CARBONDALE ? Most people might call Tonganoxie’s 49-43 win against Santa Fe Trail a surprise.

Not the Chieftains.

Ryan Hulings of Santa Fe Trail takes a shot against Tonganoxie. The Chieftains defeated the Chargers, 49-43, on Friday at Carbondale.

It didn’t matter that the game was played in the Chargers’ gym and SFT (11-6) has a winning record and is ranked eighth in Class 4A. Tonganoxie coach David Walker, whose team is 8-9, said straight-faced that this was no court-storming win.

“Our philosophy is that it’s only an upset if we believe it’s an upset,” he said. “A lot of people might call this an upset for us, but we don’t.”

Early in the third quarter, it seemed that the Chargers were the better team. SFT junior forward Shane Miles knocked down a three-pointer to give his team a 27-18 lead. But during the next minute-and-a-half Tonganoxie narrowed the gap by six points, 27-24, courtesy of senior forward Bryan Gurss.

Gurss led all players with 20 points, making seven of 13 field goals. He was instrumental in the Chieftains’ comeback with 10 points in the third quarter.

“He’s always been there for us,” Walker said of Gurss. “He’s one of our four senior leaders and it seems whenever we need someone to come through he’s there.”

The teams traded one-point leads, but when SFT senior Brain Kral made a lay-in, was fouled and hit his free throw, the Chargers had a 37-35 advantage with less than six minutes left.

But the Chieftains went on an 8-0 run, their biggest offensive burst of the evening during the next five minutes.

“We understand that in the concept of the game there are going to be spurts,” Walker said. “We’ve had it done to us and we’ve done it to others. Tonight we were on the good end of one.”

Tongie 49, Santa Fe Trail 43

Tonganoxie (49)

Thomas Gilner 3-8 3-4 9, Jacob Walker 3-5 0-2 6, Jon Gripka 1-3 0-0 2, Matt Alexander 0-5 1-2 1, Bryan Gurss 7-13 6-6 20, Shane Howard 1-5 3-5 5, Joe Calcvion 1-3 0-0 2, Jordan Glenn 2-2 0-1 4. Totals 18-44 13-20 49.

Santa Fe Trail (43)

Ryan Hulings 0-8 0-0 0, Shane Miles 1-9 4-6 7, Ben Fawl 5-15 1-2 14, Cameron Babb 2-5 0-0 4, Brian Kral 3-7 3-5 9, Justin Ramsdell 2-7 0-2 4, Rob Musgrave 1-1 0-0 3, Petr Solar 0-1 0-0 0, Jay Shively 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 15-54 8-15 43.

Tonganoxie 7 11 13 18 49

Santa Fe Trail 8 16 8 11 43

Three-point goals Tonganoxie 0-4 (Gilner 0-1, Walker 0-1, Alexander 0-1, Gurss 0-1), Santa Fe Trail 5-20 (Hulings 0-3, Miles 1-5, Fawl 3-10, Kral 0-1, Musgrave 1-1). Turnovers Tonganoxie 21, Santa Fe Trail 10. Fouls Tonganoxie 13, Santa Fe Trail 17.

Santa Fe Trail girls 49, Tonganoxie 23

Halfway through the first quarter, it seemed that Tonganoxie might make a run at the No. 2 Chargers. After trailing 6-2 early, the Chieftains tied the game 6-6.

It wasn’t to be.

Santa Fe Trail (16-1) rolled to a 16-8 lead at the end of the first period and a 27-12 advantage at halftime.

Center Melisa Ball, a 6-foot-3 junior, led all players with 16 points, but it was the guard play of senior Janelle “Nelly” Arnold that made the Chargers click.

“I can’t say enough about her,” said SFT coach Brenda Dahl. “She’s our leader out there. She doesn’t get too vocal, but she leads with her play.”

Arnold, who was first-team all-league and second-team all-area last season, handled the ball with a deft skill and consistently looked to pass before taking her own shot. She finished with nine points.

“Coach has been trying to get me to shoot more,” Arnold said. “I’m a senior now and I’ve got more confidence to shoot, but sometimes there are better opportunities.”

Santa Fe Trail 49, Tongie 23

Tonganoxie (23)

Rebekah Mages 3-4 1-2 7, Erin Seymour 0-7 0-0 0, Jennifer Reischman 0-1 0-0 0, Christie Menhusen 2-9 2-2 6, Andrea Korb 2-10 5, Alicia Stauch 1-6 0-0 2, Laura Korb 0-5 0-0 0, Addie Heim 1-6 1-2 3. Totals 9-48 5-8 23.

Santa Fe Trail (49)

Janelle Arnold 4-12 1-2 9, Lindsay Boss 2-5 0-0 4, Alison Creek 1-7 2-2 4, Erin Lee 1-2 0-0 2, Leslie Wurdeman 3-5 2-2 8, Melisa Ball 7-9 2-2 16, Alexis Pryor 2-2 0-0 4, Renay Carter 1-2 2, Brenna Babbitt 0-1 0-0 0, Lana Kraus 0-1 0-0 0, Lacie Mayes 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-46 7-8 49.

Tonganoxie 8 4 5 6 23

Santa Fe Trail 16 11 14 8 49

Three-point goals Tonganoxie 0-3 (Seymour 0-1, A. Korb 0-1, Stauch 0-1), Santa Fe Trail 0-5 (Boss 0-2, Creek 0-2 Wurdeman 0-1). Turnovers Tonganoxie 12, Santa Fe Trail 15. Fouls Tonganoxie 11, Santa Fe Trail 10.