KSU Players On the Rattler Team

KSU Freshmen in 2015-16 that played for the Rattlers this summer.

Cade Bunnell:

The Mid-Plains League All-Star finished the season as Rossville’s top hitter with a .350 batting average and helped lead the Rattlers to a league championship. Over six postseason games, Bunnell was 5-for-25 with five RBIs. He closed out the campaign with 22 RBIs in 24 games, which were the second-most on the team. Bunnell, who was a two-way player in high school, also made his first and only appearance of the summer on the mound in the Cowdin Cup final. The incoming freshman earned the start, throwing five scoreless frames and allowing just two baserunners (a hit and a walk).

Matt Nerz:

Nerz had one hit along with two walks in three postseason games with the Rattlers. The redshirt freshman, who finished the summer batting .192 (10-for-52), recorded the lone hit on July 21 vs. Baldwin City.

Brooks Zimmerman

The incoming freshman played in one postseason game, going 1-for-2 with a walk on July 23 vs. Junction City. Zimmerman closed out the summer batting .190 (8-for-42) with four RBIs.

Fall Library Events

Click on image below to enlarge.

WIBW Video Of Rattlers

    There is a nice WIBW video about the Rattlers at: http://www.wibw.com/sports/headlines/Through-family-and-baseball-the-Rossville-Rattlers-carry-out-one-mans-vision--318726161.html 
     A transcript of the audio is below:

ROSSVILLE, Kan. (WIBW) 
       The Rossville Rattlers have been through their fair share of adversity on the way to winning the 2015 Cowdin Cup. Through family and baseball one man's dream has lived on.   
       Hours before first pitch Tobi and Bruce Cowdin can be seen getting the field ready at Joe Campbell Stadium.   
       The sweat and labor was all a part of a plan for Brett Cowdin who started and owned the Rattlers until he passed away two years ago. 
        "My dad had this crazy idea," said Tobi. "About five years ago he stepped out on the field when he was coaching here at Rossville High School and he said 'Man I think this park could maybe be something one day.'" 
       "It's a good opportunity to make it a real nice ball field and make it better and get the community to come out and see us play," said Brett's brother Bruce. "And have our family all together in the summer."   
       Part of Brett's vision for the stadium and team is lived out before every home game at Joe Campbell Stadium.   
       "His vision was to take this 100 plus year old park here...the oldest wooden stadium here Kansas and turn it into a beautiful place to play for not only for Rossville High School but also college players in the summer," said Tobi. "He wanted to get it alive again. Have people in Rossville in the park enjoying the summer days and watching quality baseball."   
       The quality baseball part is back for the Rattlers. Just a season after they had twice as many loses as wins the Rattlers won the Cowdin Cup.   
       "Emotionally it really drives me honestly," said Tobi. "My last name's on the trophy named after my dad which is a big deal. Winning it isn't everything obviously, the kids are everything out here."   
       Tobi was also named the Mid-Plains League Manager of the year, and his family sees similarities to his father Brett.   
       "It's been really good working with Tobi. I see a lot of traits that his dad had in him," said Bruce. "Not just coaching wise but people skills wise and the way he cares about college players and they pick up on that. That's probably one of the big things about him is I see a lot of his dad in him."   
       "My dad started and we're kinda keeping his vision going now," said Tobi. "It's an honor to keep doing that."

Indian Tacos At Tall Corn Festival

      Sacred Heart Oratory, Delia will be serving homemade Indian Tacos at the Tall Corn Festival both Friday (4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.) & Saturday (11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.) unless we sell out first. Come early and enjoy!
      Thank you for your support of our Church Fundraiser!
      Carry out is available as well!

2015 3A State Track Championships

Boys 3A State Championships

Final Team Scores

Collegiate 71; Beloit 54; Nemaha Central 47; Norton 40; Scott City 33; St. Marys 32; Hesston 25 ½; Phillipsburg 25; Cheney, Hoisington 21; Rossville 20 ½; Caney Valley 20; Wellsville 19, Marysville 18; Haven, Ellsworth, Wichita Independent 17; Humboldt 13; Cimarron, Horton 12; Conway Springs, Lakin, Marion 11; Riverside, Chaparral, Hiawatha, Erie 10; Belle Plaine 9; Fredonia, Russell 8; Sabetha 7; Osage City 6; Riverton, Halstead, Lyons, Eureka, Remington, Galena 5; Silver Lake, Council Grove, SE Cherokee 4; Hillsboro, NE Arma 3; Riley County, Central Heights 2; Bluestem, Southwestern Heights 1.

