Hays High and Thomas More Prep Marian faced off the both the girls and boys semi-finals of the Gerald Mitchell Hays City Shootout Friday Night.

Girls
TMP 62 – Hays 54

Hays High jumped out to their biggest lead of the first half on a 7-1 run on baskets by three different players. TMP responded back with a 7-2 run to tight the game back up at 9-8. Hays led after the first quarter 13-11. The lead swapped hands five times and the score was tied twice more before TMP gained separation with seven straight points to take a 27-21 lead. Hays scored just one point over the final four and a half minutes of the first half leaving the Indians trailing at half time 28-22.

Highlights

TMP pushed the halftime lead to 10 in the third quarter with six minutes left. Hays then came firing back with a 10-2 run to tighten the game back up at 36-34 in favor of the Monarchs. Hays took the lead back at 40-38 with 1:44 remaining in the third on a Savannah Schneider three point play. TMP tied the game back up at 40 to end the third quarter. Hays took the final lead of the game at 43-42 following a Talyn Kleweno three pointer. Kayla Vitzum then seized control of the game scoring 13 of her teams 15 points in less than three minutes. Hays tied the game one more time at 50 but TMP hit eight of their final nine free throws to win 62-54.

Coach Kirk Maska

Kayla Vitzum scored 24 to lead all scoring. Madyson Koerner added 16 and Deonna Wellbrock scored 13. Hays was led by Savannah Schnedier with 18. Kallie Leiker added a career high 11. Hays High falls to 1-1 and will play Great Bend in the third place game at Hays Middle School at 1:30 on Saturday. TMP is 2-0 and will play the winner of Manhattan and Garden City.

Boys
Hays 67 – TMP 48

Hays took an early four point advantage on two occasions at 4-0 and 6-2 when TMP settled in going on a 8-3 run to take the lead for the first time at 10-9. Hays answered with Peyton Kieffer’s first career three pointer to give the Indians a 12-10 lead after the first quarter. The two swapped the lead a couple more times in the second quarter with TMP taking their largest lead of the first half at 20-17. Hays answered back with a 11-3 run to close the half and lead 28-23 going into the locker rooms.

Highlights

The Indians shot much better in the second half shooting 12 of 21 pushing their lead as high as 22 late in the fourth quarter. Hays led by two points with 5:30 to go in the third quarter but strung together 10 straight points to take their first double digit lead and never looked back. Hays led 47-36 after the third quarter and then hit 11 of 14 free throws in the fourth quarter for the 67-48 win.

Coach Rick Keltner

Claiborne Kyles led the Indians with 17. Ethan Nunnery and Tyrese Hill each added 12 and Shane Berens scored 10. TMP was led by Hayden Lowe with 11. Hays is 2-0 and will play Manhattan in the championship game of the Hays City Shootout. It is the 19th time the Indians have made the title game. TMP is 1-1 and plays Olathe North for third at Hays High School at 1:30.

The Hays High Indians opened the 2016-2017 basketball season with the Gerald Mitchell Hays City Shootout on Thursday night. This year’s tournament featured six teams with Manhattan and Great Bend facing off in the first games of the day. Hays High played Garden City at Hays High School and Thomas More Prep took on Olathe North at Hays Middle School.

Girls
Hays 52 – Garden City 34

Hays High endured one long scoring drought in the first half of 3:50 by forcing Garden City to go scoreless for 5:20 to grab a 10-7 first quarter lead. The Hays drought extended to just two points over 6:15 but trailed by just one at 13-12. The Indians then erupted for 19 points over the next 2:57 to take a lead they would never give up. The Indians outscored Garden City 23-11 in the second quarter taking a 33-18 lead at half.

Highlights

Hays held multiple 18 point leads in the second half before Garden City trimmed the lead down to ten in the fourth quarter. The Lady Indians though responded with a 10-2 run to end the game and took the win 52-34. Savannah Schneider led all scorers with a career high 19 before fouling out. Mattie Hutchison scored 13 and Talyn Kleweno added 10. Garden City was led by Abbie Dart with 11 and all of her points came in the first half.

Coach Kirk Maska

Hays moves to 1-0 on the season and will play at 5:15 at Hays High School in the championship semi-finals against TMP. Garden City drops to 0-1 and will also play in the championship semi-finals as part of the six team bracket. Their game will be at Hays Middle School.

