Taylor Kirk (15) To Attend WU

      Taylor Kirk will be playing for the Washburn University softball team in 2017-18 after two years at the Johnson County Community College.

Article on Nemaha-Rossville Game

Rossville faces major hurdle in unbeaten Nemaha Central

By Brent Maycock

brent.maycock@cjonline.com

ROSSVILLE — Until meeting Wichita Collegiate in last year’s Class 3A state championship game, there really wasn’t a question in Rossville coach Derick Hammes’ mind which team was the toughest his Bulldawgs had seen on their way to a second straight state crown.

It was Nemaha Central. Yeah, the same Nemaha Central team Rossville blitzed 61-20 in the second round of the playoffs behind 538 yards of total offense from All-State quarterback.

“Hands down, they were a state caliber team last season,” Hammes said of Nemaha Central, which finished 10-1 after the loss to Rossville. “We got hot and I don’t really believe that the final score of that game was a true measure of the teams. It certainly doesn’t indicate how tough they were and how good they were.”

When the two meet again Friday night, the stage will be different but Hammes expects the challenge to be the same. A win away from playing in its third straight state championship game, Rossville (11-1) must once again get past Nemaha Central, which comes to town for Friday’s Class 3A semifinal showdown with a 12-0 mark.

“I’ve been telling the kids, we’re going to see a motivated football team,” Hammes said. “I think they’re a confident bunch right now and there’s a little extra on their part to want to show us that last year wasn’t as indicative of what the game really was a year ago. We’re going to have a great challenge in front of us.”

While the final score of last year’s meeting suggests Rossville was in control from start to finish, delving into the boxscore proves otherwise. Despite Horak’s monster performance, which included an 80-yard touchdown run on the Bulldawgs’ first offensive play of the game, Rossville led just 21-12 at halftime with Horak’s 64-yard touchdown run late in the half producing the nine-point cushion.

Rossville then scored the first 40 points of the second half to turn the tight game into a rout.

“Obviously we thought the game was going to be closer and felt like it really was closer than what the final score indicated,” Nemaha coach Warren Seitz said. “They’ve beaten us a couple times here lately, but that doesn’t play into it as much as the fact how well coached they are and the offensive and defensive players they have back are pretty good.

“This team, we’ve played in some big games this year and we’ve won those big games. We just consider this another one of those.”

In its biggest games this year, Nemaha Central has shown the ability to get the job done, particularly in the clutch with a trio of wins coming down to the Thunder having to make a play late in the fourth quarter for the victory.

Nemaha Central rallied from a 34-21 deficit to beat Holton 43-42 on a touchdown and two-point conversion run by quarterback Ryan Hasenkamp with 37 seconds left. In district play, the Thunder scored with 57.9 seconds left to beat arch rival Sabetha 20-14.

And in the second round of the playoffs, Nemaha made a defensive stand on fourth-and-inches in the final minute to preserve a 21-14 win over No. 1 Silver Lake, the only team to beat Rossville this season.

“That gives us a lot of confidence that we’ve had to overcome deficits and come through when we’ve faced adversity,” Seitz said. “You know the kids aren’t just going to chuck it, they’re going to keep playing and good things are going to happen.”

That experience will be beneficial as Nemaha Central ventures into uncharted territory this week. The Thunder haven’t advanced this far in the playoffs since 1975 when Nemaha Valley fall to Cherryvale in the 2A semifinals. Nemaha’s only appearance in a state championship game came in 1973 when it finished runner-up to Moundridge in 2A.

Rossville, meanwhile, is in the 3A semifinals for the fifth straight season and sixth time in the last seven years. Though hardly old hat, the stage is one the Bulldawgs are used to performing on.

“I think it helps,” Hammes said. “We’ve got a lot of kids who did play in the sub-state game last year and felt they were a part of these last two titles. They’ve gone through the preparation and that more than anything is meaningful. But we’re still going to have to go out there and execute and do some great things, so I don’t know how far it really carries you.”

