Category: Wyandotte County

Homecoming heartbreak at Turner

Junior receiver Jaron Brown kept his concentration on the ball and made a 60-yard touchdown reception after the ball was tipped by two defenders. The touchdown gave the Golden Bears a 21-18 lead, but Topeka West made a late comeback for a 26-21 win. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

by Brian Turrel

The classic Journey hit “Don’t Stop Believin'” played over the loudspeakers of the Turner District Athletic Complex at halftime of Friday’s homecoming football game — a perfect tune for a Golden Bears’ performance that had the players, coaches and fans all believing.

Hard-hitting defense and an opportunistic offense gave the Golden Bears a halftime 7-6 lead over the Topeka West Chargers, and they still held a lead late into the fourth quarter until West’s touchdown drive gave the Chargers a 26-21 lead and broke up the dreams of Turner’s first win in its new stadium.

The teams traded scoreless possessions in the first quarter, and Turner got on the board first two minutes into the second quarter on Xavier Wimer’s 2-yard touchdown run.

The score was set up by a 26-yard Wimer toss to Jaron Brown, who made a fantastic catch, reaching around the defensive back’s helmet to secure the ball and keep hold as he hit the turf.

Topeka West took advantage of a short Turner punt to put together a scoring drive just before halftime. West quarterback Malachi Berg ran in from nine yards out, but a failed extra point try left the Chargers down 7-6.

A third quarter interception and long runback by safety Diego Castillo set up another Bears’ touchdown. Running back Donovan Moore ran the ball from the 20 down to the 2-yard line, and Wimer punched it on with two consecutive keepers. A successful 2-point conversion gave the Bears a 15-6 lead going into the final quarter.

The Chargers scored two touchdowns in quick succession in the fourth quarter, the second one set up by a Bears fumble on their own 21-yard line. West failed both 2-point conversions and led 18-15 midway through the quarter.

Turner recovered the lead on another amazing catch by Brown, who snagged the ball after it was tipped by two West defenders and then raced to the end zone for a 60-yard score.

The Turner defense held Topeka West on downs and the Bears got the ball on their own 35 with under 6 minutes remaining but couldn’t make headway on offense.

A good punt by Turner pushed the Chargers to start at their own 28-yard line, but a long pass to the Turner 25 and then a quarterback run to the 2-yard line set the West offense up for the heartbreaking, lead-taking score.

After the game ended, some players were visibly emotional about the loss, when a win had been so close. Head coach Rick Byers consoled them, telling the gathered team that their hurt was a good sign because they cared about the game, and that their future successes would be that much sweeter because of the difficult times now.

The Turner Golden Bears will head to De Soto High School for next Friday’s match starting at 7 p.m.

The loss on a late Topeka West touchdown drive was a tough one for players and fans. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

Junior receiver Jaron Brown leaped to bring down a pass. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

Senior running back Donovan Moore ran a sweep around the right side. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

Turner’s homecoming queen and king from the class of 1972, Connie (DeCoster) Rodriguez and Dick Leeper, were on hand for the 2022 homecoming ceremony. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

The Turner marching band performed at halftime. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

Senior receiver hauled in a catch for a first down. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

Junior quarterback Xavier Wimer plowed through a pile of Topeka West defenders to get to the goal line. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

Junior receiver Jaron Brown reached around the defender to snare a 26-yard reception. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

Junior quarterback Xavier Wimer ran for a short gain. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

 

Topeka West senior quarterback Malachi Berg was stopped just short of the goal line. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)

Thunderstorms, rain return this week

Thunderstorms are possible Tuesday night. There is an 80 percent chance of thunderstorms Tuesday night, and a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms Monday night, after 1 a.m. (National Weather Service graphic)
Wyandotte County is in an area of severe drought. (National Weather Service graphic)

The chance of thunderstorms is in this week’s forecast from the National Weather Service.

There is a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms tonight, and an 80 percent chance of thunderstorms on Tuesday night, according to the weather service.

From a quarter-inch to a half-inch of rain is possible with these storms, the weather service said.

A few storms could be strong with small hail and gusty winds, according to the weather service.

The storm will be moving into the area from the south and southwest.

Today, Columbus Day, it will be sunny, with a high near 81 and a calm wind becoming south southwest around 6 mph in the afternoon, the weather service said.

Tonight, there is a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 a.m., according to the weather service. The low will be around 62 with a south wind of 6 to 10 mph, gusting as high as 21 mph. Less than a tenth of an inch of rain is possible.

Tuesday, there is a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1 p.m., the weather service said. The high will be near 81 with a south southwest wind of 11 to 20 mph, gusting as high as 31 mph.

Tuesday night, there is an 80 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1 a.m., according to the weather service. The low will be around 57 with a south southwest wind of 10 to 14 mph, gusting as high as 31 mph. Between a quarter and half-inch of rain is likely.

Wednesday, it will be partly sunny, then gradually sunny, with a high near 70, the weather service said. A west northwest wind of 6 to 10 mph will gust as high as 21 mph.

