Sunflower Slate

It’s with great sadness we mourn the passing of Nolan Luhn here at Sunflower Slate.

Luhn died Sunday at Coffeyville Regional Medical Center at age 90. Luhn was a star football player for Tulsa and then for the Green Bay Packers in the 1940s — he played in the 1943 Sugar Bowl, the 1944 Orange Bowl and was second-team All-Pro in 1947. If you’d like to qualify how big-time Luhn was in his heyday, please take this into consideration: While at Tulsa, he was a pall-bearer for Will Rogers when he was moved from California to the Will Rogers Museum in Claremore, Oklahoma.

He was pretty amazing. Impossible to forget – if you were ever lucky enough to meet him you know what I mean.

His connections to the Jayhawk Conference ran as deep as anyone you could ever meet, thanks to his long relationship with Coffeyville Community College, where he was a volunteer assistant from 1968 to 2003. There are generations upon generations of former Red Ravens with heavy hearts this week.

Former Red Raven head coach Skip Foster posted this on his Facebook page, and I thought it was fitting:

“To All Former Ravens; Coach Nolan Luhn passed away this afternoon. Coach was a special man who had a way to touch many lives. He was a very special influence on my life. All the hundreds of hours he devoted to help everyone he came across. Please keep Laudine and his family in your thoughts and prayers. I love you coach Luhn. Skip Foster”

Here are some details from the funeral home regarding the service:

Nolan is survived by his wife, Laudine of the home; one son, David Luhn and wife Kathy of Fayetteville, AR; one daughter, Dr. Christina Luhn and husband Lee Brown of San Diego, CA; and two granddaughters, Pamela and Jessica Luhn.

He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers, Leslie, Ervin, Roger, and Felix, JR.; sisters, Doris, Elvie, and Aline and two infant sisters.

Services will be at 2:00 p.m. Thursday, December 1, 2011 at the First United Methodist Church in Coffeyville with Rev. John Collins and Dr. Dan Ferguson officiating. Following Nolan’s wishers cremation will take place after the service and inurnment will take place at a later date in Robbins Cemetery west of Coffeyville.

Friends may call on Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the David W. Barnes Funeral Home in Coffeyville. The family will receive friends on Wednesday from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the funeral home.

The family suggests memorials to the First United Methodist Church, or the Nolan and Laudine Luhn Endowed Scholarship at Coffeyville Community College; contributions may be left with the funeral home

NOLAN LUHN

Butler is ranked No. 3 headed into Sunday’s Region VI title game against Hutchinson – the Grizzlies need No. 5 Mississippi Gulf Coast to beat No. 2 East Mississippi if they want a shot at the national title.

So here we go:

MISSISSIPPI JUCO STATE TITLE GAME

No. 2 East Mississippi 42, No. 5 Gulf Coast 17 FINAL

MIAA

Pitt State and Washburn can both clinch share of MIAA title with wins. One loses, one wins, either team can win outright. Both lose, three-way tie with NW Missouri.

Central Missouri 39, No. 6 Washburn 21 FINAL Ichabods blow shot at MIAA title, playoff future up in air. Terrible loss.

No. 9 Pittsburg State 51, Missouri Southern 28 FINAL Gorillas win MIAA title outright

Northwest Missouri 62, Emporia State 21 FINAL is 5-5 good enough for Higgins to keep his job? We’ll find out soon.

Missouri Western 55, Fort Hays State 17 FINAL

KCAC

Southwestern 38, No. 25 Bethany 20 FINAL Swedes choke away NAIA playoff spot in final game.

Saint Mary 21, KWU 16 FINAL

Friends 31, Tabor 21 FINAL

McPherson 24, Sterling 17 FINAL

No. 11 Ottawa 72, Bethel 6 FINAL

I’LL RUN REGION VI PREVIEWS MANANA. UNTIL THEN, ENJOY.

