BALDWIN CITY — Losing the first set on the road in your opening match wasn’t the most ideal way to start the 2024 season for the Louisburg volleyball team.

However, instead of putting their heads down, the Wildcats rallied around each other in what was a difficult road environment Tuesday against Baldwin.

Louisburg put together three straight set victories and came away with a 3-1 victory over the Bulldogs in its season opener.

“The first match of the season can really set the tone for the year,” Louisburg coach Leanna Willer said. “We were looking to start off on a positive note, and coming out of Baldwin with a win has us starting off the season in a great place with a little more confidence built in each other. 

“Baldwin is a tough place to play. The gym is loud, and they have a great student section to give them a lot of energy. We were eventually able to embrace the energy in the gym and let it fuel us in the final three sets to get the win.”

The Wildcats dug themselves a hole they couldn’t get out of in the first set in a 25-17 loss. Baldwin carried that momentum and took a 10-5 lead into the second set.

Louisburg responded with a 7-2 run to tie the set at 12-all. Sophomore Adelyn Moore then served back-to-back aces to put the Wildcats up 16-14 and eventually won 25-19 to tie the match.

“I’ll admit that the first set had me holding my breath a little bit,” Willer said. “Those first game jitters were very much apparent and we made way more errors than we would like. Our main focus toward the end of the set was to build momentum to carry over into set 2 and take care of our side of the game. 

“Baldwin was a very scrappy team and we had a tough time finding ways to put the ball down. That being said, there were some really fun long rallies with great plays made on both sides of the court, so it was an exciting first game.”

Junior McKenna Lohse helped give the Wildcats a big advantage in the third set with a kill, two aces and served five straight points to put them up 6-1. Baldwin eventually rallied to take a 22-20 lead late.

However, a Bulldog error and an Addison Mallett kill tied it up at 22. Baldwin scored another point, but the Wildcats took the last three on a Baldwin error, a Lohse kill and a block by junior Caileigh Kilgore.

That swung all the momentum to the Wildcat sideline and they were able to cruise in the fourth set in the 25-15 victory and took the best-of-five match.

Moore had a big night for the Wildcats in several areas. She ran the offense with a team-high 29 assists, and also had six kills, two aces and 10 digs.

Lohse also played well for Louisburg as she had a team-high four aces, to go along with a team-high three blocks and five kills.

“Both Adelyn and Kenna had great performances, and their connection really seemed to shine in the final sets,” Willer said. “We definitely had some players step up big behind the service line for us, and those two along with Ally Brown led the team in aces. Consistent, aggressive serving is something we spent a lot of time on this summer, so it was nice to see our servers take ownership of that last night.”

Several Wildcats contributed to the win at the net and in the back row. 

Junior Addison Mallett led the team in kills with 10, while Kilgore and senior Evyn Richardson each had nine and eight, respectively.

Defensively, senior libero Aspen Coulter finished with a team-high 18 digs, while senior Ally Brown finished with 16 digs and also had three aces on the night. Senior Jaden Bentz was also double figures in digs with 11.

Willer was pleased to see her entire team come together and battle through adversity in just their first game of the season.

“Coming back from a first set loss is no easy task, but we worked hard to focus on only one point at a time,” Willer said. “As the night went on, we really started to mesh better and better together, and we were able to capitalize on the opportunities in front of us thanks to the great energy in the gym. Our players on the court were fired up, our players on the bench were fired up, our younger players in the stands in the student section were fired up, and our parents/crowd really backed this team. 

“The comeback highlighted the tenacity and grit we know our players have, and we loved to see it showcased in the first game of the season. We have high hopes for what this team can do.”

Louisburg is back in action tonight as the Wildcats host De Soto and Olathe West in its home opener. First match is set for 5 p.m.

The Louisburg cross country team had two runners reach the final meet of the season last year as they competed at the Class 4A state championships.