Event Finals

110 hurdles — 1. Jacob Newcomer, Haven, 14.90; 2. Zachary Bradley, Nemaha Central, 15.14; 3. Nicholas Ast, Cimarron, 15.32; 4. Kyle Parr, Rossville, 15.51; 5. Brandon Heinitz, Lakin, 15.80; 6. Drake McRae, Scott City, 15.94; 7. Hunter Budke, Beloit, 16.03; 8. Jace Adams, Beloit, 16.22.

300 hurdles — 1. Andrae McGaughy, Riverside, 40.25; 2. Kyle Parr, Rossville, 40.83; 3. Nicholas Ast, Cimarron, 40.84; 4. Jacob Newcomer, Haven,4 1.58; 5. Jace Adams, Beloit, 42.02; 6. Bradley Stone, Marion, 42.70; 7. Gavin Lierz, Hiawatha, 42.71; 8. Zachary Bradley, Nemaha Central, 42.96.

High jump — 1. Jacob Newlin, Wichita Collegiate, 6-3; 2. Greg Tooley, St. Marys, 6-2; 3. Timothy Shaffer, Conway Springs, 6-2; 4. Koby McEwen, Norton, 6-0; 5. Ryan Rakestraw, SE-Cherokee, 6-0; 6. (tie) Kyle Parr, Rossville, and Scott Duerksen, Hesston, 6-0; 8. Justin Meins, Humboldt, 5-10.

Girls 3A State Championships

Final Team Scores

Silver Lake 66; Beloit 43; St. Marys 39; Nemaha Central, Hoisington, Sedgwick 34; Hiawatha, Collegiate 31; Russell, Sterling 25; Garden Plain, Sabetha, SE Saline, Hillsboro 21; Douglass 18 ½; NE Arma 18; Cheney, Haven 17; Halstead, Hesston, Marion 16; Minneapolis 13; Conway Springs, Osage City 10; Cimarron 9 ½; Belle Plaine, Maur Hill 9; Lakin, SE Cherokee, Galena 8; Hutchinson Trinity 7; Atchison County 6; Ellsworth 5, Norton 4 ½; Burlington, Phillipsburg 4; Wichita Independent, Chaparral, Marysville, Scott City 3; Neodesha, Kingman 2; Rossville, Council Grove, Fredonia, Jayhawk Linn, Southwestern Heights 1.

Event Finals

200 — 1. Lindsay Shupe, Minneapolis, 25.89; 2. Jessica Roberts, Sterling, 25.93; 3. Bethanie Francis, Sedgwick, 26.13; 4. Rachel Heiman, Silver Lake, 26.14; 5. Jessica Henson, Galena, 26.23; 6. Jewell Bolden, Collegiate, 26.27; 7. Emerson Tice, Garden Plain, 26.54; 8. Rachel Day, Rossville, 27.16.

w.kansas.com/sports/high-school/article22733511.html#storylink=cpy

Cowdin Cup Championship Game

    The following commentary was added to or changed as the game progressed.

    The Cowdin Cup game at Belton is moving along very quickly as a pitchers duel in the first six innings.
    The Rattlers finally put 2 runs on the board in the top of the 7th.
     Cade Bunnell pitched the first 5 innings of shut-out baseball.  He was relieved at the bottom of the 6th inning by Bryce Girdner at the start of the inning.   Bryce allowed one hit but no runs.  Drew Scrimsher pitched the 7th inning  allowing one hit (a home run) to bring the Athletics to within one run at 2-1. Tristin Johnson pitched the 8th inning,  allowing no hits, runs, strike-outs or walks.   Taylor Mah came in to pitch the last 2 innings.  In the bottom of the 9th,  the Athletics tied the game at 2-2 to send it to extra innings on a home run. The Rattlers scored 3 in the top of the 10 and held the Athletics scoreless to take home the Cowdin Cup trophy as the Athletics could not come up with another run.  Taylor Mah allowed only 1 hit (a home run) one ER, 1 walk and 2 strikeouts,
     The offense was led by Tim Schaareman (SS)  with 2 hits and 2 RBIs.  Jeremy Thomas (LF) and Michael Higgins (C)  each had 2 hits, 1 run, and 1 RBI.  Jacob Head (RF) also had 2 hits.

Rattlers    0   0   0   0   0   0   2   0   0   3      5   11   0
Athletics   0   0   0   0   0   0   1   0   1   0      2     4   2

The Cowdin Cup trophy is in the lower center.

JC Post Article on Sat. Game

From the Junction City Post

The Rossville Rattlers defeated the Junction City Brigade Saturday night, 10-6, in the semifinal round of the Cowdin Cup Playoffs in Rossville.

The win sends the Rattlers into the championship game of the tournament Sunday against the Midwest Athletics in Belton, Missouri.  The season came to a close for Junction City.

Rossville and Junction City played a three game series in the playoffs, with the Brigade taking the first game 10-8.  But the Rattlers won Friday night 8-7 in ten innings, and then Saturday night 10-6.

