Cheney football star Jackson Voth continues family affair at Kansas Shrine Bowl

Growing up in Cheney when Jackson Voth was a child, sometime in grade school, he was given the assignment to write about his hero.

There was no thought given. He wrote about his father, Matt.

That sentiment never changed over the years when Jackson blossomed into a star athlete for Cheney High School, just like his father once was. He led Cheney to a dream football season, winning the school’s first state championship, and earned the opportunity to play collegiately for Kansas State.

And this past Saturday, Jackson continued to follow in his father’s footsteps by playing in the Shrine Bowl at Welch Stadium in Emporia. In fact, Matt (1995) and his two oldest sons, Harrison (2022) and Jackson (2024), have all represented Cheney in the Shrine Bowl.

“My dad has been my biggest role model growing up,” Jackson Voth said. “He taught me work ethic from Day 1. He instilled it in my head that I may never be the biggest or fastest, but If I control what I can control, then it will work out for me in the end. He constantly repeated that to me, out-work everyone, and he’s always been there for me. He’s played such a huge role in my life.”

That mindset has produced three of the best football players to ever come through Cheney.

Three decades ago, Matt Voth was the Cardinals’ star quarterback and passed for 2,689 yards, which ranked second in state history for a season at the time, and was named a Top 11 player. His oldest son, Harrison, was also a star signal-caller and led Cheney to 10 wins, which at the time was a school record, during his senior year in 2021 when he was named a Second 11 player in the state.

Jackson, however, played wide receiver and linebacker and helped Cheney to a perfect 13-0 record and Class 3A state championship. He caught 77 passes for 1,033 yards and 11 touchdowns, then added 73 tackles, 17 for a loss, two sacks and two interceptions on defense. He too was named a Top 11 player this past season.

“Jackson is an easy kid to root for because he works so hard at everything,” Matt Voth said. “His grades, his faith and athletics. He really believes that he can out-work anybody. That’s what we tried to instill in our kids and he’s done a great job of embracing that. I’m really proud of him and all of my kids.”

The family connection to the Shrine Bowl was actually forgotten until recently when Alyson Voth, Jackson’s mother and a former Division I basketball player herself, reminded them.

A shared experience quickly emerged when Matt and his two sons began talking about the high school football all-star game.

“We all talked about how hot the practices were,” Matt Voth said with a laugh. “I just remember practicing out in Hays and how hot it was back then in the middle of the summer.”

Another theme the trio discussed was the impact of interacting with the patients at Shriners Children’s Hospital. In Matt’s time, the players were flown to St. Louis to visit the actual hospital, but a change made in 2011 now sends a handful of patients to Kansas to meet with the players, cheerleaders and band members part of the event.

“The whole week leading up to the game was not only life-changing, but the memories we made were absolutely incredible,” Jackson Voth said.

“The game is the fun part, but it really is so much more about the kids and what the Shriners do than the game itself,” Matthew Voth added.

Jackson Voth caught a touchdown in Saturday’s game, but said he would have traded it for a different final result than the 36-25 score that favored the East team, which was the East’s first win in the game since 2018.

Blue Valley Southwest quarterback Dylan Dunn, a BYU recruit, completed 25 of 33 passes for 307 yards and four touchdowns to set the Shrine Bowl records for completions, passing yards and touchdowns and was named the East MVP. Meanwhile, Clay Center’s Brody Hayes was named the West MVP.

Following the game, Jackson returned to Cheney for less than 24 hours of rest before he was headed back to Manhattan on Sunday evening to resume summer training with Kansas State.

A versatile player in high school, Jackson said the Wildcats have him focused on playing slot receiver. He also said his goal is to play somewhere on special teams for K-State.

“I know it’s a huge challenge, but I just have to stay positive and stay true to who I am,” Jackson Voth said. “As for goals, I want to be the hardest worker in the room. I know if I’m the hardest worker, then everything else will take care of itself.”

It’s the same mindset he learned from his father, his hero who he continues to make proud.

“We understand that he may or may not make it at this level, but we know if he doesn’t, it won’t be because of lack of effort,” Matt Voth said. “It’s unbelievable the resources that Kansas State has to help him reach his potential, so we know he’s going to reach it. We don’t know (the future), but I’d bet on him and I believe in him and I think his work ethic is going to give him a chance to really help their team.”