One of those runners, Jerynce Brings Plenty, is back to lead the Wildcats after earning his first state medal in 2023.

The Wildcats lost several varsity runners from a year ago, especially on the girls side, and now they look to reload both rosters.

Louisburg currently has 15 on its roster, but Wildcat head coach John Reece believes he has several quality runners who can make an impact this year. 

“Our 15 runners this year is down from past years,” Reece said. “We are a young team with only one senior girl and two senior boys. We do return experience with the younger runners as they stepped up last season and ran in the big meets in the end.”

It all starts with Brings Plenty as he returns after finishing 12th overall at the Class 4A state meet last season. He also recorded the school’s second fastest time a year ago.

“We look for Jerynce to have a great season,” Reece said. “We will be taking him to some larger meets to gain experience in tactical racing within a large group of competitive runners.”

The Wildcat boys also return several runners who saw varsity time last season. Senior Ben Proctor is one of four others who will join Brings Plenty in the lineup.

Levi Cotter, Truman Ellison and Spencer Mattison also return after putting a year of experience under their belt.

“We have five guys and all saw varsity races last year so we have the experience to move right into the season with all running the varsity races,” Reece said. “With continued growth, we should be a strong group come the end of the season.”

On the girls side, senior Marissa Vallejo is in her first year with the program after moving into the district and brings several years of running experience with her.

She will join sophomores Talen McMurray and Ella Bockelman, along with freshman Anna Cotter, as several runners who will compete for varsity spots this year.

“Our girls side is very young,” Reece said. “Marissa is our lone senior but she brings experience to the team as she has run the past three years,” Reece said. “Ella and Talen will also be looking at varsity races and then we will have to see how our freshman girls progress through the season.”

Louisburg opens its season Thursday when the Wildcats travel to the Jerry Howarter Invitational in Garnett.

It could have easily went the other way for the Louisburg boys soccer team.

After giving up a goal in the opening minutes of Tuesday’s season opening match at Basehor-Linwood, the Wildcats could have looked back at their 4-win season a year ago and all those close games that didn’t go their way.

Doubts could have crept in the minds of the Wildcat players — but they didn’t let it happen.

Instead, the Wildcats persevered, and after they recorded the game-tying goal in the second half, senior Emmett White scored the golden goal in overtime to give Louisburg a 2-1 victory to begin its season with a positive result.

“If you rewind to our first overtime game of last year’s season, we were tied up with Bonner Springs and playing great, but then things went south when they scored off an own goal in overtime,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “Now with this season, the guys kept their fire going, even when things weren’t really going our way. They were disciplined and they believed in the process. Winning like that in overtime really helped reinforce so much of what coach (Nick) White and I are trying to instill in the team.”

Louisburg (1-0) found itself down in the game’s opening minutes, and had their opportunities to tie it later in the first half and early in the second half, but couldn’t get the opportunities to go.

The Wildcats finally broke through the Basehor defense as junior Owen Marsh played a through ball that found the foot of Colton Blue and the Louisburg senior found the back of the net midway through the second half.

“We started off a little flat, and they got an early goal on us,” Bovaird said. “That definitely wasn’t how we wanted to begin the game. We had so much possession, and by watching the game you can tell it’s a much improved team from last year. Their goal came off a little lapse with our back line, but they shaped up and held their own the rest of the game. 

“Basehor didn’t really make many threats after that goal. We evened things up in the second half when Owen sent a through-ball past the defense for Colton. Colton’s timing was perfect, he stayed onside until the ball went through, and he went to goal with precision and composure.”

The match eventually went to overtime, and toward the end of the 10 extra minutes, the Wildcats got their second goal.

Ryan Barberich sent a long pass into the middle box, which found the chest of White, who settled the ball and put it past the Basehor keeper for the game-winner.

It is that perseverance that Bovaird hopes will propel his team to several more wins this season.