MIAA

No. 9 Washburn (8-1 overall, 6-1 MIAA) at No. 2 Pittsburg State (8-0, 7-0), 2 p.m. — The Gorillas can clinch a share of the MIAA title with a victory today over Washburn, which has won the last two games in this series but hasn’t won three straight since taking four in a row from 1946-1949. The Ichabods, led by former Gorillas’ assistant Craig Schurig, have one of the best quarterbacks in the nation in 6-foot-3, 227-pound senior Dane Simoneau, who has throw for 2,822 yards, 29 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Pittsburg State linebacker Nate Dreiling is fourth in the MIAA in tackles (70) and interceptions (3). Also good? I’ll be there. My pick: Pitt State

Other games

Emporia State (4-5) at Southwest Baptist (6-3), 1 p.m. — Southwest Baptist is having a nice season before it turns into MIAA mincemeat next year. So what’s that make the Hornets? My pick: Emporia State

Missouri Southern (3-5, 2-5) at Fort Hays State (3-6, 2-5), 2 p.m. –  Tigers will be a lot better in year 2 under Chris Brown. The school’s enrollment is going through the roof and it’s a pretty fun place to go. That can’t hurt recruiting. My pick: FHSU

KCAC

No. 13 Ottawa (7-2 overall, 7-0 KCAC) at Friends (4-4, 4-3), 1:30 p.m. — Wichita Southeast product and Ottawa All-American Clarence Anderson has been unstoppable the last two years against his hometown team. In 2009 and 2010 — both Braves’ victories — the 5-9, 170-pound wide receiver/kick returner has racked up 489 yards of offense and seven touchdowns. Anderson currently leads the NAIA with 1,464 all-purpose yards and younger brother Donald, a defensive back for Ottawa, leads the nation with 2.8 pass break-ups per game. Braves can clinch the KCAC title outright and a spot in the NAIA playoffs with a win today.

Other games

Kansas Wesleyan (4-5, 4-3) at McPherson (3-6, 3-4), 1:30 p.m. — Who is a bigger disappointment? I’d have to go with Kansas Wesleyan. Never bought the hype on McPherson going into this year because they’d lost so much from 2010 on both sides of the ball. My pick: McPherson

Southwestern (3-6, 2-5) at Tabor (2-6, 1-6), 1:30 p.m. — Tabor should have been better this year. Sequels are usually never as good as the original. My pick: Southwestern

Bethany (7-2, 5-2) at Sterling (4-5, 4-3), 1:30 p.m. — Warriors have gone in the tank toward the end of the season. Swedes are still playing for a possible NAIA playoff spot. My pick: Bethany

Bethel (1-8, 1-6) at Saint Mary (4-5, 4-3), 1:30 p.m. — What’s going on with Bethel? Can they ever be good again? Good season for Lance Hinson and Saint Mary. My pick: Saint Mary

I was in Hutchinson Saturday night for No. 4 Butler’s 28-10 win over No. 8 Hutchinson – No. 1 Blinn barely won, and No. 2 East Mississippi and No. 3 Arizona Western both won in blowouts, so it looks like the Grizzlies will stay put in the NJCAA polls.

Here’s some observations from what I saw:  

Not being able to throw downfield killed the Blue Dragons. Hutchinson QB Elliott Alford showed up Saturday morning with an injury to his right, throwing shoulder that was a surprise to his coaches and ended up a game-time decision after they mummified the shoulder. It was easy to tell Alford wasn’t right by his throwing motion … and the fact that he could do much more than float the ball past 20 yards downfield. Imagine if he’d been able to chuck it up to Cordarrelle Patterson — who Butler had no answer for — all night? Patterson had 76 yards receiving on 7 catches – mostly bubble screens and quick dumps — and his longest catch of the night was 40 yards, which came on a jump ball. Pro tip: Don’t show up the day of your team’s biggest game of the season with a mysterious injury. EA ended up turning the ball over, twice, close to Grizzlies’ goal line and cost his team any shot at winning. Also … how’d he hurt his shoulder?

Read More »

I’m headed to Hutch later this afternoon for the big game … will live blog from there. Until then…

JAYHAWK

No. 4 Butler (7-1, 5-0) at No. 8 Hutchinson (6-1, 4-0), 7 p.m. – Here’s my article that ran today in the Eagle. Blue Dragons are a changed team since that day in Colorado Springs … will be fun to watch. My pick: Butler

Read More »