Boys
Hays 66 – Garden City 58

Neither Hays or Garden City could gain separation from each other in the first half. Hays led by three on a few occasions and Garden City led by as many as four in the half. The two swapped the lead nine times and were tied three times with Garden City getting a free throw with 0.18 seconds left in the second quarter to take a 28-27 lead into the locker room.

Highlights

The lead changed one more time in the second half with Hays starting the third quarter on a 9-1 run capped off with a Shane Berens three point play at 36-29. The Indians outscored Garden City 19-8 in the third quarter which proved to play a large difference in the game. Hays pushed their lead up to fifteen at 58-43 with 3:50 remaining in the game. Garden City though had one last push as they rattle off a 15-4 run over the next 3:15 to cut the Hays lead down to 62-58 with 35 seconds left. Claiborne Kyles and Ethan Nunnery each hit a pair of free throws to put the game away 66-68.

Coach Rick Keltner

Kyles scored a game high 16. Shane Berens and Ethan Nunnery each added 12 in the victory. Garden City was led by the 15 of Zac Karlin, all on three pointers. Garrett Doll scored 13, freshman Carlos Acosta added 11 and Tye Davis chipped in 10.

Hays High moves to 1-0 and will play TMP in the semi-final at 7:00. Garden City drops to 0-1 and will play Manhattan in the other semi-final at 3:30.

Tournament Day 1 Results
Girls
Manhattan 62 – Great Bend 38
Hays 52 – Garden City 34
TMP 56 – Olathe North 43

Boys
Manhattan 65 – Great Bend 50
TMP 61 – Olathe North 54
Hays 66 – Garden City 58

Day 2 Schedule
Hays Middle School
3:30 – Girls – Great Bend v Olathe North
5:15 – Boys – Great Bend v Olathe North
7:00 – Girls – Manhattan v Garden City

Hays High School
3:30 – Boys – Manhattan v Garden City
5:15 – Girls – Hays v TMP
7:00 – Boys Hays v TMP

Playing collegiate sports takes a high level of determination and commitment. Something that both Jonathan Springer and Rachel Taylor are ready for, following the signing of their respective National Letter of Intent.

Wednesday, Jonathan Springer committed to stay in Hays and wrestle for Fort Hays State University. The senior who is expected to compete at 182 pounds this season, said that he has been focusing on building his strength over the past year in order to have a more successful final high school season. Staying in Hays was also a bonus so he can wrestle where his family can still see him. Springer said he spent time around some of the Fort Hays State wrestlers making the decision a comfortable one.

Jonathan Springer

Coach John Hafliger

Rachel Taylor signed to play volleyball at Dodge City Community College next school year. Coach Christin Nunnery noted that Taylor may have exhibited the great amount of improvement from one season to the next when talking about what Taylor had done to reach the next level. Taylor spent time as a reserve as a junior behind a senior class that sent several onto the collegiate level to play volleyball. Taylor seized the opportunity to be on the floor as a senior and found her way to Dodge City Community College after spending time with their coaching staff where she found a comfort level compared to other schools.

Rachel Taylor

Coach Christin Nunnery

Katie Brungardt dropped fifteen strokes off her golf game from freshman year to senior year and has decided to take the next step and compete on the collegiate level. On Thursday Brungardt signed her National Letter of Intent to golf with the hometown Fort Hays State University Tigers.

Katie Brungardt

Brungardt took home medals in 31 of 40 career high school tournaments. Among those medals included three medals at the state level, 12th in 2014, 2nd in 2015 and 4th in 2016, all of which garnered her All-State honors. Brungardt was also a 1st team Western Athletic Conference team golfer all four years and won eight tournaments individually and finished in the top three at 18 out of 40 tournaments.

Coach Mark Watts

Brungardt also saw success on the team level. The Lady Indians qualified for the state tournament all four years of her career and took home 1st place in 2014 and 3rd in 2015. She will leave Hays High as one of the elite golfers in the program’s history. Her junior year stroke average of 83.6 ranks 9th best in a single season and her senior average of 81.6 ranks 6th.

