.1 for their opponents. teams at the NBC World Series in a walks. He’s allowed five runs on the That stretch carried the local team couple days. season. to a 16-4 league record in June and assured the team a spot in the postseason, as it finished the month three games clear of second-place Dodge City. The Larks beat the A’s, 6-5, on June 29 to wrap up the June championship in a game that could pay off in championship week.

After dropping the first game of the series at Larks Park, Hays entered the bottom of the eighth trailing by two runs and looked to be on the verge of conceding momentum.

First baseman Austin O’Brien hit a one-out homer to bring the Larks within one before Nate Olinger, Devlin Granberg and Austin Bell reached base for pinch-hitter Garrett McKinzie.

McKinzie took a 2-1 pitch back up the middle to push the Larks ahead by one.

Closer Chad Smith came on for the ninth and flirted with danger, allowing two runners to get into scoring position, but induced a ground out to Jax Biggers at second base to end the game.

That game showcased a number of the Larks’ strengths.

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Notable performances in northwest Kansas Lexie McDowell The Hill City standout and Hays Daily Girls’ Player of the Year shined in the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Game on June 25 in Salina.

The Future Washburn IchDERG VKDUSVKRRWHU ÆQLVKHG IRU IURP WKH ÆHOG including a game-high four PDGH SRLQWHUV RQ MXVW ÆYH attempts, continuing her run as the state’s best shooter from deep.

6KH ÆQLVKHG ZLWK SRLQWV one of three players on the white squad to do so. She DOVR JUDEEHG ÆYH UHERXQGV and dished out two assists in the white’s overtime victory.

Jared Vitztum The Thomas More Prep-Marian graduate took part in the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Game, leading the white squad with 21 points. He was the second-leading scorer in the game.

The future Fort Hays State 8QLYHUVLW\ IRUZDUG ÆQLVKHG IRU IURP WKH ÆHOG GUDLQing his only 3-point attempt and all four free throws. He hauled in a game-high eight rebounds and recorded two steals in 21 minutes of action, despite the losing effort.

Alex Lopez The Hays Lark and Texas Wesleyan starting pitcher threw a seven-inning complete game in a 1-0 win June 25 against the Derby Twins.

Lopez allowed just two hits while facing the minimum 21 batters in the outing. He struck out six without walking any batters. He needed just 65 pitches to complete the game.

Lopez (5-0) had an ERA of 2.10 as of July 11, ranking second among starts behind Augie Gallardo’s 1.04 ERA. The 5-8 righty had a 1.91 ERA this season for the Rams.

Taylor DeBoer After leading the Hays High School golf team to the Class 4A state tournament in the fall, the recent Indian graduate continued her successful year on the links into the summer.

DeBoer won the Kansas Junior Golf Association tournament at Smoky Hill Country Club with a 78 on June 27. She also won the Garden City tournament, shooting an 82 at Buffalo Dunes Golf Course the week SULRU IRU KHU ÆUVW ZLQ RI WKH VXPPHU

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TMP

Cauley in control at TMP Story by Vinny Benedetto

Brandon Zenner, Sports Ink First-year Thomas More Prep-Marian head coach Jason Cauley demonstrates a drill for players at the TMP football camp on July 11 at Lewis Field Stadium.

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fter totaling three wins in the last three seasons, the Thomas More Prep-Marian football program needed more than a shot in the arm. It needed a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart.

After former coach John Montgomery accepted a position in McPherson, the Monarchs went looking for another coach able to administer the correct dosage of vitality to a flat-lining program.

Enter Jason Cauley, an armed services

veteran with college football experience who has a brother that’s regarded as an “offensive genius” in their home state of Alabama.

Early returns are positive, according to two rising seniors.

Brandon Zenner, Sports Ink 7KRPDV 0RUH 3UHS 0DULDQ MXQLRU WR EH *DYLQ 6FKXPDFKHU SRXQFHV RQ WKH EDOO GXULQJ D IXPEOH UHFRYHU\ GULOO RQ WKH 0RQDUFKV¶ ¿UVW day of summer camp on July 11 at Lewis Field Stadium.

“I’m excited,” two-way lineman Chris Stecklein said. “It’s good to have someone new in and bring something fresh.”

“The team is getting closer to him. We feel what he wants us to do, how he wants everything to play,” wide receiver and cornerback Tucker Rhoades added after the team’s first day of summer camp July 11. It’s going good.”

Despite only having a brief look at his new team, the new TMP coach is optimistic “I think the overall effort was really good,” Cauley said at after the team’s camp July 11. “The kids seem enthused.

