When Walt Alexander first arrived at Topeka High eight years ago, his athletes weren’t ready to compete in state weightlifting meets. With a greater emphasis being placed on the weight room over the years, the Trojans have earned multiple state weightlifting titles.
The success in the weight room has carried over to the football field.
Topeka High finished 9-2 in 2012, advancing to the second round of the Class 6A playoffs before falling 42-33 to Hutchinson. But the Trojans’ success isn’t confined to last season. Topeka High owns a combined record of 25-14 over the past four seasons.
“When we got here, the kids really just weren’t strong enough to compete on the football field in the Centennial League,” Alexander said. “We’ve gotten a lot stronger. We’ve made a lot more commitment to what we’re doing. I think we’ve won four state titles in a row in weightlifting now. The kids have bought into what we do, and they really lift hard.”
The success of 2012 has carried over for the Trojans as they have opened this season with a 3-0 record. Topeka High will try to keep things rolling on the road against Centennial League foe Shawnee Heights (1-2) at 7 p.m. Friday. The matchup will be featured on Friday Night Live, which will be televised statewide on Kansas Cox 22.
Topeka has started the season with lopsided victories over Topeka Highland Park (68-0) and Topeka West (69-16), as well as a come from behind win over Topeka Hayden (25-20) in Week 2.
With the graduation of quarterback Raymond Solis, the Trojans moved Alec Beatty – last year’s leading receiver – under center. The transition has been smooth thus far.
Beatty is the city leader in total offense with 788 yards – 500 passing and 288 rushing. He’s been an accurate passer, completing 21 of 32 passes with six touchdowns. He also is gaining more than 11 yards per carry. In addition to his success on offense, he also is a defensive leader at free safety.
“He’s just a smart young man,” Alexander said. “He’s a 4.0 kid. He’s a tremendous athlete and a great competitor. And he has fun when he plays … He does a lot of great things for us. He can run the ball well. He can pull the ball down when pass protection breaks down, and he can take off. He throws the ball extremely well, and he’s great on defense.”
Another two way standout for Topeka High is senior Austin Tillman. In addition to being a leader at linebacker, he has rushed for 180 yards and seven touchdowns on only 22 carries.
“Austin has been doing it a long time for us,” Alexander said. “We had planned on Tillman just being a linebacker. We knew he ran the ball as a freshman. He’s a tough, hard-nosed kid, but we didn’t know he’d excel to the level he has on the offensive side of the ball. He takes a great deal of pride in being physical, and he runs tremendously hard and keeps his feet moving … Defensively, he’s one of the best linebackers we’ve had here if not the best.”
Shawnee Heights fields a young squad, entering the season with three starters on offense and four on defense.
The T-Birds opened the season with a tough 44-0 loss to Emporia. In the next week, they bounced back with a 27-0 victory over KC Schlagle. This past Friday, Shawnee Heights committed five turnovers in a 21-12 loss to Junction City.
Shawnee Heights coach Jason Swift is looking for the T-Birds to have a fast start, limit the Trojans’ big plays and eliminate the turnovers in order to have success against Topeka High.
“One thing we’ve struggled with is that we’ve tried to come out of the gate and just feel the game out and not take charge,” Swift said. “I think if we can come out and take charge and put points on the board, I think it will help our confidence.”
The T-Birds will likely use two players at quarterback with Camden Wheatley and Taymon Grabauskas. Shawnee Heights is expected to use each in different situations in order to take advantage of each quarterback’s skill set.
“They have their own talents and skills,” Swift said. “Grabauskas -- he can throw the ball. He can throw about as well as we’ve had. He can really stretch the defense. Wheatley can run. He makes good reads. He’s a good runner. He knows the offense real well.”
The Trojans are expecting a difficult game against the city rival.
“Every time we play Shawnee Heights, it’s a dog fight,” Alexander said. “They play so hard and never quit. And I think that’s a tribute to Coach Swift and what he’s done there.”
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