Bishop Ward High School senior Dallas Shalz signed earlier this month with Pitt State University.

Shalz, a three-year varsity winner and three-year starter, is one of the premier players in Kansas City on the offensive and defensive lines. He was First Team All Kaw Valley League and First Team All Area Cream of the Crop honors.

He was a nominee for the Bobby Bell Award for being the best defensive lineman in 4A and was selected to First Team 4A All-State Offensive Lineman.

Shalz will play in the Kansas All-Star Shrine Bowl on July 31.

PHOTO CAPTION: Dallas is pictured here (front row) with his parents Donald and Cindy Shalz and (back row) Assistant Football Coach Travis Grosdidier, Dallas’s brother Ethan Shalz, Head Football Coach Greg Duggins, and Assistant Football Coach Nick Tomasic.

Cole Muder, who rushed for 1,091 yards and 13 touchdowns this season for the Bishop Ward Cyclones, will continue his football career at Fort Scott Community College.

Muder signed his letter of intent this week to play football there.

Muder averaged a solid 5.6 yards per carry and received interest from Junior College and Division II schools. He was a three-year starter for Greg Duggins' football team.

Last year, he was fourth in the Kaw Valley League in rushing yards and finished in the Top 15 in the greater Kansas City area.

He was selected as First Team All Kaw Valley League. On defense, he had a team-leading three interceptions and was second in tackles.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BISHOP WARD: Cole is pictured here (front row) with his parents Nicholas and Angela Muder and (back row) Athletic Director Joel Heider and Head Football Coach Greg Duggins.

Six players from this year's Wyandotte Bulldogs team will play college football next season.

Brion Milstead, Edgar Martinez and Lorenzo Byers signed yesterday to play at Highland Community College.

Versell Gee and Derrick Rolls will play together at Coffeyville Community College, while Montell Anderson will play at Ft. Scott Community College.

Picture: (Front) Brion Milstead and Lorenzo Byers. (BACK) Versell Gee, Derrick Rolls, Montell Anderson and Edgar Martinez.

Thanks to Wyandotte High School for the photo.

Seven members of the Washington Wildcats signed a letter of intent yesterday.

Tim Goode, Justin Haynes, Craig Newton, Andy Patrzykont, Andrew Schumant and Darnell Walker will attend Fort Scott Community College together.

Meanwhile, Kyndale Prather will attend Highland Community College.

"Today's a special day for all of our players," said coach Todd Buttermore. "It's a very special day and it represents the next step for them.

Buttermore told the seven players to "keep their grades up" and "workout" so they could transfer to a four-year college after their two years at the community college.

They were joined by Washington Athletic Director Nancy Browne, parents and faculty.

Four Harmon Hawks football players signed letters of intent yesterday on national signing day.

John Zeno, Marshawn Hargrove and Marquise Cooper will attend Coffeyville Community College next fall. Meanwhile, Mike Masoner has signed to play for Highland.

They were joined yesterday by head football coach Calvin Davenport, principal Sylvia Parra and athletic director Larry Barnes.

"John was the aggressor of the team," Davenport said. "He brought the punch and the team together. Marquise Cooper was the guy who never said a word, but brought 110 percent all the time. He did it to a T. Hargrove was the Mighty Mouse of the team. He ws small but he could hit."

(Masoner signed his letter after the interview.)

The Washington Wildcats are looking for a new head coach.

Current head coach Todd Buttermore's resignation was officially accepted this week.

Interested applicants can apply online at www.kckps.org through Feb. 19. The application can be found in the Employment/Apply For Jobs section.

Buttermore finished 1-8 in his last season at Washington.

While the Wildcats struggled last year, it has produced Division I talent in the past. Former Kansas Jayhawk Darrell Stuckey graduated from Washington High School. 

The Kansas City, Kan., Football League's head coaches voted recently on the league's All-League Team.

