Several members of the 2010 state football team returned last month as they were inducted into the school’s hall of fame.

The 2010-11 school year was a memorable one for Louisburg High School when it came to athletics. 

The Wildcats won a pair of state titles that year — football and boys track and field — and it featured some of the better athletes the school had seen in some time. 

Two of those pieces from that year were officially put into the Louisburg High School Athletic Hall of Fame last month.

Garrett Griffin, a 2012 graduate, was inducted along with the 2010 state football team. It was a special moment for everyone involved.

“It was great honor,” Griffin said. “The special part for me was the 2010 team went in on the same night. I loved being a part of that team and it was great to see all those guys honored as well. It was really nice to be back in Louisburg and to be able to catch up with guys. I am very thankful for my upbringing in Louisburg and it was more about the support group that I had growing up. My family, friends and coaches all helped me achieve everything I accomplished. I really can’t thank all of them enough.”

Griffin was a three-sport athlete for Louisburg High School and earned 12 varsity letters during his illustrious Wildcat career. Griffin holds several LHS football records, was a state champion in track and was a four-time letter winner in basketball. He was also a part of two state championship teams.

In football, Griffin was a 4-year letter winner and accumulated four team records during that span. He is the school’s all-time career rushing leader with 4,667 yards, all-time receiving leader at 1,006 yards, all-time receptions leader with 51 and first in all-time tackles with 273.

Griffin earned All-Frontier League honors all four years and awarded all-state honors as a linebacker his junior season after helping lead the Wildcat football team to their first state title in 2010. In 2011, he was named among the Top 11 players in the state as a senior and was a Kansas Shrine Bowl selection

In track and field, Griffin was a 4-time state qualifier in the javelin and 110-meter high hurdles. He was a two-time state champion in the javelin and a two-time state placer in the hurdles. He currently holds the school record in both events. As a junior, Griffin helped the Wildcats to their first state team title in 2011.

In basketball, Griffin was a 4-year letter winner and was an All-Frontier League selection his senior season.

“Track was always a great time and that is more of an individual than a team sport, but everyone was always there supporting each other,” Griffin said. “Winning state in track and football in the same year was awesome. Cool thing about track was you get compete with some guys that don’t play football. Greg Darrington was my javelin coach and I owe a lot to him. He was like another dad to me during track season.”

He was poised to have even more success in track as a senior. Griffin won three regional titles in 2012, but a ruptured appendix sidelined him for the state meet. It left him disappointed as was his father and coach, Gary Griffin.

“My senior year of track was not a negative memory for me. I remember waking up when I was in the recovery room at the hospital and heard my dad ask the doctor if I could still throw in the javelin and if it would make it worse. The doctor said I could, but that I wouldn’t like it too much.” Griffin joked. “I was peaking at the right time that year. Had my best day at regionals and I was lucky enough to throw a little in college.”

Following high school, Griffin signed with the Air Force Academy football program where he was a four-time letter winner as a tight end for the Falcons. During his time, he was also a member of the Air Force track and field program for two years and was a two-time Mountain West Conference placer in the javelin.

After graduating from the Academy, Griffin was selected as an undrafted free agent by the New Orleans Saints. He spent six seasons with the Saints and one with the Detroit Lions. As a member of the Saints, Griffin played in a handful of contests, which included an appearance in the NFC Championship game in 2018 where he caught a touchdown from quarterback Drew Brees.

Griffin spent last season with the Lions on the practice squad, but decided to retire from the NFL after six seasons. It was time to focus on his family.

“I got a few calls before the season, but I am ready to be done,” Griffin said. “It is bittersweet. I have loved football my whole life, but the last couple of years just wore on me. I am ready for some job security and little bit less stress. It was a great time in my life, but I have a family and it is time to move on and spend time with them. Playing in the NFL gave me awesome experiences and my dream came true. I will always be grateful for that.”

The 2010 football team made school history as those Wildcats became the first to win a state championship in football. Louisburg defeated Holton, 24-16, in the Class 4A championship game in Salina to finish the season with a 14-0 record under head coach Gary Griffin.

Louisburg breezed through the regular season and district playoffs with wins over Eudora (33-6), Ottawa (35-0), St. James Academy (49-7), Silver Lake (21-3), De Soto (28-7), Baldwin (42-26), Spring Hill (35-6), Osawatomie (62-6) and Paola (21-3). Louisburg won every game by 18 points or more.

The Wildcats dominated their way through the Class 4A state playoffs with victories over Anderson County (42-20), Chanute (56-35) and De Soto (21-0). Louisburg squared off with rival Paola in the sub-state championship and the Wildcats downed the Panthers 28-7 to advance to the state game against Holton.

“It was very cool,” coach Griffin said. “I was surprised to see as many of those kids come back as they did. Alex (Gentges) was the one who tried to get the word out on social media and everything. I think we got close to 30 of them there and it was great to see them again.

“It brought back a lot of memories. It is amazing to me to see how much they have all changed in the last 13 years or so. I am still in contact with a lot of them, especially the ones Garrett is friends with. Several still live around here, but it was neat to see them all again.”

Louisburg found itself down 10-0 for the first time all season early in the state championship game, but the Wildcats scored 24 unanswered points to win the title.

