Shawnee Mission South beat Shawnee Mission West 33-6 on Wednesday, Oct. 21, to claim third place in the inaugural KSHSAA Girls Flag Football State Championship at Shawnee Mission South Stadium.
The game resumed at the start of the third quarter. It had been halted at halftime Saturday, Oct. 17, with SM South leading 24-6, after a truck drove onto an adjacent youth soccer field at Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita. The crash killed 6-year-old Cole Adrian and 35-year-old Nicholas Schafer, both of McPherson, and injured 10 others. Wichita police said the driver, a 34-year-old Garden City woman, was released pending toxicology and mechanical tests, with no charges filed.
All four remaining playoff teams are from Johnson County. The Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) moved the games to SM South Stadium, with the third-place game at 6 p.m. and the championship at 7:15 p.m., as we reported Wednesday.
Jake Potter, chief communications officer for the Shawnee Mission School District, spoke before the third-place game. "We're so happy to be able to host this event, despite some unusual circumstances," Potter told Yahoo Sports. "I'm so proud of all of our teams."
St. Thomas Aquinas and St. James Academy followed at 7:15 p.m. for the state championship. St. James Academy defeated St. Thomas Aquinas 26–7 in that matchup
Both school communities rallied.
About 100 people filled the St. James Academy chapel on Sunday, Oct. 18, for a student-led rosary organized by the flag football players, according to KCTV5. St. James flag football coach Matt Hightower said the players also chose to return to practice Monday, Oct. 19. He told KCTV5 the team's message was that there was nothing wrong with finding a way to continue with their lives while holding on to their thoughts and prayers for the victims.
St. James Academy President Andy Tylicki said some of his players consoled young soccer players at the scene Saturday while emergency crews worked. The St. James and Aquinas teams prayed together under the bleachers as first responders treated victims, Tylicki told FOX4.
KSHSAA assistant executive director Jeremy Holaday, who was at the complex Saturday, told FOX4 the championship-bound teams likely witnessed the crash. The Shawnee Mission School District said in a statement Monday, Oct. 19, that students had access to counselors and that the two playing fields in Wichita had been separated by fencing and a gate.
Duane Zinke, a Shawnee Mission West parent who was in the stands cheering on his daughter Olivia, told KCTV5 the mood shifted when the announcer asked if anyone had medical experience.
The championship result between St. Thomas Aquinas and St. James Academy was not available as of Wednesday evening.