Both Rossville and Nemaha Central have seen their quarterbacks carry them this season, at least offensively. Stepping for Horak, Jacob Bradshaw has been nothing short of spectacular. The senior has rushed for 2,324 yards and 28 touchdowns and thrown for 1,521 yards and 20 more scores, a huge season punctuated with last week’s performance when he ran for 349 yards on just 10 carries in the first half of a 67-31 rout of Caney Valley.

Nemaha counters with its own dual-threat quarterback Ryan Hasenkamp, who has thrown for 1,501 yards and 17 touchdowns and run for another 629 yards and 13 touchdowns.

The X-factors could be the complementary players to the standout signal callers. Nemaha tailback Jacob Koelzer scores a touchdown every fourth time he touches the ball, rushing for 973 yards and 23 touchdowns on just 84 carries, and four different receivers have at least 13 catches and three touchdowns led by Mitchell Henry’s 25 catches for 426 yards and three scores. Rossville, meanwhile, has gotten a combined 1,159 yards from backs Dawson Hammes and Perry Foster and receiver Cole Schumacher has 48 catches for 951 yards and 16 touchdowns.

“The thing that makes their offense really good is the things that keep you off balance,” Hammes said of Nemaha. “They have so many off balance things where you can’t focus on one thing or take one guy away. It’s a multiple offense and has a lot of possibilities that keep you from zeroing in on one thing.”

Computer Football Predictions.

    The Capital Journal has published their computer predictions for this Friday's 3A playoffs.

… 110.1 … Hoisington … 14.3 … HESSTON … 95.8

… 97.7 … ROSSVILLE … 0.2 … Nemaha Central … 97.5

NEKMEA Honor Group Selections

Rossville had nine students audition for the Northeast Kansas Music Educators Association (NEKMEA) District Honor groups.  Live auditions were held at Olathe East High School this past Saturday, November 12th and the following students were selected based on their auditions.  Well over 2,000 students auditioned for a place in one of the bands, orchestras, or the choir.

Gold Band (1-4A Schools)

Ella Terliesner - 2nd Chair Clarinet

Ava Stipp - 4th Chair Clarinet

Bryson Hase - 4th Chair Trombone

NEKMEA District Honor Choir (1-6A Schools)

Jaden Perry - Alto

These students will perform at the district convention on Saturday, December 3rd.  Bands perform at Blue Valley High School, choirs perform at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School.  Students will then have the opportunity to audition for the All-State honor groups in January.

This is our 5:55 AM pre-bus loading picture...

                                                                From Left to Right

Back Row: Dawson Schaefer, Bryson Hase, Jamie Brockamp, Abigail Escobar, Haley Miller

Front Row: Jaden Perry, Ella Terliesner, Ava Stipp, Paul Borcherding

Garrett Jones

Rossville Jr/Sr High School

Band & Choir Director

Head Cross Country Coach

Assistant HS Track Coach

Scholars Bowl At Hayden

    The Scholars Bowl team will be competing at Hayden on Thur., Nov. 17.

Announcements Video

This weeks Announcements Video for Nov. 14, with announcers Remington Wehner and Freddie Andressen,  can be viewed at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhqV2fHghnU

Honors Scholars For 2016

RHS Seniors Named Kansas Honors Scholars

       The Kansas Honors Program sponsored by KU Endowment and Alumni Associations recognizes and awards high school seniors for their academic achievements.  Each year, the alumni gather in more than 40 locations across the state for an awards ceremony and reception. All high school seniors in the top ten percent of their graduating class are recognized and presented a certificate and a special edition dictionary.  The Scholars are selected based on academic records through the end of their junior year.

      Rossville High School recognized five seniors at the Kansas Honors Program held on November 15, 2016, at the Ramada Inn Downtown in Topeka. The seniors recognized were Morgan Foster, daughter of Andy & Jennifer Foster; Mitchell Porter, son of Bruce & Kathy Porter; Ashley Rietcheck, daughter of Andy & Denise Rietcheck; Fred Schuler, son of Steve & Lucy Schuler; and Emily Woodcock, daughter of Tim & Amy Woodcock.

  

           

RHS Kansas Honors Scholars pictured with their dictionaries are from left: 

Emily Woodcock, Fred Schuler, Ashley Rietcheck, Mitchell Porter, and Morgan Foster.

