A magazine focusing on all things sports in northwest Kansas
INK. November 2015
Ness City’s Shocker Ness City senior Regan Stiawalt hopes to lead the Eagles to state before joining the Wichita State program next year.
The Hays Daily News
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Setting up the attack
Hays High senior setter Taylor Groen-Younger sets the ball to a teammate as Morgan Klaus waits during a match against Colby at the Indians’ home quad on Oct. 5 Vinny Benedetto, Sports Ink.
What’s up?
A look inside this issue
5 Who’s That? Notable
performances from northwest
Kansas
6
Regan’s final run
Ness City hasn’t been to the state tournament in
Regan Stiawalt’s four years. She hopes to change that.
12
Back on the map
After back-to-back sub-.500 seasons, the Otis-Bison Cougars are back in contention for a district title.
8
A promising future
Despite how the Tigers’ season of controversial endings and a plethorea of injuries, they have proved they have
arrived — and are here to stay.
Sports Ink. contributors: Nick McQueen nmcqueen@dailynews.net Brandon Zenner bzenner@dailynews.net, Vinny Benedetto vbenedetto@dailynews.net, Jolie Green jgreen@dailynews.net. On the cover: Ness City senior Regan Stiawalt before a game against Macksville on Oct. 6. Volume 5, Issue 9 Sports Ink. is published and distributed by The Hays Daily News. Copyright © 2015 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.
Jolie Green, Sports Ink. First-year Hays High head coach Randall Rath talks with a pair of his players during the Indians’ game against Garden City on Sept. 25.
Rath has Hays High headed down right path For Starters
Vinny
Benedetto
Regardless of coach and scheme, the 2015 football season was always going to be a rebuilding one for the Hays High Indians. The graduation of a deep and accomplished 2014 senior class combined with the departure of coach Bo Black for Shawnee Mission Northwest made sustaining the previous level of success a near impossible task for any replacement. The 2015 seniors entered the season with a 20-8 career record under Black and his predecessor Ryan Cornelsen, but only a handful of this year’s seniors entered 2015 with extensive varsity experience. Randall Rath, the man tabbed to lead the rebuild, is on the right track early. Rath coached a 6-4 Cimarron team in 2014. Prior to that, the coach compiled an 88-21 record in his final 10 years at Oakley, including a pair of Page 4
11-1 seasons and a 12-1 campaign in 2005. A 5-4 season in 2010 was as close as Rath got to experiencing a losing season in that time. Rath’s streak of winning seasons was in jeopardy after a 2-4 start in Hays, but the Indians have shown an ability to play stingy defense, posting a pair of early shutouts, and gradual progress on offense, considering Rath’s preferred power run offense is at the opposite end of the spectrum from last year’s spread. Hays High’s four losses come to teams with a combined 19-5 record. The Indians beat the only team they’ve played with a losing record, Liberal, by a score of 29-0 in Week 2. The most concerning issue plaguing the Indians seems to be the number of players at Rath’s disposal. According to MaxPreps, there are 42 boys on the Hays High football team. Most of their conference opponents have totals near or exceeding 100. There’s little Rath can do about the number of players that go out for football, and the issue doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon, but his run-heavy scheme appears conducive to keeping his top players fresh, most of which are first-teamers on offense, defense and special teams. November 2015
Ideally, the Indians also are looking to control time of possession with long scoring drives. That has helped the team keep games competitive against some of its larger Western Athletic Conference foes. Through six weeks, the Indians’ only losses decided by more than 14 points came to Garden City, which has 117 players listed, and Dodge City, which has 98 kids out for football. Unfortunately for Rath, the Indians likely will break in another group of core players in 2016. The cupboards are not empty, however. Sophomore running back Hunter Brown has showcased a physical skillset that fits what the Indians want to do offensively. Fellow sophomores Dante Blackmon and Dylan Schmidtberger also have earned valuable playing time. Another tough district assignment in 2016 and 2017 will not make the turnaround job an easy one. The good news for Hays High supporters is that Rath’s offensive philosophy appears to fit to mask some the team’s most glaring weaknesses. If the Indians’ program can begin to increase its win totals in the next couple season and establish momentum, expect some of the issues with roster numbers to fix themselves. SPORTS INK.
Who’s That?
