Horak and Deiter Deliver

From CJ Online 

The bar was set pretty high.

In leading Rossville’s football team to its first state title in 2014, Bulldawg Tucker Horak put up eye-popping numbers as a junior.

The dual-threat quarterback rushed for a school-record 2,089 yards and 28 touchdowns, while also throwing for 1,651 yards and 22 touchdowns.

Five miles down the road and six months earlier, Silver Lake’s Megan Deiter was no less impressive in leading the Eagle softball team to its second straight 3A state title. After striking out 22 and getting the win in each of the first two state-tourney games, Deiter came on to save the title game by striking out the final Riverton batter in a 3-2 win.

It was going to take special senior moments to top those junior achievements. And yet, each delivered in a major way, earning the No. 9 spot on The Topeka Capital-Journal’s sports stories of 2015 with their performances as both not only led their teams to state titles once again, but did so with a dominance rarely seen in state history.

“You can’t measure the heart he has,” Rossville coach Derick Hammes said of Horak. “I’ve run across very few that have the competitive will he has.”

After losing many of the weapons that surrounded him during Rossville’s 2014 title run, Horak figured to shoulder more of the offensive load in 2015, if that was possible.

Turns out, it was and he carried it so well he turned in a season never achieved in state history. As Rossville marched back toward a shot at defending its 3A title, Horak piled up numbers that made his junior stats almost look pedestrian.

Three times he topped 300 rushing yards in a game, including 394 and seven touchdowns in a 56-35 win over War on 24 rival Silver Lake.

Earlier in the season, he set a state record for yards per carry in a game while torching Rock Creek for 353 yards and five touchdowns on just 13 carries (27.2 yards per carry) and for the season he averaged 14.4 yards while racking up an eye-popping 2,859 yards and 47 touchdowns.

Completing 76.7 percent of his passes, he finished with 2,070 yards and 30 touchdowns through the air, becoming the first player in state history to top 2,000 yards rushing and passing in the same season.

But the stats simply wouldn’t have meant as much to Horak if he didn’t finish with another state title, and trailing Wichita Collegiate 19-7 entering the fourth-quarter of a title game played in a freezing rain and on an ice-covered field, the prospects looked bleak.

But Horak scored two touchdowns in less than a minute with his 65-yard fumble return for a score providing the game-winner in a 20-19 victory to cap a second straight 14-0 season.

“Nothing Tucker does surprises me anymore,” Hammes said. “I’ve never coached anybody that had the ability like he could to make a play for his team. He was something special.”

Deiter, meanwhile, enjoyed a solid regular season, but once the Eagles got to Manhattan for the state tournament elevated her game to a completely different level.

With the state tourney pushed back to a Sunday start by inclement weather, Deiter left Silver Lake’s first two foes simply praying they could get to her.

She opened with a no-hitter against Haven in a 4-0 win, striking out 16, then followed with a one-hitter in a 2-0 semifinal win over Humboldt, striking out 13.

In the two games, she allowed four base-runners and the performance prompted Deiter to say: “I was on today. Competition definitely pushes me to hit my spots better and make sure everything’s moving and I don’t make a mistake.”

As mistake-free as the first two state games were, Deiter saved her best for the finals. Facing an undefeated Hillsboro team, Deiter was untouchable, striking out 19 of the 21 batters she faced in a 5-0 no-hitter that delivered Silver Lake’s third straight 3A crown and 12th championship overall.

The only two balls Hillsboro put in play were a groundout back to Deiter and a groundout to second base. In the three state-tourney games, Deiter struck out 48 and allowed just seven base-runners.

“Was that girl awesome or what?” Silver Lake coach Mark Workman said. “Wow!”

The performance capped a huge school year for Silver Lake’s girls’ programs. The volleyball team won its second straight 3A state title behind two-time 3A player of the year Alyssa Schultejans, who signed with Kansas State.

The basketball team followed with a third-place finish at the Class 3A state tournament in the winter.

And while the softball team was bringing home its state title, the Eagle track team made it a spring sweep by taking the 3A team title as Alex Ferguson won the 400 and 800, Taylor White won the triple jump and the 400 relay also won.