Senior defender Will Frank clears the ball away from a Piper player Thursday during Louisburg’s Senior Night contest at Wildcat Stadium Complex. The Wildcats rolled to an 8-1 win.

Cold and rain weren’t the
conditions Louisburg was hoping for in its regular season finale, but the
Wildcats players didn’t complain.

They had too much to celebrate.

Along with Louisburg’s 8-1 victory
over Piper in which it honored eight seniors on Senior Night, the Wildcats also
made history in the process. Their victory gave them the outright Frontier
League title as they ended the regular season with a 14-1-1 record and are the
No. 1 seed in the playoffs for the Class 4-1A east side of the state.

It is the Wildcats’ second league
title in three years and they head into postseason play on a five-match winning
streak.

“Man,
it is really impressive,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said of his team’s achievements.
“This group of boys have bought in from day one and worked so hard. They are
committed to each other and it shows in their play. Their attitudes and work
ethic is a major reason why we are having the success we are. I could not be happier
for a group of young men.

“This
group had a lot of lofty goals at the beginning of the season, and they
have accomplished two of them with that win against Piper. This is such a
special group.”

The senior group of Will Frank, Ryan Haight, Colin Cook, Landon Johnson, David Perentis, Garrett Rolofson, Emanuel Fries and manager Mackenzie Scholtz were all recognized before the match as they were able to celebrate Senior Night first, and then a league title after.

Louisburg
jumped on Piper from the opening whistle as sophomore Braden Yows scored the
team’s first goal 20 seconds into the match.

From
there, it was freshman Cade Gassman who made the biggest mark as he recorded a
hat trick in a 5-minute span to give the Wildcats a 4-0 lead midway through the
first half. Gassman finished with a game-high four goals as he added another in
the second half.

Senior
Landon Johnson also put away a couple shots as he converted a penalty kick late
in the first half and then opened the second half with another goal to give the
Wildcats a 6-1 advantage. Freshman Colin McManigal added a goal midway through
the second half and Gassman iced the win with his fourth score with 13 minutes
remaining in the match.

“Cade was on fire,” Conley said. “He ended with four, but it could have been easily six if I let him. He was focused and played with such passion and determination. I couldn’t be happier for a young man and how well he’s played the entire season.

“Landon
played really hard as well. He was extremely dangerous with the ball at his
feet. He did a great job of breaking down their flanks.”

The
Wildcats recorded 18 shots on goal and 35 shots overall as they put pressure on
the Piper defense the entire night. Junior Treston Carlson and Gassman each had
five shots on goal and Johnson had three.

Defensively,
other than one goal late in the first half, the Wildcats shut down the Piper
attack as senior goalie Garrett Rolofson finished the night with three saves.

Senior Will Frank, junior Luke Faulkner, sophomore Michael Seuferling and freshman Toby Espina-Roca limited Piper’s chances from the defensive line, while defensive midfielders Ryan Haight, Ethan Showalter and Hunter Rogers also provided support.

“The defenders played
very well minus one play,” Conley said. “They held it down and limited their
touches in the offensive half. Piper did send almost their entire team forward
and tried to create a lot of problems for us, but we did a great job of staying
disciplined and marked up. We did a really nice job of limiting their
opportunities.

“The
conditions were terrible, but we handled it really well. The boys were ready
from pregame on. They were focused and really intense. I think we played so
well from start to finish. We moved the ball and did a great job of attacking
what they gave us. The boys read the game well. It was nice to be able to sub
as much as we did and not lose a beat with those guys.”

Now the focus is on the postseason where the Wildcats will host Atchison at 5 p.m. Tuesday in the regional semifinal game. Atchison defeated Bishop Ward, 6-0, Monday in the play-in game.

Should
the Wildcats advance, they will play the winner of No. 8 Maur Hill-Mount
Academy and No. 9 Kansas City Christian on Thursday in the regional
championship game.