“We’re trying some new things with our formation, which allowed for a few hiccups, but it’s a process of learning, Bovaird said. “The guys are savvy enough soccer players that they’re figuring things out pretty quickly. We didn’t have one of our seniors due to illness, but with a little adjustment of sliding Owen Marsh back to center mid and putting Brody Bovaird up top in his place, we overcame that obstacle. Our starters did a phenomenal job, and our subs stepped right in and played their part. 

“Sure, going down 1-0 within the first few minutes of the game isn’t ideal, missing out on getting calls to go our way is frustrating, and being unable to capitalize on some good scoring opportunities runs the risk of breaking down with our style. But the thing is that these guys kept their faith, they refused to let frustration set in, and they were resilient through it all. That’s an outstanding preview of what we hope to be a great season.”

Louisburg will try for two straight wins Thursday as the Wildcats host Independence for a 6 p.m. start at the Wildcat Soccer Stadium.

It has been a successful run for the Louisburg volleyball team the last two seasons as the Wildcats have finished fourth in the state in each of those years.

However, this group will look a little different than the last two.

Gone are six seniors from last season’s squad and most people would think it would be a transition year for Louisburg. The Wildcats hope that isn’t the case as five seniors return to lead this year’s group and they also bring back five players that were a part of that 2023 team.

It is a little different dynamic as the Wildcats have seniors who will be seeing their first varsity action, while they also have underclassmen return who played big roles on last year’s team.

“We are in a unique situation,” Louisburg coach Leanna Willer said. “People would assume that graduating six seniors, who all played regularly would leave us in a rebuilding situation, but we return a setter, two pin hitters, and two middles that all saw significant varsity court time last year. Having their varsity experience back is huge for us, and will be complemented well by the rest of the varsity group that is stepping up into new roles. 

“Some of the seniors and underclassmen were a part of a JV team last year that was really, really good. They were tough to beat and took down 5A and 6A opponents throughout the season. We feel really confident that this group is fully ready for that varsity competition, and I don’t expect them to miss a beat. We are lucky to have some depth at a lot of positions again this year, so the competition in our gym has been great so fa. We aim to keep challenging each other each day in practice to raise our overall level of play.”

After running a 6-2 offense with two setters last season, the Wildcat will revert back to the traditional 5-1 as sophomore Adelyn Moore returns after sharing the setting responsibilities last season as a freshman.

Willer is excited to see what Moore can do this season after learning under former teammate Megan Quinn last year.

“Adelyn is a very strong setter, and a fun player to watch for sure,” Willer said. “Stepping onto the varsity court as a freshman isn’t an easy thing to do, but she handled everything in stride and learned a lot from Megan last year as well. Already this summer, we have seen her step up into that full-time setter role by taking more ownership of the court and the offense that we will run. 

“She is a bit like our Energizer Bunny as she is constantly flying all over the court to make big plays for her teammates. She is becoming more confident in her leadership role and we are looking forward to seeing her shine in all six rotations this season.”

The Wildcats bring back a lot of experience at the net as juniors Delaney Nelsen and Caileigh Kilgore return as outside hitters, while another junior Addi Mallett and senior Katie McKain could see time on the front row. 

Nelsen has been on the varsity squad the last two seasons and has been a six-rotation player for the Wildcats. However, she is making her way back from an injury in the offseason and Willer is looking forward to what she and Kilgore will bring to the team this year.

“Both Delaney and Caileigh, along with Adelyn, have been recognized as players to watch as they made the AVCA Phenom Watchlist that highlights underclassmen (non-seniors) that are already making big waves,” Willer said. “Delaney is a great all-around player that has the versatility to play pretty much anywhere on the court. As she is still working back into the front row, she has really improved her passing, defense, and setting. She’s the type of player that is ready and willing to play any position and she has the talent to do it. 

“Caileigh likely has one of the most powerful swings we will see in 4A. She’s got a great arm, and the connection between her and Adelyn has helped to highlight her abilities this summer. She has moved from the right side to the outside for us, so she will be more involved in our serve receive and defensive patterns, and she’s worked hard to build her confidence in all-around skills so that we can keep her on the court as much as possible to give us some great offense.”