“I remember everything about that game,” coach Griffin said. “In 2007 when we went to state, I didn’t think the better team won. We could have played better against Andale. They had won it the year before and they kind of hit us in the mouth, got a lead, before we started to play better in the second half. Then when Holton got the lead on us, I just thought here we go again. 

“Then late in the first half we put a drive together and scored. Our kids at halftime knew we were going to win because we figured out how to stop their offense. That was the third time I coached in a championship game and the other two we snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory. I didn’t want it to happen again.”

It was a talented squad that earned 22 spots on the All-Frontier League team, including eight first team selections. The Wildcats also had several all-state selections and were headlined by quarterback Kody Cook, running back/linebacker Garrett Griffin and linemen Tyler Ewy and Ross Dvorak, who each earned first-team honors.

Ewy was named as one of the Top 11 players in the state of Kansas by three different organizations and was the recipient of the Bobby Bell Award, which goes to the best small class defensive lineman in the Kansas City area. He was a fixture on the Wildcat defensive line as he led the team with 139 tackles, including 25 for a loss and 10 sacks.

Cook guided the offense all season as the team’s quarterback as he tallied more than 1,700 yards of total offense to go along with 19 touchdowns.

His teammate in the backfield was Griffin as he ran over opponents all season. Griffin led Louisburg with 1,594 yards rushing and 412 yards receiving to go along with a combined 27 touchdowns.

Along with Ewy, Dvorak was one of the leaders on the offensive and defensive lines and he was also third on the team with 89 tackles, nine for a loss and four sacks. He was a first-team all-state selection by the Kansas Football Coaches Association (KFCA). Linebacker Chad Turney was a first team all-league selection and was second on the team with 126 stops.

Gary Griffin was named Coach of the Year by the KFCA.

“I know they had really lofty goals. Every year your goal is to win a state championship, but you could tell this group was really serious about it,” coach Griffin said. “The year before we got beat by Miege and then they popped up to 5A. Once that happened, I knew that we had as good of a chance as anyone.

“We were good in 2009 and we only lost to Gardner and then Miege in the playoffs. But the following year, I think we only had Ross, Tyler and Garrett returning who played a lot of varsity time. The rest of those guys were JV. Kody was hurt his junior year, but we knew he was going to be good. We were building around four kids and everyone else just filled their roles perfectly. As the year went on, we started to build momentum and realized we were pretty good.”

Members of the state championship team are Nate Goodwin, Nate O’Brien, Chris Chase, David Embers, Bradey Drew, Kody Cook, Hayden Guetterman, Jacob Powell, Ben Powers, Derek Mathis, Dylan York, Wyatt Sander, Nate Daugherty, Jordan Powell, Christian Richards, Christian Huffman, Nick Chapman, Will Garza, Alex Gentges, AJ Hildreth, Brett Hebert, Ryan Tinder, D.J. Meyer, Daniel O’Connor, Garrett Griffin, Clark Gregory, Luke Hupp, Curtis Lemke, Greyson Honsinger, Dakota Stone, Colton Seely, Alex Bell, Konnor Cook, Jason Danciak, Matt Nolte, Taylor Caskey, Matt Jenkins, Kyle McLellan, Chad Turney, Tyler Ewy, Colin Bird, Drew Carder, T.J. McKiearnan, Cole Kessler, Alex Cook, Ross Dvorak, Wayne Carlson, Ben Adams, Jacob Berglund, Mason Whaley, Doug Weers, Colton Rommel, David Stuteville, Dain Glenn, Kurtis Morgan, Austin Caskey and Kade Larson.

The Wildcats were led by head coach Gary Griffin and assistant coaches Wayne Whiting, Larry Aylor, Jeff Lohse, Kyle Littrell, Billy Neff and Greg Darrington.

Team trainers were Ali Dover, Brook Frazier and Mike Cardwell. Head athletic trainer was Dr. Damon Dennis.

Louisburg junior Emmett White earned second team honors for the Wildcats after he led the team with eight goals on the season.

Louisburg might not have had the season it wanted record-wise, but that didn’t mean the Wildcats didn’t have success. 

Individually, several Wildcats had strong seasons and it showed when the All-Frontier League soccer team was released.

Louisburg, which finished with a 4-13 record on the year, had five selections to the all-league squad, including a second team honor in junior Emmett White.

“Just like any other year, our league was pretty tough,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “Small schools around the KC or Wichita metro areas are bound to be tough and attract talent. Once again, our league had a representative in the state quarterfinals with Baldwin, and two other teams were regional finalists (Eudora and Tonganoxie). I wish we’d been able to get more of our guys represented on the all-league team, but we did have a lot of talent in the league. Half of the first and second team members are seniors, so there’s room for our guys to move up next year.”

White led the Wildcats all season from the forward and midfield spots. He led Louisburg in scoring with eight goals, including three game-winners, and also finished with two assists.

He drew a lot of attention from the opposing defenses all season, but White still made a big jump from his sophomore to junior year.

“One thing that’s difficult for people outside the program to see is how much our guys have grown over this season,” Bovaird said. “We didn’t quite have the stats to back things up, but offensively and defensively, we made huge strides forward. Emmett was one player who showed the most growth. He’s been a starter since his freshman year, but he hadn’t gotten many goals until this year. He was also such a big motivational presence on the team as well. A silent leader whose work ethic was very inspirational.”