“I am glad it’s finally here,” Conley
said of the postseason. “This team is motivated and determined to make an
impact. I am excited to see what this team can do and keep proving everyone
wrong. I love how hard the boys played all year and how much they improved. It’s
going to be a lot of fun.”

Louisburg’s Hunter Rogers puts a shot on goal Tuesday during the Wildcats’ match with Ottawa in Louisburg. In all, the Wildcats put 29 shots on goal in their 4-1 win.

OTTAWA – News made it way toward
the Louisburg sideline midway through the first half that Spring Hill had just upset
Frontier League leader Baldwin.

It caught the attention of the
Wildcat coaches, and with a win over Ottawa, Louisburg was going to take sole
possession of first place. Head coach Kyle Conley relayed that news to his
players at halftime and the Wildcats made sure they left Tuesday’s game on top.

Louisburg took care of business as
the Wildcats scored a pair of goals in each half and recorded a 4-1 victory
over Ottawa at Wildcat Stadium. The win improved their record to 13-1-1 on the
season, and a win or tie over Piper tonight, will give the Wildcats their
second league title in three years.

“We need to do our job. It is
Senior Night, there should be a ton of emotion and a lot of things going on and
a lot of distractions,” Conley said. “We are after another banner.”

The Wildcats dominated possession
for much of the contest against Ottawa as they put together several scoring chances.
In all, Louisburg finished the night with 29 shots on goal.

Junior Treston Carlson was able to
find the back of the net 15 minutes into the first half to give Louisburg a 1-0
advantage over Ottawa. A few minutes later, senior Landon Johnson doubled the
Wildcats’ score with another goal and Louisburg took a 2-0 lead at halftime.

Louisburg didn’t waste any time
after halftime as freshman Cade Gassman scored three minutes into the second half.
Ottawa cut the Louisburg lead to 3-1 with a goal early in the half off a corner
kick.

The Cyclones weren’t able to get a better opportunity than that one and the Wildcats kept pushing up. Sophomore Braden Yows iced the game when his shot hit the back post and rolled slowly across the line.

Yows and Gassman each added an
assist in the win, while Yows led the Wildcats with five shots on goal.
Freshman Colin McManigal and Johnson each had four shots, while Carlson and
junior Logan Faulkner both had three.

Defensively, the Wildcats were
able to limit Ottawa’s opportunities and senior goalie Garrett Rolofson
finished with five saves.

“We did a good job,” Conley said. “We
were trying to work on our cuts and angles a little more this week. We did a
good job of possessing it, moving it and doing our job. The final third could
be a little bit cleaner, but the kids played well and played with a ton of
energy. You can’t ask for anything more than that.

“I thought we did a good job defensively. We had a lot of kids play for us tonight, whether it was 10 minutes or 20 minutes, we were just relentless. I think the last 15 minutes of the first half we kind of just dominated they rest of the way. We just played with a lot of heart tonight and the kids just played really, really well.”

Now the Wildcats will turn all their focus to Piper tonight as they try for win No. 14, and more importantly, a Frontier League title. It will also be an emotional evening as it is also Senior Night and the Wildcats will honor eight seniors for their time with the program.

“It is a credit to them,” Conley
said of his team’s success. “Last year was rough. We never really gelled and we
struggled with chemistry a little bit. This team came together since the first
day of summer, they are playing for each other, they are always together and
supporting one another. It is a credit to them and how hard they play and their
desire to get better. It is a credit to all 38 of those guys and they are doing
a great job from top to bottom.”

Louisburg sophomore Braden Yows (right) is engulfed by his teammates following his game-winning goal in the Wildcats’ 1-0 victory over Paola on Monday in Louisburg.

Just like the first match earlier in
the season, Louisburg and Paola found themselves in another battle Monday as
the two teams went into overtime for the second time this year.

And just like the first time,
Louisburg got the golden goal it was looking for to pull out a win.

Sophomore Braden Yows struck the
ball on the back side of the goal and found the back of the net five minutes
into overtime and the Wildcats came away with a 1-0 victory over the Panthers.