Louisburg also returns familiarity in the middle. Senior Evyn Richardson is the lone senior that saw varsity time last season, while junior McKenna Lohse will join Richardson as the team’s middle blocker as both played big minutes last season.

“We are glad to have both Evyn and Kenna as strong middle blockers, and we are thankful that they both had significant time in the middle and on the right side last year,” Willer said. “Working on both positions increased their versatility and provides us with more options offensively as they are comfortable hitting from multiple areas. Their experience from last year will help us as they are already used to the varsity pace, and both girls can impact the game from a defensive and offensive perspective.”

Defensively, the Wildcats will feature new players in the back row. Senior Aspen Coulter is the team’s new libero, after playing that position the last two years on the junior varsity level. 

Seniors Ally Brown and Jaden Bentz will serve as defensive specialists, while Nelsen, Kilgore and Mallett could also see time in the back as well.

“We did lose many of our dig leaders from last season, but we feel that our girls are ready to step up to the challenge, and we have a lot of girls who can fill those positions,” Willer said. “Aspen has been the JV libero for the last two seasons and will start this year taking on that role for the varsity group. Ally and Jaden have also been putting in the time this summer as defensive specialists. 

“Additionally, we have three pin hitters that can hold their own in the back row with Delaney, Caileigh and Addi. All six girls are strong contenders for those positions, and we feel confident that all six would do a great job to step up and make big plays whenever their number is called.”

Like with most seasons, the Wildcats’ goal is to make the state tournament and it has been a fun ride for the last two years. It is a ride they aren’t ready to get off anytime soon.

“Naturally, our main goal is to get back to the state tournament,” Willer said. “Although Louisburg has traditionally found its way there, that is no easy task. We want to see our girls continue to work hard and improve throughout the season so that we are playing our best volleyball at the end of October. If we are fortunate enough to make it to the state tournament, we are setting our sights on making it to day two and finishing higher than fourth place.

“At the moment, our goal is to take it day by day and to not take any opportunity for granted. We are fortunate to get to play strong competition every chance we get to play, so our main focus will only be on one game at a time.”

The Wildcats will open their season Tuesday when they travel to Baldwin for a Frontier League dual. Their home opener is Thursday as they host De Soto and Olathe West for a triangular. 

It wasn’t the season anyone with the Louisburg boys soccer program wanted to see.

The Wildcats posted just four wins in 2023 as they featured a roster with only one senior at the time. It was a young, and inexperienced group.

Fast forward to the present and this year’s version of the Wildcats have a little different look to them. While many of the names are the same as they return almost everyone from last year’s roster, the players are now a year older with more varsity experience.

It is something head coach Bobby Bovaird hopes pays off in a big way for the 2024 season.

“These guys have the advantage of being able to use last year as a trial run for this year,” Bovaird said. “Lots of lessons learned from the 2023 season, and I’m so excited to see how much they’ve all grown. They’re stronger and faster, and they’ve grown considerably with their soccer IQ.

“It’s been a great start to the season. We’ve got 41 boys out for soccer this year, and eight of them are seniors. All summer long we’ve had incredible participation with practices, the Ottawa Summer 7v7 League and conditioning.”

Louisburg has built a strong foundation to work with and it starts with its eight seniors — three of which are returning All-Frontier League players.

Senior Emmett White is the Wildcats’ top returning player from a season ago. White earned second-team all-league honors and had eight goals and two assists last season.

White was a big focus of several opposing teams last season and will more than likely be the same this year.

He is just one of several important pieces in the midfield that includes seniors Colton Blue and Will Showalter, who each earned all-league honors last season. Senior Jacob Brown also returns to join Showalter at the defensive-mid spot. 

