Hays Post Sports
MAIZE – Maize South snapped Hays High soccer’s seven-match winning streak Monday, defeating HHS 6-1 in the quarterfinals of the Class 5A state playoffs.
The Mavericks (18-1) now move on to Wednesday’s state semifinals.
Despite the season-ending loss for HHS, memories of the 2026 season will live on for a long time for the Indians and their supporters.
Monday’s game ended a magical run for Hays High (13-4-2), which came within one win of tying the program’s season-best record of 14 victories – set in the 2002 season when the Indians finished as state runners-up.
The Mavericks jumped out to a 4-0 halftime lead, then outscored the Indians 2-1 in the second half to secure their 14th straight win. Hays High’s lone goal came from Brecken Otte, one of the leaders of a standout senior class for the Indians.
Maize South accomplished something only two other
teams were able to do this season – keep HHS senior Ivan Maldonado from scoring.
Maldonado finished his final prep season with a school-record 29 goals, including six hat tricks, breaking the old single-season mark of 26 set by Trae McRae in 2018. Maldonado’s 56 career goals came within one of tying the Indian career record set by Ethan Nunnery from 2014-17.
Senior goalkeeper Cedric Durr, the last line of a stingy Indian defense that recorded seven clean sheets in 2026, finished the season with 109 saves – including 16 in one game. He finished his two-year varsity career at HHS with 193 total saves.
Maize South, looking for its third state title in five years after winning back-to-back championships in 2022 and ’23, will be joined in the state semifinals by another Wichita metro-area team. Kapaun-Mt. Carmel (16-2) beat Newton, 2-1, in Monday’s other 5A West quarterfinals.