The team features power hitters, fast runners and a pitcher in Kellie White, who has been athlete-of-the-week. They are led by a dedicated and vocal senior line-up that features two future college athletes in centerfielder Janessa Swinney and Ashley Dobbie at second base. That team is the kind that goes undefeated to win EKL in an 18-2 season, so far.

You can tell this team's excitement in every cheer and in every celebratory Facebook status.  I went to a game recently and the energy was incredible.  The crowd was filled with parents, and unfortunately no student section.  These girls are underappreciated, period.

The seniors, like myself, ended classes last week, but these girls kept practicing and winning.  They even had practice at 3:00 before a 7:00 graduation where we appeared at 6.  I wish them the best of luck in postseason and I hope to see them in some of their last games.

Dobbie will continue at Benedictine next year as Swinney goes to UMKC. 

The races seemed to go well. Only two people wiped out over the hurdles and there seemed to be no other events like that.  We stayed mostly on the track side, while two other reporters covered the field events.

Between some of the races, Rachel and I would walk around and talk to the athletes or just talk.  We walked by a couple girls who must have been exhausted and that is where the title came about.  We turned our heads in a "confused beagle look" as anyone who owns a beagle would understand and decided to write the quote down and use it many times in the future. 

The performance that stood out to me was Saint Thomas Aquinas senior Kyle Hanson.  The kid is just talented.  I used to run cross country so I have seen his performances before, but yesterday was special.  He was the last leg of the 4x800 and when he was handed the baton he was around 5th place.  By the end however, he was several seconds ahead of even the second place winner as he literally ran away with the race.  His next outstanding performance was in the 2 mile.  this is not surprising as I said he is a regular cross country runner and this race is actually a little short for him.  He paced himself from the beginning, but led the pack almost the entire time. In the last lap he took off and beat the only close contender to win both events he had participated in for the day.  He won in 9:50.21 which calculates to around a 4:75 mile.  Wow.

Kyle is going to K-State next year to run cross country along with teammate P.J. Greer who I have written about before.  I wish them the best of luck at the next level.

By the end, the crowd had waned significantly, but the dedicated reporters battled on.  The last thing I wrote in my reporter's notebook was the team scores.  For the girls, Olathe South and Blue Valley North tied for the title.  On the boys side Shawnee Mission West won and Aquinas placed 5th.

The game will be hosted by the NJCAA National Champion JCCC Cavaliers.  So it will be at JCCC at 6:30 on Saturday.  Be there!

Aquinas will be most likely be represented by the Bourquin brothers, Zach and Beau.  There is some question as to whether or not they will be available for the game.

Some of the other guys that I have seen and can recommend watching are Magdziarz, VanGerpen, French, Payne, Washington, Arel and Chmielewski. 

Below, I took the rosters for each team from the JCCC website.

Gold Team
Ryan Magdziarz – Blue Valley
Tyler VanGerpen – Blue Valley
Jacob French – Blue Valley West
Bruce Reed – Olathe East
Xavier Carter – Olathe Northwest
Travis Ryan – Olathe Northwest
Jordan Bichelmeyer – St. James Academy
Beau Bourquin – St. Thomas Aquinas
Zach Bourguin – St. Thomas Aquinas
Winn Clark – Shawnee Mission East
Marcus Webb – Shawnee Mission East
 
White Team
Hal Payne – Bishop Miege
Aaron Washington – Blue Valley Northwest
Jamel Townsend – DeSoto
Tanner Rainbolt – Mill Valley
Lance Chandler – Olathe North
Gary Watts – Olathe North
Rustin Dowd – Olathe South
Ross Ellrich – Olathe South
Joe McBride – Olathe South
Ryan Arel – Shawnee Mission Northwest
Connor Chmielewski – Shawnee Mission Northwest

The score was tied at eight after the first quarter, but the Scots broke out their 3-point shooters scoring 20 points in the second quarter to the Saints' six.  Through the second half the lead fluctuated between 16 and nine before Highland Park pulled it out to 13 and won.

Over-all it was a good game for the Saints, The worked hard and had a lot of great plays.  The high-light reel would feature one play in particular.  Zach Bourquin blocks shot on the defensive end, baseball pass down the court to his twin brother Beau, the pass goes long and Beau flies after it.  While air born he passes behind-the-back to Kevin Sweeney for two points.

Sweeney led the team with 14.  The Saints graduate eight seniors this year in Zach Bourquin, Alex Keith, Beau Bourquin, Adam Coatney, Mike Etzkorn, Jake Darnell, Mike Rzeszut and Kevin Sweeney.  They will start next year similarly to this year with one returning starter: Tommy Harrison.

Great year Saints! I loved watching you play!

-------------------------------------------------

The girls played last night and also lost their quarterfinal match-up.  They played Bishop Carroll who was led by senior Julia Marshall who finished with an astonishing 33 points. 

The Saints were led by Abby Willis who finished with 13 and DaShawn Harden who finished with 11.  A major advantage for the Saints is that they are young. They are graduating no seniors this year and their sophomores and juniors have already established a pretty strong team. 

Great job girls!  See you next year.

The game was hard fought with long scoring runs by each team.  Wyandotte led most of the first half by five points or so leading by only one at the half.  The Bulldog attack was led by 11 3-pointers in the game.  My dad always says, "It's hard to beat a three with a two." That was a problem for Saints during the first half, but they got the Bulldogs under control holding them for only five points in the third.  That allowed the Saints to take the lead which they kept for most of the second half.

