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PITTSBURG —
As we moved deeper and deeper into 2011, it became clearer and clearer the year was a banner one for local sports, especially in Crawford County.
There were over 20 stories seriously considered for this year-end top 10 list and no doubt on further reflection there will be 20 more stories that pop up as being worthy contenders for any year-end sports list.
Now, let’s consider the year’s top 10 sports stories before it’s no longer 2011 — plus, 15 honorable mention stories that prove what a great year 2011 was for local sports.
1. Pittsburg State football won NCAA Division II national title
The biggest local sports story in 2011 was the national resurgence of the Pittsburg State Gorillas on the gridiron.
Picked fifth in the MIAA preseason poll and not ranked in the American Football Coaches Association preseason poll after finishing 5-6 in 2009 and 6-6 in 2010, Pitt State confounded expectations and went on an incredible run encompassing two wins over arch nemesis Northwest Missouri, the first MIAA conference title since 2004, three home playoff wins over Washburn, Northwest Missouri and Delta State, and the 35-21 win over the Warriors of Wayne State (Mich) in the National Championship Game for the school's first national title since 1991.
His coaching peers unanimously voted second-year Pitt State head coach Tim Beck the MIAA Coach of the Year and he was leading the fan vote portion of the Liberty Mutual Division II Coach of the Year when voting closed on Dec. 22. Beck, a former Pitt State player and longtime Gorilla assistant coach, restored winning to his alma mater the right way and paid tribute to the past glories of the Gorillas all season long through events like the Weekend of Champions and the 1961 team being honored at halftime of the Homecoming game against Lincoln.
Sophomore linebacker Nate Dreiling won MIAA Defensive Player of the Year (139 tackles and seven interceptions among his biggest statistical accomplishments) and earned All-American honors from several outlets. Sophomore receiver and return specialist John Brown made a sudden and lasting impact, from his 84-yard punt return for touchdown on his very first touch of the ball in a Pitt State uniform to his two sensational games against Northwest Missouri and his school-record tying five touchdown performance against Missouri Southern. Senior quarterback Zac Dickey rushed for over 1,000 yards and passed for over 2,000 yards.
2. St. Mary's Colgan head coach Chuck Smith won his 300th game
When the undefeated St. Mary's Colgan Panthers beat previously undefeated Lyndon 38-13 on Oct. 21, Colgan not only took over the hot spot in Class 2-1A District 1, this important victory gave Colgan head coach Chuck Smith his 300th win as a high school football coach. Smith became the sixth member of the 300-win coaching club in Kansas high school football.
As we moved deeper and deeper into 2011, it became clearer and clearer the year was a banner one for local sports, especially in Crawford County.
There were over 20 stories seriously considered for this year-end top 10 list and no doubt on further reflection there will be 20 more stories that pop up as being worthy contenders for any year-end sports list.
Now, let’s consider the year’s top 10 sports stories before it’s no longer 2011 — plus, 15 honorable mention stories that prove what a great year 2011 was for local sports.
1. Pittsburg State football won NCAA Division II national title
The biggest local sports story in 2011 was the national resurgence of the Pittsburg State Gorillas on the gridiron.
Picked fifth in the MIAA preseason poll and not ranked in the American Football Coaches Association preseason poll after finishing 5-6 in 2009 and 6-6 in 2010, Pitt State confounded expectations and went on an incredible run encompassing two wins over arch nemesis Northwest Missouri, the first MIAA conference title since 2004, three home playoff wins over Washburn, Northwest Missouri and Delta State, and the 35-21 win over the Warriors of Wayne State (Mich) in the National Championship Game for the school's first national title since 1991.
His coaching peers unanimously voted second-year Pitt State head coach Tim Beck the MIAA Coach of the Year and he was leading the fan vote portion of the Liberty Mutual Division II Coach of the Year when voting closed on Dec. 22. Beck, a former Pitt State player and longtime Gorilla assistant coach, restored winning to his alma mater the right way and paid tribute to the past glories of the Gorillas all season long through events like the Weekend of Champions and the 1961 team being honored at halftime of the Homecoming game against Lincoln.
Sophomore linebacker Nate Dreiling won MIAA Defensive Player of the Year (139 tackles and seven interceptions among his biggest statistical accomplishments) and earned All-American honors from several outlets. Sophomore receiver and return specialist John Brown made a sudden and lasting impact, from his 84-yard punt return for touchdown on his very first touch of the ball in a Pitt State uniform to his two sensational games against Northwest Missouri and his school-record tying five touchdown performance against Missouri Southern. Senior quarterback Zac Dickey rushed for over 1,000 yards and passed for over 2,000 yards.
