ANDALE, Kan. — Ad Astra Radio is excited to announce that it will be the new home for Andale Indians Football and Boys & Girls Basketball games.
All high school football and basketball games will be broadcasted on the Andale Channel on the Ad Astra Radio App and online at www.andaleradio.com. Video will also be available on Ad Astra TV and YouTube.
“I think this is a huge benefit to our community and a huge benefit to our student athletes as well,” Andale High School Athletic Director and Boys Head Basketball Coach Jeff Buchanan said.
Coach Buchanan has been at the high school for 20 years. For the past few years, he taught a business class at the high school while also being Assistant Principal and Athletic Director for Andale Grade School. This year he made the transition to high school AD.
Coach Buchanan is glad the word is getting out about all of the great things going on at Andale.
“Not just the athletics and in the activities, but the academic side as well. And our community support around the school is, by far, one of the best in the area,” Buchanan said. “Everybody’s bought into the success of these young men and women, and they want to see the school community well.”
With the support from the community and with Ad Astra’s help of broadcasting games, Coach Buchanan added that the student athletes’ hard work is going to be spread across a much larger area, and get them that recognition they deserve.
The school had a radio station a couple years ago that broadcasted their games and that didn’t continue working out so now people are starting to hear about this being in the mix. Numerous kids at enrollment have already asked about being able to watch and listen to the games again.
“Especially our older community, the older ones that don’t get to travel to all the games…they’re very, very, very excited,” Buchanan said.
Dylan Schmidt is starting his ninth season coaching the Indians Football team.
“I couldn’t be more excited for our program and for our kids,” Schmidt said. “Anytime you get recognition for what you do is nice and appreciated. I think it adds another element to our program.”
Previously, there was a pregame show that ran and some other things like it, so they are happy to have coverage once again.
“There’s a lot of time and effort and energy that’s put into our program, from a lot of people, and so when you can recognize that, that’s pretty cool,” he added.
Coach Schmidt is optimistic about this upcoming season.
“I think we got a great shot, like every year. You know, the key is always staying healthy and getting kids to buy into what you do, and coaches and community and all that,” Schmidt said. “So far, for the summer, it’s been good. The biggest struggle is to continue that day in and day out.”
Prior to being head coach, Schmidt was the assistant coach for about five years and has taught Weights for about 15 years.
Joining the Ad Astra Radio team as the Voice of the Indians is Dylan Sherwood of Emporia, Kansas. He will be entering his 10th season covering high school athletics in Kansas and his fourth as a sports broadcaster this fall.
“I’m very excited to be the Voice of the Indians,” Sherwood said. “ I’m excited to be covering a town that has a passion for its high school athletics and its historic moments.”
Sherwood’s broadcasting journey began in 2008 when he took a video broadcasting class during his sophomore year at Emporia High School.
Now, 17 years later, he joins Ad Astra Radio after spending three years at Emporia’s Radio Stations Inc. in Emporia. During his time there, he served as the Voice of the Spartans, while also covering 12 area high schools, serving as an on-air personality, and assisting with the news department and operations.
Sherwood added that he is excited to join the Ad Astra Radio team and that he would like to thank Ad Astra Radio President and CEO Chris Shank for reaching out to him about the opportunity.
With Andale being the defending state champions in Class 3A, Sherwood is anticipating the start of the football season.
”It’ll be interesting to see what the Indians can do this year,” he said.
Sherwood is also pleased to work with great coaches at Andale including Dylan Schmidt and Jeff Buchanan, and excited to tell the story of their athletes.
“I’m looking forward to bringing quality broadcasts for fans to listen or watch wherever they are if they can’t make it to a game home or away,” Sherwood said.
Before working at Emporia’s Radio Stations, Sherwood spent six years as a sports reporter covering high school athletics with The Salina Journal and The Emporia Gazette. Sherwood got his professional start in radio serving as the Host of The E-Zone at KHDL 99.5 FM in Emporia. He also spent a year in college with Many Signals Communications, providing coverage of Sabetha High School for the radio group’s video stream, the Sabetha Channel.
Sherwood was recently honored by the Kansas Association of Broadcasters (KAB) with a second place finish in spot news in the Medium Market Radio Division and assisted with an honorable mention selection for Medium Market Radio Station Website. Sherwood also assisted with a second-place finish in 2023 for Severe Weather Coverage in the Medium Market Division. He also has two KAB awards from college, a first place in television sports Play-by-Play and a second in sportscast for an episode of his sports talk show ‘The Sports Show’.
Sherwood is a 2016 graduate of The University of Kansas, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism with an emphasis in News and Information. He also has an Associate of Arts in Mass Communications from Butler Community College.