In the fourth quarter the Saints' lead vacillated from nine points to two.  The last minutes of the game were the most interesting as it came down to free-throws which the Bourquins took a hold of hitting seven between the two of them.

Under a minute, Zach Bourquin got past defenders for an easy lay-up and followed that play with a couple of free-throws after a quick foul which put the Saints up four.

Beau led scorers with 15. Zach and Kevin Sweeney followed with 13.

The Saints were presented with the trophy and rejoiced.  The Saints play next at the state tournament in Topeka at 3:45 on Thursday.

Good Luck Saints!

After the Trailblazers hit the first shot, the Saints tied it up and took the lead.  They were ahead at least one posession for the remainder of the game.  The Saints had their highest lead at nine before the Trailblazers cut the lead down to two.

Sophomore DaShawn Harden it clutch shots all game despite the fans continuing to scream "airball" for the rest of the game after one bad shot in the 1st quarter.  After being fouled, she finished the game with a freethrow to extend the lead to three before Aquinas won.

 The Saints rushed to the locker room before returning to pose with their new substate champion trophy.

Great Job Girls!

Boys play tomorrow at Garner-Edgerton at 5.

The Bourquins were kind enough to invite me into the team parent caravan as the team photographer and reporter.  Five other students showed up.  This was the first round of Sub-state which the boys have passed setting them up against Wyandotte on Saturday at Gardner-Edgerton.

The most interesting and controversial play of the game came in the first quarter when senior Zach Bourquin took the ball on a fast break and finished with a powerful two-handed dunk.  The play was re-called and Zach received a technical because he hung on the hoop after the play.  He said the "T" was worth it though.  That marks two games in a row in which he has dunked. 

Alex Keith had a great night shooting with several points on good plays. Keith led scorers with an impressive 12 points.  Beau Bourquin also had pretty good plays and strong finishes sending him to the charity stripe.  He finished with 9.

There were a lot of early traveling calls, but not many timeouts and very few fouls leading to a game which was finished in just over an hour.  The Saints made shots and every player who suited up got to play. 

Good Luck Saints on Saturday!

Girls play tomorrow night at 7:45 in Gardner-Edgerton against the home team.  The Kansas City Star chose this game in their list of Kansas Sub state Basketball: Five Things to Watch.

For the boys team it was Senior Night.  The line-up features eight seniors in Zach Bourquin, Alex Keith, Beau Bourquin, Adam Coatney, Mike Etzkorn, Jake Darnell, Mike Rzeszut and Kevin Sweeney. 

The boys started on a 7-2 run and led for the whole first quarter.  They fell behind in the second before trading leads in the second half.  The game had many incredible event such as an awesome dunk from Zach, an inbounds play thrown off the defender's back into play by Beau who led the team with 19 points, a coast-to-coast run by Trevor Releford and most of all, the ending was fascinating. 

The game was a perfect rivalry when it came down to last possession shots.  The Saints were up three after free-throws from Zach Bourquin with four seconds left.  The crowd went crazy and so did the team.  On the other end Rodney Givens made a surprising 4-point-play when he hit a three and was fouled.  Needless to say, he hit the free-throw and Miege won the game by one point.  It was frustrating for the Saints, but honestly this was probably the best high-school basketball game that I have ever seen.  It was a great game, and both teams should be proud.

 The girls also had a very hard fought game.  They fell 39-43 to the Stags.  Scoring was led by sophomore Nelly Weledji who finished with 15.  Another obscure event occurred in their game when the tip-off had to be done three times because every time it ended in with no one in possession.  Miege was on fire with their three-pointers in the fourth quarter. Another cool feature of the game was the National Anthem sung by senior Kyle Brown.

For JV, the boys finished on top 45-44.  It was a fast-paced game with a lot of steals and it stayed close the whole game.  With 35 seconds left the game was tied at 44 before Miege turned over the ball and fouled.  Dagen Reed hit the winning free throw. The ending was debated because Miege shot a buzzer shot which was not counted.  Richard Davila led scorers with 17.

The girls started the game on an amazing 17-0 run to start the game which they then won handily 47-19.  They looked powerful causing turnovers and making shots.  The team was led by Blakely Swanson who finished with 12 and Sarah Kwapiszeski with 10.

Over-all, this was a strong end to the regular season for the boys and girls varsity and junior varsity teams.  For varsity, next comes sub-state competition.

I can't say that the start was surprising when the Huskies' sophomore star Brett Comer hit a shot on the first possession.  It was not shocking either that the entire team was on fire behind the arch.  But the Saints were able to overcome the talented huskies with a couple forced turnover which resulted in easy baskets.

Once again, the Saints were led by their seniors: Zach and Beau Bourquin, Kevin Sweeney and Alex Keith.  The Saints played together well and piled up the assists making the extra pass when it was beneficial for a basket.  The Saints also played one of the best transition games that I have seen; from steals and lay-ups to getting set for their press after a made basket. 

The dance team looked lovely in their second-to-last performance together as they prepare for their Annual Winter Finale.  The seniors were introduced at the half and got to walk across the gym with their parents. 

Next up, the Saints will travel to BVN on Friday night and then host rival Bishop Miege on senior night (check out the pics from last game) before heading to sub-state.

Happy Birthday to Coach Reilly! Great win Saints!