Wednesday night, it will be clear, with a low of 47, according to the weather service.

Thursday, it will be sunny, with a high near 64, the weather service said.

Thursday night, it will be clear, with a low of 42, according to the weather service.

Friday, it will be sunny, with a high near 69, the weather service said.

Friday night, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 51, according to the weather service.

Saturday, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 73, the weather service said.

Saturday night, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 47, according to the weather service.

Sunday, it will be sunny, with a high near 62, the weather service said.

Sporting KC season finale Sunday at Dallas

Sporting Kansas City will close out the club’s 2022 campaign this Sunday on the road against FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.

All seven Western Conference clashes will kick off at 4:18 p.m. on the final day of the regular season – preceded by seven Eastern Conference match-ups starting at 1:55 p.m. – and MLSsoccer.com will hold a live watchalong show to capture all of the Decision Day drama on the league’s YouTube and Twitch channels.

Sporting’s showdown with FC Dallas will air live on 38 The Spot with three hours of coverage beginning at 4 p.m. The telecast will mark the end of an era for local television broadcasts in MLS as the league has partnered with Apple to stream matches through the Apple TV app from 2023 through 2032.

Sunday’s match will also stream live on SportingKC.com and in the Sporting KC app for viewers in Kansas and Missouri (excluding the St. Louis area per MLS policy), as well as ESPN+ for out-of-market subscribers, in addition to radio coverage on ESPN KC 94.5 FM and La Grande 1340 AM. Sporting KC Pub Partners across the Midwest will show the match, including an enhanced watch party at Blind Box Barbecue (1601 Village West Parkway) in Kansas City, Kansas.

While Sporting KC has been eliminated from postseason contention, FC Dallas have secured a berth in the Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs under first-year head coach Nico Estevez. A draw or win on Sunday would clinch a home playoff match and the club’s first top-three finish in the West since winning the Supporters’ Shield in 2016, whereas a loss could see FC Dallas slip to fifth in the standings. Based on Decision Day results, Sporting can finish as high as 17th or as low as 24th in the overall table which will determine the club’s position in a variety of MLS roster mechanisms.

Sporting enters Sunday’s season finale on a strong run of form with wins in each of the team’s past three matches and riding a seven-game unbeaten run (5-0-2) which stands as the longest active streak in MLS. A road result at FC Dallas would see Sporting conclude the campaign with the best finish to a regular season in team history.

Defensively, Sporting KC has four shutouts in the last six matches including a 1-0 victory over Seattle last Sunday. Willy Agada scored the game-winning goal and now has eight goals in his last eight starts, moving the 23-year-old into a tie with club captain Johnny Russell for the team’s Golden Boot.

Fellow forward Daniel Salloi – who assisted Agada’s goal last week and leads the team with 12 goal contributions — sits one behind with seven regular season goals to go along with five assists. Salloi and Russell each have six regular season goals in their careers against FC Dallas, which is tied with Preki for most of any KC player in the all-time series.

In addition to the Golden Boot, Agada is also in contention to break a club record that has stood for more than 20 years since Miklos Molnar scored 12 times in 17 regular season appearances in 2000 to set the bar for the best goals per game ratio in a single season by a KC player. Currently, Agada’s eight goals in 12 regular season matches has him atop the chart with 0.73 goals per game – narrowly ahead of Molnar’s mark of 0.71 goals per game.

One other Sporting KC player could also write his name into the record books on Sunday. Since Major League Soccer expanded the regular season to 34 matches in 2011, only two SKC field players have started in all 34 matches in a single season: Ilie Sanchez and Graham Zusi in 2018. Midfielder Remi Walter is poised to accomplish the feat as the Frenchman ranks second in MLS in distance covered (220.4 miles) and third among field players in recoveries (246).

After going winless in the club’s first seven regular season finales away from home between 1996 and 2006, Sporting Kansas City has won five of the team’s last seven regular season finales on the road dating back to 2007 when KC defeated FC Dallas. Sporting prevailed in each of its two visits to Toyota Stadium in 2021 — against an FC Dallas side that hasn’t lost more than one regular season game to any other opponent at home over the last five seasons — and in the most recent meeting, SKC eliminated FC Dallas from this year’s U.S. Open Cup with a 4-2 come-from-behind victory in extra time in May.

While Sporting is unbeaten in seven straight matches, FC Dallas enters with a six-game home unbeaten run and the best defense in the Western Conference with only 36 goals conceded on the year. Maarten Paes has the second best goals against average among MLS starting goalkeepers and has helped the club to its greatest year-over-year improvement, going from 33 points in 2021 (7-15-12) to 50 points to date in 2022 (13-9-11).

FC Dallas forward Jesus Ferreira has tied the club record with 18 goals this season and is the top scoring American in Major League Soccer. Fellow Designated Player Alan Velasco has contributed six goals and six assists in his debut season — including goals in back-to-back matches before missing the team’s last three games due to injury — and the FC Dallas midfield features U.S. Men’s National Team member Paul Arriola and summer signing Sebastian Lletget.

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