The Hays High School’s varsity football team played a home regional game against Goddard-Eisenhower on Oct. 30.
Coming into the game, Hays was ranked No. 5 in 5A while their opponent was ranked No. 12 in 5A.
In the first quarter, senior Holden Lind opened the game with an 88-yard kick-off return for a touchdown. Another score from Lind and senior Carson Moore set the stage for the rest of the game.
In the second quarter, junior Braxton Basgall scored two touchdowns for the Indians. His first touchdown of 19 yards finished off a 90-yard drive. With his second score, after help from senior Kaleb Roe with his first career interception, Basgall scored his second touchdown on a seven-yard play. With a 27-0 lead, Hays defense cracked for the first time. Eisenhower converted two fourth downs on the drive. They attempted a two-point conversion, but it was no good, leaving the game, 27-6, at halftime.
Coming into the third quarter, Lind scored 59 yards for the Indians’ fourth touchdown of the night. An extra point by Moore gave Hays an advantage with 4:56 remaining in the third quarter. Eisenhower took advantage of the Indians going to the depth chart in the third quarter. The quarter ended with Hays still leading, 41-22.
In the final quarter, Hays inserted the starters again, and Lind found another touchdown with senior Jonathan Rigler making a two-point conversion, setting the game to 49-22. Eisenhower scored one more touchdown, ending the game 49-30.
“We did great, really dominated the game and got all the team in the game.” Head Coach Tony Crough explained. “However, we need to play better against the pass and finish in the red zone.”
The Hays High varsity football team played a regional away game against Hutchinson, who was ranked No. 4 in 5A, on Nov. 7, with Hays coming out on top. Hays will be playing the undefeated Great Bend, who defeated Bishop Carroll the week prior, on Friday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. in Great Bend.
Cross Country:
Both the girls and boys cross country teams ran at Great Bend’s Lake Barton course for regionals on Oct. 25 to have a chance at qualifying for state.
In total, there were nine teams with 111 athletes in total. To qualify for state, the athletes had to place in the Top 15 to qualify individually or to finish in the Top 3 as a team.
The boys placed fifth, with sophomore Bladyn Werth leading the boys by running the 5K in 18:05.65. By placing 14th, he ran for Hays High at the state meet located at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence. At Rim Rock Farm, he placed 76th out of the 99 boys in the race, running a time of 18:14.96.
The girls placed sixth, with freshman Alexa Cooley leading the girls by running the 5K in 22:14, placing 22nd out of the girls.
“Making it to state this year honestly feels like a dream,” Werth said. “For me, it goes to show that hard work and determination really do pay off. As the season closes, it’s awesome to see how far we all have come. I’m very thankful for all the support from coaches and teammates and, I can’t wait to do it all again next year!”
Boys Soccer:
The varsity boys soccer team competed against Topeka West in Topeka for their regional match to advance to quarterfinals on Oct. 27.
In the first half, junior Ivan Maldonaldo and junior Brecken Otte scored goals for Hays High while Topeka West scored four points.
In the second half, Hays did not score any points while Topeka West scored two points, ending the game in a 6-2 victory for Topeka West against Hays.
Senior Andres Cisernos-Salas and junior Camden Luck both had one assist each in the game.
“I feel like we obliviously didn’t play the way we wanted to play, but the experience will make us all better people and players,” Otte said. “The biggest challenge we faced was the quality of Topeka West and the way we matched up against them, but I’m proud of the team for the fight we have year in and year out playing one of the hardest schedules in the state, and to look out for us next year.”
Unified Bowling:
The unified bowling team competed at their home meet on Nov. 6.
At the match, there were five teams, consisting of Garden City, Great Bendy, Hays, Hutchinson and Liberal, with a total number of groups at the tournament being 17.
As a team, Hays had four different groups of bowlers ranging from one to four. Hays 1 had a total of 1,076 points, placing first in the tournament. Hays 2 was close, coming in with 1,029 points and placing second in the tournament. Hays 3 scored 648 points and placed ninth in the tournament. Hays 4 scored 479 points and placed 15th in the tournament.
“I’m proud of my attitude,” junior Keaton Brown said. “I felt like I really carried the team early – not in the score, but in energy. If someone threw a bad shot and got bummed out, I tried to lift them up, smile and let them know it was all right. I wanted to keep everyone positive and remind them we’d get the next one. Helping my teammates and motivating them to do better is what I’m most proud of.”