The Saints were locked in battle with the BVW Jags.  It was their senior night and the gym was pretty packed.  Their star 6-9 Senior Brandon Ubel led all scorers with 12 points in the contest as Aquinas fell 31-29.

The most fascinating thing about the game was the pace.  BVW was able to slow the game down leading at the half 15-11.  While the pace was slowed down the game went by quickly.  With all the senior night traditions the first half only took a half hour.  After a cheerleader debacle at half-time where the wrong music was repeatedly played leaving the four senior cheerleaders baffled at mid court, the teams came back for the second half. 

The largest lead of the game came from BVW at 10 points, but that lead dwindles on a 10-2 run from the Saints in the fourth to tie the game with about 2:30 left.  Out of the tie, BVW hit a couple critical free-throws leaving the Saints with half a minute to tie or take the lead. The Saints could not hit a shot after several attempts and strong rebounds.  The ball flew out of bounds off the Jags.  With 2.4 seconds the Saints had a last chance and the ball was in Zach Bourquin's hands, but he missed a three.  I am not disappointed; I would want the ball in his hands.  Zach led Aquinas scorers with 8.

The Saints have their senior night coming up with Miege at home.  It will be a battle, but that is what makes the private school rivalry awesome.  Before that however, the Saints have chances for revenge against BVNW and BVN.

Aquinas came out to play with Zach Bourquin scoring two field goals, followed by a 3-pointer from Alex Keith and another three from Tommy Harrison.   Aquinas led for most of the game before the fourth quarter. 

Where the Mustangs tied up the game and took the lead with a three-pointer from Ehlers, one of his 7.  He played well and the Mustangs over-all kept their composure and did what it took to win.  Though their record is 6-6, they put up quite a fight.

In the last few possessions, the play was sloppy and there were a lot of fouls.  After Ehlers made his basket which gave the Mustangs their first lead, the Saints tried to foul to get the ball back.  With that the lead spread to five with around nine seconds left and the game was over. 

The teams were well matched with most of the players listed around or under 6-4.  BVN was able to make perimeter shots, knocking down 11 3-pointers.   The Saints played well in the lane, but came up short when the game was on the line.

One sweet STA moment though: a monster block from Beau Bourquin in the first quarter which drew deserving “oohs and ahhs” from the crowd.

It was an excellent match-up in a strong Eastern Kansas League conference.  The teams meet again on February 20 at BVN.  The next game for Aquinas however is the big rivalry game at Miege on Tuesday, where the undefeated Stags are being led by Trevor Releford and Rodney Givens who broke out with a 35 point performance against BVNW last night.   

            Bishop Miege continued their undefeated season with the tournament title with a 78-57 win over Shawnee Mission Northwest.  Washburn-Rural took third place with a 56-41 win over Saint Thomas Aquinas.  Mill Valley finished fifth winning 63-51 over Shawnee Mission South.  Bishop Carroll beat Northeast-KCMO 83-47.

1st Bishop-Miege 78                2^nd Shawnee Mission Northwest 57

The Stags were led early by Junior Rodney Givens who scored 14 of the team’s 21 points in the first quarter on four 3-pointers, he finished with 18.  Givens was named to the tournament all-star team.  After that however, Junior Trevor Releford who was named tournament MVP went on fire and scored 31 points in the rest of the game.  They kept a solid lead and were in sync as a team with assists and well executed fast breaks.

The Cougars moved quickly, but fell behind early trailing 21-17 in the first and 43-26 by the half.  Ryan Arel who had led the team in each of the first two teams was held to a tournament low, but teammates Steve Carver and AJ Spencer stepped up finishing with 18 and 15 points respectively.  Ryan Arel was named to the all tournament team.  Senior Connor Chmielewski was given the Mr. Hustle award for the tournament.

3^rd Washburn-Rural 56 4^th Saint Thomas Aquinas 41   

The Junior Blues had succeeded with a solid defensive front playing man-to-man and triple teaming the Saints down low.  After being tied at 24 at the half, Washburn-Rural took the lead.  Their attack was led by Senior Bobby Chipman’s 20 points.  He was also placed on the All-Tournament team.  Senior Brett Ash also contributed 18 points.

The Saints came out with a 9-3 run to start the game.  They were led by Junior Tommy Harrison.  The team played hard, but the shots would not fall in the 4^th quarter and they were held to only five points.  The guys are having some trouble so far, but still have a 2-1 record in the EKL.   

5^th Mill Valley 63                      6^th Shawnee Mission South 51

Both teams had a slow start, but Mill Valley popped out to an early lead, the team was led by 14 points from Sophomore Jonathan Anackwe.  He had a great game with blocks and fast-break lay-ups. 

The Raiders were once again led by Junior Will Spradling who finished with 17 points.  He finished in 1^st place in the 3-point contest for the second year in a row.  He was also named to the All-Tournament team. 

7^th Bishop Carroll 83                8^th Northeast-KCMO 47

The Golden Eagles were led by football star Blake Bell who capped off his 20 point effort with a monster dunk towards the end of the game.  They were able to stop Northeast in the lane with their considerably taller line-up.  They were impressive on fast breaks and their 3-2 defense was restrictive. 

 Northeast had a hard time in the tournament, but have one of the most talented guards that I have seen.  I know that I have praised him in the other days, but today he scored 34 of his team’s 47.  He found ways to tear through the lane, and then score easily.  He was rightfully named to the All-Tournament team as well.

