Top 50 Team Countdown (12-11): East Atchison girls golf, Lewis Central football

(KMAland) -- The latest installment of the KMA Sports Top 50 Team Countdown includes the list's first state champion.

12. East Atchison Girls Golf

An individual championship outing highlighted this team title campaign.

The East Atchison girls golf team shined throughout the year, highlighted by wins at their home tournament and the Johnson County Central Tournament.

The Wolves rewrote the program's record book in September when they carded a school-record 9-hole score of 177 in their dual with Rock Port.

"It was very exciting," Coach Melody Barnett said. "This is something the girls have been working on. They had in their mind that this was their goal. They put a lot of time in over the summer. They've been really close."

The Wolves were a state qualifier last year and returned many pieces from that squad, so they entered the season talented and motivated.

"They knew coming into the season that they wanted to break this school record," Coach Barnett said. "Three of them had a sister on the board with the record, so they're proud of themselves for knocking their sisters out of the way."

The Wolves returned to state for the third consecutive year after an impressive showing at the Class 1 District 4 Meet at Hidden Valley Golf Course in Lawson. East Atchison shot a 367 to win by 31 strokes.

“The location has changed on us a little bit, but they were still able to pull through,” Barnett told KMA Sports. “That was their goal from the beginning of the year – to three-peat.”

Kelsea Kirwan led the way with an 83, sharing the district championship with Maysville’s Hannah Riner. Alex Barnett was right behind Kirwan and Riner with an 84 to place third while Josie King shot a 97 in 7th and Sydnee Bruns had a 103 in 12th. Kamryn Brown added a 111 in 25th.

“It’s been a lot of fun, but sometimes it’s also a lot of work,” Coach Barnett said of her team’s season. “They do put a lot of work in, and they put a lot of extra work in before the season even started, which is really what helped get them going. We try to have a little bit of fun while we’re concentrating on how we can maintain what we’ve got going now.”

The district title put the Wolves in the Class 1 State Tournament at the Country Club of Missouri in Columbia.

“We have never been to that course,” Barnett said, “so it’s going to be a new adventure for us. This week at practice, I made a big checklist and had different things for them to do. Anywhere from hitting from the 150 mark in with 10 balls, hitting from the 100 mark in, lots of chipping and putting. That can really adjust your score if you’re chipping and putting well.”

The Wolves out-shined the rest of the field in Columbia, shooting an 826 as a team to win the title by 83 strokes. They also had the top individual score as Kirwan paced the field with a two-day total of 189.

Kirwan was in second after an opening-round 95, but she followed it up with a 94 on day two at the Country Club of Missouri in Columbia to finish five strokes ahead of the rest of the field.

“I would say my (drive) was the best,” she said of her two days in Columbia. “I was able to work with it and get it down the fairway. The course was pretty long, so I really needed that.

“I focused more on my putting (on day two). The greens were a lot faster, so I knew if I wanted to take off strokes I had to do it on the green. That was the biggest adjustment I had to make.”

Alex Barnett finished seventh with a 206, sophomore Sydnee Bruns was 10th with a 211 and senior Josie King tied for 18th with a 218. The Wolves were downright dominant with an 826 that proved to be 83 strokes better than any other team.

“With all the support we had from our school and everyone around (the community), we knew it was possible,” Kirwan said. “We loved every second of it. With all the encouragement we had at the state send-off, it made us think we could do it.”

Kirwan was named the 2023 KMAland Missouri Girls Golfer of the Year.

11. Lewis Central Football

The Titans entered the year as the defending Class 4A state champions.

"We're excited," Lewis Central head coach Justin Kammrad told KMA Sports before the season started. "We try not to focus too much on the past. It's not about repeating but about accomplishing the same task we did last year. Our kids bought in during the offseason."

The Titans opened the season with a 35-20 win over Underwood.

"It's good to get a victory," Lewis Central head coach Justin Kammrad said. "But at the end of the day, we have to look at what we did. The scoreboard doesn't tell the whole story. Underwood played a helluva football game, but I'm happy for our guys."

A week later came one of the most hyped regular-season football games we've seen in KMAland for quite some time as Harlan -- the defending Class 3A champion -- clashed with Lewis Central.

The battle between defending state champions lived up to the hype. Harlan had a 27-16 lead in the final minutes. Then, the Titans mounted an epic comeback that featured a kick-return touchdown for Luciano Fidone, a recovered onside kick and a go-ahead rushing touchdown from quarterback Braylon Kammrad. When the smoke cleared, Lewis Central had prevailed in a 30-27 classic.

"This was an instant classic between two really good football programs," Coach Kammrad said. "It doesn't get any better than this. This is why our kids do what they do. (Tonight) was a product of how talented both teams really are. It's a special night."

The Titans notched a 28-21 win over Carlisle next week and moved to 3-0 with a 49-27 win over Norwalk.

Lewis Central then held off Indianola, 34-16, in a rematch of 2021's state quarterfinal matchup.

"We got knocked in the mouth a little bit," Lewis Central head coach Justin Kammrad said. "The resiliency and toughness the guys showed, that's growth. I'm extremely proud of that. I can't be more proud of the effort in the second half."

"To put up a win against another top five opponent is very exciting," senior quarterback Braylon Kammrad said.

The Titans concluded the regular season with wins over Thomas Jefferson (63-0), Des Moines Hoover (63-14), Glenwood (58-22), Dallas Center-Grimes (41-0) and Winterset (42-15).

Lewis Central opened the postseason with a 57-7 rout of LeMars, putting themselves in a state quarterfinal matchup with Glenwood.

The Titans shook off a slow start and held off Glenwood in a high-scoring 47-24 affair to secure the program's fourth trip to Cedar Falls in five years.

"I can't say enough great things about our guys and our coaching staff," Coach Kammrad said "Winning is not easy, it never is. To play a really solid Glenwood team a second time within four weeks was difficult, but our guys just continuously stay focused on the task at hand and they do the little things right."

The Titans returned to the state title game with a 42-21 rout of Carlisle in the semifinals.

"We were straight business," senior quarterback Braylon Kammrad said. "We were focused and ready to go. It showed tonight."

The Titans faced Cedar Rapids, Xavier in the finals for a second consecutive year. Unfortunately, a few early miscues forced Lewis Central to play from behind. They nearly overcame a 38-17 deficit, but ran out of time in a 45-38 thriller.

"I'm extremely proud," Coach Kammrad said after the loss. "These are my boys. To get to this point, we just came up one score short. It was a great football game against a really good football team."

For the fourth consecutive year, a Lewis Central defensive player collected KMAland 3A/4A/5A Defensive Player of the Year. This year's honor went to Payton Ludington, who spearheaded the Titans' defense with 75 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks.

“We were more than just a team,” Ludington added. “It was more of a brotherhood to us. We all came together from the offseason to the season and did all the right things. We worked hard. We were just together as a team.”