Broken down by team:

Sumner Academy

FIRST TEAM ALL-LEAGUE

• Torrell Saffold, FS
• Eric Whickliffe, LB
• Dymon Johnson
• Armond Brisbane, QB
• Adam Pack, C
• Vernon Vaughn, TE
• Benny Parker, Special Teams
• Eli Alexander, WR
• Marcus Allen, WR

HONORABLE MENTION

• James Williams
• TJ Wynn
• Garrett Mumphries

Washington

FIRST TEAM

• Levante Bryant, OL
• Deandre Clark, P
• Tim Good, LB
• Darrell Walker, DB

HONORABLE MENTION

• Clayton Young, FS
• Andy Patrzykont, DL
• Davon Carr, DL
• Deangelo Bradley, DL

Schlagle

FIRST TEAM

• Herman Ming, QB, LB, CB
• Taylor Wallace, OL
• Jeff Jones, RB
• TaiJuane Daniels, LB
• Eddie London, LB
• LeRoy Cheffon, DB

HONORABLE MENTION

• Montell White, DL
• LeAnthony Taylor, WR

Harmon

FIRST TEAM

• John Zeno, RB
• Marshawn Hargrove, LB
• Okeye Nyoudweh, LB/P
• Shaquille Simmons, DT
• Darrin Hawkins, LB
• Chris Richard, S

HONORABLE MENTION

• Marquise Cooper, OL//DE           
• Vanderbuilt Sheilds, OL
• Dominck Rodriguez, DB    
• Jervon Hooks 5'5, DB/WR           
• Cornell Duley
• Vanderbelt Sheilds, OL
• Martin Hernandez, OL/DL
• Kamile Gardner, DL

Wyandotte

FIRST TEAM

• Tyran Smith, DB

HONORABLE MENTION

• Alex Hamilton, DB
• Ledarious Kirkindol, DB
• Jaunte Collins, WR/DB

Here are highlights from last weekend's Turner-Shawnee Heights game. Turner was upset 14-10 and conclude the season at 8-2.

The Gardner-Edgerton Trailblazers handed Schlagle a shutout loss to close out the season.

The Trailblazers rushed for over 300 yards, defeating Schlagle 49-0.

Quarterback Bubba Starling led the way with 163 yards on just eight carries. He scored three touchdowns, including the game's opening seven points on a 70-yard touchdown run.

Brett Jensen added 111 yards on 12 carries, scoring the second touchdown of the game.

Leading 21-0 at halftime, Gardner-Edgerton scored 14 points early on in the third, including a 24-yard touchdown pass by Starling to Alex Knorr.

Starling scored the game's two final touchdowns from five yards out and 18 yards out, both on the ground.

Schlagle finishes 6-4 on the season, while Gardner improves to 10-0 on the season.

David Gauntt (#7) led Shawnee Heights to an upset victory on the road against Turner Friday night.

Mistakes and a few bad breaks led to an upset loss for the Turner Golden Bears football team.

Shawnee Heights defeated Turner 14-10 Friday night at Piper High School, eliminating the second seeded Wyandotte County team from the Kansas 5A Playoffs.

Both teams scored in the first half behind big running plays.

On the opening play of Shawnee Heights' second drive, running back Donnie Lockhart scored from 71 yards out, giving the Thunderbirds a 7-0 lead.

Turner, who only had one first down in the opening quarter, got things going in the second quarter despite faulty coaching head-sets through the first half.

Rashon Thames, who had 162 yards on the ground on 24 carries, rushed for 71 of them on one play early in the second quarter to set up Turner's opening score.

From the nine, David Bernal scored, tying the game up at seven.

The defenses stepped up in the second quarter, with each team throwing interceptions inside the other's red zone.

But Turner's key mistake came in the third quarter. The Bears were deep in Thunderbird territory when Thames fumbled, turning over the ball back to the Thunderbirds.

Two red zone turnovers were the difference in the game.

"Usually the team that makes the fewest mistakes wins," said Allen Terrell, head coach of the Golden Bears. "We had a lot of things go wrong in the game. It took us longer to adjust without headsets and we had a wrong call on the long score early."

Despite the mistakes, Turner would hold a lead late into the fourth quarter, as kicker Nick Rodriguez drilled a 34-yarder midway through the fourth.

However, quarterback David Gauntt came back and delivered Shawnee Heights a game-winning drive.

He connected on two key plays on the drive, passing for 174 yards in the game. He capped off the drive with a five-yard touchdown run with just over two minutes left.

Turner responded with one more opportunity.

Quarterback Nick Bloomer connected with Thames on a screen pass on a fourth and five. Thames scrambled for a nice chunk of yardage, driving the ball near the red zone.