Senior Ryan Haight crossed the
ball into the backside of the goal for the assist and Yows was there to put a
good foot on the pass.

“It was a little unbelieveable,”
Yows said. “Ryan played a great ball into the box and I called for it. Ethan
(Ptacek) could have taken the chance, but when I shot it and went in, it was
almost like a dream come true a little bit. I almost couldn’t believe it at
first.

“Those type of goals don’t come
around very often that win you a game against your rival. It was great, but if
Ryan doesn’t play that ball and Treston (Carlson) doesn’t play it to him then
that goal never happens. It was a team goal.”

It certainly was a team effort as
the Wildcats (12-1-1) picked up their third consecutive victory on the season
and defeated a Paola (8-4-1) team that is one of the best in the Frontier
League and currently has the fourth-best record on the East side of the state in
Class 4-1A.

Louisburg played well on each third of the field, but it started on defense as the Wildcats limited Paola’s chances on goal. To do that, Haight shadowed Paola’s top scorer, Ryan Wokutch, most of the night and got help from junior midfielder Ethan Showalter.

Neither player came off the field
much and were helped by the back line of Will Frank, Michael Seuferling, Toby
Espina-Roca and Luke Faulkner. Senior goalie Garrett Rolofson recorded three
saves and earned the shutout.

“Ryan (Wokutch) has special speed
and is an incredible player,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “We decided to
put Ryan Haight on him and I thought he shut him down pretty well. He did a
really nice job on him defensively, but Wokutch is so dangerous that he causes
a massive amount of problems for him.”

Both teams had opportunities early
in the first half as Wokutch had a header that was saved by Rolofson. For
Louisburg, senior Landon Johnson had two shots on goal, one of which hit off
the cross bar.

The Wildcats put the pressure on
the Paola defense and controlled possession for much of the second half and
overtime. Louisburg had 27 shots on the night, including 14 on goal.

Junior Treston Carlson and Johnson
led the Wildcats with three shots on goal. Yows, along with freshmen Cade
Gassman and Ethan Ptacek, each had two.

Louisburg also took advantage of a
tiring Paola team as the Wildcats were able to sub in groups for much of the
match and were fresher going into overtime.

“We have to thank Conley for this
one,” Yows said. “We could see Paola was a little worn down, but we have a
little more depth, but coach makes us do a lot of fitness in practice and it
pays off. Paola was really good in the first half, but Ryan did a great job of
shutting down Wokutch but Hunter (Rogers) and Sho (Ethan Showalter) both played
amazing. They were a big help back there.”

The Wildcats were able to find the
net halfway through the extra period when Haight played a ball toward the back
side of the goal and Yows was there waiting for it.

“That is the ball I was talking about to the boys,” Conley said. “I kept telling them the back side was wide open. We got there a couple times and kind of wasted some chances, but Braden shifted a little bit, smacked it home and that was it. It was a good read for Braden, and a good lead from Ryan and it was good to get a win.”

Yows’ game-winner emptied the
Wildcat bench and the players were able to celebrate their 12^th win
of the season as they piled on Yows.

The Wildcats will continue its special season Tuesday when it hosts Ottawa and then will host Piper on Thursday for Senior Night. Louisburg will have the opportunity to win a Frontier League title and assure itself a No. 1 seed in the state playoffs next week.

“We have a good style of play and
I think we do a good job of possessing the ball,” Conley said. “I think we
could get a little more dynamic in the final third, but at the same time I love
how hard we play and how the kids don’t stop. They might be too young to
understand what they are truly doing right now, but it is a lot of fun to
watch.”

Louisburg junior Ethan Showalter takes a shot during the first half of the Wildcats’ home match against Eudora on Thursday.

It wasn’t a victory that solidified
anything for the Louisburg boys soccer team – but it came pretty close.

Louisburg hosted Eudora on
Thursday and pulled away for a 4-1 victory. It was a win that helped Wildcats
maintain a hold on their postseason goals.