They were wanting to learn. They were eager to get after it. I was very pleased.”

The style of play, if executed properly, should bring some excitement to the program’s supporters.

“We’re going to be an aggressive defense

sending a lot of people,” Cauley said.

“We are a no-huddle offense. I haven’t huddled in 10 years. I think it’s a waste of time.

“We’re going to try and put pressure on the defense. We’re going to try and tire them out.”

While the offense borrows fast-paced spread concepts from the likes of University of Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez and West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen — who Cauley played for at Mississippi College — a lot comes from his brother who currently coaches Murphy High School, a Mobile school that competes in Alabama’s largest classification.

“Most of the stuff you’ll see is a Rick Cauley spinoff,” Cauley said. “He’s wellknown in the state of Alabama for being an offensive genius. He gets invited to coaching clinic after coaching clinic at DI

schools. People are just amazed by what he puts on. That’s where I got the philosophy from.”

His brother utilizes a wealth of talent in the football-crazy state of Alabama and has coached numerous players that went on to play in the NFL. While the Monarchs might not have NFL — or even Division I — talent on the roster at the moment, he still believes in the offense.

“You don’t need SEC athletes,” Cauley said. “ You just need people to buy into the system that work hard. I think what we’ve got here is smart kids. We’ve got very smart kids. They can sit there and they can look at a pre-snap read and they can get a post-snap read. I’m not worried about it at all.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

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The new coach also is bringing over a defense he installed multiple times at different stops in Hawaii, but assistant Dakota Hayes was the one teaching it on the first day of camp.

The plan is for Hayes to take control of the Monarch defense as time goes on under Cauley.

“You’ll see me involved in it, but as it goes along, it’s going to be his baby,”

Cauley said. “He’s doing really well. I’m excited about him.”

It’s early, but his players seem to like what they’ve seen so far.

“I feel pretty confident about it,” Stecklein said. “I like all the new stuff we’re doing.”

The Monarchs’ new coach also brought a teaching style that fits his system. With the Monarchs running through different

stations on the first day of camp at Lewis Field Stadium on the campus of Fort Hays State University, Cauley, a former quarterback, was there with his black and blue Nike cleats, knee sleeve and TMP Dri-Fit gear demonstrating tackling techniques and throwing passes during one-on-one drills later in the day.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

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“I think the kids respond to that,” Cauley said. “They’re going to feed off your energy.

If you’re energetic and you’re fiery, that’s just going to affect them more. If they see an old, out-of-shape 39-year-old man running around, screaming, throwing the ball, running the routes and doing this kind of stuff — trying to teach them instead of just tell them — I think they respect it a little bit more.”

Both rising seniors have seen some benefit to Cauley’s engaging approach.

“When he showed up, it convinced a lot of people that weren’t going to go out to go out again,” Stecklein said. “We had some starters that were contemplating not going out this year, but he came in and got them all on board.”

“A lot of the young kids are coming out, which is good,” Rhoades said. “It will be good for the following years.”

While improvements over the long run are expected, the pair is entering their only season under Cauley. Both of the Monarch

players said they set their sights on a playoff berth this fall to go along with individual honors within the Mid-Continent League.

Rhoades, a player that caught Cauley’s eye when the coach watched film from last season, knows it’s no easy task after winning one game in the past two years.

“It’s going to take everyone working together, not taking any days off, sacrificing for each other and doing everything it takes on and off the field to become a winner,” Rhoades said.

Brandon Zenner, Sports Ink Thomas More Prep-Marian coach Jason Cauley addresses his new team after football camp on July 11 at Lewis Field Stadium.

Cauley has had conversations with Montgomery to get a feel for the job.

“He was one of the first guys I called, amazing man,” Cauley said. “I like Coach Montgomery a lot. He gave me the rundown of what great kids we have here at TMP. They work hard.

“They came out on the losing end of some of the games, but it didn’t dictate what they have out here on the field or what they have on the coaching staff.”

Despite a number of lopsided losses

against state contenders and the departure of a productive six-man senior class consisting of Chase Romme, Nate Walters, T.J. Flax, Justin Pfeifer, Jared Schumacher and Jacob Roth, the new man in charge remains optimistic about his team’s prospects.

“Hopefully we get on a roll and start playing well and get a victory on our hands and we can just keep that momentum,” Cauley said. “When a team is playing over their head, there’s not limits they can reach.”

While the new hire seems to have created

a buzz inside the program, the reality is the talent on the roster won’t be that different than years past without a few unforeseen additions. Cauley isn’t looking for immediate success, however.