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Notable performances in northwest Kansas Brock Long
The senior linebacker for the Fort Hays State Tigers has built on his previous role from a 2014 campaign that saw him receiver Honorable Mention All-MIAA honors with a tremendous 2015 season. In the absence of fellow senior Justin McPhail, Long collected 4.5 sacks and 88 tackles in the first six games of the season. Long led the MIAA with 12 tackles for loss in that span, including 3.5 against Missouri Western on Oct. 10. The senior has haunted opposing offenses, forcing three fumbles on the year and ranking near the top of the NCAA Division II in tackles and tackles for loss.
Nolan Lowry
The senior running back/linebacker for the Stockton High School football team has become one of the state’s top tacklers. Through Week 6 this season, Lowry was second in the state with 102 tackles, according to maxpreps.com, Including six tackles for loss. Lowry has recorded 42 solo tackles and 60 assisted, which also ranks second among the Kansas eightman ranks.
Taylor DeBoer
The Hays High golfer was named Western Athletic Conference golfer of the year at the Great Bend Invitational on Oct. 6. The senior routinely led the Indians and helped the team qualify for the state tournament after winning the regional in Goodland on Oct. 12 with a round of 83 at Sugar Hills Golf Course. DeBoer closed out her prep golf career on a familiar course, playing in the state tournament at Smoky Hill Country Club in Hays on Oct. 19.
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Crystal Whitten
The Fort Hays State University junior outside hitter recorded 23 kills and 16 digs in a 3-2 win over Emporia State on Oct. 10. She added another double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs in a four-set loss to No. 12 Washburn the following day. Whitten started all of the Tigers first 20 matches and led the team with 251 kills over the same stretch.
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Ness City’s
Shocker
Before heading to Wichita State, senior Regan Stiawalt had plans for final prep season
N
ess City High School senior Regan Stiawalt put in the time and effort throughout her high school career to become a volleyball player worthy of recruitment. When presented the opportunity to play at the highest collegiate level, she jumped at it. Stiawalt, a 5-foot, 11-inch outside
Page 6
hitter, was leaning towards playing at Washburn University in Topeka, one of the top Division II programs, but that quickly changed when Division I Wichita State University coaches came calling. “I’ve always been a Shockers fan, but I didn’t look at playing there until they showed interest in me,” Stiawalt said. “I went on visits down there and
November 2015
saw that this was a cool campus, and I loved it. It was great.” She verbally committed to join the Missouri Valley Conference program on a visit during her junior year. Soon, she’ll officially conclude the recruiting process when she signs her National Letter of Intent in November. continued on Page 8
SPORTS INK.
Story by Vinny Benedetto Photos by Jolie Green
Sports Ink
November 2015
Page 7
“My coaches and my teammates have helped me so much. There’s no possible way this would have happened without them or my high school team.” - Regan Stiawalt, Ness City senior
Jolie Green, Sports Ink Ness City senior Regan Stiawalt will sign with Wichita State in November, but she wants to lead the Eagles to her first state tournament before starting her college career.
It wasn’t until after she committed that she learned how close she was to missing out on the opportunity to play Division I volleyball. The recruiting process in volleyball happens earlier than football and basketball where it’s common for recruitment to carry over into the second
semester of an athlete’s senior year. Stiawalt said she was one of the last Division I recruits to commit for the class of 2016. She might have been a late addition to the recruiting process, but her talent — and height — stood out before she ever started her high school career.
“We watch our junior high usually, and I knew that she was taller for her age and everything, and she was very coordinated,” Ness City coach Karen Seib said. “So I thought ‘She’s gonna figure it out.’ Freshman year, right away we knew she was going to be something.” continued on Page 10
Stiawalt, right, celebrates with her teammates after scoring against Macksville during a match in Ness City.
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Stiawalt started her high school days as a three-sport athlete, also competing in basketball and track and field. She eventually gave up basketball to focus on club volleyball with Western Kansas Elite. While the added exposure from club ball boosted her profile as a recruit, the schedule and travel conflicts forced her to pick one and choosing volleyball has paid off. “I wouldn’t be where I am without club (volleyball),” the Ness City senior said. “My coaches and my teammates have helped me so much. There’s no possible way this would have happened without them or my high school team.” Since committing more time to volleyball, Stiawalt said she has added a jump serve to her arsenal, while her greatest strength remains the ability to aggressive and accurately attack opposing defenses. “When she goes to hit a ball, it’s going to go down,” Seib said. “When we need that kill, she’s the go-to (option), even on the back row. If we’re struggling in the front row, give it to her on the back, and she can still put it down.” The Ness City coach, who admitted she’s not one to yell or scream, said the biggest adjustment Stiawalt will face as she jumps to the Division I level will mentally readying for the intense coaching and preparation that goes into the collegiate game. Beyond the psychological part of the game, Stiawalt will have to adjust to playing against taller and more talented competition. All but one of the Shockers’ current outside hitters stand 6-foot or taller. continued on Page 11
Ness City’s Regan Stiawalt goes up for a hit against Macksville.