The Wildcats also had four honorable mention selections. Junior midfielder Colton Blue, junior defender Will Showalter, junior forward Jose Cuevas and senior forward John Powls.

Blue, who was a starter all season and a team captain, provided a steady influence in the midfield and finished the season with two goals and two assists. He also led the Wildcats with 17 shots on goal.

“Most of our successful offensive attacks began in the middle with Colton,” Bovaird said. “He’s also been the epitome of hard work. He had zero absences from practice, and battled through a nagging injury all season. His work ethic in the weight room in the off-season shows how hard work pays off. He showed true grit throughout the season, whether it was practice or games, and his teammates were rallied behind his example.”

Showalter was another team captain for the Wildcats and one of the leaders on the back line. He earned all-league honors as one of the team’s top defenders.

“Despite his size, Will proved that he can hang with the best players out there,” Bovaird said. “He combined his soccer talent with his smarts and his wrestling toughness to become an outstanding stopper for us. He rarely came off the field this season because of that.”

Powls’ season was cut short early in the year due to a knee injury, but the Louisburg forward was still recognized on the all-league list as he finished with a pair of goals.

“I’m very thankful for the league coaches selecting John to get honorable mention,” Bovaird said. “His senior season was shortened unfortunately, but he scored our first goal of the season against Leavenworth and also put us ahead of Bonner Springs in his final game before hurting his knee. He’d made huge strides despite also missing his freshman and junior seasons due to injuries.”

Cuevas filled in for Powls in the starting lineup after that and made an impact for the Wildcats. The Louisburg junior had four goals, including 11 shots on target.

“While Jose could always be depended upon to give 100 percent, he had a huge impact on the team with his overall positivity,” Bovaird said. “Nearly every game, he was the one lifting up his teammates, encouraging them, and cheering them on.”

ALL-FRONTIER LEAGUE SOCCER

FIRST TEAM

Cooper Carr, Baldwin, sophomore

Jake Rainforth, Spring Hill, junior

Josue Navarro, Ottawa, senior

Derek Lehmann, Eudora, senior

Timmy Shockey, Bonner Springs, senior

Zach Brueckner, Spring Hill, senior

Kaden Kerr, Eudora, senior

Dylan Kuntz, Baldwin, junior

Josh Audiss, Ottawa, junior

Andrea Columbano, Tonganoxie, senior

GOALIE: Angelo Giron, Bonner Springs, senior

SECOND TEAM

Emmett White, Louisburg, junior

Dylan Patterson, Baldwin, senior

Gavin Shupe, Tonganoxie, senior

Christian Koehn, Eudora, senior

Seth Oberkrom, Spring Hill, junior

Owen Andrewjeski, Bonner Springs, senior

Lachlan McRae, Tonganoxie, sophomore

Ethan Smasal, Baldwin, sophomore

Gabe Luna, Bonner Springs, sophomore

Aidan O’Dell, Spring Hill, freshman

GOALIE: Nate Steinlage, Eudora, junior

HONORABLE MENTION

Nicholas Johnson, Baldwin, junior

Tito Biles, Baldwin, junior

Ayden Ramirez, Eudora, senior

Leo Schoenberger, Baldwin, sophomore

Jason Jones, Bonner Springs, sophomore

Caleb Hepner, Ottawa, junior

Ian Rimmer, Baldwin, senior

Conner Barnum, Paola, senior

Jose Cuevas, Louisburg, junior

Jack Reed, Bonner Springs, senior

Kenny Grimm, Bonner Springs, senior

Colton Blue, Louisburg, junior

Carter Hepner, Ottawa, junior

Sawyer Holdsworth, Paola, sophomore

Emery Weiser, Tonganoxie, junior

Parker Simon, Spring Hill, junior

Oscar Pinela, Bonner Springs, freshman

Aiden Jameson, Baldwin, senior

Brayden Hayes, Eudora, junior

Will Showalter, Louisburg, junior

Seth Lovitt, Spring Hill, junior

John Powls, Louisburg, senior

Joe Ziembicki, Baldwin, senior

Sergio Medrano, Eudora, senior

Daniel Peterson, Eudora, junior

GOALIES: Jackson McWilliams, Tonganoxie, senior; Gus Boyle, Baldwin, junior

With the 2023 volleyball season in the rear view mirror, postseason honors are starting to come out and a pair of Louisburg athletes were honored.

The All-Frontier League team was recently released and two Wildcats made the list after helping Louisburg to a fourth place finish at state for the second consecutive season.

Senior Madie Williams earned second team honors, while senior Hailey Sword was named to the honorable mention squad.

“Our league is extremely competitive in most sports, and volleyball is no exception,” Louisburg coach Leanna Willer said. “We have a ton of girls that are high level athletes and planning to play at the next level from almost every school in our league. The structure and voting process of our all-league teams is sometimes difficult to understand, but it should be considered a very big honor to be selected to our All-Frontier League teams. I would have liked to see a couple more of our girls recognized, but we are proud to have Madie and Hailey representing us.”

