State runner-up football team to be recognized

By Andy Brown
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Updated: September 15, 2017

Photos courtesy of LHS Yearbook

Two decades ago, the 1997 Louisburg High School football team found itself just two points away from earning the school’s first state championship.

On a cool afternoon in November at Emporia State University, the Wildcats fell to Sabetha 14-13, concluding what was one of the most special seasons in Louisburg history.

Twenty years later, a lot of those same players and coaches are returning to Wildcat Stadium to relive some of those memories.

The team and coaching staff will be honored at halftime of tonight’s game with De Soto during LHS Wildcat Football Alumni Recognition night. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m.

It was an unforgettable season for several in Louisburg as the Wildcats finished the season with a 12-1 record, including the school’s first appearance in the state championship game.

Louisburg rolled through much of the regular season with wins of Eudora (54-0), Anderson County (40-7), Wellsville (22-20), Gardner (28-0), Prairie View (30-6), Osawatomie (33-7), Baldwin (64-6), Paola (22-0) and Spring Hill (33-8).

The Wildcats opened the playoffs with a 40-0 win over Prairie View in bi-district, but the games got a lot tougher after that. Louisburg knocked off defending champion Fort Scott with a 13-6 in the regional round, then defeated Topeka Hayden 21-14 in the substate game.

The Wildcats who will be honored tonight are:

Class of 1998: Jeremy Heston, Jeremy Criswell, Josh Meek, Jason Worthington, Ben Coffey, Chad Hardesty, Trevor Finch, Eric Nauman, Nate Peters, Ryan Shaffer, Joe Klassen, Micah Drake and Sari Antisdel.

Class of 1999: Jon Batchelder, Luke Siebenmorgen, Jason Harwood, Kevin Vohs, Ben York, Justin Kesterson, Troy Meek, Patrick Page, Ryan Kuepper, Matthew Trapp, Aaron Cain, Joe Pate, Brad Torrence and Adam Longgood.

Class of 2000: Bret Marks, Tyler Witt, Matthew Donegan, Dustin Bollinger, Thomas Overly, Ryan Dunn, Ian David Hall, Jeremiah Brittingham, James Ward, Grant Hash, Billy Neff, Andrew Shaffer, Dereck M Kerr, Phillip Bowden, Darin Hollrah, Cooper Smith, Craig Hufferd.

Class of 2001: Troy McKitrick, David Alexander, Bradey Ewy, Ian Hansberger, Monte Harwood, Andy Donegan, Jared Dorsch, Kurt Nauman, Ryan German, Eddy Monteil, Eric Pemberton, Noah Hoppe, Mitch Langley, Matt Sauber, Jeremy Oehlert, Winston Koechner, Brian Batchelder and Jeremy Yeager.