Overall, it was a great tournament and it was fun to watch.  The hospitality room was not too shabby either.  I hope everyone who went enjoyed it, and good luck to each team in the remainder of their season.   

Mill Valley 65               Northeast – KCMO 59

The Mill Valley Jaguars were impressive on the fast break. The team is relatively small and is quick.  Last night they were led by Sterling Roaf, but tonight Senior Max Carroll stepped up to lead the team with 15.  He also hit 18 3-pointers in the free-throw contest.  

The Northeast Vikings, were once again led by Junior Daylen Robinson who scored 23.  He had a couple reverse lay-ups, but bottom line, he is a playmaker.  He is the leader of the team and he is quick to score in the lane.

Shawnee Mission South 50                   Bishop Carroll 38

The crowd played a major part in this game.  The parents from both sides were very vocal and mostly angry.  The play was generally sloppy with an emphasis on fast breaks. It was also odd that both the teams wear green and gold.

SMS was led again by Junior Will Spradling with 25 points.  He is rumored to have orally-committed to KSU to play in 2010.  He is a good ball handler and a great shot.

Bishop Carroll was led tonight by senior Mark Powell who finished with 17. Last night’s star Blake Bell was held to only four points in the game.  

Bishop Miege 65                      Washburn-Rural 44

The first play of the game was a Trevor Releford spin-move for a lay-up.  Miege started with a 15-0 run in the beginning of the game.  That set a tone for double-figure leads in each quarter. The Stags’ were led by Releford who finished with 18 and transfer Rodney Givens with 17.   This team is dangerous on the run, but fun to watch.  The Stag fans awkwardly started a “This is our House cheer,” which is odd since this is not their house.  The Stags are still undefeated on the season and are the defending champions of the tournament.

Washburn-Rural has the most unruly fans.  They were actually almost kicked out. My guess is that it had something to do with the “you let your team down” cheer which was chanted after a bad turnover by the other team.  The team was led by senior Bobby Chipman who scored 20 points.  He has a nice stroke and listed at 6’8” he is a force in the lane.

Shawnee Mission Northwest 56                        Saint Thomas Aquinas 49

The game had a curious start with each team making only 3-pointers for a 9-6 Saints led beginning.

The SMNW Cougars are impressive.  They play as a complete unit and are strong in transition.  Their usual leader, senior Ryan Arel was held to 10 points, but senior Connor Chmielewski stepped up with 19. Arel took hold and made big shots as the Cougars took the lead and slid away.

The Saints played well, but looked tired. They were led by Beau Bourquin with 12, Alex Keith with 10 and Zach Bourquin with eight.  There were a couple debatable charge calls toward the end of the game which added to the emotional atmosphere.

Tomorrow

7^th Place - Northeast vs. Bishop Carroll @ 12 Noon

5^th Place – Mill Valley vs. SMS @ 1:45

3^rd Place – STA vs. Washburn-Rural

1^st Place – Miege vs. SMNW

SMNW 67       Mill Valley 40

The SMNW Cougars were led by Ryan Arel.  This kid is impressive.  He has a smooth shot and knows how to move with the ball he finished with 23 points.  The team as a whole moves together and is dangerous with crisp passes and quick transition game.  It is no surprise why these guys are so highly regarded.  AJ Spencer also impressed me.  He moves well in the lane and cuts for lay-ups easily.  He did however leave the game with an apparent ankle injury which was wrapped with ice.

The Mill Valley Jaguars were over-all out played.  They were led by senior Sterling Roaf who finished with 7 points.  They seemed to be thrown off by the match-zone and had trouble when they were contained to the half-court game.

Washburn-Rural 61      Shawnee Mission South 37

The Washburn Rural Junior Blues showed up with only four “super-fans”, but brought the intensity it took to win the game.   They were led by Bobby Chipman who finished with 17. 

The SMS Raiders were led by junior Will Spradling who finished the game with 18 after starting the game 3-4 from three-point-range to score his teams only nine points in the first quarter.

The game seemed to go well, and I apologize that my coverage is a little weak.  I snuck home for pot roast during the game.

Saint Thomas Aquinas 61         Northeast-KCMO 50

Aquinas students were let out of school over a half-hour early from school, so that generated excitement for the game.  The Saints started with an interesting line-up because normal starter Beau Bourquin sat out the first half.  In his place Mike Rzeszut started.  Zach Bourquin led scorers with 21 points while Kevin Sweeney and Beau each contributed 10.  The Saints looked pretty good coming off a tough loss to Blue Valley Northwest in league play.

Northeast was impressively led by Daylen Robinson who with 25 points scored half of their total.  He was versatile hitting three-pointers, jumpshots and a couple free-throws. He was fast and powerful with the ball. Overall, he was an impressive player and the Aquinas players agreed that he was one of the fastest players that they have guarded.

Bishop Miege 60          Bishop Carroll 43

Miege was led by their traditional trifecta of Rodney Givens, Trevor Relefor and Justin McCay.  They all scored in double-figures while Releford led the team with 17 points.  His older brother, current KU player, Travis Releford looked on.  One of the most fascinating plays of the night was a monster-dunk by Curtis Okafor which sent the whole gym into shock.  It was powerful and perfect.  From the way the team played, it is not hard to realize their unbeaten status and they will be a force as tournament play continues.  They are also the defending champions.