2. St. Mary's Colgan head coach Chuck Smith won his 300th game
When the undefeated St. Mary's Colgan Panthers beat previously undefeated Lyndon 38-13 on Oct. 21, Colgan not only took over the hot spot in Class 2-1A District 1, this important victory gave Colgan head coach Chuck Smith his 300th win as a high school football coach. Smith became the sixth member of the 300-win coaching club in Kansas high school football.
Colgan gained 459 yards of total offense (356 run, 103 pass) as Christian Smith ran for 252 yards and three scores and his twin brother Zach Smith added 78 yards and one TD rushing and 70 yards and one TD receiving.
Coach Smith coached one year at Topeka Hayden, logging a 3-6 record (1979). He took over the Colgan program in 1980 from legend Frank Crespino and Smith's professional accomplishments include five state titles (1984, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003) and 11 state championship game appearances, as well as winning the eternal respect of his players for over 30 years. Four sons (Nick, Jeff, Mark and Chas) quarterbacked at Colgan and moved onto successful football careers at Smith's alma mater, Pittsburg State. At the end of the 2011 season, Smith holds a 303-64 overall head coaching record.
3. Pittsburg football defeated Class 5A No. 1-ranked Blue Valley
On the same Friday night that Coach Smith won his 300th career game (Oct. 21), the Purple Dragons upended defending Class 5A state football champion and top-ranked Blue Valley Tigers on the Tigers' home field, 45-35, giving first-year Pittsburg head coach Tom Nickelson and the Pittsburg football program a signature win.
Pittsburg made big plays all game long. For example, senior running back Marcus Striplin not only fielded a Blue Valley onside kick, he made Blue Valley kicker Austin Johnson miss with a spin move and broke a touchdown return that made the score 45-28. Senior wide receiver Jornell Fondren caught six passes for 109 yards and two scores. Junior running back Anthony McNeely ran for over 100 yards, highlighted by a 7-yard touchdown run and a 68-yard run. Junior wide receiver and defensive back Jimmy Ritz handled two Blue Valley onside kicks. Freshman kicker Nick Powers converted all six extra points and booted a 23-yard field goal.
4. Royals No. 1 draft pick Bubba Starling's final high school game
Ballyhooed Kansas high school three-sport athlete Bubba Starling brought out super agent Scott Boras and met a fired-up, anticipatory crowd at JayCee Ballpark as Gardner-Edgerton took on host Pittsburg in a Class 5A regional semifinal game.
Starling ran into Pittsburg starting pitcher Jordan Elliott in vintage spoiler mode. The Gardner-Edgerton center fielder went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and one 5-3 groundout; he reached on an error and scored a run in the first inning. Starling whiffed in the second and fifth innings, and grounded out in the sixth.
Pittsburg designated hitter Brandon Baker gave the Purple Dragons a 5-3 lead on a two-run home run he smashed over the Chicken Annie's sign in right center and beyond the wall-climbing Starling. Pittsburg held on for a dramatic 5-4 win and ended Starling's high school career.
The Kansas City Royals selected Starling with the No. 5 pick in June's MLB Amateur Draft and mere seconds before the signing deadline, Starling and the Royals agreed on a $7.5 million signing bonus spread over three years.
5. FSCC football placed on probation
The National Junior College Athletic Association placed the Fort Scott Community College football team on probation for the 2011-2012 academic year because of violations of the NJCAA Letter of Intent program.
FSCC recruited 17 student-athletes to play football and sign an institutional scholarship, not a National Letter of Intent. All student-athletes recruited by a NJCAA school must sign a National Letter of Intent.
This probation means no postseason play — including no bowl games — and a reduction in scholarships for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. The Greyhounds finished their 2011 season 4-4.
6. Girard native Tanner Poppe drafted in the 37th round
When the Tampa Bay Rays selected pitcher Tanner Poppe with the 1,140th overall pick, this made the second time in three years Poppe had been drafted in the 37th round of the MLB June Amateur Draft. The Kansas City Royals drafted Poppe out of Girard High School in 2009.
In 2011, during his first year as a full-time collegiate starting pitcher, the 6-foot-5, 230-pound sophomore went 3-6 with a team-low 3.66 ERA over 71 1/3 innings. Poppe made 14 appearances and 13 starts for the Jayhawks, striking out 47 and walking 35 batters. He pitched a no-decision against No. 1 TCU (Feb. 20), allowing one run on three hits over six innings, and earned the second save of his collegiate career against Iowa (Feb. 28).
Poppe was named KU's Bob Allison Rookie of the Year (2010) and made Academic All-Big 12 First Team (2011).
