Louisburg senior Kohl Vogel pulls up for a shot in the lane Tuesday against Paola at Paola High School. Vogel scored a game-high 18 points in the win.
PAOLA – The Louisburg boys
basketball team needed a win in the worst way as the Wildcats had dropped five
of their last six games heading into Tuesday’s contest with Paola.
If the Wildcats were to get back
on the right track, they were going to have to get a win on their rival’s home
floor.
Louisburg was more than up for the
task. The Wildcat defense held Paola to just 11 second half points and got its
second win of 2019 with a 46-33 victory over the Panthers.
“It was exactly what we needed,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “Obviously both sides are going to get up for this game and it is always very emotional and high energy. It was a defensive struggle and both teams played really tough defense, and to hold them to 33 is important for us. It is nice to get us off that losing streak where we were one for our last six. Hopefully we can build off this.”
Defensively, the Wildcats were the aggressor as they forced 28 turnovers – many of those coming in the second half – and took advantage of the Panther mistakes. Louisburg scored 24 points off Paola turnovers and was a big reason for its second half surge.
It was a surge the Wildcats needed
to make as they trailed Paola, 22-21, at halftime and they had to look for a way
to jump start their offense.
“We were a little more aggressive,” Pfannenstiel said of his defense. “Sometimes we just sit back in our 2-3 zone and Paola’s offense looked a lot more comfortable versus that than our 1-3-1. Obviously our defense sparked our offense getting layups and run-outs and that was big for our energy level. It wasn’t that we weren’t playing hard, but we were just going through the motions and never got anything going.”
Senior Noah Hill goes up for two points Tuesday against Paola.
Senior Kohl Vogel led the Wildcats
in scoring with 18 points and it was Vogel who helped get this team going late
in the third quarter when he scored six straight points. Vogel made a runner to
put Louisburg up three, then had a steal and score and then followed it up with
another basket 15 seconds later on a steal by Madden Rutherford.
Rutherford recorded a team-high
seven rebounds and senior Brayden Gage led Louisburg with four assists and four
steals. Senior Dylan DeShazer was second on the team in scoring with eight and
fellow senior Noah Hill had seven.
Vogel added six more points to
begin the fourth quarter to put Louisburg up 13 points with five minutes left
in the game and the Wildcats were able to hold on for the big win.
“We have been in quite a few games
this year, and to be able to execute and finish the game was big and we needed
that,” Pfannenstiel said. “I thought we played well for four quarters and I
knew it was going to take a complete game to get a win and we did pretty well.”
Louisburg will try and continue
its winning ways tonight when it hosts Ottawa, the No. 6 team in Class 4A, for
homecoming. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
Shooting woes hurt Wildcats in loss to Spring Hill
Louisburg sophomore Ben Guetterman tries to drive to the basket Friday during the Wildcats’ home game against Spring Hill.
The opportunity to get a big home win for the Louisburg boys basketball team was laid out for the Wildcats to take.
Louisburg had just gone on a run
to take a five-point lead going into the fourth quarter Friday against Spring
Hill. The momentum was all the side of the Wildcats, but unfortunately for
Louisburg, the final period was all Spring Hill.
The Wildcats struggled offensively
in the fourth quarter and the Broncos took advantage as they handed Louisburg a
50-43 loss.
For much of the game, the Wildcat
defense was the difference as they forced 16 Spring Hill turnovers, including
several that came off a full-court press. Offensively, however, Louisburg managed
just six points in the final eight minutes and Spring Hill mounted the
comeback.
“Spring Hill turned the ball over
quite a bit and I think we had a lot to do with that,” Louisburg coach Ty
Pfannenstiel said. “Our slow-down press kind of caused them some problems and
we made them uncomfortable. We have to be able to execute off that. We had the
lead going into the fourth and we always tend to have one of those bad quarters
where we score in the single digits and you are not going to win many games
when you have quarters like that.”
Louisburg struggled shooting the
ball for much of the night as it shot just 29 percent from the field, and
outside of senior Kohl Vogel, who finished with a game-high 18 points, the
Wildcats didn’t have anyone else score in double figures.
Junior Michael Waldron and sophomore
Ben Guetterman each finished with eight points, and both connected on 3-pointers
at big moments in the game.
“I thought Waldron and Ben shot
the ball well for us, but overall we were like 4-20 from 3-point range,”
Pfannenstiel said. “If we are going to shoot that many, then we better start
hitting some and we need to figure out if we are shooters or not. If not, then
we have to find other ways to put the ball in the basket. You have to step up
and make plays in games like this and they just made more than we did,
especially in the fourth.”
Junior Michael Waldron passes the ball ahead to teammate Kohl Vogel for a fast break opportunity Friday against Spring Hill.
