Eighth-grade football finishes with winning record

LMS eighth-grade running back Ben Wiedenmann runs past a defender during a game earlier this season. The Wildcats finished their season with a 4-2 record.

The Louisburg Middle School eighth-grade football team faced a lot of adversity during its season, but the Wildcats battled through it to finish what was a successful campaign.

The Wildcats ended their season with a 4-2 record and rattled off three wins in their next four games after suffering a season-opening loss to county rival Paola.

“The kids have a lot of talent on the eighth-grade level and if they can stick together throughout high school they have the potential to do great things,” Louisburg coach Greg Darrington said.

After falling to Paola, the Wildcats bounced back with a 16-6 win over Spring Hill and then put together its best performance against Wheatridge in Gardner. Louisburg’s offense came alive in the win, especially running back Ben Wiedenmann as he rushed for close to 100 yards and had three touchdowns.

Unfortunately, the Wildcats also lost several starters for the season in that game, but still managed to lose only one game the rest of the year.

Louisburg used its defense to help get a 14-8 win over Eudora in its next game as Eli Johnson and Andy Hupp each made big plays defensively.

The Wildcats lost a 22-14 contest to Trailridge before responding to shutout Baldwin 8-0 to get a little revenge in the process.

“We were able to stop one of the biggest backs in the league that game,” Darrington said of the Baldwin win. “Baldwin was the only team to beat these eighth-graders last year. The kids got up and played the best defensive game of the year.”

A fifth win was in the Wildcats’ sights against Pioneer Ridge, but inclement weather forced the postponement and the game was not replayed.

Members of the eighth-grade football team are Ethan Shaffer, Gunner Young, Kevin Parmely, Dawson Barnes, Trevin Lohse, Luke Dudzik, Justin Collins, Eli Johnson, A.J. Drew, Ben Wiedenmann, Jay Scollin, Andy Hupp, Chad Barnes, Cole Evans, Will Patterson, Matt Madison, Keaton Light, Braden Aiken, James Nelson, Jace Rader, Xander Chennault, Charlie Hutson and Kyle McChesney.

Seventh-grade wins final two games of season

The Louisburg seventh-grade football team may have hit a rough stretch during the middle part of its schedule this season, but the Wildcats responded to win their final two contests to finish the season with a 3-4 record.

“We had two hard losses coming down to the last plays of the game,” Louisburg coach Andy Wright said. “The team was competitive and put up a tough fight in every game. The team worked hard all season, they learned some valuable lessons about playing together as a team and finished strong.”

Louisburg opened its season strong with a 13-7 win over rival Paola, but went on a four-game losing streak that featured a two-point loss to Spring Hill (14-12) to start and an overtime loss to Wheatridge (18-12).

The Wildcats lost to Eudora (28-14) and Trailridge (20-8), but responded with a 35-6 blowout win over Baldwin and followed that up with a 28-12 victory over Pioneer Ridge in the season finale.

Members of the seventh-grade team are Michijah Pankau, Aiden Barker, Gage Stamm, Brandon Doles, Bryce Gage, Tyler Owens, Carson Kern, Kolby Kattau, Hayden Feikert, Thomas Koontz, Reid Justesen, Isaiah Shrock, Chase Pritchard, Nathan Hamilton, Remington Rice, Carter Stiles, Reece Gorley, Gavin Whisenhunt, Luis Rios and Terrance Foster.