Volleyball Team Leaders For 2016

    The leaders on the RHS Volleyball team for the year were:
Kills        Sara Shinn          266
Assists   Bergstresser       385
Blocks    Lora Shinn          163
Digs       Sierra Streit         493

Mid-East All-League Volleyball Team

First team

Marissa Bates, jr., Silver Lake; Torey Burkhardt, sr., Silver Lake; Lexi Cobb, fr., Silver Lake; Bethany Crudel, sr., Riley County; Alex Ferguson, sr., Silver Lake; Josie Harrison, so., St. Marys; Rayann Johnson, sr., Wabaunsee; Maddy Michaelis, sr., Wabaunsee; Jalyn Porter, jr., Rossville; Mariah Schindler, jr., St. Marys; Sara Shinn, sr., Rossville; Jayden Weers, sr., Rock Creek.

Honorable mention

Cassie Dewey, sr., Silver Lake; Morgan Feldkamp, sr., Rock Creek; Maigan Holle, sr., Riley County; Britt Michaelis, sr., Wabaunsee; Anna Moylan, sr., St. Marys; Maci Schoemann, jr., St. Marys; Lora Shinn, sr., Rossville; Sierra Streit, sr., Rossville.

Silver Saints Craft Festival

Silver Saints Craft Festival, featuring gifts, crafts, food and a soup luncheon, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sat. Nov. 19, St. Stanislaus Parish Hall, 701 Main St. in Rossville. (785) 584-6612.
Note: The Capital-Journal lists this event as being on Sat., Nov. 21, which it cannot be.

Video At RHS-Caney Valley Game

Video of the RHS Caney Valley football game can be seen at:
http://www.wibw.com/content/news/KPZ-Week-11-Caney-Valley-at-Rossville-400912421.html

Football Frenzy on KSNT has video coverage of the game beginning at 4:45.
http://ksnt.com/2016/11/11/football-frenzy-111116/

Bulldawgs Roll Over Caney Valley

From the Capital Journal:

Rossville put up eye-popping numbers in its win against Caney Valley on Friday. What makes the totals even more impressive is that they were almost all accumulated in the first half.

Jacob Bradshaw rushed for 369 yards and three touchdowns, and the Bulldawgs scored on every possession of their 67-31 Class 3A section win to reach sub-state for the third straight season.

All of Bradshaw’s yardage, and all but 13 of Rossville’s points, came in the first half, and a running clock was implemented just four minutes after halftime, with the Bulldawgs up 61-12.

Rossville (11-1) will host top-seeded Nemaha Central (12-0) next Friday.

“We had a couple good schemes we were able to take advantage of,” Rossville coach Derick Hammes said. “It’s a group effort. Kids were blocking really well up front, we had some good ball fakes and the tempo we play at. You put all that together, and good things can happen.”

It’s been no secret the Bulldawgs’ gameplan centers on their senior quarterback. The state’s touchdown leader started the game with an 80-yard run and capped the three-play opening drive with a touchdown.

Caney Valley answered with a score of its own, as Benjimen Thornton dumped a short pass off to Cole Griffin, who leapt across the pylon to make it 7-6.

“We had some early issues defensively,” Hammes said. “I don’t think we were quite in tune to what we needed to be.”

While it appeared early on the Bullpups and Bulldawgs might engage in a shootout, Rossville quickly showed it had far more firepower.

Bradshaw ran for a 69-yard score on the next possession, and Caney Valley’s next drive ended on a blocked field goal.

Another 50-plus-yard run by Bradshaw set up a Dawson Hammes touchdown and gave the Bulldawgs a 21-6 first-quarter lead.

In the second, Bradshaw had rushes of 54 and 65 yards and added passing and rushing touchdowns. Hammes scored again before halftime, in addition to a pair of 2-yard touchdowns from Trevor Balch and Perry Foster.

With several backups in and the clock running, Caney Valley cut into the margin considerably. Baylor Mechiori extended a drive with a 25-yard run on a fake punt that led to a touchdown, then the Bullpups recovered two onsides kicks and added two more touchdowns to make it 61-25.