Jolie Green, Sports Ink
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While club volleyball gives her a glimpse of the heightened level of play, she’s regularly the most dominant and tallest player on the high school court. Even if times get tough during her early days in Wichita — the Shockers regularly compete for conference championships — the Ness City junior has a plan in place. “I just gotta remember that they saw something in me,” Stiawalt said. “They recruited me for a reason, so I know I have what it takes, so I just have to keep that in mind.” She said she enjoys representing the Ness City community, but she’s also looking forward to her college days in Wichita. “I’m so excited,” Stiawalt said. “I think about it every single day.” There are things still to accomplish before heading off to college, however. The last time Ness City made it to state, Stiawalt was in eighth grade. After nearly qualifying for state last year, the Eagles are not only planning on making it this year. They want to be successful at the tournament in Emporia, as well. “Our goal is not only to go to state, we want to win state,” Seib said. “Normally in the past, it’s always ‘Let’s get to state.’ That’s our goal, but we’re just dreaming bigger.” Stiawalt is focused on qualifying for the tournament before focusing on bigger things. “We’re going to get there first,” she said. “That’s the first one, but I think we can compete well at state too.”
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The Otis-Bison defensive line awaits the snap during the 2015 season against Ness City.
Brandon Zenner, Sports Ink.
The reemergence of Otis-Bison
T
ravis Starr has seen a range of success in his 11 years as head coach of the Otis-Bison High School football team. However, a string of deep playoff runs and double-digit win seasons was followed by just seven wins in two years. Well, in case some might not have realized, the Cougars are back. From 2009 to 2012, Starr never lost more than one regular season game at the helm of the Cougars. In 2009, their run came to an end with a loss in the quarterfinals. The next year saw them advance all the way to the state finals. Eventual-champion Thunder Ridge ended their run in the semifinals in 2011 and again in the quarterfinals the following year. Large graduating classes lead to three- and four-win seasons in 2013 and ‘14. More than half of the roster in 2012 was made up of skilled seniors and juniors, including the ever-talented Dylan Wissman and Justus Bartonek. That simply was not the case over Page 12
the past two years. Now, the Cougars roster five seniors and six juniors and the experience from the past two seasons is greatly showing. “In a small school, the numbers kinda hit you and it gets in a cycle. The last two years, we’ve only had three senior boys out for football in each class, so we just didn’t have the experience the last couple years,” Starr said. “A lot of these kids are now seniors and juniors and played a lot of times as freshmen and sophomores. … They’ve developed, their athletic ability has drastically improved and they’ve just matured and it has allowed them to do what they’re doing this year.” But with their third game of the 2015 season at rival Ness City, the Cougars abruptly announced their return to Eight-Man Division II with a 38-point grounding of the Eagles, a CPL foe that had their number in recent seasons. Two weeks later, Starr and the Cougars November 2015
knocked off another rival in Thunder Ridge to move to 6-0 for the first time since 2010 — the year they made it to the state championship game. Though the likes of Kade Urban, Trenton Welsh, Brad Lightfoot, and Nick Higgason are the motor to the Cougars, it’s not just the upperclassmen along for the ride. Whether it’s Luke Higgason, Landon Hoopingarner or another of their sophomores and freshman, the Cougars are positioning themselves to compete with the best of the state for years to come. Aside from the dominant upperclassmen, Higgason and Hoopingarner are the fourthand fifth-leading tacklers on Otis-Bison. Most of their special teams units are underclassmen and Starr believes the success will become contagious with the younger classes. “This has been an awesome freshman group, and it’s up and down the whole board,” Starr said. “They come out and SPORTS INK.
they work hard, they practice hard everyday. Even if they’re not getting the starting minutes, they’re pushing the older guys to get better. A lot of these younger kids have contributed a lot of quality minutes. ‌ This team has drastically improved and done the things they needed to do, especially in the offseason, from last year to this year to put themselves in a position to be better and win a lot of football games.â€? Despite the hundreds of yards and multitude of touchdowns Lightfoot runs for, he said what is propelling them is not their skill. “We just play with a lot of heart,â€? Lightfoot said. “You can’t beat heart.â€? And with heart comes belief. “I feel like we’ve got that confidence in us and we can basically beat whoever we think we can beat,â€? Urban said. “It just drives us further and further to get better every day.â€? Along with getting back to their winning ways has come the mentality of believing they are better than each and every opponent. It will be the case again Friday when Otis-Bison welcomes in perennial powerhouse Victoria for what could be a matchup of 8-0 teams with the district championship on the line. Not only does the loser likely face Sharon Springs-Wallace County in the first round of the playoffs, but it will prove if
Brandon Zenner, Sports Ink.