Spring Hill took a 17-10 lead at
the end of the first quarter, but the Wildcats battled back to trim the Bronco
lead just one at halftime. Louisburg then went on a 7-1 run to end the third to
grab a 37-32 advantage.
Vogel scored a basket and two free
throws during that run, while Guetterman hit a 3-pointer to give the Wildcats
some momentum.
The Wildcats, however, had a hard
time containing Spring Hill’s Brennan Feeback. The Bronco senior hit several
big shots as he scored a game-high 20 points and also had 15 rebounds.
“Feeback made some great plays for
them as well and we needed to take away his opportunities and eliminate their
best players,” Pfannenstiel said. “We took care of the ball well. We had some
bad turnovers, but 10 turnovers is by far our least of the season and I thought
that was a positive. We were patient on offense, but we have to find ways to
score and shoot the ball better from the outside.”
Louisburg will try and bounce back
today when it travels to Paola in what is the first of three games this week.
The Wildcats will also to travel to Baldwin on Wednesday before hosting Ottawa
on Friday for homecoming.
“The good thing about basketball
is you don’t have to wait long to get right back on the court,” Pfannenstiel
said. “We have a busy week coming with three games this week and playing Paola
is always a big game for our players and we played them well there last year.
Hopefully we can turn things around.”
Louisburg senior Dylan DeShazer puts up a shot during the Baldwin Invitational last week at Baldwin High School.
BALDWIN CITY – For three of the
four quarters, the Louisburg boys basketball team actually bested Wellsville on
Friday during the fifth-place game of the Baldwin Invitational.
It was the third quarter, however,
that helped send the Wildcats home with a loss.
Louisburg scored just four points
in the third quarter, and despite a furious rally in the fourth, the Wildcats
couldn’t make the comeback in the 64-53 loss to the Eagles at Baldwin High
School.
“We knew Wellsville was going to be a
tough test for us,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “They are a very
patient and disciplined team. They shot the ball really well coming out after
halftime and only missed three shots in the third quarter. We were really bad
offensively.”
Wellsville outscored Louisburg 21-4 in
the third period after the Wildcats trailed by just one point at halftime.
Louisburg outscored Wellsville 24-17 in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t
enough.
Kohl Vogel had another big game for the
Wildcats with a team-high 14 points, while fellow senior Brayden Gage added 12
points and senior Dylan DeShazer added nine.
The Wildcats (5-6) had a tough time
containing the Wellsville dynamic duo of Jackson Dwyer and Zach Vance. The two
players each finished with 22 points and combined for 44 of the Eagles’ 64
points.
“I was proud of how we fought back in the
fourth quarter,” Pfannenstiel said. “We were able to cut their lead to seven
points in the fourth, but they hit a couple more big shots that proved too much
to overcome. If you take away the third quarter, we played pretty
well. But obviously you have to play well for all four quarters and we
just didn’t do that I think there is a lot to be learned from this game
and hopefully we can come back and be more consistent.”
Louisburg will try and get back on track
Friday when it hosts Spring Hill. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
Wildcats bounce back to beat Bishop Ward at Baldwin Invite
Louisburg senior Brayden Gage gets to the basket for two points Thursday during the consolation semifinal game of the Baldwin Invitational against Bishop Ward. The Wildcats won 58-40.
BALDWIN CITY – Coming off a
difficult loss to begin the Baldwin Invitational, the Louisburg boys basketball
team needed to make amends quickly.
The Wildcats were on a three-game
losing skid going into Thursday’s consolation semifinal against Bishop Ward and
they wanted get things back on track in this tournament before heading back
into Frontier League play.
Louisburg got the win it was looking for as the Wildcats downed Bishop Ward, 58-40, behind a big second half in which they outscored the Cyclones 37-23.
“We were just more patient on
offense and we were getting better shots,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel
said. “I thought we worked the offense a lot better than we did in our first
game here. The first half wasn’t pretty because shots just weren’t falling, but
we were taking good shots. The second half our defense really sparked our
offense and I thought we were a lot better defensively and it got us going.”
It was a balanced effort from the
Wildcats as two players scored in double figures and eight different players
found the scoring column.
Senior Noah Hill had a big night
with a team-high 12 points before having to leave the game in the second half
due to an injury. Senior guard Brayden Gage also picked it up as he finished
with 11.
Louisburg senior Noah Hill gets on the floor for a loose ball Thursday against Bishop Ward.
Sophomore guard Weston Guetterman
added eight points in the win, while senior Kohl Vogel finished with seven.
Junior Michael Waldron added a pair of 3-pointers to the cause and freshman
Julian Margrave came off the bench to score his first varsity points as he
finished with six.
“It was good to see a bunch a
different guys contribute and not just rely on one or two guys,” Pfannenstiel
said. “I thought we moved the ball around well, especially in the second half,
and more guys were able to contribute for us. We were able to play a few extra
guys as well, which I think will allow us to play even harder moving forward.”