The Bishop Carroll Golden Eagles were led by stand-out junior Blake Bell.  He finished the game with 21 points.  Bell is also recognized for his football skills.  Listed at 6-6 200, he is a powerful and versatile quarterback and power-forward.  Scoring almost half of his team’s 43 points is was obvious that he was the star of his team.  For a while it even appeared that he would never miss.

After an exciting first day, the brackets are updated and the next round begins.  Tomorrow look for:

Northeast-KCMO vs. Mill Valley @ 3:00

SMS vs. Bishop Carroll @ 4:45

Washburn Rural vs. Bishop Miege @ 6:30

STA vs. SMNW @ 8:00

The game started in favor of the Huskies with sophomore Brett Comer making two threes to hit the Saints early.  He finished the game with 13. 

The Huskies were up 11 at the half and kept the lead as it climbed to 18 points at the end of the third. 

The game was quite emotional with several agressive loose balls and a technical.  Parents and athletes were fighting each other. 

For the Saints, Alex Keith and Zach Bourquin led with 8 a piece, Mike Rzeszut had 5.

The Saints fall to 4-4 for the season, 2-1 in EKL.  They will host the Saints Classic next Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

(STA journalism just got a new camera, and I used it for the first time tonight, so there will be some pictures up Monday.)

Fresh back from break, I talked to the Bourquins while walking into school and asked them if they were ready to come back.  Zach said, "It has been way too many practices without a game." Beau agreed.

The Saints came out to play after trading off baskets until they were tied at nine, the Saints took off to lead the 1st quarter 20-9.  By half-time they increased the lead to 36-23 before letting the Tigers back in in the 3rd which ended 53-47. 

In my earlier EKL scouting report I had identified Magdziarz and senior Tyler VanGerpen as the threats and that stood true as VanGerpen ende with 9.  Magdziarz, who finished with a game-high 28 points had a unique way of compiling his score with five 3-pointers, two dunks, seven fieldgoals and one free-throw.  He had control and when allowed an open court successfully drove coast-to-coast and scored.

For the Saints there was a pretty even attack from four players.  Zach led scorers with 19, folloed by Beau with 17, Kevin Sweeney with 15 and Alex Keith with 14.  The Aquinas effort was highlighted by a floater in the lane from Zach and an impressive block.  Micke Rzeszut also contributed three points and looked strong a couple games out of injured reserve.

There was some controversy that caused a double-technical and seperate foul shots.  I am not sure exactly what happened, but obviously it was a little odd.

Towards the end of the game the Blue Valley fans could be heard chanting "Let's Play Football."  They did beat us this year in football, but I ahve always thought it is an odd cheer to break out, I mean, I think it says "Fine, we aren't good at this lets reminisce about when we were good at other things."

Overall, it is a strong start to league play for both teams.

Both teams were sloppy, but to some degree it is understandable in their first game off of a long winter break.  A rough first quarter left the score tied at 9. A low second qarter led to a 17-15 Saints lead at the half.  The Saints fell behind in the 3rd, ending 22-25 before the 4th.

The Lady Saints are in an interesting situation this year with no senior players on the team and very few returning performers.  The team is no doubt highlighted by Sophomore Dashawn Harden.  Though she does not always make a massive scoring impact, she has a presence on the court.  She handles the ball well and is extremely dangerous on a drive in the lane. 

She and Junior Melanie Siscos were the two heros tonight for various reasons.  It was Siscos who scored the and-one after being fouled on a layup to tie up the score at 33 with around 2:20 left in the 4th.  It was Siscos again with a basket to tie the score at 55 with around 30 seconds left in the game.  From there Harden had an impressive block on the defensive end to turn around and get fouled to make the game winning free throw with 2 seconds left.

The girls worked hard and they came away with a win.  It is a good start for the conference season and I wish them luck through the season.

BISHOP MIEGE (3-0)
Transfer student, Givens is already making a strong statement.  He
scored 30 in his Miege debut and followed that performance with 23 and
20 points in the next two games.  He leads the team in scoring and is at
least temporarily filling the gap left by graduate Travis Releford who
is playing for the University of Kansas.  Releford’s younger brother
Trevor scored 15 in the first game and 24 in the next game.  In the
third game however he was held to only two points because of an ankle
injury from the former game.

BLUE VALLEY (2-1)

            Blue Valley has been led early by Maedziarz who scored 22, 29 and 33 in their first three games.  He is followed by Van Gerpen who scored 12, 16 and 10.  The team will be participating in tomorrow’s games at Avila along with other Kansas and Missouri schools.

BLUE VALLEY NORTH (2-2)
    The Mustangs are led by Ehlers who scored 16, 13, 15 and 17 in the
first four games of the season.  He is followed by McLerran who scored
13, 16, 15 and 6.  Next is Wagner who scored 3, 14, 10 and 12.  BVN
participated in the Jim Draper Classic hosted by Blue Valley Northwest.
They took home the 5th place trophy.  They looked impressive from what I saw at the tournament.

BLUE VALLEY NORTHWEST (2-2)
            The Huskies are led by sophomore Brett Comer.  He has led his team in scoring in every game with 19, 15, 16 and 23.  When BVNW played STA he had an impressive floater in the lane and many impressive drives to the basket.  He is a kid to watch for.  He is assisted by Davis who scored 12, 10, 9 and 11, and Washington who scored 8, 11, 3 and 12.  Though STA pulled away with the first of the three season match-ups all will be battles.