The Wildcats, who are now 11-1-1
on the season, are sitting atop the Frontier League and currently have the best
record in the Class 4A East standings. The victory helped set up what could be
a special finish.

“I think this team realizes that
we are in the hunt for a league title, and that we are sitting really well for
a No. 1 seed in the playoffs,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “It is a lot
of fun right now. The kids are playing hard and they are playing for each other
and that is the best part.”

Mother Nature tried to make things
interesting for the Wildcats as it poured on the two teams during the first 15
to 20 minutes. In that time, Eudora was awarded a penalty kick and converted to
take an early 1-0 lead.

The Cardinals didn’t have the lead for more than a minute as senior Colin Cook tied it up as he scored off a rebound on a shot from junior Treston Carlson. Midway through the first half, Louisburg took the lead for good on a goal from senior Logan Faulkner.

“That is probably the hardest rain
I have been a part of in a soccer game,” Conley said. “It was just dumping.
Then it stopped and then would start dumping again. We knew it was going to
rain, knew it was going to be cold and I don’t think it affected our guys much.
We played well and we moved the ball really well in the first half and they
chased us all over the place.”

Louisburg kept the pressure on in
the second half as freshman midfielder Ethan Ptacek made it 3-1 on an assist
from senior teammate Ryan Haight. Carlson added a goal himself to ice the match
with under two minutes remaining.

The Wildcats dominated possession
for much of the match and that turned into 14 shots on goal and 20 shots
overall.

Carlson and freshman Cade Gassman
each had three shots on goal to lead Louisburg. Sophomore Braden Yows, along
with Cook and Ptacek, finished with two.

“They (Eudora) were physical,
aggressive and they fouled us a lot and our kids kept their heads for the most
part and played hard,” Conley said. “I am really excited and it was a great win
for us after getting one at Spring Hill. Eudora is really good too. I think
this was a good showing for us and we did our job and we executed really well.

“I think we might have left four
(goals) on the board there in the first half. We were on the doorstep several
times, and one even hit the net that I thought was a goal. It was nice to see
the guys possess the ball, make them chase us and then attack. It should give
us some confidence moving forward.”

Defensively, the Wildcats limited
Eudora to just five shots on goal and four of them were saved by senior goalie
Garrett Rolofson.

“We did a good job for the most
part on defense,” Conley said.  “I think
we lost our marks a couple times, but we probably could have played a little
more aggressive in back, but I thought we still did well. Our outside backs got
beat up a little bit, but I thought they held their ground well and Rolo did
his job.”

Louisburg will try for its fourth
straight victory tonight as it hosts Paola for a 6 p.m. start. It is also
Alumni Night for Louisburg and former players are invited to come back and be
recognized.

The Wildcats know they can have a special ending to their season if they continue to do what they have done through the first 13 matches.

“We are just focused on (this) week
and we have Paola on Monday,” Conley said. “They are a good team and are
playing well right now. We are going to have to do our job and play one game at
a time and see what happens.”

Freshman Cade Gassman leaps in the air to put a shot on goal off a corner kick Tuesday in Spring Hill. Louisburg defeated the Broncos, 1-0, on a late goal by Treston Carlson.

SPRING HILL – For the first time
all season, the Louisburg boys soccer team had to play a match after coming off
a loss and Wildcat coach Kyle Conley was curious how his team would respond.

Conley got his answer Tuesday when Louisburg traveled to face off with Spring Hill in a Frontier League match. The Wildcats responded just fine.

The Wildcats broke open a scoreless game on a go-ahead goal with seven minutes remaining in the second half and left Spring Hill with a 1-0 victory. The win puts Louisburg’s record at 10-1-1 on the season and the Wildcats currently have a two-game lead in the standings for the No. 1 seed in the state playoffs.