The Wildcats (5-5) found themselves
in close battle with the Cyclones in the first half as they led just 21-17 at
halftime. Louisburg was able to overcome some turnovers problems in the second half
as it got key baskets down the stretch to pull away.
Louisburg will try and finish the
Baldwin tournament with a two straight wins tonight when it faces off with Wellsville
at 7 p.m., in the fifth-place game.
“We want to get a on a roll here
and it was nice to be able to break that three-game losing streak we were on,”
Pfannenstiel said. “Hopefully we can get some momentum going heading back into
league play. Wellsville is a very disciplined team and a very patient team.
They play incredibly hard and they play smart, so we are going to have to play
a very good game if we want to be able to win.”
Louisburg couldn’t have asked for
a better start to the Baldwin Invitational on Tuesday as it opened with Harmon.
The Wildcats went on a run to
start the first quarter and jumped out to a double-digit lead. Unfortunately,
Louisburg wasn’t able to keep its momentum as it fell to Harmon, 51-45.
Louisburg jumped out to a 16-2 lead in the first quarter, but took a step back in the second quarter to allow Harmon to get back into the game. Despite a back-and-forth third quarter, Harmon used a 15-8 run in the fourth to seal the win.
“It was a tough loss,” Louisburg
coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “I thought we played pretty well for three
quarters, but got a little bit out of sorts offensively in the fourth quarter.
We just turned the ball over way too many times and that has been our Achilles heel.”
Senior Kohl Vogel tried to keep
the Wildcats in the game as he finished with a team-high 22 points and had six
rebounds. Senior Dylan DeShazer just missed double figures with nine points,
but also had a team-high seven rebounds.
Louisburg junior Michael Waldron drives to the basket Tuesday during the Wildcats’ road contest against Bonner Springs.
BONNER SPRINGS – The Louisburg
boys basketball team knew it was going to be a difficult challenge Tuesday when
it faced off with one of the better teams in the state.
The Wildcats traveled to Bonner
Springs for a Frontier League matchup and the Braves, who are ranked No. 10 in
Class 5A, handed Louisburg a 72-46 loss.
“It was a tough matchup,”
Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “They are really quick and we knew we
were going to have to play zone and keep them in front of us. We struggled to
do the little things early on and they exposed us on that and that is what good
teams do. There is a lot to be learned from the game. We will move on and keep
grinding.”
Bonner Springs used its quickness
and athleticism to pressure the Wildcats on defense and the Braves scored 19
points off Louisburg turnovers.
Louisburg (4-4) was unable to get much traction as Bonner Springs jumped out to a 22-12 lead in the first quarter and the Braves scored 26 more points in the second quarter to get out to a big lead.
Wildcat senior Dylan DeShazer led
Louisburg in scoring with 11 points and added six rebounds. Fellow senior Kohl
Vogel also finished in double figures with 10 points and six rebounds, while
junior Madden Rutherford led the Wildcats with eight rebounds.
Louisburg will try and get back on
track today when it travels to Baldwin. The Wildcats will travel to Baldwin
against next week for the Baldwin Invitational where Louisburg is the No. 6 seed
and will meet Harmon.
“We will see what kind of team we
are, whether we will feel sorry for ourselves or get in there and work to get
better,” Pfannenstiel said. “Hopefully we can play well on Friday and get a
little momentum going for a well-balanced tournament. There is eight really
good teams in that tournament, but we have to take care of business against
Baldwin and continue to get better.”
Louisburg senior Kohl Vogel goes up to try and block a Eudora shot Friday at Eudora High School. The Wildcats fell to the Cardinals, 59-31.
EUDORA – After one quarter, the
Louisburg boys basketball team was right there with Eudora, the No. 6-ranked
team in Class 4A.
It was the second quarter where the Wildcats weren’t able recover.
In its first action following the holiday break, Louisburg had its worst shooting night of the season in a 59-31 loss to the Cardinals at Eudora High School. The Cardinals were part of the reason for that as they forced 15 Wildcat turnovers and scored 17 points off those mistakes.
“It was obviously wasn’t one of
our better shootings nights, and it wasn’t necessarily shooting, but more
execution offensively,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “We were really
poor in the second quarter with our execution and Eudora was really hot there
for a while and they are a really good team and well-coached.
“They played as well as I have
seen them play this year. That will happen sometimes when you have an off night
and the other team is on fire and that is what the score was as lopsided as it
was.”
The two teams were on the opposite sides of the shooting spectrums as Louisburg shot just 28 percent for the game, while Eudora connected on 56 percent of its shots. The Cardinals also combined for 41 points in the second and third quarters to pull away.
“Eudora shot it well and even
their coach told me after it was over that they hadn’t even shot that well in
an open gym before, much less a game,” Pfannenstiel said. “We just have to
shoot the ball better and that was an emphasis over the summer. So far we have
done a lot better with that, but we just have to bounce back.”
