Coaches Take On SLHS & RHS Games

From CJOnline
By Brent Maycock
SILVER LAKE — As soon as the final horn sounded on Rossville’s 24-14 win over Silver Lake in the War on 24 showdown in late October, fans from both teams couldn’t help but hold one thought.
“See ya again in a few weeks.”
    Both teams are poised to earn that rematch, but first must get by big challenges in Friday’s Class 3A quarterfinals. No. 1 Rossville (11-0) hits the road to Pittsburg for a 5 p.m. clash with perennial contender Colgan (9-2), while Silver Lake (10-1) is home for the second straight week, entertaining Wellsville (9-2) at 7 p.m.
    And while fans might be dreaming of a semifinal rematch — which would be the ninth in 13 years between the Mid-East League archrivals — the coaches and players from each school haven’t even entertained such thoughts.
    “You have to take it one game at a time, survive and do the things we need to do to get prepared for our next opponent,” Silver Lake coach C.J. Hamilton said. “I don’t think coach (Derick) Hammes or any of their players are thinking anything but Colgan and we’re not thinking anything else but Wellsville.”
Hammes agreed.
“Colgan’s got our full attention, I can tell you that,” Hammes said. “They’re so well coached and play extremely hard and do everything right. For us to look ahead, we’d be in trouble. We’re not doing that. The circumstances of this game, playing in (Pittsburg State’s) Carnie-Smith Stadium against a football team with a lot of tradition, our kids are really looking forward to that.”
    Both teams survived tough battles just to get to the quarterfinals.
After dominating a regular-season matchup with Centralia 42-6, Rossville had its hands full with the Panthers in the rematch. The game was tied 14-14 at halftime before an acrobatic touchdown catch by Thatcher Horak sparked the Bulldawgs to a 21-0 advantage in the second half and a 35-14 win.
Horak caught a pair of touchdown passes from younger brother Tucker, who finished with 106 yards rushing and 134 passing. The Bulldawgs made some huge defensive stands to secure the win, twice stopping Centralia inside the Rossville 15.
    “Those guys were good and they came to play,” Hammes said of Centralia, which won the 2-1A state title last year. “They gave us a great challenge and the difference between this year’s team and last year’s is we didn’t have those challenges. We’ve had some injury situations or two to deal with and we’ve been in a couple tight ball games in the latter half of the season where we’ve pulled through. The make-up of the season has been different and the kids have responded.”
Colgan has won five straight since suffering consecutive losses to 4A Division II quarterfinalists Frontenac and Columbus. The Panthers downed Jayhawk-Linn (46-7) and Galena (35-18) to reach the quarterfinals.
    Though Colgan has yet to reach a championship game in two seasons of 3A, the Panthers do own seven state titles overall, inlcuding four straight 2-1A crowns from 2000-03. Colgan has made the 3A quarterfinals each of the last two seasons, falling to Rossville 17-7 in 2012.
    “In my career, every time you go to southeast Kansas, it’s the biggest thing in town,” Hammes said. “The atmosphere whoever you play down there is cool because everyone turns out from it locally. It’s an area of the state that really supports football and on top of that we’re playing a really good team.”
    Like Rossville, Silver Lake found itself in a tight battle with Sabetha last Friday, using a 41-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Matzke to Jace Freeman on the final play of the first half to break a 7-7 tie. The Eagles held Sabetha scoreless the rest of the way to pull out a 28-7 victory.
“They were physical, had pretty good speed and tackled really well,” Hamilton said of the Bluejays. “I was impressed with them.”
    Wellsville is nearly a carbon copy of Sabetha, relying heavily on a ground game led by speedy back Brett Osbern. The senior has rushed for 1,397 yards and 21 touchdowns this year and had logged five straight games of 130 yards or more before being held to 70 by Caney Valley.
Cole Silsby has added 923 yards and 12 touchdowns through the air, while the Eagle defense has allowed just 61 points all season with Saturday’s 11-10 win over Caney Valley  snapping a streak of five straight shutouts.
    “They’ve got good size and good speed and that’s always a tough combination,” Hamilton said.
Silver Lake has allowed just 64 points and had a string of four straight shutouts during the season. Offensively, Matzke has thrown for 1,860 yards and 22 touchdowns and also run for 635 yards and 12 scores.