For a second week in a row Hays High needed a victory to keep their chances at a playoff berth alive. They also needed help from McPherson to beat Abilene to keep the decision from going to a tie-breaking point formula. McPherson took care of their end of the deal, Hays High did not.

It was the first ever game between Hays and Wamego in football. Wamego is the 67th different team has played since 1923.

Wamego came out of the gate and took a two possession lead on a nine play and two play drive to take a 13-0 lead. Hays punted on their first three drives then cut the Wamego lead down to six on a one yard touchdown run by Kohlton Meyers. Wamego took possession of the ball with 4:26 in the half and drove 66 yards on 12 plays to go up 19-7 after a blocked extra point.

Highlights

Hays closed the gap down to one score for a second time after Keaton Markley returned an interception down to the nine yard line. Meyers scored his second touchdown of the night one play later making the score 19-13 following a missed XP.

Wamego marched right back down the field and took back their two score advantage on a 4th and 1, six yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter taking a 27-13 lead.

Hays moved inside the red zone of Wamego on the next possession but threw an interception at the five yard line. Wamego went on for the 30-13 win, tacking on a 28 yard field goal following after Hays lost the ball on downs deep in Wamego territory.

The Hays High Indians entered Friday night looking for their first home win in two years. It was also Senior Night for twelve Indians, in a game that Hays High needed to win to keep their playoff chances alive.

The game started with shades of the McPherson contest one week prior as Abilene drove right down the field to take the first lead of the game on a Parker O’Neal two yard run. The score capped off a seven play 55 yard drive, but the Cowboys left a point on the field missing the PAT.

Hays punted on their first drive of the game and watch Abilene push the ball back into the red zone but did not score following a penalty. Abilene downed the ensuing punt at the one yard line. From the shadows of their own goal post the Indians orchestrated a 10 play 99 yard drive, scoring on a 18 yard pass from Hunter Brown to Wyatt Scheve. Logan Clark’s extra point put the Indians up 7-6.

Abilene again punted and Hays put together their longest drive by time of the season going eleven plays in 6:37 to set up a successful 31 yard Logan Clark field goal to give the Indians a 10-6 halftime lead.

Highlights

All of the scoring in the second half came in the third quarter. The Indians started the half with the football and drove 12 plays 71 yards over 5:01 to take a 17-6 lead. The two score lead came on a fourth down and pass play from Hunter Brown to Shane Berens for 14 yards.

Abilene responded back immediately on their next possession scoring on another O’Neal run to tighten the score at 17-12. Abilene attempted a two point conversion pass that was intercepted by Keaton Markley.

As they did the whole night, Hays High again had an answer. The Indians scored on their quickest drive of the night, using just 4 plays to cover 76 yards. Brown ran for 44 yards then William Sennett, who was in at running back, threw a 33 yard pass to Wyatt Scheve. Brown scored from three yards out to increase their lead to 23-12 after a blocked extra point.

Coach Randall Rath

Neither team scored in fourth quarter, though Hays High had chances. The Indians started a drive at the Cowboy 10 yard line following a fumble recovery but failed to score after a botched snap on a field goal. Hays also lost the ball on downs in the Abilene red zone.

Hays High improves to 2-6, Abilene loses for the first time and is 7-1. Both teams are 1-1 in district play as Hays goes to Wamego next week, the Red Raiders are 0-2 in district play. Abilene is home to McPherson who is 2-0 in districts.

Hays High opened up district play on Friday night in McPherson. For the Indians it was the first time they played an opponent under class 5A since week one of the season. It was the first game of district play to determine the two qualifiers for the 4A-D1 playoffs. Hays and McPherson are joined by Abilene and Wamego in the four team district.

McPherson controlled the game from the onset. The Bullpups scored on their first five possessions, twice off of Hays turnovers. The Indians punted after three plays on three occasions, fumbled once and threw one interception. The Bullpups scored on drives of ten, nine and fourteen plays and led 34-0 at half time.

Highlights

Hays did score twice in the second half on a Hunter Brown eleven yard pass to Wyatt Scheve and a William Sennett 18 yard run. McPherson took the win 48-14.

Coach Randall Rath

Hays compiled 132 yards to McPherson’s 383 yards.

