Week 2 Cram Session: Tonganoxie (1-0) at Spring Hill (1-0)
Tonganoxie vs. Spring Hill
Tonganoxie opened the season with a victory last week for the first time since 2020 and will look to go 2-0 for the first time since that year tonight with the Frontier League meeting at Spring Hill. THS was solid on both sides of the ball in Week 1. Seniors Colton Brusven and Isaiah Holthaus had pretty good fantasy league statistics. Brusven nearly hit the 200-yard mark rushing, while Holthaus surpassed the 100-yard plateau. Brusven ended the game with 190 yards and two touchdowns; Holthaus finished with 105 yards on 3 catches . He also had 2 TDs. Junior Todd Brown had a touchdown reception as well. Senior Trevor McGraw also had some big numbers in his return to the field. McGraw, who suffered a season-ending injury in the opening minutes of last year’s season opener, Went 13-for-20 with 230 yards and three touchdowns.
Last week: Tonganoxie defeated Basehor-Linwood, 34-20, at THS; Spring Hill rolled Bonner Springs, 57-14, at home.
Records: Both teams are 1-0.
Last season: THS went 4-5, losing to Piper in the Week 9 opening round of the Class 4A playoffs, 34-15. THS suffered major injuries in the season opener last year, but pushed through, finishing just below. 500. Spring Hill ended the year 5-5. The Broncos advanced into November after defeating Leavenworth, 26-21, at home in the Week 9 playoff game, but ran into a buzzsaw the next week. De Soto shut out SHHS, 56-0, on Nov. 3. The Wildcats ended their season a week later in the 5A playoffs at 9-2.
Last meeting: Tonganoxie 27, Spring Hill 24 in 2022 at THS.
Series record: Tonganoxie is 6-2 all time against Spring Hill. The teams first played in 1941 with SHHS winning, 13-0. The teams then took a little bit of a break — like a three-quarters of a century break. It was 75 years later the programs faced off in non league contests in 2016 and 2017. THS won both of those games. When THS joined the Frontier League in 2018, the Chieftains and Broncos started playing each other as conference foes. They’ve faced off every year sans 2020 (Covid). Tonganoxie also has a regional playoff victory against Spring Hill in 2019. It marked Tonganoxi’s first-ever second playoff game victory and 10-win season in school history.
Coaches: Spring HIll’s Jason Feedback is in his ninth year at SHHS and 11th overall as a head coach. He is 36-39 at Spring Hill and 48-47 overall (two years previously at Chanute). Tonganoxie’s Preston Troyer is in his second year at Tonganoxie as head coach, but it’s his 12th overall at THS after serving a decade as an assistant under his father, Al Troyer. Preston is 5-5 as head coach. Tonganoxie went 63-37 during Preston’s time as an assistant.
Trends: Both THS and Spring Hill play the same Frontier League foes this season and have two non conference games. Tonganoxie already played Basehor-Linwood and will play Chanute next week; Spring Hill plays non league games Sept. 22 on the road against Blue Valley Southwest and Oct. 13 at Fort Scott.
Two-minute drill: The teams have played the last two meetings down to the wire. THS squeaked out a 27-24 victory in 2022; Spring Hill won 27-21 in overtime in 2021. Both games were played at Beatty Field.
— Local high school sports historian Jeff Hughes contributed to this story.