Senior Kohl Vogel led the Wildcat
offense with eight points on the night and fellow senior Dylan DeShazer
finished with six. Junior Madden Rutherford had five rebounds to lead the
Wildcats.
Louisburg will try and get back on
track Tuesday when it travels to Bonner Springs, which is ranked No. 10 in
Class 5A. The Wildcats will live on the road the next couple of weeks as they
won’t have a home game until Jan. 25.
“We have some difficult games
coming up so we can’t feel sorry for ourselves after this,” Pfannenstiel said. “We
have a very good Bonner Springs team on Tuesday and we have to come back and
get ready to go.”
It was a successful, and eventful, 2018 for Louisburg High School athletics and for those who are connected to the Wildcat program. This past year created a lot of school history for LHS and several programs brought back state hardware to Louisburg.
Below are the Top 10 stories from 2018, along with a brief explanation of each. Included in the explanation is the link to the actual story from the event.
This year was a blast to cover and I was blessed to have the opportunity to go along for the ride with many of these. As much fun as it was, I can’t wait for 2019 to begin. Looking forward to it!
10. Dillon medals at state golf for second straight year
EMPORIA – All season,
Calvin Dillon had been atop or near the front of leaderboard and that didn’t
change in what was his biggest tournament of the season.
It was the second consecutive state medal for Dillon
after he finished 10th overall last season at
Wamego as a freshman.
“It is a real honor
to earn another state medal, especially with the quality players that were at
the state tournament,” Dillon said. “There were lots of good players and lots
of good teams.”
It
was another notch on Dillon’s list of accomplishments that included a Frontier
League title and six straight tournament victories during the 2018 season.
Louisburg football coach Robert Ebenstein
Louisburg girls soccer coach Kyle Conley
9. Conley, Ebenstein named Class 4A Coach of the Year
Louisburg
girls soccer coach Kyle Conley and Wildcat football coach Robert Ebenstein both
led their respective teams to special seasons.
Those seasons were special enough for both coaches to earn two big awards.
He guided the Wildcats to a 14-7 record and a spot in the
state championship match, where the Lady Cats finished second overall. The
finish was something to remember for Wildcat fans as that was accomplished in
just the program’s third year of existence.
He has posted a
41-18-2 record during his time as the Wildcat girls head coach and also guided
the Louisburg boys soccer team to its best finish in program history in 2017
with a fourth place finish at state.
As for Ebenstein, he
guided the Wildcats to 10 straight victories and a regional championship to
start the 2018 season, before getting knocked out in the sectional round
against eventual state champion, Bishop Miege.
8.
Holtzen finishes Louisburg career with 12 varsity letters
Once Isabelle Holtzen
received her diploma and walked out of Louisburg High School for the last time
as a student, she officially became one of the most decorated female athletes
in school history.
No, she doesn’t have any individual state championships, or even
one as part of a team. Holtzen’s decorations aren’t ones in the form of
trophies or all-state honors, but instead, they can be found on the front of
her letter jacket.
In research done by Louisburg Sports Zone, it was unable to find
the last athlete to accomplish the feat, which could mean Holtzen could be the
first Lady Cat to do so. She competed in cross country, basketball and track
and field
The last athlete to come close was in 2001 when Krystal Bowes
earned 10 varsity letters before moving on to a collegiate track career at
Wichita State.
“The biggest thing that it means to me is to just have an
opportunity to participate in three sports at a school like Louisburg,” Holtzen
said. “The bigger the school that you go to, the harder it is to play multiple
sports at the varsity level and I think Louisburg is unique in that fact. The
best part of this whole journey was I think my freshman year because there was
no pressure and no one was expecting anything from me. It was surprising and
exciting to be able to letter in all three sports.”
Holtzen is currently at
Northern Iowa, where she received a scholarship to pole vault for the Panther
Track and Field Team.
7.
Dixon earns All-American, Player of the Year honors, signs with Kansas State
Louisburg
senior Anna Dixon led the Lady Cat volleyball program all season and she was recognized
for her play on the court.
Dixon, the 6-foot-3 outside hitter, was recently named the Class 4A Player of the Year by the Kansas Volleyball Association, and along with that was also selected to the all-state first team.
It was the second year in a row Dixon was named player of the
year, as she had to share the honor last season with Rose Hill’s Gracie Van
Driel.
The honors certainly didn’t stop there as Dixon was
all named to the All-Frontier League first team as she helped guide the Lady
Cats to an undefeated league season.
Dixon led the Lady Cats in kills with 584 in 105 sets
played. She also finished with 325 digs, as she played all six rotations and
also had 50 aces and 42 blocks.
In her four years with the program, Dixon finished
with 2,003 kills, which would place that total among the best the school has
ever seen.