The Golden Bears were unable to convert a second fourth down, as a a gadget play did not fool the Thunderbirds.

Concluding the season 8-2, Terrell said the Golden Bears senior class stepped up.

"We're very proud of how far they came," he said. "If people had seen this group four years ago, they would be very proud of how it turned out. We had a great run last year and we didn't want to take a step back this year."

The high school football season in Wyandotte County is officially over.

After Piper was eliminated on Tuesday, Turner, Schlagle and Sumner Academy were all defeated.

Turner lost a tough thriller to Shawnee Heights 14-10 at Piper High School. The Sabres of Sumner Academy lost a shootout with Topeka Seaman 53-34. Schlagle, meanwhile, was banked 49-0 by Gardner-Edgerton.

Recaps soon.

 

Turner quarterback Nick Bloomer, left, and Rashon Thames (behind him) led Turner to an 8-1 record this year.

The regular season has finished and the 4A State Playoffs have began. Friday's slate of games will include Turner, Schlagle and Sumner Academy.

A look at the final high school football regular season rankings for Wyandotte County.

1. Turner: The Golden Bears go wire to wire in The Kansan's power rankings. At 8-1, the Bears host Shawnee Heights tomorrow night at Piper High School. Running back Rashon Thames has led Turner all season.

2. Piper: While the Pirates were knocked out of the playoffs on Tuesday, they improved five games from last year and defeated Bishop Ward and Sumner Academy, thus giving them the second spot to close the regular season. Jasper Sanders was the team's MVP, as he led the Pirates through the air and on the ground.

3. Bishop Ward: Although the Cyclones missed the playoffs, they finish third in the rankings. Led by a very impressive rushing attack all season, the Cyclones finished 6-3 and because of being placed in a tough district with Piper and Basehor-Linwood, they missed out on postseason play.

4. Sumner Academy: The Sabres go back to state for the second straight year. The Kansas City, Kan., League champs look to defeat Topeka-Seaman on the road Friday evening.

5. Schlagle: Finishing 6-3, the Stallions have the biggest challenge of any school in Wyandotte County, playing Gardner-Edgerton Friday night. Gardner-Edgerton is 9-0 on the season.

6. Harmon: The Hawks, losing their final two games, pushed KCK champion Sumner Academy and the Golden Bears to the limit the last two weeks. Defensive improvements for the team were very noticeable this season.

7. Bonner Springs: The Braves were up and down all season long. 

8. Wyandotte: The Bulldogs snapped a lengthy losing streak this season, but lost were unable to get their second win of the season.

9. Washington: Finishing 1-8 and 0-4 in KCK play, the Wildcats were the season's biggest disappointment.

The Piper Pirates were defeated 37-21 last night by the Holton Wildcats.

Holton, entering the game undefeated, improved their record to 10-0. Piper finishes the season at 6-4.

A longer recap will be available later in the day.

Three Wyandotte County teams will be playing this Friday in the opening round of the Kansas 5A State playoffs, while Piper begins its 4A state journey tomorrow.

The Turner Golden Bears, finishing the regular season at 8-1, will host the 3-6 Shawnee Heights team in the first round in a 2-7 seed matchup. If they win, the Bears will take on the winner of the Mill Valley-St. Thomas Aquinas game on Friday, Nov. 13.

Meanwhile, two teams from the Kansas City, Kan., League have advanced to the 5A state playoffs.

The league-winning Sumner Academy Sabres (6-3) will take on Topeka Seaman this Friday. The Sabres are the #5 seed in the bracket, with Topeka Seaman the #4 seed.

Perhaps the greatest challenge any local team will face involve the Schlagle Stallions.

Finishing at 6-3 and second in district play, Schlagle will take on perennial power Gardner-Edgerton, who finished the regular season undefeated.

If Sumner and Schlagle both win, they'll renew their KCK rivalry next week.

Piper, 6-3, will take on the 9-0 Holton team tomorrow at 7 p.m. in 4A play.

The 4A bracket half with Piper:

The 5A bracket portion with the three KCK schools:

While the whole game was great, I invite you to watch the last 20 seconds over and over again.

Piper quarterback Jasper Sanders made one of the best individual efforts you'll ever see trying to make something happen on the final play.

He and the Pirates came very close to winning on a hail mary play.