After earlier interceptions by Reed Miller and Trevor Balch, Cole Schumacher returned a third Bulldawgs’ pick 50 yards in the fourth quarter to stop the bleeding.

A 40-yard run by Foster on 2nd and 35 helped run down most of the clock before a 10th and final touchdown put Rossville back ahead by 42.

“We’re here, and that’s where you want to be obviously,” Hammes said. “I always feel like you need to make improvements, and I feel like this group still has some potential left in them.”

Caney Valley (9-3) … 6 … 6 … 7 … 12 … — … 31

Rossville (11-1) … 21 … 33 … 7 … 6 … — … 67

Rossville – Bradshaw 5 run (Andersen kick)

Caney Valley – Griffin 12 from Thornton (kick failed)

Rossville – Bradshaw 59 run (Andersen kick)

Rossville – Hammes 14 run (Andersen kick)

Rossville – Hammes 6 run (Andersen kick)

Caney Valley – Melchiori 13 from Thornton (run failed)

Rossville – Bradshaw 54 run (Andersen kick)

Rossville – C. Schumacher 40 from Bradshaw (pass failed)

Rossville – T. Balch 2 run (Andersen kick)

Rossville – Foster 2 run (kick failed)

Rossville — Foster 41 run (Andersen kick)

Caney Valley – Thornton 2 run (Melchiori kick)

Caney Valley – Melchiori 11 from Thornton (pass failed)

Rossville – Gfeller 15 run (run failed)

Caney Valley – Haberly 2 run (kick failed)

GAME IN FIGURES

CV Ross

First downs … 23 … 21

Rushes-yards … 54-261 … 24-568

Passing yards … 92 … 49

Passes … 8-16-3 … 2-3-0

Fumbles-lost … 0-0 … 0-0

Punts … 3-33.4 … 0-0

Penalties-yards … 2-25 … 3-45

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Caney Valley: G. Richey 6-34, Melchiori 14-116, Thornton 11-58, Griffin 13-26, Simpson 5-8, Aberly 3-4, T. Richey 2-15. Rossville: Bradshaw 10-369, Hammes 4-50, Balch 1-2, Foster 6-104, Gfeller 2-16, Johnson 1-27.

PASSING — Caney Valley: Thornton 8-16-3, 92 yards. Rossville: Bradshaw 2-3-0, 49.

RECEIVING — Caney Valley: G. Richey 3-23, Melchiori 3-47, Griffin 1-12, Heid 1-10. Rossville: Schumacher 2-49.

PUNTING – Caney Valley – Melchiori 3-33.4.

Nemaha Central Next Up For Dawgs

From the Capital-Journal:

SENECA — Up 14-6 after one quarter, Nemaha Central outscored Wellsville 21-0 in the second and third quarters to blow open Friday’s Class 3A quarterfinal game for a 42-14 win, earning a berth in the state semifinals for the first time in more than two decades. The Thunder (12-0) will travel to two-time defending champion Rossville (11-1), which blew past Caney Valley 67-31.

Ryan Hasenkamp threw for 260 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another score for the Thunder. Hasenkamp hit Luke Haverkamp on scoring tosses of 49 and 58 yards and also connected with Trenton Henry on an 8-yard score and Dylan Enneking for a 35-yard strike. Mitchell Henry added a 13-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to help stretch Nemaha’s lead.

Wellsville finished 10-2 as Trajen Smith threw for 149 yards and a touchdown and Reece Williams ran for a score and caught the touchdown pass.

Bulldawgs Get Big Win Over Caney Valley

    Jacob Bradshaw had 349 yards rushing in the first half to spearhead a  54-12 half-time Rossville lead.  The Dawgs finished the game with a  67-31 victory.

    Other playoff games included:
Nemaha-Central 47, Wellsville 14
Hesston  38, Phillipsvurg 26
Hoisington 49,  Garden Plain 8

    The semi-final game will be next Friday against Nemaha Central on the Rossville field.  Hesston and Hoisington will face off in the other semi-final game.