How Hayden football's brotherhood boosted each other in regional championship
TOPEKA — A brotherhood quickly formed for the undefeated Hayden football team. At least that’s what coach Bill Arnold said following Friday’s victory.
The Wildcats played for each other as they defeated Santa Fe Trail 42-24 in the Class 3A Regional Championship.
“It has been the next guy up. The brotherhood with all of the time and effort that they put in all of the way back since last January to now,” Arnold said. “They understand that they have each other’s backs and that is what is all about.”
All season, Hayden (10-0) has been popping off for long touchdown plays as the run-dominant offense has been breaking off runs for over 50 yards routinely. This wasn’t different against the Chargers, who finished 7-3. Kade Mitchell, Dom Ridley and Jensen Schrickel all scored on the ground for Hayden.
Mitchell and Ridley both finished with two touchdowns each, but it was the way that they reached the end zone that was most impressive. The rushing duo bounced runs around the tackles for chunk yards and was able to shred tackles up the middle. Each of their touchdowns went for over 40 yards.
“I’ve got great guys in front of me and it is all thanks to them,” Mitchell said. “The offensive line sets up big holes and I get out in open space and I just got to run out the rest of the way. At the end of the day, we got it done and now we're on to Parsons.”
While Hayden was scoring quickly, Santa Fe Trail used long, arduous drives that reached the red zone and eventually pay dirt. The Chargers scored two of their touchdowns on fourth down to keep the game interesting into the fourth quarter.
When the Hayden defense needed to make a play, they were there. Logan Saenz hauled in an all-important interception in the second half that killed some of the momentum for Sante Fe. The defensive front made key sacks and tackles for a loss. Linebacker Carter Charvat was in the backfield all night making plays.
“We have a motto, our linebackers, we call ourselves, ‘land sharks,’” Charvat said with a smile. “We smell the blood in the water and we go attack it.”
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While the running plays helped Hayden secure and maintain the lead, the biggest play came in the fourth quarter when sophomore quarterback Connor Hanika dropped back to pass and floated a great ball to Schrickel to the back of the end zone.
Schrickel and Santa Fe’s Blake Slavin wrestled for the ball, but the Hayden wideout came away with the touchdown to give Hayden a 28-18 lead halfway through the fourth quarter. The Wildcats never looked back.
“I thought the kids preserved pretty good tonight. Santa Fe is a good team and they have a lot of weapons on offense,” Arnold said. “I thought our kids held true to the end. It was a physical game, but that is what you expect this time of year.”
Hayden’s victory moves it to the Class 3A sectional round where it will meet Parsons (9-1) next Friday. The Vikings will host the game and they didn't play each other in the regular season.
“We may not be the biggest or the strongest team, but we are the hardest playing team,” Charvat said. “We know what we are doing, our coaches know what they are doing and we execute.”
Topeka-area high school football scores from regional championship of KSHSAA playoffs:
Bolded teams are local.
(1) Washburn Rural 27, (8) Junction City 20
(6) Shawnee Heights 56, (3) Highland Park 20
(9) Seaman 31, (1) De Soto 28
(2) Sabetha 45, (1) Silver Lake 34
(2) Cair Paravel 76, (1) Burden-Central 30
Liam Keating covers high school sports for The Topeka Capital-Journal. You can reach him at Lkeating@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Hayden football defeats Santa Fe Trail for regional championship