Williams, who played in all six rotations for Louisburg, made big impact for the Wildcats all over the floor. On the defensive end, Williams led the team with 305 digs on the season.

Offensively, Williams was second on the team with 287 kills despite missing a few games this season with an injury. She was also strong from behind the service line with a team-high 43 aces.

As for Sword, she also played all six rotations for Louisburg, and was big for the Wildcats at the net. Sword tallied a team-high 308 kills and finished right behind Williams with 42 aces.

Defensively, Sword was also strong in the back row as she was second on the team with 295 digs.

“Madie and Hailey both had great senior seasons,” Willer said. “They were asked to do a lot for our team as they never came off the floor if they were healthy. They had to be our go-to hitters for a kill, be smart, yet aggressive on out-of-system plays, play great defense both front and back row, and serve receive every rotation. We relied on them for all aspects of the game. 

“If one of them was having an off night, the other knew she needed to step up to maintain the balance and flow for the whole team. We will miss them both and they are leaving behind some big shoes to fill.”

ALL-FRONTIER LEAGUE VOLLEYBALL

FIRST TEAM

Fisayo Afonja, Baldwin, senior

Rayah Foltz, Eudora, senior

Emery Keebaugh, Ottawa, senior

Shannon Drakes, Spring Hill, senior

Keilah Rivers, Spring Hill, senior

LIBERO: Taryn Marcum, Paola, senior

SETTER: Ellie Suber, Eudora, senior

SECOND TEAM

Alyssa Reichard, Baldwin, senior

Madie Williams, Louisburg, senior

Anna Kane, Paola, senior

Sydney Buscher, Spring Hill, junior

Mikinzi Smoots, Tonganoxie, senior

LIBERO: Parker Long, Eudora, senior

SETTER: Kasia Baldock, Tonganoxie, senior

HONORABLE MENTION

Mackenzie Campbell, Bonner Springs, senior

Adalyn Hemphill, Eudora, junior

Hailey Sword, Louisburg, senior

Dylan Nichols, Ottawa, sophomore

Brylynn Wicker, Paola, junior

Finley Rieke, Tonganoxie, sophomore

Lucy Rieke, Tonganoxie, senior

LIBERO: Claire Baker, Baldwin, junior; Gracie Klecan, Spring Hill, senior; Bailey Poje, Tonganoxie, senior

SETTER: Avery Bergan, Baldwin, senior

Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week 10 of the fall sports season, sponsored by Landmark National Bank of Louisburg.

WYATT HOLLAND, SENIOR, FOOTBALL

Louisburg senior Wyatt Holland played a big role on the Wildcat football team this season, especially on the defensive side. That continued last Friday against Basehor-Linwood in the Class 4A regional championship game. Holland finished with 10 tackles in the Wildcats’ 22-20 loss to the Bobcats.

As one of Louisburg’s starting linebackers, Holland was forced to play with a cast on his arm for much of the season. However, that didn’t stop from finishing the season with 90 tackles, which was second on the team. He also added five tackles for a loss to go along with an interception.

The athlete of the week award is announced every Wednesday morning during the fall season and the winner is selected by Louisburg Sports Zone with the help of nominations from coaches.

Previous winners:

Week 1: Declan Battle

Week 2: Megan Quinn

Week 3: Maddy Rhamy

Week 4: Emmett White

Week 5: Ashton Moore

Week 6: Madie Williams

Week 7: Noah Cotter

Week 8: Hailey Sword

Week 9: Jerynce Brings Plenty

Louisburg seniors Caden Caplinger (34) and Hunter Heinrich bring down a Basehor-Linwood player short of the endzone Friday at Wildcat Stadium.

Louisburg had been in this situation a few times over the last two seasons.

With their backs against the wall, and the game on the line, the Wildcats always seemed to find a way en route to two back-to-back Frontier League titles.

On Friday, the Wildcats were there once again, but this time the stakes were a little bigger — a Class 4A regional championship was on the line.

Unfortunately, the Wildcats came just a few yards short of pulling off another miraculous comeback. Basehor-Linwood handed Louisburg is first loss of the season, 22-20, and ended the Wildcats’ season and nine-game winning streak.

The Wildcats, down two points, had to drive 81 yards in the final 61 seconds with no timeouts to try and pull off the comeback. They nearly did.

“It is for sure a heartbreaking loss,” Louisburg coach Drew Harding said. “On the bright side, I am incredibly proud of them for not giving up. We didn’t have a whole lot that was going our way, and to get the ball back with a minute left we had a chance. For them to put a 2-minute drive together with no timeouts and get us right on the doorstep, really shows what kind of kids we have and the resiliency they have. Still, this is a pretty tough one to swallow.”

Louisburg’s duo of Declan Battle and Caden Caplinger provided the Wildcats they hope they were looking for late.

The Wildcat seniors, who have pulled out several game-winning plays the last three years, nearly had another as Battle hit Caplinger on a 57-yard pass play that took it down to the Basehor 24-yard line.

Battle found junior Reid McCaskill on an 11-yard pass play. Battle then ran for 5 yards on first down and then spiked it to stop the clock.