“I have always known Kansas State was going to be my
home,” Dixon said. “Even since I committed as a sophomore, I always wanted to
go up to Manhattan and see the girls and spend time with the team. K-State is where
I need to be.”
6. Louisburg wrestling sends six to state, Holtzen
earns first state medal
SALINA – As the final
whistle sounded in his blood round match, Cade Holtzen looked up into the
rafters of the Tony’s Pizza Events Center and smiled.
“It is one of the best
feelings that I have had in my life,” Holtzen said. “Just knowing that I’m
going to place – you just can’t match that with anything else.”
It certainly wasn’t
easy for the Louisburg freshman as he faced a win or go home with nothing
scenario heading into his match with Porter. Holtzen pulled out the victory and
eventually finished sixth overall at 113 pounds to give Louisburg a state
medalist for the third consecutive season.
“It is pretty cool,”
he said. “I have been working for this all season, so to get a state medal is
great. It may not have been as high as I wanted, but any state medal is pretty
amazing.”
Holtzen had a special
year for the Wildcats as he finished with a 45-6 record and broke the school
record for most wins in a single season. He won four different tournaments and
was a Frontier League and regional tournament runner-up.
To add to his resume,
he became only the second freshman in school history to earn state medal –
second to only Austin Hood, who would go on to with three state titles.
Austin Moore finished
one victory shy of earning his first state medal, while Ryan Adams, Thad
Hendrix and Blue Caplinger also picked up wins at the state tournament.
5. Moore, Johnson
finished in top 10 at state cross country, girls qualify for second straight
year
WAMEGO – It was going
to be hard for the Louisburg High School girls cross country team to duplicate
its magical season of 2017.
Not only did the Lady Cats qualify their team for state for the
first time in program history, but they also had a top five finisher in Trinity
Moore.
Fast forward to 2018, Louisburg wasn’t able to match that successful
run – the Lady Cats took it a step further.
Moore, along with freshman Reese Johnson, each had a top 10 finish during the Class 4A Kansas State Cross Country Championships at Wamego Country Club, and it is the first time in school history that two female runners had medaled at a state meet. Louisburg added on to that as the girls finished fifth in the team standings with 154 points, which is also the highest finish in school history.
Moore, who finished
fifth at state a year ago, bested her performance by one place as she took
fourth with one of her better performances of the season. Johnson was right
behind her as she crossed the finish line in sixth.
Shaylor Whitham, Carlee Gassman, Kaitlyn Lewer, Delaney Wright and Kennady Wilkerson were also members of the Lady Cats’ team to run at state. Emily Williams was a member of the regional team that finished second overall.
4. Louisburg track
earns six state medals, Gassman state runner-up in 300 hurdles
WICHITA – Carlee Gassman had broken the Louisburg High School 300-meter hurdle record three different times in 2018 prior to the state track meet.
She picked the perfect time to make it a fourth.
Gassman broke her own school record in the 300 hurdles in May at the Class 4A Kansas State Track and Field Championships in Wichita as she ran a time of 45.68 seconds to earn a silver medal as she was the Wildcats’ top performer on the weekend. Andale’s Abby Smarsh, who is a senior, won the event in 44.73.
It was the Louisburg sophomore’s first time competing at the
Kansas meet as she transferred in from Iowa last year, where she qualified for
the state meet there in the 400 hurdles.
Gassman’s medal in the 300 hurdles was just one of six the
Wildcats were able to bring home following the two-day meet. Those six medals
were the most Louisburg has earned since 2011, when the Wildcats combined to
medal in 10 events and the boys won their first team state title.
The 300 hurdles wasn’t the only event Gassman found success in
as she also medaled in the long jump. Gassman, who hadn’t competed in the event
prior to this year, finished fifth with a mark of 17 feet, 0.25 inches.
Isabelle Holtzen
would go on to finish sixth in the pole vault, the boys 4×400 team of Chris
Williams, Blue Caplinger, Ben Wiedenmann and Justin Collins went on to take
seventh. Williams finished eighth in the 400-meter run and Trent Martin medaled
eighth in the boys pole vault.
3. Louisburg
volleyball takes runner-up at state for second straight season
HUTCHINSON – The
feeling was much of the same.
The pride of finishing as a state-runner up was a popular one
among the members of the Louisburg volleyball team. At the same time, the
frustration of taking second in state in back-to-back seasons was just as
prevalent.
Louisburg wasn’t quite sure what to feel following its 25-13 and 25-14 loss to Bishop Miege in the championship game of the Class 4A state tournament Saturday at Hutchinson Sports Arena.
In 2017, the Lady
Cats fell to Rose Hill by two points in the championship match, and fast
forward to the present, they were in the same spot – holding the state
runner-up trophy. It was the 15th time in
program history that Louisburg finished in the top four at state.
