Washburn Rural Advances to 2nd Round of Kansas Playoffs
With a convincing 37-0 Win Friday Night over Wichita South, Washburn Rural advances to the 2nd round of the Kansas High School Playoffs where they will travel to Wichita Northwest next Friday Night.
With Starting QB 2026 John Hoytal resting for the week and preparing for his travel to Fort Hays St. for an official visit, Rural relied on the running game to control the tempo and the game.
“We knew coming into it that we were going to have to rely offensively on the run game and we knew the defense was going to have to set the tone and kind of shorten the field for us,” Washburn Rural coach Steve Buhler said. “Offensively, I think the kids did a really nice job of doing what we’ve been working on as far as the game preparation.”
For Rural, 2027 Running Back Jadyn Baum surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season with his 182 yards on 15 attempts, while adding 3 Rushing TD’s of 46 yards and a pair of 8 yard scoring Runs.
2026 Running Back TJ Minikwu scored on a 5-yard run. Minikwu finished the game with 16 Carries and 70 yards to go along with the 5-yard TD., while also receiving a 3-yard flare pass.
On the Receiving side, 2026 Nate Selm had his usual top standout showcase game, with a final stat line of 5 receptions for 33 yards including a 17-yard Touchdown Reception.
Taking over for the resting John Hoytal, 2027 Gavin Vantuyl controlled the game and ran the Rural offense to perfection.
Vantuyl Finished with 34 yards on 7 carries and was 7 of 14 passing.
All was not lost for Wichita South as they received an outstanding performance by Defensive End, Anthony Nguyen. Nguyen was in on every tackle, every QB hurry and was a disruptive force for the Wichita South Defense. Nguyen showed a non-stop motor, causing havoc until the whistle every play. At 6’1” 235lbs, the 2026 Defensive End has the frame and sideline to sideline ball hawking presence that projects to be a game changing Line Backer at the next level. With interest from a few colleges already, look for Nguyen to gain momentum on the recruiting scene after a great season.
On the Offense side for Wichita South. QB/WR RaShawn Johnson started the game off at QB. The 2026 Johnson showed his running abilities where he had 5 carries for 15 yards. However, with the game starting to get out of hand, South moved the playmaker to Wide Receiver to get him in space where his athleticism would allow for big plays.
The move proved to be a great decision as Johnson finished with 3 receptions for 43 yards.
John Hoytal: @john_hoytal
Jayden Baum: @BaumJadyn46674
TJ Minikwu: @TJ_Minikwu
Nate Selm: @nate_selm
Anthony Nguyen: @Anthony2nguyen
RaShawn Johnson: @7star_shawn