The Louisburg quarterback then hit Caplinger at the 5-yard line, and with time running out, the Wildcats had one last chance on fourth down. Unfortunately the game-winning pass fell incomplete and the Wildcats’ season came to a close.

“You have to be at a breakneck pace and you don’t have any timeouts,” Harding said of the last drive. “You have to execute and play on the fly pretty well. That is something that we practice, but it is hard to simulate what you will experience on game day. They did a good job with it. We were five yards short, and maybe just a few seconds more or one timeout left, there are a 100 different things that could put yourself in a slightly different situation. It makes it tough”

The Wildcats found themselves down early as Basehor took a 7-0 lead into the second quarter, but the Wildcats managed to tie it up on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Battle to Conlee Hovey.

Louisburg’s defense came though with a big stand as it turned the Bobcats over on downs at the 2-yard line and prevented a Basehor score. The momentum was short lived as the Bobcats recorded a safety to take the lead back, and then on the ensuing drive scored another touchdown to go up 16-7.

The Wildcats put together one last drive in the first half. With 14 seconds remaining before halftime, Battle found a diving Hovey in the back of the endzone for an 18-yard touchdown and trimmed the Basehor lead to two.

To start the second half, Basehor drove down the field, but had a fourth down on the Wildcat 24-yard line and Louisburg had a chance to turn the Bobcats over on downs again. However, Basehor quarterback Brady Vandonge found Kaleb Scott on a 24-yard touchdown pass, and after a missed extra point, the Wildcats trailed by just eight.

It stayed that way till the fourth quarter when the Wildcats manufactured a drive that ended on an 9-yard touchdown run by Ashton Moore. Moore then was just inches away from converting the 2-point conversion and tying the game, but was ruled just short of the goal line. 

Moore and Battle provided many of those running plays in that drive. On the game, Moore finished with a game-high 163 yards rushing and Battle had 67 yards on the ground and 153 through the air.

Moore also was all over the field for Louisburg from the linebacker spot as he recorded a team-high 18 tackles.

“That was a 6-7 minute drive that ate up a lot of clock and it was a grinder,” Harding said of the last touchdown. “Those guys, especially Ashton and Declan, were taking a beating all night. They were playing defense and making tackles. Those two guys continued to fight and incredibly proud of what they accomplished this year. Excited to see what Ashton can do as a senior and excited to see what Declan can do at the next level.”

The Wildcats had a tough time moving the ball against a big and athletic Basehor defensive front and it was a struggle at times offensively to get into a rhythm. 

“That is not something we have experienced a whole lot this year,” Harding said. “They (Basehor) were incredibly physical and they were big up front. They moved well and they had a fast defense. They gave us a heck of challenge.”

Also on defense, Hovey, along with his two touchdowns, was second on the team with 12 tackles and senior Wyatt Holland was in double figures with 10. 

The Wildcats also forced a turnover as Moore forced a fumble and Brady Hickey got the recovery. Louisburg senior Brody McGreer also led the secondary with four pass breakups. 

“I thought the defense played well overall,” Harding said. “Basehor is a really high-powered offense, and in reality, we limited them to 20 points. They got big stops when we needed them and kept them out of the endzone on a couple big drives. They definitely played well.”

Although Louisburg’s season has come to a close, the Wildcats still have plenty of positive memories to look back on, including winning a second straight Frontier League title.

“This season was a lot of fun,” Harding said. “It is a great group of kids and they worked incredibly hard. They were loose and made it fun every single day. I can’t say enough about how good of kids they are and how hard they work. We hoped to still be moving on, but this loss doesn’t take away from what these kids did all year.”

LOU 0 14 0 6 — 20
BL 7 9 6 0 — 22

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

B: Sam Boetcher 4 run (kick good)

Second Quarter

L: Conlee Hovey 11 pass from Declan Battle (Alex Saad kick)

B: Safety

B: Brady Vandonge 1 run (kick good)

L: Hovey 18 pass from Battle (Saad kick)

Third Quarter

B: Kaleb Scott 24 pass from Vandonge (kick failed)

Fourth Quarter

L: Ashton Moore 9 run (run failed)

STATISTICS

RUSHING — Ashton Moore 24-163; Declan Battle 22-67

PASSING — Declan Battle 15-30-153

RECEIVING — Caden Caplinger 4-67; Conlee Hovey 4-49; Reid McCaskill 1-11; Brock Vohs 2-11; Hunter Heinrich 1-9; Ashton Moore 3-6

TACKLES — Ashton Moore 18, Conlee Hovey 12, Wyatt Holland 10, Brady Hickey 7, Brody McGreer 5, Brayden Yoder 5, Brock Vohs 5, Declan Battle 3, Hunter Heinrich 3, Caden Caplinger 3, Russell Wiseman 1, Logan Henry 1, Lucas Swartz 1, Jack Anderson 1

Louisburg junior Jerynce Brings Plenty garnered his first state cross country medal last Saturday at the Class 4A state meet in Wamego.

WAMEGO — Jerynce Brings Plenty had being eyeing this race since the beginning of the season.

After missing out on the opportunity to run at the Class 4A Kansas State Cross Country Championships last fall due to an injury, Brings Plenty was itching at the chance to run against the state’s best.

He got that opportunity Saturday at the Wamego Country Club and he took full advantage.