RHS Kansas Scholars Named

    On Tuesday, Nov. 4, the University of Kansas Alumni Association and KU Endowment honored   210 seniors from high schools in Shawnee and Wabaunsee counties  their academic achievements and named them Kansas Honor Scholars at a 7 p.m. program and reception at the Topeka Ramada Inn
    The seniors from RHS that were honored were:  Makayla Crow, Breanna Hill,  Nicholas Reesor, Andrea Rietcheck,  Lake Schultz-Pruner,  Ethan Woodcock.
    The complete article can be read at:  http://news.ku.edu/ku-honor-210-seniors-shawnee-wabaunsee-county-high-schools

Mary (Belt) Cathcart Passes Away

    Mary Josephine Cathcart, 80, of Council Grove, Kansas, passed away Monday, November 10, 2014, at Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka.
    She was born September 13, 1934 in Council Grove, Kansas to Elmer and Opal (Williams) Belt. She was one of the youngest of thirteen children.
    Jo married John Cathcart on November 25, 1968 in Rossville, Kansas. After several moves, they have lived in this area for the last several years.
    She worked as a waitress at the Hays House and Saddlerock Caf . She was a homemaker and supported her husband in his business. She was a member of Council Grove Christian Church. She enjoyed flowers, cooking, decorating her home and spending time with her grandchildren.
    Jo was preceded in death by her parents and siblings: Lorenzo Belt, Irma Belt, Ila Mae Smith, Ethel Davis, Stella Ward, Freda Nester, Jack Belt, and Walter Belt. She is survived by her husband John, of the home; sons, Rick Nosker and wife Robin, of Juliette, IL, Dan Nosker and wife Becky, of Council Grove, Jason Cathcart and wife Angela, of Emporia; daughter, Lori Jo Houck and husband Jeff, of rural Americus; stepdaughters, Pam Hood and husband Robin, of Topeka and Judy Funk and husband Greg, of Overland Park; 20 grandchildren; and 9 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her sisters, Lola Phillips, Nadine Nester; and brothers, John Belt and George Belt.
    A visitation will be held on Wednesday, November 12, 2014 at Penwell-Gabel Funeral Home in Council Grove. The funeral service will be at 2:00pm, Thursday, November 13th at Council Grove Christian Church. Interment will follow at Comisky Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Morris County Hospital Foundation and may be sent in care of Penwell-Gabel, Po Box 273, Council Grove, KS 66846. To leave a special message for the family online, please visit www.PenwellGabelCouncilGrove.com 

Robert Jacobson Passes Away

    Robert Eugene Jacobson, 84 Rossville, passed away Monday, November 10, 2014 at the Midland Hospice House in Topeka.   
    He was born January 23, 1930 at Topeka, the son of John and Catherine O'Connor Jacobson. He grew up in the Delia and Rossville communities and graduated from Topeka High School.   
    Mr. Jacobson was a lineman and had worked for PAR Electrical. Robert was a member of St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Rossville. He was also a member of IBEW Local Union 304. Bob was an avid sports fan and enjoyed watching KU Basketball.   
    He was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers, Billy and John Jacobson; a sister Rosemary Pauly.    Survivors include three sons, Steve (Kate) Jacobson, St. Marys, Mike (Debbie) Jacobson, Excelsior Springs, MO, and Jesse Jacobson, Jarrell, TX; a brother, Donald (Genevieve) Jacobson, Rossville; three sisters, Betty Lambotte, Rossville, Kay (Bill) Wild, St. Marys and Dorothy (Jim) Lloyd Rossville; grandchildren; great-grandchildren; nieces and nephews.   
    Memorial Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 A.M. Thursday, November 13, 2014 at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Rossville.    The family will receive friends from 6:00 until 7:00 P.M. Wednesday, November 12, 2014 at Piper Funeral Home in St. Marys, where a rosary will be recited at 7:00 P.M.    Inurnment will be in Mt. Calvary Cemetery, St. Marys. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Midland Care and sent in care of Piper Funeral Home, 714 Maple St., St. Marys, Kansas 66536

Dawgfeed 9 You Tube Video

    For RHS news,  a few laughs,  and some video of the "War on 24"  go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V65S8Gy9fY

Booster Club Charter Buses To Pittsburgh

Attention all DAWG fans. We are chartering a bus for Friday to go to the football game in Pittsburg. The cost will be $35/seat. Right now the tentative time for the game is 5 pm. We will plan on leaving RHS around noon.

If you are interested in riding, you can pay Cheri Grant Reesor, Wendi Rickson Horak, or Shari Gentry or you can drop your money off at the high school. This is a first come first serve basis. We only have one for now. If it fills and we will start a second one, we have it reserved but must have enough people to fill it. 

Please let everyone know who may be interested.

If you are interested -- please get with the following to reserve and pay for your spot!!!
Cheri Reesor - (785) 554-3345
Wendi Horak - (785) 640-1667
Shari Gentry - (785) 554-8071

GO DAWGS!

Dawgs Move Past Centrailia In Playoffs

From the Capital Journal
By Brent Maycock

ROSSVILLE — In Rossville football lore, it will simply go down as “The Catch.”