“It was nice to see the boys respond,” Conley said. “I think we did a nice job of playing hard and playing good clean soccer. We did a very nice job of controlling the pace of play and attacking what they gave us. I was very pleased with how hard we played and how we moved the ball.”

Junior Treston Carlson provided the heroics for Louisburg as he snuck a shot past the Spring Hill keeper with 7 minutes and 50 seconds left in the match to give the Wildcats they goal they had been looking for.

Louisburg
took 21 shots on the night, 10 of which were on goal. Carlson had half of those
with five, while sophomore Braden Yows and freshman Cade Gassman and three and
two, respectively.

“We
did a nice job of creating chances all night,” Conley said. “I think the boys
are putting some added pressure on themselves and over thinking some of our
situations. We were creating lot of chances but couldn’t quite find the back of
the net.

“Treston found himself in a really good spot and buried it. He has been so close the past couple games, so it was great to see him put one away.”

Defensively,
the Wildcats were able to limit the Broncos’ shots on goal as senior goalie
Garrett Rolofson was able to get the shutout. Spring Hill had just four shots
on goal thanks to the back line of Toby Espina-Roca, Will Frank, Michael
Seuferling, Luke Faulkner, Ryan Haight and Ethan Showalter.

“I
think we did a really nice job to limit their opportunities and chances for the
most part,” Conley said. “We held our back line and played really sound
defense. I was excited to see the boys respond the way that they did. I really
liked how we matched their intensity.”

The Wildcats are toward the top of the Frontier League standings and will try and stay that way as they host Eudora at 4 p.m. today. The Cardinals, which have a 6-3-1 record on the season, defeated Baldwin earlier in the year, which is the lone team to beat the Wildcats.

“Eudora is playing really well right
now and are on a six game winning streak,” Conley said. “It is a big game and
we will need to be ready to play, regardless where we play. It is important
that we play our game and we dictate the pace. They are very physical and play
really fast. Should be a great game.”

Louisburg senior Landon Johnson pushes the ball up the field Thursday during the Wildcats’ match with Baldwin at Wildcat Stadium.

Louisburg was primed for revenge
Thursday as the Wildcats wanted to avenge their only non-win of the season.

They were well on their way to
doing that as they jumped out to an early lead over Baldwin at home. However,
the Bulldogs scored two second half goals and handed Louisburg a 2-1 defeat
after the two teams tied earlier in the year.

Baldwin scored the go-ahead goal
with 14 minutes left in the match to get the win and it was the Wildcats’ first
loss on the season.

“We played really hard and had a massive amount of possession but
just couldn’t break through,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “Baldwin played
with a ton of energy and capitalized on their chances. I liked how hard we played
and how we didn’t give up.”

The Wildcats continue to get healthier as another starter returned to the lineup. Senior captain Ryan Haight was out on the pitch for his first action of the season against the Bulldogs and he didn’t waste any time getting involved.

Haight scored Louisburg’s lone goal with 18 minutes left in the first half as he was on the back side of the goal on a corner kick and tapped it in past the Baldwin keeper.

Louisburg (9-1-1) had its opportunities as the Wildcats had 18
shots on the night and had six on goal. Braden Yows, Haight, Cade Gassman,
Treston Carlson and Colin McManigal each had chances, but were either just wide
of the mark or saved.

The match remained the same until eight minutes into the second
half when Baldwin tied it up, and then with 14 minutes left in the match, took the
lead on a hard shot near the right side of the box that found the back of the
net. Caden Prather and Colby Zimmerman scored the Baldwin goals.

The night was not all lost for Louisburg. Both teams wore
special pink uniforms during the Wildcats’ Cancer Awareness night as they
raised money to help a local family dealing with cancer.

Players from both teams also stood together before the varsity
match as friends and family who have dealt with cancer were read aloud in their
honor.

The Wildcats will try and bounce back today when they travel to
Spring Hill for a 6 p.m. start at Spring Hill High School. Louisburg returns
home Thursday for a match with Eudora.

