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LJWorld.com Area Football Roundup

Area football teams Tonganoxie and Perry-Lecompton remain undefeated following wins in Week 2 of the 2020 season.

THS — which is ranked No. 3 in Class 4A — jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first half in an eventual 24-14 home victory over Louisburg on Friday. Perry-Lecompton (No. 2 in Class 3A) cruised past Hiawatha for a 47-7 home win, which included a 27-point outburst in the opening period.

Senior running back Tyler Bowden, who transferred to Tonganoxie from Free State ahead of his final prep season, shouldered the offense again with 202 yards and two scores on 27 carries. Junior quarterback Gabe Bailey went 8-of-15 through the air for 52 yards. Senior Branden Martin led the defense with 20 total tackles, including 12 solo stops.

Louisburg (1-1) scored all 14 of its points in the fourth quarter, but Tonganoxie was able to hang on in the end. The Chieftains, who went 10-0 to start the season a year ago, will now travel to Paola (2-0, No. 2 in Class 4A) for a big-time matchup in Week 3.

Perry-Lecompton continued its dominant start to the season, scoring 47 unanswered points in the first three quarters to remove any doubt about the outcome. The Kaws, who finished as a runner-up in Class 3A last year, have now scored a total of 101 points and allowed just 13 through two weeks.

Running back Thad Metcalfe delivered three rushing touchdowns on just nine carries in the win over Hiawatha (1-1) Friday night. Quarterback William Welch tossed a pair of touchdowns and ran in another during the first half. Parker Stone and Caidon Quinlan each hauled in a receiving touchdown in the first quarter.

For the game, Welch went 6-for-9 for 134 yards and two scores. Quinlan, Stone and Metcalfe all caught two passes for the Kaws. Metcalfe finished with 91 yards on the ground, while Reichen Rush recorded 58 rushing yards on eight attempts.

Perry-Lecompton will also have a crucial contest next week, when it travels to Holton (2-0, No. 4 in Class 3A) next Friday.

In other area football scores, both Eudora and Baldwin suffered losses this past week. The Bulldogs dropped a 33-32 decision at Ottawa to fall to 0-2 on the year. Eudora (1-1), which beat Baldwin in the opening week, suffered a 35-6 defeat to Nemaha Central.

Eudora will play host to St. James Academy next Friday, while Baldwin will travel to Louisburg.

FSHS girls tennis wins quadrangular

In the first all-Sunflower League meet of the season, Free State’s girls tennis team flexed its muscles with a first-place finish.

The Firebirds went 11-1 as a team during Friday’s quadrangular at College Boulevard Activity Complex that included host Olathe South along with Olathe East and Olathe North. The Olathe school district recently resumed sports after originally suspending fall activities in August.

FSHS had three first-place finishes in varsity action at the meet, which included a 3-0 showing from Keegan VanPelt in No. 1 singles. Maya Lee and Dayna Steadman won all three of their matches in No. 1 doubles, as did Emma Evans and Olivia Evans in No. 2 doubles. Jada Fowler took home second after going 2-1 in No. 2 singles.

The Firebirds will be back in action for another quadrangular on Tuesday at the Indian Creek Recreation Center courts in Overland Park.

FSHS boys cross-country wins Mill Valley Invite

In the first meet of the year, Free State’s boys cross-country squad came home with a victory in a seven-team event at the Mill Valley Invite on Saturday. The Firebirds scored 52 points as a team, besting runner-up St. Thomas Aquinas by eight points.

Four different FSHS runners finished in the top-nine to lead the way. Ben Shryock posted the best time of 16:15.10 to place fifth. Senior Christopher Stone came in sixth with a time of 16:24.80. Junior Jack Keathley-Helms finished seventh with a time of 16:31.40, while senior Ethan Sharp ran a 16:33.40 to notch ninth as an individual.

On the girls side, Free State scored 160 points to end up in sixth out of seven squads. Sophomore Ella McCleary posted the best mark, placing 24th with a time of 21:32.00. Junior Allison Babbitt came in 29th, while senior Delaney Rockers registered 31st.

Free State will return to action at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at the Baldwin Golf Course.

LHS individuals earn medals

Lawrence High’s cross-country team competed in the Emporia Invitational on Saturday, and a trio of individuals came home with medals.

In varsity girls action, sophomore Lucy Hardy finished in 14th place with a time of 22:05.20. Junior Grace Harader-Ellett ended up one spot behind her teammate, taking 15th place with a time of 22:13.40. Junior Jack Ryan was the lone medalist for LHS on the boys side, running a time of 18:06.50 to finish in 17th.

Lawrence will compete at Baldwin’s meet on Saturday.

Area cross-country runners shine in Wamego

Many area cross-country runners had strong performances at the Wamego Invitational on Saturday.

On the girls side, Baldwin won the meet thanks to five runners ending up in the top-10. Riley Smith was the best finisher by taking fifth with a time of 21:01.0. Senior Ambrynn Stewart, junior Diana Messick, junior Jana Landreth and freshman Bailey Smith were all in the mix as well.

Eudora freshman Sydney Owens ran a time of 20:16.6 to claim second as an individual, leading her team to a runner-up finish in its division. Tonganoxie senior Kristi Chambers notched 14th with a time of 22:03.3.

Bishop Seabury’s girls cross-country squad took third as a team, highlighted by a pair of top-10 finishers. Sophomore Oona Nelson placed third with a time of 21:30.0, while freshman Isabelle Pro took 10th with a mark of 22:52.8.

For the boys, Tonganoxie sophomore Eli Gilmore led the way by placing third with a time of 17:10.2. Eudora junior Cody Loganbill claimed 14th place with a time of 19:12.3, while freshman Zach Arnold ended up inside the top-20 with a mark of 19:22.2.

Bishop Seabury soccer falls on road

The Bishop Seabury’s boys soccer team suffered its first loss of the season, dropping a 2-1 decision at Heritage Christian Academy on Thursday.

Beck Oldridge scored the team’s only goal after knocking in two scores in the season opener just two days earlier. The Seahawks are now 1-1 to start the season. Bishop Seabury will play host to KC East Christian at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.