“We’ll have a string of experienced seniors in the middle of the field — Emmett as our striker, Colton as our center attacking mid, Will Showalter and Jacob Brown as our center defensive mids, and Ethan Sharp and Cole Clover as our center backs,” Bovaird said. “They’re all poised to have great seasons. We’ll have a lot of talent on the outside, and with that strong core in the middle being able to dish the ball out wide, we are looking to get a lot of goals this year.”

The Wildcats will also have few returning options at forward to help those potential goals. Sophomore Owen Marsh and junior Caleb Feldkamp return after seeing several varsity minutes last season, as did Brody Bovaird. Grant Cannon and Cody Courtney will also see time up top as well. 

“We’ve been making huge gains with playing a possession style of soccer,” coach Bovaird said. “One of my goals for the summer was to help the team improve on consistently stringing together passes, and it’s been great to see their progress. We’ll be possessing the ball and moving it up the field with solid passes and movement to space, and I think that will be the key. It’s an old soccer cliche — let the ball do the work.”

Defensively, Sharp and Cole Clover will join outside backs Dan Minster and Mika McKitrick to form the Wildcat back line, as will Ryan Barberich and Renner Erickson.

Junior Evan Moreland returns as the team’s starting goalie and Bovaird believes he is ready to take the next step. 

“From the start of last year to the end, Evan made so many huge strides,” Bovaird said. “He went from playing a half as goalkeeper on JV as a freshman, to being the starting keeper on varsity as a sophomore. Talk about a trial by fire. This season, though, he’s going to be ready for a great experience.”

There will also be a new voice on the sideline with Bovaird as Nick White was hired as the team’s assistant coach and Bovaird is excited to see what is in store for his team’s this season.

“Last year was a total anomaly,” Bovaird said. “It’s such a rare thing for a high school team to have such a lack of seniors, and I don’t see that situation happening again in the near future. Our seniors are taking on outstanding leadership roles, the underclassmen are buying into the system and coach White and I are totally in tune with the goals of the season and how we’re going to get there.

“Our season motto for this year is simple: ‘Believe.’ We’re looking to get back to the top of the league, and we’re looking to bring home a state trophy, and Coach White and I fully believe that the guys can do just that this year.”

Louisburg begins its season Tuesday when the Wildcats travel to Basehor-Linwood for a 6 p.m., match. Louisburg has its home opener Thursday against Independence.

It was setting up to be an epic finish to Anna Dixon’s collegiate volleyball career.

Dixon, as a graduate transfer, made the move to the University of Florida for her final season and quickly made an impact on the Gators’ roster.

Despite have to learn a new position due to an injury on the team, Dixon seemed to flourish. She helped the Gators out to a quick start and everything was going according to plan.

Then, the unthinkable happened.

Dixon suffered a season-ending elbow injury that put a premature end to her collegiate career. It was a devastating blow.

However, instead of sulking, Dixon worked that much harder to get back to the court and achieve her ultimate goal — playing professional volleyball. 

All that hard work finally came to fruition back in July when Dixon, a 2019 Louisburg High School graduate, signed with the Atlanta Vibe, which is a part of the Pro Volleyball Federation.

“I am super excited to compete at the highest level, but also to be able to do that here in the US,” Dixon said. “It has been a dream of mine to be able to play professionally, in front of club girls who are in the same shoes that I was in many years ago. I am excited to give them the opportunity to have something to look forward to and work toward. Blessed for the opportunity and ready to get to work.”

Work is all Dixon has done to put herself in a position to achieve her lifelong dream. 

After finishing her time with the University of Missouri volleyball program, Dixon transferred to Florida last year for her final season. She joined one of the top teams in the SEC and was looking forward to a postseason run.

An injury to a middle blocker left a void of the Gator team earlier that year, so Dixon volunteered to fill that role despite playing her entire college career on the outside.

Dixon, who stands at 6-foot-3, hadn’t played middle blocker since middle school. She made the process look seamless as she helped the Gators to big early season wins as the vaulted up to No. 3 in the nation at one time.