Louisburg head coach Kyle Conley earned his 100th career win Tuesday in the Wildcats’ overtime victory over Tonganoxie.

Kyle Conley has been a part of
many close matches during his time as the Louisburg boys and girls head soccer
coach.

Conley has pulled out his fair
share of wins during his four years between the two programs, so it only seemed
fitting that his milestone victory would come with a little excitement.

Louisburg rallied for a 3-2 overtime win over Tonganoxie, and as a result, the Wildcats gave Conley his 100^th career victory. Following the match, Conley was recognized in front of the crowd and presented with a banner from his players commemorating the special moment.

“I have been blessed with great
kids,” Conley said. “They play their tails off and they work hard, boys or
girls, it doesn’t matter. If you don’t have kids that play hard, then none of
this is possible. Having quality kids who do the things you ask and work so
hard, makes it fun to coach and positive things happen. I am really lucky to be
in Louisburg right now.”

In his four years as head coach,
Conley has posted a 100-46-4 record and has helped the Wildcats to several big
time wins.

On the girls side, Conley was
named the girls’ first-ever coach when the program started in the spring of
2016. He led them to a 14-win season that first year and they reached the state
quarterfinals.

From there, the Louisburg girls
would go on to a fourth place state finish in 2017, followed by back-to-back
state runner-up finishes in 2018 and 2019 – losing to Bishop Miege in the both
state championship games. Conley has also been named the Class 4-1A Coach of
the Year the last two years.

In his first season as the boys
head coach in the fall of 2016, he guided Louisburg 14-6-1 record and its first
appearance in the state final four. The Wildcats went on to finish fourth in
Class 4A, and then would reach the state quarterfinals the following year with
a 13-win campaign.

Currently, the Wildcats are 9-1-1
this season and have the best record in Class 4-3-2-1A.

 “Starting the girls program and going 14-4-1 that first year and have a chance to go to state was a wonderful memory, but losing to De Soto in the quarterfinals on this field that same year kinda sticks with me,” Conley said. “You know, 100 wins is great, but I probably dwell more on those 46 losses more than I do the wins. There are so many of those games that could have went either way. When you have kids that have heart and passion, it makes it fun to coach.

“Then you have the first boys team to make a state final four in 2016 was a great one, and I will remember the team that played McPherson at home in the state quarterfinals and lost a close 2-1 game that had two shots go off the post in the final five minutes. That was a special team as well. Just honored to be able to coach all of them.”

With so many highs and lows that
teams encounter throughout a season, Conley realizes the people are what makes his
job enjoyable – not necessarily the wins.

“There are so many memories and I have
been able to coach so many good kids,” he said. “I am just blessed to be in
Louisburg and have the opportunity to interact with these student athletes and
hopefully have a positive impact on them. It is an awesome place to be.”

Louisburg’s Braden Yows celebrates his goal off a corner kick with his teammates Tuesday against Tonganoxie in Louisburg. The Wildcats are 9-0-1 on the season.

Just call them the ‘Cardiac Kids.’

For the second time this season, the Louisburg boys soccer team found itself down two goals – not the ideal position to be in to find success. The Wildcats trailed by a couple scores to Tonganoxie at home Tuesday, and for the second time this season, they found a way to respond.

Louisburg rallied to force
overtime and eventually downed Tonganoxie, 3-2, on a goal by Cade Gassman four
minutes into the extra period. The win improved the Wildcats’ record to 9-0-1
as they continued their special season.

“They are trying to give me a
heart attack,” Louisburg coach Kyle Conley said. “We have such a young team
that I think they are too naïve to understand what is really going on. At times
we just gave up a back side goal early, and then a penalty kick, and we found a
way to get back in it. It is almost like they want to get down so they can find
a reason to play hard. I was really proud that they never gave up and kept
fighting.”

Down 2-0 midway through the first
half, the Wildcats were able get some momentum going into halftime as Gassman
scored his first of two goals on the night as he flicked a shot past the
Chieftains goalie.

