Tonganoxie, St. Thomas Aquinas to meet for first time — sort of — in football
Tonganoxie High advanced to the Kansas state football playoffs for the first time in 1975. KSHSAA started football playoffs in 1969.
Tonight’s Class 4A substate football game will be the first meeting between Tonganoxie and St. Thomas Aquinas on the gridiron, but THS actually has faced off a few times in previous versions of the Catholic school in Johnson County.
STA’s roots date back to 1934 when St. Joseph High School was established in Shawnee.
In 1980, the name was changed to Aquinas High School. In 1988, the school moved to its current campus in Overland Park about 6.5 miles from the original campus and became known as St. Thomas Aquinas as the school began to reflect a larger population of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, according to the school’s website, stasaints.net.
Tonganoxie was 5-0 when the school was known as St. Joseph, including an exciting playoff game in 1975.
Aquinas then defeated THS in 1987 and 1988.
THS defeated St. Joseph, 35-34 in triple overtime in 1975. That marked Tonganoxie’s first playoff apperance in football. The state playoffs began in 1969 for football.
St. Joseph was known as the Blue Streaks, but the nickname later changed to Saints with the adoption of a new school name.
St. Joseph won a 3A state title in 1971 after defeating Wichita’s Kapaun Mount Carmel, 21-14, in Wichita. Aquinas was 4A state runner-up in 1985 after losing to Norton, 14-0, in Lawrence.
St. Thomas Aquinas won the 2018 5A state championship and was 5A state runner-up in 2017, 2014 and 2008. STA defeated Wichita Northwest, 49-28, in 2018 in Pittsburg. The Saints lost in the title game in 2017 to Wichita’s Bishop Carroll, 38-28, in Pittsburg and 39-7 to Bishop Carroll in 2014. They also lost to Hutchinson, 38-0, in 2008, in the 5A title game in Emporia.
Tonganoxie has piled up plenty of playoff victories through the years, but this marks the furthest run for the Chieftains. THS had never reached the state semifinals before this season.
Tonganoxie is the No. 5 seed in the East Bracket and takes a 9-2 record into tonight’s clash with No. 6 St. Thomas Aquinas (8-3).
The winner will play in the 4A state championship Thanksgiving weekend at Hummer Sports Park in Topeka. The game will be 1 p.m. Nov. 25 against Wamego (9-2) or Andover Central (8-3).
SERIES MEETINGS
1953
Tonganoxie 38, St. Joseph 0
1954
Tonganoixe 12, St. Joseph 6
1955
Tonganoxie 35, St. Joseph 0
1956
Tonganoxie 32, St. Joseph 0
1975
Tonganoxie 35, St. Joseph 34 (3 OT)
1987
Aquinas 42, Tonganoxie 0
1988
Aquinas 28, Tonganoxie 7
— Tonganoxie sports historian and alum Jeff Hughes and St. Thomas Aquinas alum Shawn Hutchinson contributed to this story.