Braves erase 11-point deficit, hold Crusaders scoreless over final 2:41 to end Kapaun’s 44-game win streak
For 42 years, the 1984 state championship banner has hung alone in the Bonner Springs High School fieldhouse, a throwback to the year Hughes Suffren set the 5A state tournament record with 16 field goals in a single game.
On Saturday afternoon, the 2025-26 Braves earned the right to hang another one beside it, rallying from an 11-point third-quarter deficit to stun top-seeded and undefeated Kapaun-Mt. Carmel 53–50 in the KSHSAA Class 5A state championship game.
The victory, Bonner Springs’ first state title since 1984 and just the school’s second ever, snapped Kapaun’s 44-game winning streak and denied the Crusaders a third consecutive 5A crown.
“We took down a giant,” said fired-up senior Madden Rausch, a leader of the loud and rowdy Orange Crush student section that made the trip to Wichita. “We are the giant slayers! We are Bonner Springs! We are Wyandotte County!”
Down but never out
The first 26 minutes suggested disappointment might be coming for the Braves. Kapaun’s defense locked Bonner out of the paint, and the Braves’ outside shots weren’t falling. The Crusaders led at every break: 12–11 after the first quarter, 25–21 at halftime, and 30–21 after a Cole Rapp three-pointer and a Jordan Maingu putback opened the third quarter. Bonner Springs head coach Drew Gruver called a timeout with his team trailing by nine early in the third.
“We just said, ‘Hey, keep fighting. The game’s not over,’” Gruver recalled. “I told them at the end of the third quarter, ‘Hey, we’re right there. We’ve just got to keep making plays on the defensive end and rebound.’”
The Braves trimmed the margin to 39–34 entering the fourth. Then the floodgates opened. Bonner Springs shot a hot 78 percent from the field in the final period (7‑of‑9), while its defense clamped down in the game’s most critical minutes.
Gruver’s clutch three
Senior guard Kelan Gruver was the catalyst. He poured in a game-high 21 points on 5‑of‑11 shooting, including four three-pointers, and was a perfect 7‑for‑7 from the free-throw line. His biggest shot of the night, a three-pointer that gave Bonner Springs a 52–50 lead with under a minute to play, was an icy dagger.
Coach Gruver, also Kelan’s father, said the shot was no accident. “Kelan’s put a ton of time and effort and hard work — the unseen hours in the gym — to make that shot,” the elder Gruver said. “That shot didn’t happen tonight. It happened with all the hard work and time he spent shooting in the gym.”
Kelan, for his part, was nearly speechless afterward. “It feels great. I’m speechless right now,” he said with a grin after the game. He credited his shooting prowess for drawing aggressive close-outs and earning him yet another three-shot trip to the free-throw line. “You’ve got to give them room to land. That’s the rule. And with me being such a good shooter, they close out and they don’t give me room to land.”
“Turkeys”: The defensive stand that sealed it
Trailing 48–45 with under three minutes to play, Bonner Springs constructed a stunning closing sequence. Kapaun’s Rocco Keller scored down low to push the lead to 50–48, but the Crusaders would not score again. The Braves held Kapaun scoreless over the final 2 minutes and 41 seconds, forcing tough shots and finishing possessions with ruthless rebounding and handsy defense forcing awkward passes.
Gruver has a name for those stretches. “We’ve preached all year long: we’ve got to get multiple stops in a row. Three stops in a row, we call them turkeys,” he said. “We talked about that in the timeout. ‘Hey, we’ve got to get some turkeys here.’ And our guys just dug in on the defensive end.”
Prince Donnell’s twisting shot in the lane pulled Bonner within two at 50–48. Then came Kelan Gruver’s go-ahead three. Nate Ferrell and Jaiden Jones both earned trips to the line in the final minute to push the lead to 53–50. With 7.7 seconds remaining, Bonner’s defense once again come up big on the final possession, denying Kapaun a good look for a tying shot.
Jones Jr. provides a spark
Senior Jason Jones Jr. was locked in all afternoon. He finished with eight points, three steals, and a highlight reel that included a breakaway dunk in the third quarter and two more steal-and-score plays in the fourth that kept the Braves within striking distance as Kapaun tried to pull away.
“It feels great, man,” Jones said. “Coming into this, we said, ‘Why not us?’ And then we made it happen. Blood, sweat, and tears all four years got us here.” Asked what the team discussed while trailing, Jones pointed to defense. “We just said we’ve got to keep getting defensive stops. That’s the only way we’re going to come out on top.”
Jaiden Jones added nine points and a team-high nine rebounds, while Ferrell chipped in 12 points, including a pair of three-pointers in the third quarter that helped fuel the comeback.
Kapaun’s dynasty derailed
Kapaun-Mt. Carmel entered the game riding a 44-game winning streak and seeking its third consecutive state title, which started with its triumph over Piper in the 2024 state finals. The Crusaders, with the hometown advantage in Koch Arena, are no strangers to this stage: their six state championships between 1978 and 2025 rank them among the most successful boys’ basketball programs in the state.
Kapaun also missed out on the exclusive list of undefeated 5A state champions, a club that includes Sumner (1969), McPherson (1990, 1994), and Lansing (2014).
Cole Rapp led the Crusaders with 15 points on a sizzling 6‑of‑7 shooting, while Jude Porter added 11 and Blaise Dalian had 10. However, Kapaun managed only 11 fourth-quarter points as Bonner Springs turned up the defensive pressure. The Crusaders made only two free throw attempts in the entire game despite the Braves intense defense.
“That’s a good team over there. You don’t win 44 in a row without being good,” Drew Gruver said of Kapaun. “Obviously Coach Eck is a legend in Kansas with lots of state titles, and they’re well-coached and disciplined on defense. We knew it was going to be tough, but I’m just happy for our guys.”
Selfless and together
One theme emerged over and over: togetherness. The Braves led for just less than 6 minutes of the game, yet never wavered.
“The team attitude on this group — they’re just so selfless and just play for one another,” Drew Gruver said. “They don’t care who gets the credit. They just wanted to win basketball games and they were gonna do whatever it took.”
Kelan Gruver echoed the sentiment. “Just our togetherness and our brotherhood and camaraderie — that was what held us together.”
Bonner Springs community celebrates
Back home in Bonner Springs, plans were already in motion. District Superintendent Rick Moulin, a lifelong Bonner resident, could barely contain his emotion. “This is so special. It means everything,” Moulin said. “Everybody always talks about the 1984 team and how special that was. And to have a team this year that’ll have a banner in the gym that’ll be there forever is amazing.”
Moulin credited Coach Gruver, now in just his second year, for building a culture of hard work and shared purpose. “He’s got the kids working as a team. They share the ball. They never quit,” he said. “I think we were down 11 tonight and you wouldn’t know it. They have the same demeanor the entire game.”
The community was planning to greet the team when it arrived home Saturday night, with a fire and police escort down Kump Avenue to the high school. A larger community celebration event is expected after spring break.
Kyle Razak, Bonner Springs’ track coach who has watched many of the players compete across sports, summed up the feeling. “This is huge. We haven’t even been in a state championship game for that long. To make it here with these kids we’ve watched grow over the last several years — it’s amazing.”
Jason Jones Jr.’s celebration plans? The senior kept it simple: “Go home. Going to have a parade when we get back. Probably just go to bed. Very tired.”
Photos from Bonner Springs-Kapaun Mt. Carmel State Basketball Final