Louisburg had 13 shots on goal in
the game and many of those game in the second half and in overtime. Braden
Yows, Gassman, Ethan Ptacek, Colin McManigal, Treston Carlson, Ethan Showalter
and Landon Johnson all had looks at the goal.

The Wildcats got one to go in
midway through the second half when Louisburg was awarded a corner kick and
Yows took the shot. It sailed around the Chieftain goalie and curved into the
back of the net for the equalizer with 17 minutes left in regulation.

“We talked about the keeper and
his positioning a little bit and we talked about giving it a go at the back
stick and letting someone make a play,” Conley said. “Braden definitely let it
go there and it was a great shot. I am not sure if he meant to do it or not,
but I don’t care at this point. We will take it however we can get it.”

Johnson, a senior midfielder and
captain, played in his first game back from injury and nearly gave his team the
lead late in regulation. His direct kick outside the box just missed the target
and the two teams went to overtime.

 Then four minutes into the extra period,
another corner kick was sent in by Yows but his shot was knocked down by the Tongie
goalie. Gassman, and several other teammates, were around the play and the
Louisburg freshman was able to tap it in for the game-winner.

“Neither team did a good job of
clearing the ball off the line on corner kicks, so we knew if we just got into
the mix and could get it knocked down that anything could happen,” Conley said.
“Cade just kept bulldogging and playing hard and was able to get that last one
to go in.”

Even down by two goals early into
the match, Conley never thought his team was out of it, especially when the
Wildcats started to turn things around late in the first half.

“The kids played hard, they stayed
focused and they knew what their job was,” Conley said. “We found a good
combination to play with in the last 20 minutes and we definitely took over the
last 10 minutes of the first half.

“The second half I think we
dictated the flow of play. We gave them a couple counter attack looks, but we
had the pressure on them the whole time. We knew the goals were going to come,
we just didn’t know when.”

Louisburg is still without a loss
on the season and the Wildcats will try and keep it that way tonight when they
host Baldwin for a 6 p.m. start. They will try to avenge a tie to the Bulldogs
last week, which so far this season, has been the Wildcats’ only setback.

Louisburg senior defender Will Frank heads the ball away from the goal late in the Wildcats’ 2-1 win over Ottawa on Thursday at Ottawa High School.

For about 70 minutes, it was all
going to plan for the Louisburg boys soccer team during its league match
Thursday against Ottawa.

The Wildcats held a two-goal lead on the road and were about to cinch their eighth win of the season. Ottawa had different plans, however.

Ottawa played aggressive in the match’s final 10 minutes and put the pressure on the Wildcat defense that allowed them to cut the Louisburg lead in half. Despite that, the Wildcats were able to hang on for a 2-1 victory and they still have not suffered a loss this season.

“The
boys played really well and did a nice job of controlling the play,” Louisburg
coach Kyle Conley said. “I think we did a nice job of playing hard and moving
the ball the best we could on their field. They played a unique formation and
they made it hard to break down. I do feel the boys played hard, but lacked
focus the final eight minutes of the game.”

Many
of the Cyclones’ shots on goal came toward the end of the half and scored with eight
minutes left in the match.

The
shots kept coming, but the Wildcat back line held strong as senior Will Frank
headed the ball away near the goal on one attempt. Then, with two minutes
remaining, goalie Garrett Rolofson made a diving save near the line to help
secure the win.

Ottawa
had two corner kick opportunities in the final minute-and-half, but the Wildcat
defense did enough to get the win.

“Yeah
after Ottawa got their goal, they had all the confidence,” Conley said. “They
played inspired soccer and their crowd came to life and motivated their
players. We started to panic and lost our focus for the last eight minutes. It
was surely a learning moment for our young team. We will learn from this and
get better. I was excited that the boys held on and fought through some
adversity.”

Louisburg
(8-0-1) took control of the match early and dominated possession. The Wildcats
had 13 shots on goal and were able to get their first one to go through right
before halftime.