The Otis-Bison Cougars huddle up during practice.
Otis-Bison is back for real. “I think these guys think anything is possible,� Starr said. “They believe in themselves, they have a confidence in themselves and they think they’re as good of athletes as they’re gonna see on the other side of the field.
“They expect to go in each game and win. ‌ Our seniors are taking it to heart that they wanna play well the remainder of the season. They wanna go out and kinda get the pride back at Otis-Bison. And so far, they’ve lived up to that.â€? Brandon Zenner, Sports Ink.
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Mo’ advances in the fight against prostate cancer P T rostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health issues are some of the big baddies that knock men down when they least expect it. Sure, our dads and our dad’s dads didn’t run off to the doctor every time they had a headache, but maybe if some of them had, they’d have lived a lot longer. Research into these diseases is making headway; in fact, the non-profit Movember Foundation’s goal is to “fast track a time when no man will die of prostate or testicular cancer.�
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Fact: The average lifespan of American men still comes in at about four years less than that of
Sports Ink
Todd Keller
November 2015
S
ome of the innovations Movember funds include developing more accurate tests to predict aggressive prostate cancer; developing better imaging to detect the spread of prostate cancer; investigating testicular cancer relapse and how to reduce mortality; and studying the links between physical activity and survival rates. Fact: Growing a mustache during the month of Movember or a beard for No-Shave-meber and signing up at us.movember.com to raise funds for research on men’s health issues is one way to stand up and take action.
Page 13
Fort Hays has overcome adversity to prove success and show promise The Closer
Brandon
F
Zenner
rom the opening game of their 2015 campaign, the Fort Hays State Tigers knew their goals weren’t going to be easily attained. Nobody could have predicted it would have been this hard. Start with Week 1. The Tigers open with the MIAA TV Game of the Week on the road at Central Oklahoma, precicted to be among the top-three teams in the league. The Tigers overcome a 20-point deficit, but lose more than they win. Senior linebacker Justin McPhail — a surefire All-MIAA selection and possible All American — goes down with a facial injury and is forced to sit out the rest of the season. No. 2 redshirt freshman running back Malik Thomas saw his first season end in just 13 minutes wth a torn ACL. Junior No. 1 cornerback Rashad Dunnigan goes down for the year with a leg injury. Junior Kenneth Iheme — the Tigers’ No. 1 running back — never got to start his season with an ankle injury. On the defensive line, Johnny Hubbard III and Andre McKinnon were ruled out before the season with injuries of their own. That was only the beginning. As far as injuries go, promising redshirt freshman receiver Codaryl Pandolfo had to end his season on the first play of Week 3. Along the way, linebackers Alex Schmidtberger and Jose Delgado, both starters in place of McPhail, go down with injuries of their own, although they have a chance to return this season. Despite their injuries, the Tigers were a few controversial calls away from starting 6-0. Against Pittsburg State, Doyin Jibowu blocked a kick and was wrongfully flagged for roughing the kicker. The refs called the penalty with belief that Nathan Shepherd had blocked it, though the Tigers, and Jibowu, will say otherwise. The Gorillas went on to score the game-winning touchdown on that very drive. Page 14
Brandon Zenner, Sports Ink. Fort Hays State senior receiver Andrew Flory sits in disappointment in the waning moments of the Tigers’ loss at Missouri Western on Oct. 10.
Against Missouri Western, the MIAA appeared to forget the rules of pass interference. Isaiah Maxi and Andrew Flory were blatantly held on deep plays and drew no flags. On the game’s final play, it was more of the same, against Evan Jennings in the end zone. While the record is not flawless, the Tigers now know two things. They have the respect from across the league that they deserve and they are more than capable of becoming one of the premier teams in the ever-powerful MIAA. November 2015
Their contests against Emporia State and Northwest Missouri State might have been seen as the games they need to win to prove that. That couldn’t be further from the truth with how depleted they are. This team will return nine starters on defense. They will have three starting running backs capable of starting anywhere in the country. But more than anything, the Tigers still have that chip on their shoulder to prove they can be, and are, here to stay. SPORTS INK.
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