Brings Plenty earned his first state cross country medal as he took 12th overall in a time of 16 minutes and 57 seconds. It has been a long time coming for the Louisburg junior.

“Getting 12th place and a state medal meant everything to me,” Brings Plenty said. “All season my main focus was to place as high as I could at state, especially since I had only placed 51st as a freshman and didn’t race my sophomore year.”

The 2023 season was a successful one for Brings Plenty as he earned a medal in every race he finished. He also moved up the school’s all-time leaderboard and currently holds the second fastest time.

“It was awesome to see Jerynce get his first cross country state medal,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “He worked hard all season and off season to put himself in position to earn a state birth and then a medal.”

The state race itself is always a difficult one and it was a competition that feature more than 100 runners. Brings Plenty managed to stay toward the front of the pack and work his way up from there.

“I’m pretty happy with how I performed on the day,” Brings Plenty said. “Going into the race I knew it was going to be a dogfight from start to finish and I was prepared to do whatever it took to stand my ground. In all honesty, I wish I would’ve placed higher, but there is nothing much I can do about it now other than come back better and stronger next year.”

It was a competitive field in the 4A boys race this season and featured several fast times. McPherson sophomore Caleb Mueller ran a time of 15:58 to win the state title as he edged out Eudora’s Zach Arnold by less than a second.

“The overall competition in all classes this year was tough,” Reece said.. “The times ran this year and the number of runners that could take a race at any given time was always a guessing game. Jerynce put himself in a great position early, but faded a little in the end. He did what he needed to do to give himself a chance and was rewarded for his effort.”

Senior Noah Cotter saw his season and Wildcat cross country career come to a close Saturday as well. Cotter finished 62nd in 18:23 to end a year that saw him earn All-Frontier League second team honors.

“Noah just missed last year and was determined to qualify this year as an individual if the team did not make it,” Reece said. “He did just that. He was sick the week of state, but powered through and ran the best he could in his final race of his cross country career. Noah is an awesome leader and the program will miss his grit and leadership. We wish him luck in his pursuits after high school.”

The Louisburg volleyball team celebrates a big point during the Class 4A Kansas State Volleyball Championships on Friday in Hutchinson.

HUTCHINSON — For the second time in as many years, Louisburg is leaving the state volleyball tournament with some hardware.

The Wildcats, for the second straight season, finished fourth Saturday at the Class 4A Kansas State Volleyball Championships in Hutchinson. It marked the 20th appearance for the Wildcats in the tournament.

Getting that hardware and making it to Saturday was certainly a battle for the Wildcats, who had to fight through adversity during pool play on Friday. Louisburg had to deal with injuries and had its fate rest in another team’s hands. 

Despite all that, Louisburg left with a fourth place medal following a tough 23-25, 25-8 and 25-16 loss to Andale in the third-place match Saturday at Hutchinson Sports Arena.

“We are very proud of this team for making it back to the state tournament and finishing in the final four again,” Louisburg coach Leanna Willer said. “We, of course, will always strive for higher finishes until we reach that ultimate goal of state champions, but we are proud of where we finished the season and were happy with the success of this team.”

Louisburg opened pool play on Friday against the eventual state-runner up in McPherson. The Wildcats lost in two sets, 25-22 and 25-18, and needed a win in its next match against No. 2 seed Towanda-Circle.

After Circle defeated Louisburg three times last season, the Wildcats got their revenge in a competitive 26-24 and 25-22 victory. A win in their next match against Holton would have given the Wildcats a spot in the semifinals.

However, after Louisburg took the first set 31-29, Holton won the next two, 25-22 and 25-19. Midway through the match, senior Madie Williams also suffered an ankle injury and had to sit the rest of the match and on Saturday.

“Watching a player get injured is always heartbreaking, and especially a senior at the state tournament,” Willer said. “It was emotional for everyone, knowing how badly Madie wanted to finish out the season. That being said, we have a team of 12 fully capable girls, so it was great to see other players step in and rise to the occasion in her place. Every role on the team is vital, and it just goes to show that you never know when it will be your time to shine.”

That loss left Louisburg’s record at 1-2 and many of the players had come to the realization that their season was over. The Wildcats needed McPherson to beat Circle in two sets in its next match to win the tiebreaker between Circle and Holton.

McPherson was happy to oblige as it defeated Circle, 2-0, and the Wildcats were onto the state semifinals.

“Friday’s pool play round was a bit crazy – it’s not often we see a three-way 1-2 tie like we had,” Willer said. “When we lost that last set to Holton, I know the girls were extremely upset, but our first message to them was that there’s still a chance of us making it. It’s always sad to think that this could be the last time we played together, but we were so glad to have the opportunity to play together for one more day. All of us coaches had a really good feeling that it would happen, especially considering how great McPherson had been playing all day. They beat Circle in two sets and sealed the deal for us to continue on to Saturday.”

The Wildcats’ reward for making it to Saturday — facing off with the defending state champion, Bishop Miege, in the semifinals. The Stags handed Louisburg a 25-10 and 25-17 loss and the Wildcats moved to the third place game against Andale.

Louisburg’s loss to Miege didn’t get them down as the Wildcats responded to take the first set against Andale, but the Indians rallied to win the next two.