After making that sacrifice, and finally getting comfortable with her new surroundings, injury struck in October. She quickly had to move from a vital piece on the court, to a cheerleader and assistant coach on the sideline.

“It was really hard seeing my season end so early, especially with the type of season the team was having,” Dixon said. “I was finally getting in the groove of playing in the middle and was figuring it out. I think I was playing the best I had ever played in my college career.

“I was surrounded by such amazing people. Whether I was playing middle, on the bench, playing all six rotations, or whether I was out with injury, it was such a positive, happy environment. I still found ways to contribute to the team even though I wasn’t on the court. I was very thankful for the support system that I had, and the recovery was tough, but I knew the hard work was going to pay off.”

The road to recovery wasn’t going to be an easy one.

For the next five months, Dixon would not only spend it rehabbing her injury, but doubts would start to creep in. 

“There were ups and downs for sure,” Dixon said. “I was planning on going pro in January, then I was going through not being a collegiate athlete anymore, not being in school and going through an identity shape as well as rehab and training. A lot of people who are going through rehab always wonder how it is going to turn out and is it going to be the same. I just tried to focus on getting better each day. If it works out great, and if not we will figure out. 

“There were certainly low moments for me, but I had an amazing support system that helped me through it and it made those days better.”

Better days were to come for Dixon and in July, she signed with the Vibe and her career as a professional has become to take shape. 

Practice begins in December, while the season runs from January through May. The Vibe, along with the Pro Volleyball Federation, are currently in their second year of existence and Dixon is looking forward to making the move to Atlanta.

“I am excited to feel all the hard work I have put in with my recovery finally pay off,” she said. “I am excited to compete again. Sports gives you a feeling that I think nothing else can give you when competing with your team. I am excited for that competition and to get after it. Also I’m ready to get down to Georgia. I have explored the city a couple times, so looking forward to getting to know the girls.”

Dealing with a difficult injury changed Dixon’s perspective on life, and more specifically, volleyball. It made her appreciate what is in front of her, including those that helped her through such a trying time.

“My biggest goal is not to take any opportunities on the court for granted,” Dixon said. “I remember being out and watching practices every day, I would just think that when I get back out there I am just going to play with a free mind and never take anything for granted again. Now that I am training and practicing again, I am already feeling myself putting expectations on myself again. It is great to have goals, but as a player I am better when I am focused on the present moment and taking it one day at a time. I just want to continue that mindset throughout the season and do the best I can.

“I also have a wonderful support system around me and I couldn’t have done it without them. I have grown tremendously in my faith throughout this past year. I have always known, that when I got hurt, His plans were going to be greater, whatever that may look like. I am just excited to see what those plans are for me in Atlanta.”

Jordan Roquemore has had a unique path to becoming a soccer coach.

He wasn’t always the biggest soccer fan growing up, but played in high school and then another year in college. With every passing year, his admiration for the game grew.

“I would say my soccer background is unconventional,” Roquemore said. “My first experiences with soccer came from playing at grade school recess and by watching the USWNT win the 1999 World Cup. Without knowing much about soccer, I learned to love the game.” 

That respect for the sport eventually led him to the sidelines as an assistant coach, including the last four with the Louisburg girls soccer program. Now, he is ready to lead a program of his own.

Over the summer, Roquemore was hired to become the third head coach in the history of Louisburg girls soccer. He replaced former coach Ben York, who coached the Wildcats the last two seasons.

“I feel tremendously honored to take over as head coach,” Roquemore said. “It’s an amazing opportunity to take over an exceptional program with a great group of athletes, supportive parents and invested community members. I don’t take the responsibility lightly, but I am also really excited.”

The Wildcat program has been a successful one since its inception in 2016. During that span, Louisburg has racked up two state runner-up finishes, four state final four appearances and six regional titles.