BLUE VALLEY WEST (1-2)
    The Jaguar line-up features a senior, Brandon Ubel a power
forward, who is committed to the University of Nebraska to play
basketball next year.  He is leading scorers with 22, 24 and 16 in the
first three games.  Last year, BVW lost another Division 1 athlete,
Robert Lewandowski who went to Texas Tech University.

SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS (2-2)

            Now, to my boys.  I have been at all four of their games from Southeast to Blue Valley Northwest.  The team is led by a 3-man front of Beau Bourquin, Zach Bourquin and Kevin Sweeney.  In the second game, Beau had a career high of 24 points.  In the other games he scored 16, 16 and 12.   Zach, the only returning starter from last year’s team had 12, 14, 9 and 16 points.  Sweeney had 15, 15, and 14 points before being held to only four in the loss to Belvue West.  The Saints also are headed to the games at Avila tomorrow.

Have a great season athletes and fans!

The Saints entered the game after a frustrating first game which resulted in a 2 point loss on a last second shot in overtime to the Southeast Knights.

Zach Bourquin made the first basket of the season for the Saints, Tommy Harrison hit the first three pointer and Kevin Sweeney pulled down the first rebound.  Beau Bourquin led the team with 16 points.

They came out to play with a slightly modified starting line-up that featured Seniors Kevin Sweeney, Zach Bourquin, Beau Bourquin, Alex Keith, and Junior Tommy Harrison.

Sweeney jumped for the ball and it flew out of bounds, the Saints had possession.  Beau made the first shot of the game and was fouled, traditional three point play.  This started the 7-1 run that the Saints had to start the game.

The game overall was sloppy.  There were a lot of fouls, a lot of travels and way too many missed lay-ups by both teams.  But, out of the mix there were moments of glory, namely Sweeny’s dunk.  His face was great, like he really did not expect for that to happen.  He got hi-fives all night.  Sweeney ended the game with around 15 points.  Zach had some great behind-the-back passes and ended the game with around 14 points. But the real star was Beau.  According to my count he ended the game with a domineering 24 points well distributed with free-throws, field-goals and three pointers.

This game also featured the super-fan cheering efforts of Derek Damas.  After the game, the best fans headed to Aquinas for a basketball double-header while the girls team faced the Sumner Sabres.  The guys helped with the three-point contest during half-time for the Lady Saints Classic.

The team scored first with a touchdown from a quarterback keep by Ricky Nachbar.  We followed that up with a field goal by David Baska.  The first half ended 17-7.  The Saints accomplished two interceptions and a blocked punt along with the scoring.

Early in the second half, Nachbar went down with an injury, (I was literally right where he lunged out of bounds and called for Lillis and Travis the trainer, it was ugly).  Head coach Kevin Kopecky went to former starting quarterback and current Linebacker, Beau Borquin.  Bourquin did a a great job stepping into the job with several passes to brother Zach Bourquin.     

After the win, the team celbrated for a couple minutes until coaches choraled them to recieve the trophy.  After that the team ran to the fans and the fans ran onto the field. The next maybe 20 minutes were full of hugs (coach-coach, coach-player, player-player, player-parent, etc.)  There was also a discreet thumbs-up from school president, Dr. Bill Ford.

In the last blog I mentioned my chat with Jan Morin, mother of OL star Jake Morin.  She and I found each other in the chaos and shared a hug and talked about how proud we were of the boys.  "I knew these boys were tough, they wouldn't go down without a fight," Jan said.

A good majority of the boys got interviewed and they are so happy.  There was even a dance party in the locker room.  I saw it driving back to school.

For 16-point underdogs, we weren't too bad.  Congratulations boys!

1st STATE FINAL - 1:00 p.m. Next Saturday @ Emporia State.  The Saints will play against the Hutchison Salthawks who won 42-21 over McPherson in their first year playing 5-A after moving down from 6-A.

It's Our Time! 

(Look for pictures soon!)

Tonight we had a school bonfire aptly named the "Go Saints, Beat Gardner" Bonfire.  Around 100 people showed up for the event.  The Saphire Dance Team performed, along with the cheerleaders and the Brigade band.  Head Coach Kevin Kopecky gave a couple words along with seniors Ryan Nelson, Zach Bourquin, David Baska and Kyle Brown.

The school is hyped up and is planning to show up in force with spirit buses.  The team is going for a histoic Aquinas record of getting past the state semi-finals.

The event ended with the team chant. "Who's time? Our time!" and a chorus of "When the Saint's Go Marching In"

The bonfire was so hot, most people had their backs turned in an awkward non facing circle.  There was also a t-shirt thrown in.  I heard tell that it was from an opposing athlete that was trying to crash the party. Hmm... Scandalous...

There was lots of cheering and general excitement.  A win would be nice in Gardner tomorrow.  On a scouting trip the team said they say signs all around town, so it will be a big game.  Jan Morin, mother of OL star Jake Morin, and I were running over the game details today and we decided that we can win this one. Our points? -we won last game 12-6 -we are playing a lot better than before this season -only one loss this season -these seniors really want it

It's Our Time.

I have to admit that I missed some of the game, when I left briefly to warm up.  Each team scored again and the final score was 49-20.  Zach Bourquin scored again on a 30-yard pass.

The Saints ended the game decisively on a fumble recovery with 27 seconds left in the game.  It was recovered at the Topeka 19 yard line.  There the teams ended the game and parted ways. 

