By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
A pair of NCKL foes will square off in St. George on Friday night as the Abilene Cowboys travel north to take on the Rock Creek Mustangs.
Both teams come into this contest at 2-1, with Abilene fresh off a 37-7 blowout of Concordia and Rock Creek coming off a rout of their own 57-0 over Bonner Springs.
The Mustangs are the new kids on the block in the NCKL this year, but have gone toe-to-toe with teams like Clay Center, Marysville, and Abilene year after year.
“We’ve played a lot of NCKL teams in all sports so this is no different,” Rock Creek head coach Shane Sieben said. “We know what to expect out of these teams in all sports but now we’re official members and it adds a little excitement to these rivalries.”
Much of the Cowboy’s success has come on the back of junior quarterback Taygen Funston, who leads the team in passing (13-21, 199 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT), and is second in both rushing (12 carries, 183 yds, 3 TD), and receiving (7 rec, 117 yds, 1 TD).
“Taygen is a great athlete but he’s an even better person,” Abilene head coach Brad Nicks said. “He’s a great competitor, he’s phenomenal in the weight room and he’s such a good leader. His skill set is very unique with what he can do and we can line him up in a lot of different spots. He’s intelligent with the football and he’s always looking for ways he can get better.”
Funston will be a big focal point of the Rock Creek defense, as the Mustangs look to contain one of the most elusive athletes in class 4A.
“[Funston] can beat you in a number of ways,” Sieben said. “You don’t know where he’s going to line up and you don’t know where Rock is going to line up. That’s the toughest challenge they present and for us, we have to recognize where guys are at, play true to our keys and execute assignment-sound, physical football.”
For Abilene, this game will be a true test, as Rock Creek represents the biggest challenge they’re received since their season opener with Clay Center.
“Rock Creek is so fundamentally sound,” Nicks said. “They line up exactly right every single time and they’re very consistent with what they do. They bring back a lot of guys from last year and they’re very well-coached. We have to block and tackle well, to me those are the big things. We have to avoid turnovers and we can’t give up big plays.”
This game also represents a big opportunity for the Mustangs to defend their home turf and collect their first statement victory of the season over another contender.
“Abilene is big and physical up front,” Sieben said. “They’ve got a lot of pieces that can hurt you and they put the ball in their playmakers hands in a lot of different ways. We have to win the turnover battle tonight and make sure we get off the field on third downs.”
Kickoff between the Mustangs and Cowboys is scheduled for 7:00 in St. George, KS.
Tonight’s game can be watched on Salina Post free of charge and will be available for playback any time on-demand. The link to our broadcast is below, and pregame coverage will begin at 6:40.