Roquemore served as an assistant coach for two years under the program’s first coach, Kyle Conley, and then for the last two years under York.

“I am grateful for the experiences under every one of the three head coaches I have gotten to work with over the years,” Roquemore said. “I’ve seen three distinct styles of coaching and play as an assistant. Every one of them has made an impact in how I see the game and afforded me opportunities to learn and grow. 

“The first coach I ever served under in Texas, David Collins, is still a mentor for me today. However, I learned so much while serving with all of them: strategy, team dynamics and culture, running effective practices and ultimately, what it takes to win games.”

It is that experience in Texas that helped shape Roquemore’s passion for the game.

“The Brook Hill School in Bullard, Tex., hired me as an English teacher and happened to have an assistant soccer position available,” he said. “My main motivation in applying was to supplement my salary, but it ended up changing the course of my career. 

“For three years, I was the assistant and goalie coach for the girls team while we won two state championships. For me, it transformed my understanding of the game and how to coach it. I wouldn’t be here now if not for that experience.”

Joining Roquemore will be Louisburg alum Lily McDaniel, who was hired as the Wildcat assistant coach. McDaniel was a part of several of those Wildcat teams that made state appearances.

As far as what will change with the program, that remains to be seen, but Roquemore isn’t ready to fix what isn’t broken. Still, he wants to put his own fingerprints on the program.

“This will be my fifth year with the program and I have a great deal of respect for the norms and traditions we have established,” he said. “Much of the basic structure of the program will remain the same: strong community, high expectations, and a major focus on building positive relationships and good human beings. But there will be changes. We are going to be working on developing a fluid, adaptive, and offensively-dangerous style of play. I want to make the most of the talent, athleticism and intelligence we have in our group.

“As a coach, I have also learned the importance of being yourself and finding what works for you. I’m not going to pretend to be anyone else since that wouldn’t be helpful to me or the team. I love soccer. I love coaching and I love this team. My hope is to run a successful program with a high degree of excellence where kids can grow, enjoy themselves, and be challenged. That hope will be backed by building the culture, expectations, operations and communication needed to make that goal a reality.”

Ever since his brother, Austin, joined the Kansas State football program, Ashton Moore wanted to follow in his footsteps.

Playing Division I football has always been a goal for Ashton, but like many athletes in Louisburg to come before him, scholarship offers to big time programs have been hard to come by. 

So when he attended a K-State camp early this summer, Ashton’s life changed.

The K-State coaching staff gave him the offer he was looking for, and about a month later, Ashton made it official and committed to the Wildcat program in early July.

“It’s been a goal of mine to play at K-State since I was in seventh grade, so to be able to announce my commitment there was like a dream come true,” Ashton said.  “Committing was definitely a huge relief. For a long time I didn’t have the offers I wanted and didn’t know what decision I would have to make, so being able to commit to K-State really eased a lot of those worries.”

At the Kansas State camp, Ashton put together a strong performance for the Wildcat coaches and assistant Taylor Braet, pulled him aside and told him that head coach Chris Klieman wanted to chat with him. 

The Wildcat coaches knew what they had in his older brother Austin, who is an All-Big 12 linebacker and entering his final year with the program, and they saw a lot of the same traits in Ashton. 

As he walked over to talk with Coach Klieman, Ashton’s father, Tommy, and Austin were watching from the stands. Ashton got the news he was hoping for, but waited till the ride home to tell his family.

With his mom, Alison, on the phone, Ashton informed them all of his good news. Needless to say it was a loud ride home back to Louisburg.

“Getting my offer was one of the best experiences of my entire life,” Ashton said, .”I had a good camp and getting to have my dad and Austin there to experience it with me was amazing. After watching Austin these last few years, I knew before they even offered me that’s where I wanted to go, so it made the decision very easy.”

It was about a month later when Ashton made his commitment official and he will join the Wildcat program for the 2025 season. 