The Saints had a team huddle after he game and were presented with the District Champion trophy.  The Saints next play Turner in another game at Aquinas on the 14th.

Aquinas is looking for their first state title in Football.  "This is Our Time"

The fans gradually gathered in and soon were huddling for warmth while cheering for the team and the managers alike.  It might be as cold as Russia in Rocky IV.  (Probably not, but the movie was on today and I love it.)

The game was started by an amazing kick-off return by senior Jordan Brandenburg that placed the Saints inside the 1.  Two plays later, Quarterback Ricky Nachbar ran it in, 1 yard, for a touchdown.  The Saints were on the board.  Soon after, Gabe Cunning ran in another touchdown after a 30 yard pass play giving the Saints a 14-0 lead.  David Baska's PATs have been perfect so far.  With 1:44 left in the first quarter, Topeka scored.

From there the Saints intercepted a pass and Brandenburg ran it 50 yards for a touchdown.  Gabe Cunning scored again, and Andy Grosdidier also scored.  Finally Zach Borquin scored.  The Saints have played well so far.

Also, props to the Soccer team who won 4-0 in their Semi-final game tonight.  They play for the state title tomorrow in Bonner Springs.  

More to come from the second half later!  Stay warm! 

Last Friday night was senior night for Aquinas football.  The game was against Gardner Edgerton. 

With 42 seniors, there was a lot to celebrate, and we did.  The seniors in the band were also announced.  Yeah Brigade! They went on to win 12-6.  I know that doesn't even sound like a legitimate football score, but I will try to explain the entertainment value.

The game started with the traditional honoring of seniors.  Then a quiet first quarter left scoreless.  Finally a score right be fore half time.  It was a 12-yard-pass from Senior Ricky Nachbar to Senior Zach Bourquin.  The best part of it, his twin brother Beau swooping in for congratulations.  After that there was a missed PAT which back-up quarterback and current LB picked up and threw towards the end zone.  It fell a little short, but was reminiscent of Kerry Meier in his instinct.    That led to the fourth, where the Beau Bourquin appeared again to complete a 49-yard touch down pass to Senior Chris Storm.  After that the Saints tried a 2-point-conversion, which obviously did not score.  The Trailblazers scored in the third and went for two which was read and in turn foiled by the Saint's defense.  The game ended after a glorious interception by Senior Jordan Brandenburg, DB, to hand the undefeated Trailblazers their first loss.  Both teams now sit at 7-1.

The game theme was "Winter Wonderland-Puffy Coats" which I fully supported because it was freezing.  There was the epic sign fail due to the KCTV 5 flyover (too embarrassing for non-students, I of course was not an instigator..), the crazy guy that verbally jousted with our fans and the classic cheers. 

Overall, it was nice to have a great Senior Night game.  Seniors on the team played well, and seniors in the crowd lovingly cheered.  This class is pretty great.  Maybe I'm biased, but I think the reporters are pretty great too. :)  Really how many girls talk to the Bourquins about KU sports and Jake Morin about his Rivals.com profile (Look for a feature story about Jake in the Sun Magazine Oct. 29)?  And yes, the Bourquin boys did mention that they read my blog, the shout out is a partial shout of to them, guys, you know I am a fan!

Way to go Senior Rockstars! 

Football team: "It's Our Time"

The football team plays next in Pittsburg on Friday night.  Halloween. 

On Tuesday morning, I walked into school and there were a couple of Fox 4 camera guys walking around with the tennis coach David Shriver.  It was because the Aquinas Girls Tennis team is their team of the week because they won state last weekend.  State is always a big accomplishment, but maybe more so for these girls, this year.  This is the first time that Aquinas tennis has ever won state.  Junior Nicole Jara won the singles title and Senior Elizabeth Close and Freshman Natalie Looney won the doubles title.  After the interesting split of the defending doubles champions Jara and Senior Lujan Brouwer de Koning, the team obviously still succeeded.  Congratulations girls on your first win!

The Girls Golf Team also took home a state title.  Junior Gianna Misenhelter won the individual title for the second year in a row and Senior Jill Stuckenshneider took third.  Along with Misenhelter and Stuckenschneider, Ali Kruse, Alexa Osbourn and Laura Tracy all placed in the top 11.  The Saints defended their title from last year.

The cross country team had an impressive showing at EKL last weekend.  C-Team boys and girls placed first along with JV boys and girls and the Varsity boys.  The Varsity girls placed second.  Seniors P.J. Greer, Kyle Hanson and Ben Grace took the top three spots in the Varsity boys race while Junior Ashley Washburn claimed her first EKL personal title.  That tournament ended the regular season and the varsity teams continue to the regional tournament this weekend.   

Tomorrow night will be senior night for Aquinas football.  We are set to play Gardner Edgerton who are 6-0 heading into the game. 

And if all that is not enough, then at least "Chinese Democracy" finally has a release date!

He ran the race in 16:06, which was a second faster than his old time.  The next runner finished at 16:20 and teammate Kyle Hanson followed a second later. 

Greer's record sits behind ex-coach Chris Ronan who finished in a 15:58, leaving 8 second to possibly cut off his time.  Ronan was a 1992 grad who came back to coach and left last year to pursue marathons.  He ran in the Boston marathon and finished in 2:38:56.  For more on him follow the link below.

http://www.stasaints.net/s/348/index.aspx?sid=348&gid=1&pgid=991 

After the race, head coach Justin Wrigley congratulated Greer and alerted him to his new record.