Tied 14-14 with Centralia late in the third quarter of Saturday night’s Class 3A playoff rematch, Bulldog quarterback Tucker Horak lofted a ball in the direction of older brother Thatcher Horak, hoping he could make a play on the jump ball. Problem was, Centralia’s Darrian Turner was right there waiting with perfect coverage.

The two athletes went up together and as they battled for the ball, it popped up and came down right into Thatcher Horak’s hands. The Bulldog senior raced untouched the rest of the way for a 65-yard touchdown that sent Rossville on its way to a 35-14 victory.

“He played that pretty well and he’s a heck of an athlete,” Thatcher said of Turner. “It was a lot of luck. When it popped in the air, I had no clue where it was. But I held my hand out and it fell right into it.”

No. 1 Rossville (11-0) will hit the road for the quarterfinals, traveling to Pittsburg for a showdown with Colgan (9-2). The Panthers rolled past Galena 35-18 earlier Saturday.

No question “The Catch” played a big role in Rossville fighting off a major challenge by Centralia, which was dominated 42-6 by the Bulldogs in their early October meeting. But so too was “The Stop,” and Horak had a hand in that as well.

After having an answer for everything Rossville threw at it in the first half, Centralia was poised to respond once again on its possession immediately following Horak’s acrobatic touchdown grab. Nice runs by Trevor Mars and Turner moved the ball to the Panther 46 and set up a third-and-1.

Centralia never got the yard it needed. Mars was stuffed for no gain on third down, and on fourth down Thatcher Horak tracked down Turner on the edge for another no gain, giving the ball back to Rossville. The Bulldogs needed just seven plays to make it a two-score game with Nick Reesor rumbling in from 10 yards out.

Rossville’s defense, gashed by Centralia for 147 yards and nine first downs in the first half, gave up just 49 yards and three first downs in the second half, including no first downs and three yards in the fourth quarter.

“When we went in at halftime, we just realized what was on the line and what we were playing for,” said senior lineman Terrance Sowers, who helped set the tone for the defensive stand by teaming with Dawson Hammes for a huge 12-yard sack of Centralia’s Wyatt VanDorn on fourth-and-4 at the Bulldog 15 on the Panthers’ first possession of the second half. “We didn’t want it to go down the drain. We just started clicking and had a bunch of fire.

“That just added juice to the tank.”

Thatcher Horak added a late 17-yard touchdown run for the final margin of victory, finishing the night with 49 yards rushing and 105 receiving with a pair of touchdown grabs. His first was a 36-yarder where he slipped all alone behind the Centralia defense for an easy score that gave Rossville a 14-6 lead early in the second quarter.

Centralia came right back, however, and tied it when Turner hauled in a 10-yard slant pass from VanDorn and then ran in the two-point conversion. Tied at halftime after being completely out of it at the break in the first meeting, Centralia was in position.

But the Panthers couldn’t convert on fourth downs in the second half after also seeing a drive deep in Rossville territory end with a Christian Roduner interception on fourth down in the end zone.

“We’re right there,” Centralia coach Larry Glatczak said. “A tipped ball for a touchdown, a couple fourth-down conversions. It’s a game of plays, a game of inches and that’s what this game was.”

Tucker Horak finished with 106 yards rushing and 134 passing, throwing for two touchdowns. Reesor added 69 yards on the ground and two touchdowns, getting the Bulldogs on the board first with a 31-yard scoring burst up the middle in the first quarter.

Rossville kicker Paul Steinke also set a state record in the game, converting all five extra-point kicks to give him 87 consecutive makes. The old mark was 82, set by Salina Central’s Alex Parker in 2005-06.

Centralia finished the season 9-2, both losses to Rossville and was led by Turner’s 78 rushing yards. Trevor Mars had the Panthers’ other touchdown on a 1-yard run late in the first quarter.

Centralia (9-2)      6    8    0    0     =     14
Rossville (11-0)     7    7    7   14     =     35

Ross — Reesor 31 run (Steinke kick)
Cent — Mars 1 run (pass failed)Ross — Th. Horak 36 pass from Tu. Horak (Steinke kick)Cent — Turner 10 pass from VanDorn (Turner run)Ross — Th. Horak 65 pass from Tu. Horak (Steinke kick)
Ross — Reesor 10 run (Steinke kick)
Ross — Th. Horak 17 run (Steinke kick)

GAME IN FIGURES

                                Cent           Ross

First downs           12               16
Rushes-yards   51-186      36-199
Passing                  10               134
Comp-Att-Int   1-5-1          7-12-1
Punts                 2-39.0        3-37.5
Fumbles-Lost    0-0             0-0
Penalties-Yds    2-15           2-20

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Centralia: Mars 6-25, VanDorn 15-39, Turner 20-78, J. Johnson 9-36, Deters 1-8. Rossville: Tu. Horak 18-106, Reesor 9-69, Th. Horak 8-49, Team 1-minus 17.

