By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Abilene Cowboys will need to break out the nametags this fall after graduating 14 impact seniors, but are optimistic about a new veteran movement entering a new campaign.
Brad Nicks returns to the helm for his 7th season leading the Cowboys, and continues rebuilding the football culture at Abilene brick by brick.
“We’ve continued to grow our tradition one year at a time,” Nicks said. “Tradition never graduates and that’s really what we’re trying to build here. Our seniors this year have done a great job of leading and we’ve seen some younger kids step up as well. We’re excited to see how all of that meshes throughout the season.”
Nicks’ leadership, along with that exiting senior class, had a lot to do with the program's turnaround, posting a 19-18 record over the last four seasons following a dismal 0-24 stretch in the prior three.
“We had a great group of kids with that senior class, and all of them got to see the field a ton,” Nicks said. “We had five kids who were first-team all-league, two all-state kids and a shrine bowler last year. It was a fun year, and it’s been fun to see them move on to do bigger and better things.”
As one great senior class departs, another rises to take its place, and despite limited experience, the Class of 2027 is one Nicks and his staff can’t wait to get on the field.
“Our senior class has me very excited,” he said. “Only three of them got significant minutes last year, but this group has been on fire this summer with participation and leadership. Our weight room was electric this summer and our practices have been so upbeat because of these kids. It’s fine to have to get the kids fired up as coaches but it’s great when the kids do that and that’s what we have this year.”
While the names and numbers will look very different in 2026, the style of football Cowboys aspire to play will not, and fans can expect more of what they’ve come to love over the last four seasons.
“Our toughness will be a big strength this season,” Nicks said. “These kids grab their lunch pail and go to work every day and that toughness is something we feel we can hang our hat on. That translates to both sides of the ball, and we’ll see how the season goes, but I think resilience and toughness are things we can rely on.”
That’s not to say this year won’t come with its own unique set of challenges, for a squad with a slew of new starters getting their first opportunities under the Friday night lights.
“We’re still trying to figure out how all of our pieces fit together,” he said. “We’re still not 100% sure where everyone will end up but that also means we have competitions ongoing for a lot of those spots and that’s a great thing. Any time you’ve got young guys jumping out there you wonder how they’ll handle the lights, but they’ve put the work in in the weight room and we’re excited to get them out there.”
The biggest change for the Cowboys will come at quarterback, where Ethan Evans takes the reins from Taygen Funston, who ran the Abilene offense for the last two seasons.
“Ethan has done a great job for us stepping into the quarterback role and we knew he was our guy this offseason,” Nicks said. “He’s got a great arm and he’s got great toughness as a guy who plays inside linebacker too. His knowledge of the game is excellent and he’s never been a full-time quarterback before, but Taygen wasn’t either, and we feel very confident in him and his leadership.”
Evans will have a new running mate in the backfield as Dayven Cuba slides in to replace Lane Hoekman as the Cowboy’s bell-cow back.
Out wide, Abilene will have an entirely new cast of receivers, with seven different players battling for starting roles, and a chance to succeed names like Levi Evans and Lane Hoekman from 2025.
Cael Casteel, Corbin Blake and Tristan Gilliland will anchor the effort in the trenches on both sides of the ball, with Deandre Davis and Robert Collins rounding out the offensive line.
On defense, Ethan Evans and Ryan McKinney return to lead the linebacking corps, while Phoenix Pannell, Dayven Cuba, Bryan Peterson, Luke Watson and Luke Hunter patrol the secondary.
There are few crucibles as effective for testing a team than the NCKL, but for better or worse, Abilene will have an opportunity to rise to the occasion against some of the top teams in the state of Kansas as they settle into their new identity.
“We have a very top-loaded schedule,” Nicks said. “Going to Concordia is going to be a big challenge, Wamego is always ranked, we’ve got a big rivalry game with a much better Chapman squad, and then we go to Rock Creek. Those four will be some of the toughest teams in our league but we’ve gotta come out guns blazing in those games.”
Despite inexperience and a brutal schedule, the Cowboys aren’t backing down from the challenge and will be after the same prizes they’ve been chasing for the last four years.
“Our goals stay the same,” he said. “We want a home playoff game and we want to win that game and keep moving down that road into November.”
The Cowboys will open the new campaign on the road in Concordia on September 4th.
2026 Abilene Football Schedule
- 9/4 - at Concordia
- 9/11 - vs. Wamego
- 9/18 - vs. Chapman
- 9/25 - at Rock Creek
- 10/2 - vs. Clay Center
- 10/9 - vs. Augusta
- 10/16 - at Towanda-Circle
- 10/23 - at Marysville