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Bonner’s Kline, Ashford move on to state tennis tourney

Bonner Springs junior Penelope Kline lined up a backhand return in the championship match of the 5A regional girls’ tennis tournament at Mill Valley High School. Kline lost the match but her second-place finish earned her a berth in the state tournament. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

by Brian Turrel

Two Bonner Springs tennis players are headed to the KSHSAA 5A state tournament in Andover next weekend after placing in the regional tournament at Mill Valley High School this Saturday.

Penelope Kline took second place at the regional, nearly knocking off top-seeded Heidi Baillos of Mill Valley. Kline took the first set of the championship 6-3, with the tremendous pace on her forehand and serve forcing Baillos onto the defensive.

Baillos lacked Kline’s sheer pace, but countered with an uncanny ability to drop her shots just inside the endline no matter what was hit her way. Kline won a few points by mixing in drop shots, but Baillos won the second set 6-2.

An extended break before the decisive third set seemed to refresh the Bonner junior, who immediately broke serve and took a 2-0 advantage. However, the accuracy of her ground strokes and serve was on the wane, and Baillos, looking fresh as ever, broke two consecutive Kline serves to take the match (6-4) and regional title.

Autumn Ashford placed fifth in the regional, defeating St. James’ Abby Coker decisively (6-0, 6-1) in their consolation match. Ashford’s only loss was in the second round to tourney champ Baillos.

Bonner Springs also qualified two doubles teams, Newson/Smith and Leslie/Profeta, but both lost their first-round elimination match-ups.

After the match Bonner Springs head coach Matt Dow talked about his team’s showing at the tournament.

“It was a great performance,” said Dow. “I’m so happy with how hard Penelope worked — how hard Autumn Ashford worked. Great tennis, hard work, gutsy tennis — a lot of grit and determination today.”

Sumner Academy qualified two singles players and two doubles teams for the regional. Sofia Mercado was seeded 13th in singles and lost in the first round to St. Thomas Aquinas’s Megan Law. Melissa Ortega was seeded 15th and lost to Kline in the first round.

Sumner’s doubles teams, Fileto/Garcia and Vang/Tial, were both eliminated in the first round.

Piper High School’s Avery Roellchen also qualified for the tournament in singles. Despite an early lead, she narrowly lost 9-8 to Leavenworth’s Riley White in the abbreviated nine-game play-in format.

Bonner Springs junior Penelope Kline and coach Matt Dow posed together after Kline received her medal. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

Bonner Springs junior Autumn Ashford went 3-1 at the tournament, placing fifth and advancing to the state tournament. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

Sumner Academy senior Seydi Garcia played in a first-round doubles match. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

Bonner Springs junior Pirsten Leslie played in a first-round doubles match. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

Bonner Springs junior Luci Smith played in a first-round doubles match. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

Sumner Academy senior Sofia Mercado returned a shot in her first-round match. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

Piper junior Avery Roellchen played in a first-round singles match. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

Sumner Academy senior Maria Fileto played a forehand return in her first-round doubles match. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

Bonner Springs junior Sofia Profeta played in a first-round doubles match. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

Sumner Academy senior Pajah Vang played in a first-round doubles match. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

Enough is enough: Bad behavior by coaches, parents and fans must stop

Guest column
Opinion

by Dr. Karissa Niehoff, chief executive officer, National Federation of State High School Associations, and Bill Faflick, executive director of the Kansas State High School Activities Association

There’s an unfortunate trend continuing in Kansas and across the nation that must be stopped: the bad behavior of coaches, parents and fans at high school athletic events.

We’ve all seen it: the yelling, harassing, berating, disrespecting and even physically assaulting high school referees, umpires and other officials during and after games. And oftentimes, the harassment continues on social media. Perhaps you’ve witnessed it firsthand or even been one of those offenders yourself.

Not only is this behavior unacceptable and embarrassing, but it’s also having serious consequences on the future of high school sports.

That’s because another unfortunate trend is sweeping the nation: a critical shortage of high school officials in every state. The No. 1 reason? You guessed it: Coaches, parents and fans mistreating officials.

