Work ethic made Jackson Voth a star, helped lead Cheney football to 1st state title game

The value of hard work has been ingrained in Cheney senior Jackson Voth from a young age.

His father, Matt, was a Top 11 football player in the state for Cheney in 1994 and his mother, Alyson, was a college basketball player for UMKC. Jackson looked up to them, naturally because they are his parents, but also because of what they had accomplished in their sporting careers.

So when they told him a strong work ethic in life, and especially in sports, was the standard, Jackson listened.

“My parents raised me on the hardest workers get what they deserve,” Jackson said. “Champions always work the hardest.”

That mindset has permeated the Cheney football team, as Voth and the senior class believe it has been their work ethic that has elevated the Cardinals to a dream season — 12-0 and a spot in Saturday’s Class 3A state championship game against Topeka Hayden at noon at Gowans Stadium in Hutchinson.

It is the first time in school history Cheney will be playing for a state title.

“It all starts with a dream,” Cheney coach Shelby Wehrman said. “On the bus home from the loss last year in the playoffs, Jack was one of those guys on the bus saying we were going to compete for state next year and win. And those guys have not wavered from that goal.

“Jack is a huge reason why we’re playing on Saturday. He’s the heart and soul of this team.”

Voth has an argument as one of the most impactful two-way players in the state. He splits time between running back (351 rushing yards, 11 touchdowns) and wide receiver (68 catches, 954 receiving yards, 11 touchdowns) on offense, then spearheads the defense at outside linebacker (69 tackles, 17 tackles for loss).

When Cheney snapped Andale’s 57-game winning streak, which was the longest in the country at the time, Voth knocked down Andale’s fourth-down pass attempt in overtime, then scored the game-winning rushing touchdown on the next snap.

In the rematch in last week’s semifinals, when Cheney rallied from a 24-0 deficit to win 28-24, Voth tied the state record with 19 catches in a game.

“I feel spoiled,” Wehrman said. “Jack is a kid who is one in I don’t even know how many. I’ve never had a kid like Jack before.”

When asked about tying the state record, Voth immediately gave credit to his quarterback, Josh Burdick, a star in his own right who has thrown for 2,398 yards and 33 touchdowns this season, and his offensive linemen.

But Voth earned more than his share of credit through the countless hours of work he logged in the offseason and during the season with his diligence in the weight room and film room.

In the summer, Voth and Burdick would wait until the sun set and head to Cheney’s football field to work together. Burdick would practice his three-step drops and throwing on the run, while building chemistry in July that is now showing up in November.

“We worked so hard in the offseason together and I think that’s what sets us apart,” Burdick said. “Throwing about every night in the summer has helped get our chemistry down and that’s really helped us have confidence that we would get this far.

“Sometimes in games I can’t even see him, but I just trust that he’s going to be there and I throw it and trust the chemistry and he ends up making the catch.”

That constant hunger to improve has morphed an already good football player into one of the best ones in the state.

For as impressive as Voth’s physical ability is on the field, Wehrman said his football IQ is just as impressive.

“I remember when we played Andale the first time,” Wehrman said, “Jack came running up to me and said, “Coach, on this formation with this personnel, they only run these plays.’ I was just stunned. That’s the type of stuff they do in college when they break down film and he’s already doing it on his own right now.”

Voth is an example of why coaches love it when the best players are also the hardest workers: he sets the tone in the weight room and Cheney’s football team has responded.

On top of what he does in the Cheney weight room, Voth also worked with local trainer Rashad Daniels to improve as a wide receiver through speed work, route-running techniques and separation drills. Even as his physical abilities have grown, Voth strives to out-work his competition.

“I think it’s because I’m just never satisfied with myself,” Voth said. “Always knowing I’ve never reached my goal and there’s always improvements to be made in my game, no matter what it is. It could be speed or route running or analyzing film, technique in the weight room. I know I’m not a perfect player and there’s always something that needs to be fixed.”

While football became his focus in high school, Voth said it was on the basketball court when his work ethic was furthered growing up.

His mentality perfectly aligned with his summer basketball coach, Vincent Williams, on the Kansas Players, then Buddy Buckets. The local basketball coach said it was clear from an early age that Voth’s work ethic was different.

“You could tell Jackson already had the work ethic instilled in him and then he got around me and it just intensified,” Williams said. “He took everything I said and intensified it. He’s a great kid, man. Super intelligent, hard-working, just a winner. He’s an Evan Wessel-type kid. When he came around me, it was just a match made in heaven because he pretty much embodied everything that I’ve ever tried to teach my kids.”

Whether it was football or basketball, Voth was always looking for more work.

“He’s always been a hard worker in everything that he does,” Alyson Voth said. “He was never a kid who didn’t want to go to practice. He was the opposite. He wanted to practice more, do extra training. Anything that would make him just a little bit better, a little stronger, a little faster.”

Voth has been verbally committed to play football for New Mexico State since the spring, although his superb senior season in the fall has garnered more Division I interest.

Wehrman is confident Voth, who is 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds, will be a successful college football player.

“I know at the D1 level, they love their top-end speed and Jack is fast, but he doesn’t have that elite top-end speed,” Wehrman said. “But I think he’s going to get there. He’ll talk to some trainer, find some lift, find some technique, some way to get faster because that’s what he does.”

It wouldn’t be the first time Voth has trusted his hard work to accomplish something seemingly out of reach.

And after doing what seemed like the impossible — beating Andale twice in a season — Voth is ready to make it happen one more time on Saturday and give Cheney its first state title in school history.

“I think coach would tell you that this is the hardest any of his teams have ever worked,” Voth said. “And we have so much chemistry and our whole team is so selfless. Everyone is concerned about what’s best for the team.

“When you get guys who are bought in and just want to win, a lot of good things tend to happen.”