“This is a long-term process. It’s not a ‘Hey, we gotta win this many games right now.’ We gotta develop a winning culture,” Cauley said.

“Developing a program is going to take more than just a few months, and I understand that.”

Making his name Story by Brandon Zenner

Brandon Zenner, Sports Ink The Hays Larks’ Austin O’Brien stands in the batter’s box against Dodge City on June 29.

On July 5, Austin O’Brien got the opportunity to lace up against his best friend and longtime baseball partner for the first time in more than one year.

Sporting a Hays Larks jersey, it was only the second time Austin and his brother, Mason, faced off as opposing players on the diamond. The brothers from Tulsa, Okla., previously faced off in the Battle of Bedlam on April 7, 2015.

Mason’s Oklahoma State Cowboys bested Austin’s Oklahoma Sooners, 24-2, on that day. Austin went 0-for-4 while his younger brother scored one of the Cowboys’ two dozen runs on the day.

July 5 marked Mason’s first game with the Derby Twins, an eventual 5-2 win by the Larks. Austin won the battle in the stat book, collecting two hits and a run to Mason’s one hit, though it came in rude fashion.

“That was his first day there, so we got to play against each other. He hit a double down the line that I dove for and missed,” Austin said. “Some guys were ragging on me saying that I pulled my glove back on purpose. It was fun. …

We’ll be seeing each other later on. I’m excited for him.”

Austin and Mason all but grew up on

the baseball diamond. Their father, John O’Brien, was a player-manager with the Alexandria Aces, an independent pro team in Louisiana. The pair spent years in the Bayou from the time they could walk until they finally had the strength to grip a baseball bat.

They went on to be full-fledged stars at Owasso High School. Austin’s senior season — one that ended with him as 2013 Oklahoma Gatorade Player of the Year — was capped with a state championship. Mason batted third as a right fielder.

Austin batted clean-up at the first.

Before he became one of Oklahoma’s

Brandon Zenner, Sports Ink Austin O’Brien signals to his dugout after recording a double against Dodge City on June 29.

most decorated high school players, he was set on joining a community college roster in the state he has called home for the summer. Those plans changed rather quickly.

“I grew up a Sooner fan. It had always been a dream of mine to play baseball for the Sooners,” Austin said. “I was originally committed to Fort Scott. I was pretty much set on going there, and then I had a good senior year at Owasso. It wasn’t un-

til after my senior year that OU decided to offer me a scholarship.

“It was a blessing and, like I said, it was a lifelong dream. I feel like God just blessed me and sent me to the place I wanted to be most.”

Mason, a natural first baseman, was set to take over the position at Owasso until he tore his ACL in the preseason, forcing him into the dugout for his final high school season.

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Still, he hit .357 with eight homers, 38 RBI and slugged .675 as a junior to earn a spot at Oklahoma State, despite the family’s love for crimson and cream.

“He grew up a Sooner fan. We grew up really big Sooner football fans. I would’ve loved to play college baseball with my brother, but just in his heart he felt it was the best thing for him to go to OSU,” Austin said. “I would’ve loved to play with him, but I was happy for him and the decision he made.”

The 24-2 bruising handed down by Mason and the Cowboys in 2015 was just the first of many expected matchups with Austin’s senior year upcoming. Mason redshirted a season ago and will be a sophomore in 2017.

“It really is pretty special. We got to play with each other in high school, obviously, so it’s a little different to see him across the field in another dugout,” Austin said. “It’s just a blessing that both of us are playing baseball at the college level. I just love getting to see him out there.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

felt. All the guys are like brothers to me.

We have a blast. We look forward to going to the field and hanging with each other, playing with each other. … This summer’s been an unbelievable experience so far, and I’m looking forward to the rest of it and the NBC World Series.”

Austin got one last chance to best Mason this summer on June 22 and 23 when the Larks traveled to Derby. As weird is it may be seeing his counterpart in an opposing dugout, he admits there are loads of internal cheers.

“I wish him the best. I hope he goes 4-for-4 with four home runs every game but my team ends up winning the game,” Austin said.

“Obviously we’re both competing against each other and we wanna win, but we both want each other to succeed and want the best for each other.”

With at least one more year of the Battle of Bedlam, the duo have had the dream of reuniting since Mason chose OSU over the team he has loved since he was a kid.

“That’s probably the ultimate goal,” Austin said.

“The ultimate dream is to be together on a big-league roster one day. I don’t think there’d be anything cooler than that.”

Brandon Zenner, Sports Ink The Hays Larks’ Austin O’Brien VWDQGV LQ WKH LQ¿HOG DJDLQVW Dodge City on June 29.

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