The Lady Cats rattled off four straight wins to start
the tournament, including knocking off No. 1 seed Independence, and defending
state champions Rose Hill and Topeka Hayden. Louisburg then battled back to
defeat Andale in the state semifinals.
“The loss was tough,”
Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “To come so close to a state title two
years in a row, only to come up short is tough. But with that being said, it is
a huge accomplishment for this team to get back to the state championship and
make it two years in a row. Finishing second is nothing to hang our heads on.
Last year’s finish fueled the fire for the team this year, and I challenged the
returning players to use this loss and feeling to fuel them for next year.”
Louisburg has been
one of the more dominant teams in Class 4A in the last decade as the Lady Cats
have made the state tournament seven out of the last nine years and have
finished as a state runner-up on three different occasions, along with several
third and fourth place finishes. They finished 2018 with a 36-9 record.
2. Louisburg girls
soccer advances to title game, has best finish in program history
NORTH NEWTON – The obstacle
seemed insurmountable – and it was.
The Louisburg High School girls soccer team found itself in the
Class 4-1A state championship match in the program’s third year of existence,
but if they wanted to take it another step further, the Wildcats were going to
have to knock the defending state champion of its perch.
Unfortunately, Bishop Miege wasn’t about to be moved.
In a state title game that was played in the sweltering heat in late May at Bethel College, the Wildcats couldn’t stay with the Stags in a 5-0 defeat. It was the third consecutive title for Bishop Miege, while Louisburg earned a state plaque for the first time in its short history.
It was special season for the Wildcats as the night before they knocked off Topeka Hayden, 1-0, in the state semifinals to secure the program’s first state plaque. In 2017, Louisburg both games in its state tournament appearance and finished fourth.
The road to this state
championship appearance has been an interesting one for the Wildcats. More than
three years ago, a group of Louisburg parents and citizens raised enough money
to begin the girls soccer program and fund it for three years.
Louisburg was in the final year of that funding, and while the
program isn’t going away, the team realized they needed to play for more than
themselves.
“We played for the community tonight,” Louisburg senior Bailey Belcher
said after the Hayden win. “We have to remember that when they raised money for
this program, it was just through this year, so I think we owed it to them to
play well. I really think it might have helped with how we played and I think
it was one of the best games we played all season.”
“It is a third-year program
with 41 wins, three regional championships, two state final fours and now a
state runner-up,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said after the title game. “We
just have kids who come in and work their butt off. They are not soft, they
aren’t weak and from top to bottom they are going to work hard.
“We worked hard, but we just played Miege. That is one of the
best teams in the state, and that stinks, but our kids played hard, worked
their tail off and it was a great year. We had people criticize us for how we
got there, but we won games and that really motivated the kids. It got them
fired up to go do something bigger than themselves. I couldn’t be more proud of
they stuck together and what they accomplished.”
1. Football wins 10 straight, takes Frontier League title and regional championship
It had been almost two
months since Louisburg and Piper squared off on the football field in what was
one of the more entertaining games on the Wildcats’ schedule.
Back in early
September, Louisburg left Piper High School with a seven-point win – a victory
that would help propel them to a Frontier League championship and a perfect
regular season.
The two teams squared
off again and the stakes were a bit higher. The game, at least for Louisburg
anyway, was even more exciting.
The Wildcats dominated action from the opening kickoff and never looked back in a 48-0 win over the Pirates. In the process, Louisburg won the school’s first regional championship since 2016 and are off to a 10-0 start for the first time since 2010.
It was as season
marked with special moments, including a 28-7 victory over then-undefeated
Paola late in the year to secure a league title.
“Being 10-0 and then having
that first loss of the season was very disappointing,” Louisburg coach Robert
Ebenstein said. “Losing always sucks, but losing in the playoffs and having to
wait until next August is the worst. At the end of the day, Miege is a
very good team and we did some good things. We got them to fourth down on
multiple drives in the first quarter, we just couldn’t make the plays on
those big downs. Then we got behind a little and started pressing.
“Overall it was a great year.
I am very proud of our guys and excited for them that they were able to get
double digit wins for only the third time since 2000, and there was a
lot of really good football played during that time period. It was a lot
fun to be a part of.”
Austin Moore was named to the Kansas Shrine Bowl and was a first-team all-state player for the Wildcats. Moore was also named as the Kansas Small-Class Player of the Year by 810 Varsity.
With all that success, honors
started to roll in for its players as running backs Austin Moore and Blue
Caplinger, along with linemen Brayden White and Kiefer Tucker all earned
all-state honors.
Moore and White went on to be
semifinalists for the Simone Awards and Moore was also selected to participate
in the Kansas Shrine Bowl in the summer of 2019. Ebenstein was also named as
coach of the year by the football coaches association.
Most recently, Moore was
named the Kansas Small-Class Player of the Year and Running Back of the Year by
810varsity.com, while White was named the Small-Class Lineman of the Year.