The Jayhawks, featuring both Poppe and St. Mary's Colgan graduate Nate Arnold on the roster, begin the 2012 season Feb. 17 against Middle Tennessee. KU plays its first home games against North Dakota (March 6-7). On April 18, the Jayhawks play rival Missouri at Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals, in the baseball equivalent of the KU-Mizzou football game played at Arrowhead Stadium.
7. The Smith twins named to National All-Star Football Game
Twin brothers Christian and Zach Smith made the final cut to play in the inaugural Blue-Grey National All-Star Football Game by passing two rounds of combines — the Blue-Grey Heartland Football Combine at Missouri Western University (April 30) and the Blue-Grey National Super Football Combine in Canton, Ohio, home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame (June 18).
At Canton, Zach ran 4.45 in the 40-yard dash, benched 22 reps, jumped 10-1 in the broad jump and 34-7 vertical, and posted a time of 4.19 in the shuttle. Christian ran 4.47 in the 40, benched 24 reps, jumped 10-0 broad jump and 29-8 vertical, and ran a 4.21 shuttle. Only eight of 45 competing running backs posted 40 times under 4.50 at Canton.
The Blue-Grey National All-Star Game will be played Jan. 14 at Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Smiths are on the South team — Christian No. 24 and Zach No. 25, both listed at running back and linebacker.
8. Girard girls basketball extended CNC winning streak to 45 games
Brad Herlocker took over the Girard High School girls basketball program in 2006 and during his first five seasons as head coach, the Trojans have never lost a CNC League game — beating Baxter Springs, Colgan, Erie, Frontenac, Galena, Riverton and Southeast five times apiece and Northeast four times before the Vikings started play in the Three Rivers League.
In 2011, Girard defeated Riverton (39-35), Colgan (48-31), Southeast (54-48), Erie (53-15), Frontenac (56-40), Baxter Springs (52-43) and Galena (54-18) for a fifth consecutive undefeated league run.
Girard last lost an official CNC League game during the 2005-2006 season, when the Trojans lost their first two games in league play, 59-42 to Baxter Springs and 35-32 to Erie, and then won their last six CNC games. This pushes the overall league game winning streak to 45 games.
9. Pittsburg wrestling won its first league title
The Pittsburg wrestling program ascended to new heights in 2011, winning its first SEK League title in the history of the program and dominating its league competition in all eight duals — Fort Scott lost 49-24 in the closest dual.
Nine PHS grapplers qualified for state competition and three won regional titles — senior Mario Corado and juniors Broc Bennett and Aaron Seybold. Seybold won a Class 5A state title at 135 pounds and Corado’s third-place state finish gave him four state medals in four years of high school wrestling. Brent Koehn placed fourth, senior Austin Haake fifth and Bennett fifth.
Head coach Scott Rieck won SEK and Regional Coach of the Year awards.
10. Frontenac softball and baseball state runs
The Frontenac softball team (20-4) made its first state title game appearance since 2002 and finished second place to Osage City, losing the Class 3A title game 3-1.
The Raiders beat Hillsboro (3-1) and Caney Valley (4-3) en route to facing Osage City.
Frontenac defeated Riverton 8-3 in the regional final and won all three games against Riverton in 2011, previously a thorn in the side of the Raiders.
The Frontenac baseball team (15-11) qualified for state for the first time during head coach Bill Sullivan’s 13 years at the school and posted a third-place finish.
The Raiders defeated top seed Council Grove (3-1) in the first game and Wellsville (2-1) in the consolation game. Frontenac lost 11-2 to state champion Silver Lake in the semifinals; Silver Lake blasted Thomas More Prep 21-8 for the state title.
Frontenac survived a competitive regional, beating defending Class 3A champs Galena (6-5), former CNC League rival Northeast (6-3) and Southeast (3-1, in extra innings) on the road to state.
Honorable mention: Colgan graduate Stu Jeck signed with West Virginia (baseball); Pittsburg graduate Mario Corado signed with North Carolina State (wrestling); Pittsburg senior Skyler Muff signed with UMKC (volleyball); the Pittsburg State women’s cross country team finished 15th at Nationals; Colgan won its third consecutive boys golf state title; Colgan golfer Kolter Krumsick won his second straight individual state title; Colgan baseball finished second at state; Pittsburg wrestler Aaron Seybold won a state title at 135 pounds; Corado won four medals at state in four years of high school wrestling; Southeast volleyball qualified to state for a second year in a row; Northeast won its first league baseball title; Pittsburg golf won its first SEK League team title since 1990; Pittsburg golfer Jon Nichols won Pittsburg’s first individual league golf title since 1999 (Matt Barberich); Pittsburg State women’s basketball established a new record for best start in school history; KSHSAA made available its new classifications.