National surveys of officials report alarming statistics:1
55% of officials say verbal abuse from coaches, parents and fans is the No. 1 reason they quit.
59% don’t feel respected.
57% think sportsmanship is getting worse.
84% feel officials are treated unfairly by spectators.
46% have felt unsafe or feared for their safety due to spectator, coach, administrator or player behavior.

Officials are quitting faster than new ones are signing up. It’s a major area of concern for states like Kansas just to cover games. We’re already seeing middle school and JV games being cancelled and, in some cases, varsity games have to be rescheduled or not played. All because there aren’t enough officials.

Unfortunately, bad behavior at high school athletic events has become normalized. It is almost expected that coaches, parents and fans will disrespect the individuals serving as officials.

This culture of bad behavior and the negative perception of officials must change now. Everyone involved in high school sports—parents, coaches, administrators, fans, the media—must turn their focus to the student-athletes playing the games and away from the individuals officiating the contests.

The bottom line: With no high school officials, there can be no high school sports.

That’s why the KSHSAA is partnering with the NFHS and other state high school associations across the country to launch the nationwide #BenchBadBehavior campaign. We’ll use the power of social media along with other tools to help educate everyone about the importance of good behavior at high school athletic events.

You can help by being a positive role model at your high school’s athletic events. And if you think you have what it takes to be a licensed official, sign up today at HighSchoolOfficials.com and help fill an urgent need in Kansas.

Pirates control Chargers for 49-0 victory

Sophomore running back Skyler Little sprinted toward the end zone, scoring the 7th and final touchdown in Piper’s 49-0 win over Topeka West. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

by Brian Turrel

The Piper Pirates traveled to Topeka for a rare Saturday daytime game, facing off against the Topeka West Chargers at Hummer Sports Park and powering their way to a 49-0 win. Piper scored all its points in the first half, and head coach John Black used the second half to get experience for his reserve players.

The Chargers, despite coming into the game with an 0-3 record, looked formidable on their opening drive, featuring an option offense led by quarterback Malachi Berg. The Chargers moved the ball all the way to the Piper 9-yard line then gave up a fumble, ending their best scoring threat of the game.

Piper started deep in its own end, but runs from running back Zane Pudenz and quarterback Logan Ladish brought the ball out near midfield. Running back Miguel Martin then broke a 58-yard touchdown run to start the scoring.

Collin Ketter recovered another Chargers fumble on the next possession to give Piper a short field from the Topeka West 28-yard line. Zane Pudenz scored on the ground to put the Pirates up by 14.

With two minutes remaining in the first quarter, Zane Pudenz scored again, this time on defense, scooping a Topeka West fumble and running it back for a touchdown and a 21-0 lead.

J.J. Jarrett opened the second quarter scoring with a 67-yard run, making great use of the downfield blocking from Lamar Lynch and Camden Beebe.

On the next possession, Piper took over at the Topeka West 29-yard line after another fumble. On the next play, Ladish hit receiver Mason L’Heureux in the right corner of the end zone for a touchdown and 35-0 lead.

Topeka West pinned the Pirates deep on the next possession by punting to the Piper 12-yard line, but Ladish responded with an 88-yard touchdown run, finding a crease in the defensive front and then taking off up the left sideline.

On the next possession, Piper drove the ball down to the Chargers 25-yard line, and running back Skyler Little ran the ball around the left side for a touchdown and the final 49-0 margin.

Zane Busick and Kaleb Kirgan split duties on the PAT attempts, converting all seven.

Quarterback Gannon Roth led the Pirates onto the field in the second half. After two yardage-losing plays from scrimmage, Black called a timeout to get the squad together.

Due to the size of the lead, there were no clock stoppages in the second half, and with both teams in a run-heavy offense, the time slipped away quickly to the end of the game.

After the game, Black talked with his team about their goal of returning to Hummer Sports Park at the end of the season, when the KSHSAA Class 4A state championship is played there.

Thursday and Saturday games are being scheduled more frequently this year due to a shortage of available officials. The state activities association has made an appeal for new officials to register at https://www.kshsaa.org/Public/Official/NewOfficials.cfm. KSHSAA touts the benefits of staying involved in sports and earning some extra income.

The Piper Pirates are now 2-2 for the season. They will play at home against the Turner Golden Bears next Friday starting at 7:00 P.M.