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The Irish Are Not So Lucky !!!
by Gabe Johnson
The Abilene Cowboys took almost no time to jump on top of their rival Chapman Irish Friday night. In fact, it only took them as long as a 60-yard Harley Hazlett touchdown run.
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| This is the first play of the game. Harley escapes this defender and goes on to score a touchdown. Photo by Denise Youtsey |
On the first play from scrimmage, junior quarterback Harley Hazlett called his own number on an option run and took it 60 yards to the house to put the Cowboys up 6-0 early in the contest. Abilene forced Chapman to punt on their first offensive possession of the game and immediately began to move the ball down the field. A 20-yard pass play on third down from Hazlett to senior tight-end Zach Barbieri moved the Cowboys to midfield and kept the drive alive. Senior fullback Brent Hirsch ran the ball three times for 30 yards on the drive. Senior Tanner Hoekman walked into the end-zone from 9 yards out on fourth down to increase the Cowboys’ lead to 12-0 in the first quarter.
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| Photo by Denise Youtsey |
The following drive, the stout Cowboy defense forced a three-and-out from the Irish offense, putting the ball back into the hands of the confident Abilene offense to begin the second quarter. After a false start penalty moved the Cowboys back to the Chapman 45-yard-line, Hazlett fired a pass to the goal-line which was pulled down by Hoekman for the third Cowboy touchdown of the night. Hoekman ran in an option play towards the left pylon for the two-point conversion, making the score 20-0 in favor of Abilene.
The Irish began to string together a drive of their own. Solid runs up the middle slowly moved them into Cowboy territory. On third down, on the Abilene 34-yard-line, a rare pass from the run-heavy Irish offense was intercepted by senior cornerback Elliot Gassman and returned just across midfield. A long pass play from Hazlett to Hoekman put the Cowboys on the Irish 1-yard-line, and two plays later Hoekman punched it in for his second rushing touchdown, and third total touchdown of the night. The PAT made the score 27-0 in favor of Abilene. The Cowboys carried their 27-0 lead over the Irish into halftime.
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| Cowboy touchdown just before halftime. Photo by Denise Youtsey |
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| Abilene High School Band. Photo by Denise Youtsey |
To begin the second half, the Cowboy defense once again stopped the Chapman offense and forced another punt. Hazlett threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to a leaping Barbieri in the back of the end-zone for the pairs second score of the night. The PAT boosted the score to 34-0 minutes into the third quarter. After the score, sophomore Ryan Wilson replaced Hazlett as the signal-caller for the remainder of the game to prevent any injury to the star quarterback. Later in the third quarter, on 3rd and 6 from the Irish 45, Wilson handed the ball off to Brent Hirsch, who reeled off a 35 yard run to put the Cowboys within striking distance of the Irish end-zone. After a holding penalty on the Cowboys moved the ball back to the 21-yard-line, Wilson hit Barbieri for the senior tight-end’s third touchdown of the game and Wilson’s first passing touchdown of his varsity career. Abilene shut down any possibility of a comeback with the score, extending their lead to 40-0.
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| The Offensive Line at work protecting the QB. Photo by Denise Youtsey |
Chapman was able to salvage a consolation touchdown in the fourth quarter, making the score 40-7, but ultimately their fate had been decided long before. This proved to be the final score of the game, making the official result a 40-7 victory for the Abilene Cowboys. The Cowboys moved their record to 5-0 overall this season (4-0 in NCKL), and the Irish dropped to 2-3 overall. The game could prove to be a decisive one in Abilene’s chase for a North Central Kansas League title, having played all but one of their league games this season. Abilene will travel to Clay Center next Friday, October 10, for their final NCKL matchup of the season, hoping to clinch the league title outright with a victory.
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| Abilene High School Fans Celebrate. Photo by Denise Youtsey |
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