The team next heads to the EKL meet on Thursday at Blue Valley High School.  Varsity boys were #1 in the preseason 5A state rankings, #3 in MOKAN and #6 in DyeStat/NIKE NXN Heartland Ranking.

Congratulations P.J. and good luck to the team at state!

(Look for pictures early next week.)

Liz and her doubles partner, freshman Natalie Looney, won the doubles title which, in an odd turn of events, did not even include the defending state champion doubles team of Lujan and junior Nicole Jara.  In a surprising move Co-coaches Amy Person and David Shriver split these two in an experiment to see how they would do alone.  Something worked because Jara went on to win the singles title in a 6-0, 6-2 blowout.  Following close behind, Lujan took fourth place.  Porter and her partner, junior Katie Krim, took third.

I know that athletes sometimes get a bad rap when it comes to academics, but these girls are pretty great all around.  I have the privilege of knowing all three seniors mentioned above and having them in classes.  They are nice, pretty and in Honors classes.  They even have Porter, the Homecoming Queen.   Their coaches are pretty impressive too.  Knowing how Person challenged her Honors American History class, I can only imagine how good of a coach she would be.  And Shriver’s honors Economy class is a challenge too.

The point is these people are real.  This team goes beyond the football stud walking down the hall excitement.  I am really glad to see them in the hall each day.  I have known Lujan since grade school, and I met Liz and Bridget here.  I do not know if it is the student body’s unfortunate lack of interest in tennis, but I think that almost makes them stronger.  I do not think that there are many other groups of girls who so quickly could create doubles teams and break off from them and succeed like they do.  Porter and Krim had only played four matches together before this one and they were able to take third place.  

I admit, I do not go to their games, but I know these girls and I follow the team.   I wish them all the luck in their coming state play.

The day started with the Freshman Girls race led by Mackenzie Lutz in 5th place.  sophomore Betsy Donahue led the sophomores in 8th place.  The junior girls though had the most dominant showing with five finishing in the top 15 and two in the top 5.  They were led by Ashley Washburn who finished with 15:34.  She was way ahead of any other runner. 

1- Ashley Washburn    3- Emily DeLong      6- Amanda Pigott      7- Morgan Commodore   10-Sarah Moore         11- Blakely Swanson      14- Meagan Wilderson

With Laura Roxberg of Blue Valley Nothwest graduated last year, Washburn has a pretty good chance at state this year.  If you have not seen her run it is just facinating.  I am a cross country alum, after a knee injury, but it was really interesting being with her in practice.  She is one of those people who is obviously talented and her finish today showed it.

After that race the senior girls were led by Jenna Belliner who finished 9th.  One of the most poignant things about the team is the unity.  After a race, they cheer for each other.  The team has around 115 runners and they stick around even hours after the race to cheer on friends.  In an individual sport it is cool to see them come together in celebration.

Head coach Justin Wrigley pushed the team hard with Varsity running about 9 miles-a-day.  For the non-varsity the season ends next Thurday at the EKL Championship.  The girls finished 3rd at state and are defending regional champions.  I wish the team the best of luck as they finish out the season!  Run tall!

(Look for pictures early next week) 

Happy Birthday Betsy!

Last night Aquinas traveled to Blue Valley to take on the Tigers.  The game was televised and broadcast on the radio.  Unfortunately things didn't really work out for us.  Not very many fans came and the game just went badly. 

After an good return on the first kick-off, the Saints went cold.  There would be a couple good plays, but it wasn't connecting for some reason, until the fourth quarter.  With 1:58 on the clock we scored.  The drive was beautiful, but too late.  The game ended 31-7.  Beyond the score, Senior Chris Maggio was injured during the game.  He went down for a while and then a couple plays later he was down for longer and ended up being assisted off the field and sat on the bench with ice around his knee for the rest of the night.  His older brother, 2007 alum Nick Maggio, who plays for Duke came and visited last night and was there to comfort him while he was out.  

It was not our best game, but for our second away game that happened to be against the #1 team in the EKL, it wasn't too dissapointing.  It's hard to admit but it is sad, not horrible.

Next week the team returns home to battle with Ottowa.  At 5-1 the team still looks good.  "This is our time." 

(Look for pictures early next week)

Friday marked Homecoming for Saint Thomas Aquinas.  Alumni and parents were welcomed to the tailgate and later to the game.  A week of themes and class videos was epitomized by the traditional Homecoming Pep-Rally and finally, the game.  In an odd turn of events the senior class lost the homecoming festivities when the float won, the banner and video got second, and the skit was disqualified.  That was general unhappiness for the "Senior Rockstars."

So, here are the game details you might not know without me.  The opponents hailed from Blue Valley Northwest High School, almost three miles away.  Aquinas entered the game undefeated while BVNW entered without a win.  Not surprisingly, each continued their streaks at 5-0 and 0-5 respectively; Aquinas won the game 45-21.  This was an especially exciting win because the last two years Aquinas has lost the homecoming game, and after all that hype, it is kind of a letdown.  Sorry BVW, we beat you this year on your Homecoming.  I guess that guy that I was talking to at the grocery store was wrong when he said that they were going to beat us like every year.

At half-time a football player, Ben Loughman, was crowned king and a tennis player, Bridget Porter, queen.  The Aquinas football team has adopted the slogan "It's our time," referring to state play.  This would be the first year in state play and as a senior and  I agree.  It is our time.