The recruiting journey has been a positive one, albeit stressful at times. Still, Ashton’s life has definitely changed since making his announcement.

“Since committing I’ve definitely met a lot of new people,” He said. “I’ve had a lot of K-State fans reach out to me over social media as well as my future teammates. I also had lots of coaches from other schools I had been talking to reach out and congratulate me and it was good to know all those relationships ended on good terms.”

Ashton had a big junior year for Louisburg as he earned first team All-Frontier League honors on both sides of the ball with 125 tackles at linebacker, and close to 1,500 total yards at running back with 18 touchdowns.

He will help lead the Wildcats this season as they try for a third consecutive Frontier League title.

The Louisburg football team has spent a lot of time this summer preparing for another season and a chance at winning three straight Frontier League titles.

As important as that is, several Wildcats also took time out of their busy schedules to give back to the Louisburg community.

On July 31, more than 50 football players hit the town to do some clean-up work. It was a small way for them to give back to the people around town who support the program.

“I remember when I was in high school we did a couple of community service projects around Louisburg,” Louisburg coach, and alum, Drew Harding said. “We thought this would be something that would be cool to bring back these last couple years. This project is important to us just because this community supports us so much. We know from our road games that nobody is as supported as we are here in Louisburg. We felt it was important for us to give back to the community that supports us so well.”

For close to three hours, players repainted fire hydrants around town, while others went to the cemetery. They focused on the older part of the cemetery, where they cleaned the algae and grime off the headstones.

The players have been busy throughout the summer, whether it is with weights and conditioning, camp, team practices or scrimmages. It takes a lot to prepare for a season, but Harding was proud to see his team come together and do some more hard work off the field.

“It was really cool to see that many boys show up to help out and give back to their community,” Harding said. “They have all had really busy summers, and for that many to show up on their down time demonstrates how important this project was to them. I think it really shows that we have good kids here in Louisburg.”

Doing community service and giving back is a passion of Harding’s, but one that his players share as well.

“The community work day is very important to the entire team because we are super grateful to the Louisburg community for everything they do for us,” senior captain Ashton Moore said. “The amount of support we receive is incredible and we want to show them our gratitude and give back as much as possible.”

Ben O’Bryan hadn’t played football in a few years going into his senior season, but he decided to give it one last try.

It turned out to be a good decision for O’Bryan, who certainly made the most of his short time with the Louisburg football team. It also gave him opportunities at the college level, as well.

O’Bryan will join the Benedictine football team this fall after signing his letter of intent with the Ravens last spring. 

“It meant a lot to me to get the opportunity to play in college and to get to play this sport I have a new found love for,” O’Bryan said. “I knew it was something I wanted to do when I got to play with this team that past season.”

It was a memorable senior campaign for O’Bryan, who was a starting offensive tackle on the Frontier League championship team that finished the regular season undefeated. 

O’Bryan helped the unit amass more than 4,000 yards of total offense. He was pretty hard to miss on the field as well as he was team’s biggest player at 6-foot-5 and 275 pounds.

The choice to come back out for football was obviously a positive one for him.

“The experience I had with the guys on the team was priceless and I enjoyed every moment of it,” O’Bryan said. “What made me want to come back out was really my teammates. They were adamant about it and I am glad they were.”

O’Bryan now joins a tradition-filled Benedictine program that competes toward the top of the Heart of America Conference. However, he was looking more than just football in his next stop.

“What made Benedictine the right fit for me was the team and academics there,” O’Bryan said. “I wanted to find a team that was close knit and loved the sport just like Louisburg, and that’s what I found there.”

As much as he is looking forward to his future with the Ravens, he can’t help but think about what his 2023 season was like, and he is hoping for some the same success with Benedictine.

“I felt I had a memorable season with all my teammates,” O’Bryan said. “It was really something special, and the vibes during practice and games were unmatched.

“When I get to Benedictine I want to push myself to a new limit to be the best version of myself for me and my teammates.”