PASSING — Centralia: VanDorn 1-4-1, 10, Deters 0-1-0, 0. Rossville: Tu. Horak 7-12-1, 134.

RECEIVING — Centralia: Turner 1-10. Rossville: C. Horak 1-minus 3, Th. Horak 4-105, Roduner 3-32.

Coach Derick Hammes On War On 24.

    This is a video of Derick Hammes talking about the "War on 214"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4FpKajYfWI

Brent Maycock Prediction For 3A Football

Brent Maycock of the Capital Journal has issued the following prediction for 3A football

Championship game — Rossville (9-0) vs. Scott City (9-0).
Champion — Rossville. History isn’t exactly on the side of the Bulldogs, who have seen numerous title contenders in the past decade-plus that have been unable to get past archrival Silver Lake in the state semifinals. Something seems different this year, however, and junior quarterback Tucker Horak is the X-factor. Scott City has a murderer’s row to face to get to the finals and is capable of winning its second title in three years.
Contenders — Oh yeah, Silver Lake (8-1) has ONLY played in 11 of the last 12 3A title games, winning crowns in 2013, 2010 and 2006. The Eagles always seem to get it done in the postseason, so it won’t be a shock to see them there again. The East road is a little tougher this year with Centralia (8-1) joining Colgan (7-2) as former 2-1A champs looming as obstacles. The West is always tough and Norton (9-0) is enjoying its best season in years and could be a second-round foe for Scott City. Hesston (9-0) is down from 4A and has rolled, while the first-round winner between Conway Springs (8-1) and Wichita Collegiate (8-1) is dangerous. The list goes on and on ... Chaparral (8-1), Hoisington (8-1), Hutchinson Trinity (8-1), Halstead (7-2) ... as 3A is as deep as it’s ever been.

Centrailia Is Next Football Opponent

    The Dawgs will play their second playoff game on Sat. at Rossville against Centrailia (9-1)  which beat Horton  (5-4) 50-6 in their first round game Tuesday night.
 

Mark Smith (12) On Ottawa U. Football Team

    Mark Smith,  son of  Wanita Smith, is a sophomore at Ottawa University majoring in exercise science.  He attended Dodge City Community College his freshman year.
    Mark is on the football team and his bio can be viewed at:
http://www.ottawabraves.com/roster/20/5/2393.php

RHS Dance Team Videos

    RHS Dance Team video for Homecoming, 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhgGtghJXR8
   "Shake Mix" by RHS Dance Team on 10/24/14.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQS06MDYIUc&feature=em-subs_digest

Rossville Win Over Pleasant Ridge Statistics

Pleasant Ridge (5-6)   0       0       0     0     =       0
Rossville (10-0)         14     28     14     0     =     56


Rossville scoring:
Tu. Horak 67 run (Steinke kick)
Th. Horak 57 run (Steinke kick)
Reesor 1 run (Steinke kick)
C. Horak 73 pass from Tu. Horak (Steinke kick)
Roduner 6 pass from Tu. Horak (Steinke kick)
Reesor 37 pass from Tu. Horak (Steinke kick)
Reesor 51 run (Steinke kick)
Rubio 35 pass from Woodcock (Steinke kick)

GAME IN FIGURES
                          PR           RV
First downs          6              14
Rushes-yards  39-132       25-324
Passing yards      5             196
Passes             2-7-0       10-12-0
Fumbles-lost      0-0             0-0
Punts-Avg.       7-31.4       1-31.0
Penalties-yards  2-10          3-30

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Pleasant Ridge: Holmes 15-35, Haack 10-19, Bridges 3-43, Broddie 11-35. Rossville: Tu. Horak 4-104, Th. Horak 3-72, Balch 2-6, Reesor 6-107, Hammes 4-4, Woodcock 1-19, Lovejoy 5-12.

PASSING — Pleasant Ridge: 2-7-0, 5 yards. Rossville: Tu. Horak 9-11-0, 161 yards; Woodcock 1-1-0, 35 yards.

RECEIVING — Pleasant Ridge: Bridges 1-5, Broddie 1-0. Rossville: Th. Horak 3-19, Roduner 4-32, C. Horak 1-73, Reesor 1-37, Rubio 1-35.

PUNTING — Pleasant Ridge: Holmes 7-31.4. Rossville: Woodcock 1-31.0.

Shelly Buhler Re-elected

    Shelly Buhler of Rossville, shown above with her family,   was re-elected as Commissioner of Shawnee County.