TOPEKA – Prior to the start of Tuesday's Class 6A state soccer quarterfinal against visiting Derby, Washburn Rural coach Brian Hensyel and his assistant coaches got together to try to remedy a problem-spot that's lingered throughout the season for the Junior Blues.
"We've struggled on kickoffs all year," Hensyel said. "So five minutes before the game, we drew up something real quick to play the ball down the right side to Porter (Schafersman), who's one of our better players."
The Junior Blues' didn't quite get the ball on the foot of their leading scorer off the opening kick. But they could hardly be dissatisfied with the end result. After earning a throw-in when Derby knocked the ball out of bounds, senior Ashton Rake got the ball to fellow senior Joe Morse, who banged home a goal 22 seconds into the contest.
"We always say that getting an early goal calms us down," Hensyel said. "Well that's about as early as you can make one."
The quick 1-0 lead put Rural in a comfort zone for the rest of the night and a loose, relaxed Junior Blues team played to its peak in dismantling the Panthers 6-1. With the victory, Rural improved to 18-0-0 and advanced to Friday's Class 6A state semifinals in Olathe.
Washburn Rural's Devon Rutschmann works the ball up the field during Tuesday's
Class 6A state quarterfinal against Derby. Rutschmann scored a first-half goal and
Rural stayed unbeaten with a 6-1 victory.
It will mark the first time Rural has reached the state semifinals with an undefeated record. The Junior Blues will be the No. 1 seed in the semifinals and take on Blue Valley Northwest (8-10-1), which rallied to upset Olathe Northwest 4-3 in overtime after falling behind 3-2 late in regulation, the 5 p.m. game Friday.
The other semifinal will pit Wichita North (17-1-1) against Olathe West (11-7-1) at 7 p.m. North ended Dodge City's reign in 6A with a 2-1 road win against the Red Demons on Tuesday, while Olathe West blanked Shawnee Mission West 1-0.
If Rural turns in the same kind of performance it did against Derby, the Junior Blues very well could celebrate their first state championship since 2012. Morse's early strike put Rural on the attack and a goal from Devon Rutschmann at the 16:43 mark made it 2-0 Rural.
Derby had limited offensive chances in the opening half, but converted on one of them, getting a goal from Cole Dubois at the 6:07 mark of the half to cut the Junior Blues' lead to 2-1.
The glimmer of hope for the Panthers was minimal, however. After more than 20 scoreless minutes at the start of the second half, Rural finished strong with four goals in a 12-minute span starting with Bennett Hallauer's tally that snuck just inside the far post at the 15:59 mark.
After Derby scored an own goal, trying to head a long direct kick from Rural from near midfield, Easton Bradstreet scored less than a minute later and Hayden Shriver finished it off late.
"The only time we struggle is when we get those nerves and start playing not to lose and are a little shaky," Hensyel said. "That's why that first goal is so big. Then we just play and we've got guys that can play all over the place. We just need that mind set of don't be afraid of the moment, go enjoy it and let our talent win out. Tonight, that second half especially, we played about as well as we could."
WASHBURN RURAL 6, DERBY 1
Derby (15-2-2) … 1 … 0 … -- … 1
Washburn Rural (18-0-0) … 2 … 4 … -- … 6
Derby – Goal: Dubois. Assist: Fernandez.
Rural – Goals: Morse, Rutschmann, Hallauer, Bradstreet, Shriver, Derby own goal. Assists: Rake, Bradstreet 2, Padilla.