By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi will be renewed tonight as the Abilene Cowboys make the short trip down the road to face the Chapman Fighting Irish.
The first time these schools met was back in 1892 and neither has beaten the other four years in a row since the early 60s, but after winning in three consecutive seasons, Chapman has a chance to be the first to do so since the Kennedy administration.
“This is a huge game for our town and our community,” Irish head coach Kurt Webster said. “Our kids know what’s at stake and we know we’re going to get Abilene’s best shot.”
While Abilene has been trying to right the ship in recent years, still in search of their first win since 2018, the Cowboys have been steadily improving, and feel primed for a breakout game.
“Our offense has gotten a lot better from a year ago and it’s continued to improve,” Abilene head coach Brad Nicks said. “I’ve been very impressed with how our kids have refused to quit and they don’t practice like an 0-2 team. We know we’re a couple plays away from a different outcome.”
That improvement has also stood out to coach Webster, who has been very intentional about making sure his team doesn’t look past their biggest rival on Friday.
“We absolutely can’t look past this Abilene team,” he said. “They have a dynamic sophomore quarterback with good fast receivers and you see on film they’re just a few big plays away from being in ballgames. If we don’t play well we won’t win and we have to understand that.”
Chapman has relied heavily on the ground game this season, racking up just under 600 yards in two games.
A big part of that ground and pound offense has been thanks to fullback Eli Riegel, who has accounted for over 150 yards a game despite missing some time through the first two contests.
For Abilene, the name of the game will be ball control, as they try to keep their defense rested for the big moments.
“We have to make sure that we can move the ball offensively and keep our defense off the field,” Nicks said. “When they are on the field we have to stay low, limit the run and prevent them from getting big plays.”
Abilene’s offense runs through sophomore quarterback Stocton Timbrook, who has been putting up just shy of 200 yards per game through the air.
Timbrook will have a chance to challenge a young Irish secondary that has found itself on the back foot a number of times this season.
“Our secondary is going to be tested this week,” Webster said. “We’ve given up a few big plays these first two weeks and we’re going to need some of our younger guys to really step up.”
Kickoff between Chapman and Abilene is scheduled for 7pm at Chapman high school, the Irish enter at 1-1 while the Cowboys come in at 0-2.