“We came out fired up for that third place match,” Willer said. “We started off very strong from the service line and we were successful in taking them out of system, which allowed us to set up a strong defense and convert it to offense. In the second set, Andale came back firing on all cylinders, which took us back a little bit. It took us some time to get back in our groove and feeling confident, but I am proud of how hard we fought in the third. Regardless of the score and the outcome, we wanted to enjoy our last game together and give it our all.”

Several Wildcats contributed to the successful state tournament and it started at the net. Senior Hailey Sword led the Wildcats offensive attack with 32 kills and sophomore Caileigh Kilgore added 29.

Williams had 23 kills in limited action, while sophomore Delaney Nelsen finished with 18.

The Wildcat hitters were given good opportunities thanks to setters Megan Quinn and Adelyn Moore. Quinn led Louisburg with 61 assists in her final match and Moore tallied 54.

Louisburg was also strong from behind the service line as Moore had a team-high seven aces in the five matches and Sword added six.

Defensively, senior Izzy Moreland played big up front with a team-high five blocks, while Nelsen and sophomore McKenna Lohse each had four.

Nelsen also registered a team-best 40 digs and senior libero Ashlyn Berck had 34. Sword had 33 and Williams finished with 31.

Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week nine of the fall sports season, sponsored by Edward Jones-Craig Holtzen.

JERYNCE BRINGS PLENTY, JUNIOR, CROSS COUNTRY

Louisburg junior Jerynce Brings Plenty put together a strong performance last Saturday at the Class 4A Kansas State Cross Country Championships in Wamego. Brings Plenty earned his first state cross country medal as he finished 12th overall in 16 minutes and 57 seconds.

It has been quite the season for Brings Plenty as he also worked his way up the school’s all-time leaderboard. He recorded the second fastest time in school history earlier this season and medaled in every race he finished this year. This was Brings Plenty’s second trip to the state meet after qualifying as a freshman.

The athlete of the week award is announced every Wednesday morning during the fall season and the winner is selected by Louisburg Sports Zone with the help of nominations from coaches.

Previous winners:

Week 1: Declan Battle

Week 2: Megan Quinn

Week 3: Maddy Rhamy

Week 4: Emmett White

Week 5: Ashton Moore

Week 6: Madie Williams

Week 7: Noah Cotter

Week 8: Hailey Sword

Louisburg running back Ashton Moore breaks free for a long gain Friday against Labette County at Wildcat Stadium.

The Louisburg football team couldn’t have asked for a better start to its playoff journey.

The Wildcats made plays all over the field Friday as they hosted Labette County in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs. Louisburg scored all its points in the first half in its 47-0 victory over the Grizzlies.

“I thought we played pretty well overall,” Louisburg coach Drew Harding said. “It is exciting to advance in the playoffs. We talked a lot this week about how it’s win or go home at this point, so to have our season extend further feels good.”

Louisburg (9-0) dominated the contest from the opening whistle as the Wildcats made big plays in all three phases. 

The Wildcats got things going as they scored on their first drive that ended on a 6-yard touchdown run by junior running back Ashton Moore.

It was the defense’s turn after that. After Labette County completed a long pass to the Wildcat 5-yard line, senior Brody McGreer recorded an interception in the endzone to turn away the Grizzlies.

The Wildcats took advantage as senior quarterback Declan Battle hit long passes to Conlee Hovey and Caden Caplinger on a drive that ended on a 4-yard touchdown run by Battle.

Then on the ensuing kickoff, Alex Saad squib kicked it, the ball hit off a Labette player and the Wildcats were able to recover. That resulted in a 26-yard touchdown run by Moore and the Wildcats led 20-0 after one quarter.

Labette County found itself close to the redzone again, but the Wildcat defense stool tall as Lucas Swartz recorded a sack that forced a fourth-and-long and the Grizzlies eventually turned the ball over on downs.

Moore scored his third touchdown of the night early in the second quarter on a 4-yard run. It was a set up by a 44-yard run by Battle that put the ball inside 10.

Next, it was Caplinger’s turn as he found the endzone on a pair of big plays.

The first one came on offense when Battle pitched the ball in front of him to Caplinger, who was in motion, and he sprinted 57 yards for the touchdown.

Caplinger also made it happen on defense as he picked off a Labette County pass and scored on a 75-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Right before halftime, Battle found Brock Vohs for a 25-yard touchdown pass and the Wildcats led 47-0 and sealed the win in the first half.

Offensively, the Wildcats used a balanced attack. Battle and Moore combined for 148 yards rushing, while Battle threw for 198 yards. Caplinger also led the Wildcats with 98 yards receiving.

“It’s great to be balanced and that is always the goal,” Harding said. “We were able to throw and run the ball effectively, so hopefully we can keep that up moving forward.”

Defensively, the Wildcats earned the shutout and frustrated the Labette County offense for most of the night. Senior Wyatt Holland led the way with a team-high nine tackles.

Caplinger, McGreer and Logan Henry each had interceptions on the night, while Swartz and Hovey both tallied a sack.

“I thought the defense played well,” Harding said. “They were able to advance to football into the redzone once and got a key interception to keep them off the board. We scored on defense too, which I think is the first time since playing Paola in the second week of the season.”