The game Saturday night was originally scheduled to be played at Rathert Field in Junction City, but rain earlier in the afternoon left the field too wet, so the contest was moved to Rossville.

Game 3 Moved To Rossville

     Because of wet field conditions,  the game tonight was moved to Rossville with an 8:00 start time.  Still time to catch most of the game.

    The second inning now finished with the Rattlers leading 5-2,
    Rattlers get one more in the top of the 4th.
    In the top of the 5th Jeremy Thomas hit a home run with a man on first base.   Tim Schaareman follows that with a double but was stranded on base.
    Brigade scores a run in the bottom of the 6th.
    Brigade scores 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th to come within 2 at 8-6.
    Rattlers score 2 more runs in the top of the 9th to take a 4 point lead into the bottom of the 9th.
    Brigade gets one man on in the bottom of the 9th with a single,  but the threat was short lived.
    The Rattlers now advance to the final match of the Cowdin Cup Sunday against the Midwest As who have home field advantage the first game.

Rattlers     2   3  0  1  2  0   0   0   2          10   13    1
Brigade     0   2  0  0  0  1   0   3   0           6    10    3

    The offense was led by Jeremy Thomas with 3 hits, 3 runs, and 4 RBIs.  Jonathan Valenquela-Reece and Collin Scribner  each had 2 hits, 1 run, and 2 RBIs. Tim Shaareman had 4 hits, 2 runs, but no RBIs.

John Vanderblomen (61) Passes Away

       John Matthew Vanderblomen, Sr., 72, of Topeka, KS passed away Wednesday, July 22, 2015 at KU Medical Center in Kansas City.
       John Attended Rossville High School.
       Drum services will be Monday evening, July 27, 2015 at the Danceground Building west of Mayetta. Burial will be Tuesday afternoon, July 28, 2015 in the Danceground Cemetery. John will lie in state at Mercer Funeral Home in Holton beginning Friday, July 24, 2015. 
www.mercerfuneralhomes.com.

Laverne (Harper) (63) Ard Passes Away

Our beloved “Ernie”, age 69 of Osage City, went to be with the Lord on July 22, 2015. She was born December 24, 1945 in Topeka, KS to Wilford S. and Anna Marie (Moyer) Harper. She graduated from Rossville High School and Stewart’s Beauty Academy. She later became a CMA and worked in various nursing homes. 

She married the late Robert W. Payne on Sept. 11, 1965. She married Edwin C. Ard on January 19, 1980 and is survived by his children: Allen (Becky) Ard, Lansing, KS, Rose Pyle, Osage City and Erwin Ard, Topeka. She dearly loved all of them, as well as the grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. 

Ernie is also survived by her mother, Anna Marie and her sister, LaVon (Harold) Langston, all of Topeka; and her sister-in-law Peggy Harper of Vian, OK.

She was preceded in death by her husband Ed; his children Rita Marriott and Eric Ard; her father Wilford; and twin brothers Ray and Ralph Harper. 

She was cremated at her request. Family and friends will celebrate her life at Marilynn’s Place, 1216 Laing Street in Osage City, Kansas from 1:00-3:00 PM on Sunday, August 2, 2015.

To leave condolences or read the guest book,  go to:  http://www.dovecremation.com/obituary/106251/Jennie-LaVerne-Harper-Ard/Topeka-Kansas

Rattlers-Brigade on Fri Night

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Junction City Brigade	2	0	0	0	0	0005					7	8	1
Rossville Rattlers	0	0	0	3	0	2200					7	9	1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E Junction City Brigade 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 7 8 1 Rossville Rattlers 0 0 3 0 2 2 0 0 1 8 12 1

    Below commentary is being updated as game is played.  This is the second game of a best of 3 series.  The Junction City Brigade won the first game Thur. night.

    Junction City jumped off to a 2-0 lead in the first inning.  But,  the Rattlers scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 4th to take a 3-2 lead.
    Still 3-2 at the end of five innings.  This could end up being an exciting game.

    The Rattlers picked up 2 more runs in the bottom of the 6th inning to take a 5-2 lead.
    The Rattlers hold in the top of the 7th.  In the bottom of the 7th,  Michael Higgins is walked and then Collin Scribner hits a home run to add to the lead.
    The Rattlers again held the Brigade scoreless in the top of the 8th inning.    The Brigade brought in a new pitcher to start the bottom of the 8th but he threw 7 straight balls,  walking Matthew Nerz and Tim Scheaarman. Jonathan Valenzula-Reece grounded out but advanced the two runners to scoring positions.  However,  they were not able to advance and the scoring opportunity yielded no results.
    In the top of the 9th,  the Brigade scored 5 points to tie the game.  A grand slam home run contributed 4 of the runs.   The Rattlers got men on 1st and 2nd via walks,  but they died there to end the inning.
    On to extra innings.
    The Rattlers held the Brigade scoreless the top of the 10th.  The Rattlers hit 2 singles,  and then a walk loaded the bases.  Michel Higgins hit a single scoring Jeff Christen to end the game.