Freshman Cade Gassman scored his first of two goals in the 39^th minute and gave Louisburg a little bit of confidence going into the break. Gassman was in the right place at the right time in the second half, as he rebounded a Braden Yows shot, and it found the back of the net for a 2-0 lead.

Treston
Carlson, Ethan Ptacek, Michael Seuferling, Gavin York, Ethan Showalter and Yows
all had shots on goal during the match, and it was one that could have gotten
out of hand early.

“We
did dominate the game, but we struggled to finish,” Conley said. “I was excited
to see some of the creativity the boys showed throughout the game. I felt we
left 3 or 4 off of the board. We had plenty of looks but just couldn’t find the
back of the net.”

Louisburg
hopes to pick up a couple of wins at home this week and it begins Tuesday when
it hosts Tonganoxie. The Wildcats will also host Baldwin on Thursday. Both
matches are slated to begin at 6 p.m.

“Tonganoxie
is a well-coached team that is going to play really hard,” Conley said. “They
will play pretty direct and we will have to adjust that style of play.”

Thursday
will be the Wildcats’ cancer awareness match as both Baldwin and Louisburg will
be dressed out in special pink kits for the occasion.

Louisburg rallies to tie Baldwin

Louisburg
took its perfect season on the road last Tuesday when it traveled to Baldwin
and left there without a loss – but it wasn’t a win either.

Baldwin scored twice – once in each half – but the Wildcats were able to answer within minutes each time as they rallied for a 2-2 tie at Baldwin High School.

“Playing
at Baldwin always provides some interesting intangibles,” Louisburg coach Kyle
Conley said. “Varsity plays first, which messes with a routine. On top of that,
the field was an absolute swamp. With our style of play, it made it very
difficult to keep and possess the ball when you were playing on slop. The field
conditions didn’t affect Baldwin’s play as much because of how direct they
play.

“I
really did like the boys’ ability to fight back and overcome the deficits we
faced. As I told the boys, I felt that we did not play our best and we
struggled to capitalize on our opportunities. I think the playing surface had a
lot to do with that.”

After
Baldwin took a 1-0 advantage midway through the first half, the Wildcats
answered two minutes later as freshman Colin McManigal crossed the ball into
the box and Logan Faulkner beat the Bulldog goalie to the ball and put it in.

The
second half was much like the first as Baldwin took the lead, but Louisburg
answered again when freshman Cade Gassman had a one-on-one with the goalie and
flicked it past him to tie it at two.

The match went two overtimes, and each team had opportunities, but neither could find the back of the net.

Goalie
Garrett Rolofson had six saves on the day for Louisburg, while McManigal,
Gassman, Faulkner, Treston Carlson, Ethan Showalter and Braden Yows all had
shots on goal for the Wildcats.

The Kansas State High School Activities Association released its classifications for the 2019-20 school year, along with the football classifications for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.

There were a few changes in both areas, but more so on the football side.

Football classifications are determined based on enrollment figures in ninth, 10th and 11th grade. Louisburg is still in 4A with 432 students and is toward the lower half of the classification.

Entering Class 4A beginning in the 2020 school year will be St. James Academy, Lansing and Great Bend, who have all moved down from Class 5A. Wamego also made the jump back in from Class 3A.

Goddard, Pittsburg and Spring Hill all saw their enrollment grow and will be moving up from 4A to 5A next year. Baldwin saw their enrollment decline and will move down to Class 3A in football the next two years.

In the rest of the sports, not much changed with regards to Class 4A for this year.

Enrollment figures for all grades in Louisburg this year is 573, which puts the school in the upper half of Class 4A. The biggest school is Buhler with 661 and Bishop Miege is the second biggest at 656 and Ottawa is third at 653.

Three schools will make the move up to Class 4A this year. Clay Center, Girard and Holton all saw their enrollment increase and will come back to 4A, while Osawatomie, Anderson County and Wichita-Trinity Academy will move out of 4A to 3A this year.