Ebenstein was also named Kansas Small-Class Coach of the Year by 810 Varsity.
Wildcats overcome slow start to rout Turner
Louisburg senior Dylan DeShazer puts up a shot in the lane Tuesday against Turner at Louisburg High School. DeShazer was one of five Wildcats in double figures and ended with 11 points.
It wasn’t the start Louisburg boys basketball coach Ty Pfannenstiel had hoped for Tuesday in the Wildcats’ home game against Turner.
The Wildcats turned the ball over 12 times in the first half, and although they had the lead, it wasn’t what Pfannenstiel was hoping for.
Louisburg’s third quarter was exactly what it was looking for.
The Wildcats scored 32 points in the third quarter and they were able to pull away from Turner for an 80-48 victory in their final game before the holiday break.
“I think we started off slow, but credit Turner a little bit and they were able to get some turnovers,” Pfannenstiel said. “We were really sloppy with the ball, especially early. We had 12 turnovers in the first half and that is just too many. That was our point of emphasis at halftime was to make the simple plays and try not to do too much.The second half we only had three turnovers and that was a big difference.”
Turner had a two-point lead midway through the first quarter and the Wildcats couldn’t seem to find a rhythm offensively. So Pfannenstiel went to his bench and put in five reserves in senior Noah Hill, junior Michael Waldron, sophomores Ben Guetterman, Andy Hupp and Connor Koesser.
Those players gave the Wildcats a lift off the bench as they went on a 9-1 run to end the quarter and give Louisburg a 17-11 lead.
“Those guys came in and gave us a spark there,” Pfannenstiel said. “You know when those guys get their opportunity, you know they are going to play hard. That kind of sent a message to those older guys and I am proud of that younger group that came in. Noah was in there with them, and he had been out with an illness and that is why he came off the bench, but it was good to have him lead that group. They were just doing the little things right and that is what we have to do as a group.”
The message was heard loud and clear as the Wildcats opened the second quarter on an 11-2 run and eventually built a 37-20 lead at halftime.
Louisburg’s offense caught fire in the third quarter as it racked up 32 points. Senior Kohl Vogel got things going with three consecutive steals that led two baskets to open the second half and the Wildcats were off and running.
The Wildcats all but sealed the win as the buzzer sounded in the third quarter when sophomore Weston Guetterman sank a 3-pointer from three or four steps in front of the half-court line. Louisburg led 69-38 and forced a running clock the rest of the way.
Louisburg sophomore Weston Guetterman puts up a last-second shot in front of the half-court line Tuesday against Turner. Guetterman made the shot and finished with 10 points.
“I think we only missed three shots in that third quarter and we were able to get some things going there,” Pfannenstiel said. “It really started on the defensive end and that sparked us offensively. We preach that every day that our defense has to be a constant every time. There will be times where we don’t shoot the ball well and we have to be good on the defensive end every time.”
Louisburg had five players score in double figures and Vogel and Hill led the way with 14 points each. Vogel also had five rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Hill had six rebounds.
Junior Madden Rutherford finished with 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while senior Dylan DeShazer and Weston Guetterman scored 11 and 10 points, respectively. Senior Brayden Gage added eight points, six rebounds and five assists.
The Wildcats have already doubled their win total from a season ago as they currently have a 4-2 record and have gotten off to a good start. However, Louisburg realizes there will be plenty more tests in the weeks to come.
“Every game has been a good game,” Pfannenstiel said. “Even in our two losses, we have been right there. I think our kids are playing confident, unselfish and team basketball. We are doing the right things on both ends of the floor and now we have a stretch to work and get better before we get into the brunt of the Frontier League. We come back from break and we play Eudora and Bonner Springs right away and both are really, really good teams. We have to have ourselves ready and keep moving forward.”
Louisburg junior Madden Rutherford battles two Piper players for a rebound Friday during the Wildcats’ road contest at Piper High School. The Wildcats pushed the No. 2-ranked Pirates, but fell 57-44.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – The Louisburg boys basketball team found itself in a situation Friday that not a lot of teams in the state will find themselves in.
Louisburg went on the road to Piper High School and the Wildcats held a two-point halftime lead over the No.2-ranked Pirates and were on the verge of one of the biggest upsets of the season.
Although it was a one-point game in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats couldn’t hang on in a 57-44 loss to Piper. As good as the Wildcats’ effort was, they didn’t want to talk about the silver linings when it was all over.
“Our expectations are really high,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “There is no one in that locker room that is happy about a moral victory. We said that we aren’t into moral victories anymore. They were disappointed because they knew if they played well for two halves that we had a chance to beat a really good team.
“I really do think our kids are confident players and they are going to continue to work hard every day. Playing as well as we did should make us a confident team and know that we can go toe-to-toe with any team that we play.”
