pictured is Ryan McKinney, image courtesy of Brad Anderson 

MARYSVILLE: The Abilene Cowboys had the lead for 13 seconds Friday night and then everything changed on one kick return by JT Becker.  The return sparked an offensive explosion as the Bulldogs scored 21 points in the final 4 minutes of the half.  Becker, a 5’9” 165 Junior, had a huge night with 4 touchdowns.  He scored 2 receiving touchdowns, a rushing score and a kick return.

In the first half, Abilene took a brief lead after Senior, Ethan Evans connected with Senior,  Ryan McKinney, on a 33-yard pass play.  The score gave the Cowboys a 7-6 lead with 4:13 left to play in the first half.  Becker would then give Marysville the lead with an 80-yard kick return with 4:00 minutes to play in the half. After a Grady Schroedl two-point conversion run, the Bulldogs led 14-7.  Abilene went three and out and Becker had a punt return to the Cowboy 26 yard line.  Three plays later he was on the receiving end of a 24-yard touchdown pass from Grady Schroedl with 1:04 to play in the half to increase the lead to 21-7.  Finally, Ty Hager came up with his second interception of the half to setup the final first half score by the Bulldogs.  He returned the football to the Abilene 13-yard line.  Marysville would then score 2 plays later on a 13 yard touchdown reception by Nate Schotte to make the halftime score 28-7.

Marysville improved to 6-2 with the victory and will host Southeast of Saline in the opening round of the playoffs.  The Bulldogs defeated the Trojans 28-14 on September 25 which snapped their 52-game regular season winning streak.  The Bulldogs are one of the best stories in the NCKL and the State as they were just 1-8 last season under Tony Trimble.

The trip to Marysville for football may the last for a while as they Bulldogs will make the jump to the Big East League in the 2028-29 season.  They are a founding member of the NCKL.  They are making the move because of declining enrollment.  They are Class 2A while the rest of the NCKL is either 3A or 4A.

The Abilene Cowboys have now lost three straight and are 1-7, 0-6 on the season. They will travel to Wamego for the opening round of the playoffs.  The Red Raiders edged Jeff West, Friday, 22-20 to improve to 6-1.  Abilene lost to Wamego 57-13 on September 11.

City Plumbing & HVAC Player of the Game

Senior, Ryan McKInney, 2 catches for 68 yards and a touchdown

Scoring Summary

2Q – 9:52 – JT Becker 37 yard reception from Schroedl, 6-0

2Q – 4:13 – Ryan McKinney 33 yard reception from Evans, 7-6

2Q – 4:00 – Becker 80 yard kick return, 14-7

2Q – 1:04 – Becker 24 yard reception from Schroedl, 21-7

2Q – :35 – Nate Schotte 13 yard reception from Schroedl, 28-7

3Q – 13.8 – Becker 57 yard run, 35-7

4Q – 6:12 – Layden Woodyard 3 yard run, 41-7