It will get a little more challenging this Friday as the No. 2 seed Wildcats host No. 7 seed Basehor-Linwood (6-3). The Bobcats defeated Paola, 35-14, last week and Harding knows his team will have to be ready.

“Basehor is a big challenge,” Harding said. “They are a well-coached, complete team. They spread you out and do a really good job of moving the football and creating bigs plays offensively. Defensively, they play fast and physical so we will have to play well in order to advance and play again. It will be an exciting playoff football game.”

LOU 20 27 0 0 — 47

LC 0 0 0 0 — 0

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

L: Ashton Moore 6 run (kick failed)

L: Declan Battle 4 run (Alex Saad kick)

L: Moore 26 run (Saad kick)

Second Quarter

L: Moore 4 run (kick failed)

L: Caden Caplinger 57 pass from Battle (Saad kick)

L: Caplinger 75 interception return (Saad kick)

L: Brock Vohs 25 pass from Battle (Saad kick)

STATISTICS

RUSHING — Declan Battle 5-75; Ashton Moore 7-73; Darby Van Eaton 9-40; Wyatt Holland 1-20; Rickey Giles 3-12

PASSING — Declan Battle 9-11-198; Alex Saad 3-4-12

RECEIVING — Caden Caplinger 3-98; Conlee Hovey 1-39; Brock Vohs 2-34; Ashton Moore 2-22; Gage Feldkamp 1-9; Reid McCaskill 1-5; Declan Battle 1-2; Rickey Giles 1-1.

TACKLES — Wyatt Holland 9, Conlee Hovey 4, Ashton Moore 4, Brayden Yoder 4, Brody McGreer 3, Lucas Swartz 3, Jackson Howard 3, Brock Vohs 3, Logan Henry 2, Brady Hickey 2, Caden Caplinger 2, Declan Battle 1, Hunter Heinrich 1, Myles Vohs 1, Lane Cunningham 1, Drake Crooks 1, Xander Lucas, 1

INTERCEPTIONS — Caden Caplinger 1, Brody McGreer 1, Logan Henry 1

FUMBLE RECOVERY — Alex Saad 1

SACKS — Lucas Swartz 1, Conlee Hovey 1

ROELAND PARK — The Louisburg boys soccer had the unenviable task of squaring off with the defending state champion, Bishop Miege, in the first round of the Class 4-1A regional tournament. 

The difficultly level went up a couple notches as the two teams played the entire 80 minutes in a downpour Tuesday at Bishop Miege. 

The Wildcat hopes of an upset was washed away early as the Stags poured on the goals en route to a 10-0 loss for Louisburg. Miege went on to win the regional title over Eudora on Thursday.

“The conditions were absolutely miserable, but we were in the same boat as the majority of the teams in the state,” Louisburg coach Bobby Bovaird said. “Some teams played Monday night, but I’m glad we had the chance to get one more practice under our belts before we took on Miege. Tuesday’s weather definitely changed the way we played. We were soaking wet and our cleats were heavier than usual. The ball wasn’t moving the same, and with the wind sending the rain down in diagonal sheets, it made it tough to see the full field. 

“We’ve been very fortunate this season with weather, and we just weren’t prepared for how Tuesday’s conditions would impact the game. Taking on the 7-time state champs was also a tough reality. For the third time in four years, we saw our season hopes dashed by Miege. That doesn’t make it any easier. They were bigger, faster, and more experienced. No one wants to see their season ends to a team like Miege in conditions like what we had Tuesday night. It’s got to be something we learn from, though. The guys have to remember how that game felt and use it as motivation in the off-season.”

Both teams had trouble finding their footing in the first half, but the Stags still took a 3-0 lead at halftime. 

Miege opened up the scoring in the second half with seven goals and Louisburg ended its season with a 4-13 record.

Although the record wasn’t what the Wildcats were hoping for, Bovaird saw a lot of progress from a team that featured just three returning varsity players from the year before.

“The team we finished with in October was much different from the team we started with in August,” he said. “Everyone made so many huge strides. The reality of things is that we began the season with two returning starters (Emmett White and Colton Blue) and one player with significant varsity time last year (Jacob Brown). A few others received some playing time in 2022, but not much. Essentially, our team this year was a group of kids with junior varsity experience. We were underdogs from the start, but we managed to do some outstanding things along the way. Our first game of the season saw a heroic comeback for a 3-2 victory. We held off Spring Hill to win 1-0 at home. We dominated our opponent at home for the Cancer Awareness Game. Several other games were winnable for us — Independence (2-1), Pittsburg (2-0), Bonner Springs (2-1 in OT), Eudora (1-0), Ottawa (2-4), and Tonganoxie (1-0) were all games that could have gone either way, in my opinion. 

“We had three freshmen with considerable varsity time, as well as a very solid bunch of sophomores. In goal, Evan Moreland went from a first-year player who split time on JV to having over 130 saves his sophomore year. Next year, we don’t have to reload and replace a bunch of graduating seniors. We have the chance to reflect on our season and make improvements for next year. We’ve had some special teams over the years, but something about this group gives me the feeling that the 2024 season will be just as special as any other.”