    The offense was led by Michael Higgins (C) with 3 hits, 3 runs, and 1 RBI and Collin Scribner (1B) with 2 hits, 2 runs and 1 RBI.

    Video of the game can be seen at:
http://ksnt.com/2015/07/24/rattlers-win-in-extras-force-game-three-vs-brigade/

    The teams will play the final game of the match on Sat. night at Junction City's Rathbert Stadium.

Shrine Bowl Sat. Night

    The Kansas Shrine Bowl, a football game that features the best recently-graduated high school football players throughout the Sunflower State, is Saturday night at Fort Hays State University.
    Former Dawg Thatcher Horak will be playing.

JC Paper On Brigade-Rattler Game

From the Junction City Post

      The Junction City Brigade scored 10 runs, had 12 hits, drew two walks, and had two batters hit by a pitch. Despite that they barely held on to defeat the Rossville Rattlers 10-8 Thursday night in game one of their Cowdin Cup Playoffs semifinal round series at Rathert Field in Junction City.  This is the Mid Plains League postseason tournament.
      Brigade pitcher Phillip Muldrow struck out Jonathan Valuenza-Reece of Rossville in the top of the ninth with the bases loaded to end the game.  Two Brigade errors had helped the Rattlers load the bases with two out.
      Seth Wheeler, Junction City coach, said it was the first time this season Junction City has had a game like that. “That’s just a competitive baseball game where offensively both teams were really stubborn, putting pressure on the defense, having competitive A-B’s all day long. It was a lot of fun.  It was a long game, but it was a lot of fun.”
      The game took more than three hours to play.
      Game two of the best two-out-of-three series is Friday night in Rossville at 7 p.m.  The winner of the series will advance to the tournament championship game Sunday.  In the other Cowdin Cup Playoffs semifinal Thursday night the Midwest Athletics defeated the Liberty Monarchs 11-1 in the opening game of a best two-out-of-three series.

Thatcher Horak (15) In Shrine Bowl

By Brent Maycock

brent.maycock@cjonline.com

The thrill of being part of Rossville’s first state championship football team still hasn’t worn off for Thatcher Horak.

“It was just so exciting,” Horak said. “People around town are still talking about it and to be a part of it was just incredible.”

The excitement generated during the championship season was enough to tug at Horak’s heart strings a little. Several of his Bulldawg buddies opted to continue playing in college, many signing with Highland Community College, and the desire to join them was strong.

Instead, Horak signed with Washburn. But not for football, but rather baseball.

“I was excited to keep going, and I grew up loving football to death,” Horak said. “But baseball, I think just has more options for me. It might suit me a little better and that’s what I chose.”

Horak will satisfy his football cravings one last time, suiting up for the East squad in Saturday’s Kansas Shrine Bowl in Hays. He’s the 16th Rossville player to play in the game and first since Gage Steckel in 2012.

Horak was a huge weapon in Rossville’s prolific offensive attack a year ago. As a senior, he ran for 992 yards and 14 touchdowns and caught 32 passes for 542 yards and eight scores. Only younger brother Tucker Horak ran for more yards and only Christian Roduner had better numbers as a receiver.

For his career, Horak rushed for 1,433 yards and 20 touchdowns and caught 76 passes for 1,280 yards and 21 scores.

But if he’s to get any touches for the East offense in Saturday’s game, Horak will have to lobby hard. He’s spent the entirety of camp on the other side of the ball, playing cornerback.

It’s not exactly a new spot. Horak was just as valuable to the team at that position last year, making 43 tackles and picking off four passes on his way to All-Class 3A honors. When he got dinged up early in the 3A title game against Scott City, he mostly played defense the rest of the way and helped Rossville stymie the Beavers late in a 21-14 win.

Still, going from a do-it-all type of player to a specialized position has been a different feeling.

“It’s really weird only doing one thing,” Horak said. “Since my sophomore year, I’ve played both ways and hardly ever left the field. It’s a little easier settling down in one spot, focusing on one position and maybe getting a little better at it.”

But don’t be surprised if Horak finds a way to work in a play or two offensively in Saturday’s game.

“The first day I got here, Coach (Walt) Alexander said, ‘I tried to recruit you for offense,’” Horak said. “They haven’t budged yet, but we’ve been bugging them for quite a bit to get me some snaps on offense, too. It’s just a fun experience no matter where I play. It’s for the kids and it’s just a good time to come out and play one more football game before I hang up the cleats.”