Hays falls to 1-6 and 0-1 in districts. McPherson improves to 5-2 and 2-0 in district play.

Hays will play their senior night game next week versus Abilene.

By Dustin Armbruster

The Hays High Indians played Dodge City to close out their Western Athletic Conference schedule Friday night at Lewis Field Stadium. It was also the final game Hays would have to play versus an opponent in 5A or 6A, as the Indians open up 4A-I play next week.

Dodge City scored on all four of their first half possessions building a 24-7 lead. Hays tied the game at seven on a 31 yard third down pass from Hunter Brown to Mason Ibarra. Dodge City responded to take a 14-7 lead on the Red Demon’s quarterback ran in the second of his three first half touchdowns.

Hays put together a 65 yard drive getting to the 65 yard line but had a 32 yard field goal blocked. Two plays later Williams again hit pay dirt, this time on 74 yard run and a 21-7 lead. The Red Demons added a 34 yard field just before half for a 24-7 lead.

Highlights

Dodge City started the second half with a three and out, but got the ball back following a muffed punt by the Indians. Dawson Williams scored his fourth rushing touchdown of night pushing the lead to 30-7 following a missed extra point.

The Indians went on a 16 play drive on the next drive but lost the ball at the 26 yard line on downs. Dodge City ended up scoring on eight of their ten possessions winning 44-14. Hays did add another score on a 4th down pass of 28 yards from Brown to Collyn Kreutzer.

Coach Randall Rath

Hays totaled 270 yards and falls to 1-5 and finishes 0-4 in the Western Athletic Conference. Dodge City improves to 4-2 and is 1-1 in conference play. The Red Demons had 373 yards, 305 on the ground. Dodge City quarterback Dawson Williams scored four times and ran for 189 yards. Tylor Garcia ran for 110 and two scores. The Indian’s quarterback Hunter Brown threw for 136 yards and two touchdowns. Mason Ibarra and Collyn Kreuzter each had scoring catch.

Hays moves on to 4A-I district play next week as they travel to 4-2 McPherson.

The Hays Hays High Indians hosted undefeated Valley Center Friday night for their homecoming game. It was the just the second meeting ever between the two schools. The first came in 1995 during the first round of the playoffs. The game was won 28-7 by the Hornets.

Hays and Valley Center played to a scoreless draw through the first quarter. Hays missed a field goal on their first drive following a 51 yard run. The Indians forced a punt and fumble on the first two Valley Center possessions.

Hays was unable to take advantage of good field position then suffered a loss. Following a tackle by Freddy Haines, he was unable to get back to his feet. Haines was eventually removed from the game via a backboard. A this time we have no more information on his condition.

The Indians used the emotion of their injured teammate to intercept a pass by Collyn Kreutzer, his second of the season. Kreuzter returned the ball 40 yards and Hays High moved into field goal range for Logan Clark to connect on a career long 38 yard attempt, giving the Indians a 3-0 lead.

Valley Center fumbled on their next drive after getting inside the Indian’s red zone. The Indians though had to punt allowing the Hornets to have one more drive. Quarterback Wyatt Lange ran for 24 yards on 3rd and 15 and eight yards on 3rd and 2. The second conversion scored the games first touchdown with 24 second left before half time and giving the Hornets a 7-3 lead a the break.

Highlights

The Indians started the second half recovering an onside kick but could not take advantage. Valley Center then threw their second interception on their next possession. Xavier Dandurand picked off his first pass of the year. Hays moved into the red zone on the possession allowing Clark to kick a 27 yard field and make the score 7-6, still in favor of Valley Center. The Hornets responded with their best passing play on the night on the next possession when Wyatt Lange hit Dalton Cross in double coverage for 36 yards and the only other touchdown of the game, putting Valley Center up 17-6.

Hays put together one more scoring threat getting the ball to the 20 on a catch, but fumbled for their only turnover of the night. Valley Center couldn’t turn the fumble into points and had to punt the ball. Hays thought could not convert on the 4th down on the following drive. Valley Center capped the game with a 19 yard field goal and final score of 20-6.

Randall Rath

Hays put up 187 yards of offense, while allowing 297 yards. Valley Center is 5-0. Hays falls to 1-4 and plays Dodge City for their final game before districts.