The Wildcats did that for much of the game, especially in the first half, as they slowed the Pirates down offensively. Louisburg ran a lot of set plays to get good looks at the basket.
On the defensive end, Louisburg forced Piper to knock down shots from the outside and took advantage of the Pirates slow start offensively. The Wildcats (3-2) jumped out to a 7-2 lead on baskets from Kohl Vogel and Madden Rutherford.
Louisburg senior Kohl Vogel puts up a shot in the second half of Friday’s game at Piper.
Late in the first quarter, Piper went on a 7-2 run to take the lead back, but senior Noah Hill scored back-to-back baskets to put Louisburg back up 13-10.
The Wildcats went up six after a 3-pointer from Rutherford and held that lead after another 3-pointer from Vogel. Piper knocked down a 3-pointer late in the second quarter to cut Louisburg’s lead to 25-23 at halftime.
“We knew they were a good team,” Pfannenstiel said of Piper. “We knew they were a confident team and they have a lot of athleticism. We knew we were going to have to slow them down because they like to get out and run. I feel like we did a really good job of that the entire game. We played very well defensively and our plan the whole time was to try and keep them in front of us, make them shoot from the outside and get every rebound and I thought we executed that really well.”
Piper went on a 11-1 run to start the second half to get out to an eight-point lead, but the Wildcats were able to battle back early in the fourth quarter. Baskets from Vogel and Hill were able to trim the Pirate lead to one with six minutes remaining.
However, the Pirates finished the game on an 18-6 run that included several late free throws that were able to seal the win for Piper.
“I told them at the end of the third quarter that we weathered the storm and we eventually got down eight,” Pfannenstiel said. “For us to fight back and answer there was really good to see. I think if we just knock down a few more shots then maybe it is a little bit different. The final score really wasn’t indicative of how close the game was. It was just kind of slugfest.
“The second half our shots just didn’t fall. Piper got a little more aggressive defensively and we turned the ball over a little bit. We did a really good job in the first half with only six turnovers and then we turned it over about 11 times in the second half and that gave them a few more opportunities and gave them some confidence. Plus, we didn’t shoot it really well in the second half, either.”
Vogel led the Wildcats in scoring with 17 points and Rutherford nearly had a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds. Hill and senior Dylan DeShazer each finished with six points and Hill added six rebounds.
Louisburg will try and bounce back tonight when it hosts Turner for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff, in what is the Wildcats’ final game before the holiday break.
Louisburg boys use big second half to push past Frontenac
Louisburg sophomore Weston Guetterman dribbles past a defender during a game earlier this season. The Wildcats outscored Frontenac 43-20 in the second half Tuesday to record their third win of the season.
FRONTENAC – For the second game in a row, the Louisburg boys basketball team found itself in a tight game.
Well, at least until halftime anyway.
After falling in overtime last week, the Wildcats put it into a different gear Tuesday at Frontenac High School. Louisburg, which trailed by a point at halftime, recorded 43 points in the second half and left with a 69-47 win over Frontenac.
It was a dominant second half that saw the Wildcats outscore the Raiders, 43-20, in the final two quarters to pull away for an easy win.
“I thought we played a complete game,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “We started off a little slow. It took us awhile to figure out their 1-3-1 zone, but we finally started attacking it instead of trying to just pass it around. We were really good in the second half. We went with a bigger lineup so we tried out a 2-3 zone and it was really effective.”
The Wildcats put their three biggest players in Madden Rutherford, Noah Hill and Dylan DeShazer, on the back side of that 2-3 zone and it caused problems for the Raiders. Their size allowed guards Brayden Gage and Kohl Vogel to harass the ball up top.
Louisburg forced 19 turnovers on the night and scored 27 points off those mistakes as they were able pull away in the second half. Louisburg went on a 13-2 run late in the third quarter to get up on the Raiders.
“Those three (Noah, Dylan, Madden) are really long and can take up space, so it allowed Brayden and Kohl to be more aggressive up top,” Pfannenstiel said. “It really frustrated Frontenac and they didn’t ever seem to get into a rhythm. We played great team basketball.”
Vogel was a the team’s catalyst offensively for the second straight game as he led Louisburg with 19 points and had three assists and three steals. DeShazer, who missed the last game with an injury, was effective for the Wildcats as he finished with 17 points and led the team with nine rebounds.
Gage also scored in double figures for Louisburg with 13 points and had a team-high four assists and four steals. Hill was close to a double-double with eight points and eight rebounds. As a team, the Wildcats connected on eight 3-pointers.
“Our kids do not care who gets the stats,” Pfannenstiel said. “We are rebounding the ball pretty well so far this season. We have confidence that if they miss, we can get the defensive rebound and go. I was very proud of our effort and energy. The kids represented Louisburg well.”
Louisburg will face a tough test this
Friday when it travels to Piper, which is currently ranked No. 2 in Class 4A.
Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
