Abilene Cowboys Wins Thriller at Ulysses

Abilene Wins Thriller at Ulysses

Erik Graefe

Steve Simpson’s Abilene Cowboys traveled nearly as far west as can be traveled in Kansas to face a very fine Ulysses Tiger football team in the first round of the 4A-1 state playoffs last Friday night. The cold and wind vied all night with the spectacularly entertaining play of both teams for the attention of fans. This game boasted a number of big plays, a number of fine players, and many surprises, as well. The defining play of the evening, at least from the Cowboy perspective, was turned in by junior safety Ryan Wilson on an apparent fifty yard touchdown run by Ulysses’s Ian Rudzik. At the time, the Cowboys were leading by a score of 14 to 6. Rudzik ran nearly untouched around Abilene’s left side, and as he reached Abilene’s fifteen yard line, he seemed to take his foot off of the gas believing Abilene’s defense had given up pursuit. Rudzik’s assumption was true for all but one Cowboy, Ryan Wilson. Wilson channeled his inner Kansas City Royal, simply refusing to give up on the play, catching an unsuspecting Rudzik just prior to the goal line. Wilson knocked the ball from Rudzik’s hand forcing it out of the back of the end zone and awarding the Cowboys with possession of the ball as opposed to a Ulysses touchdown. This play epitomized the night for the Cowboys. They simply refused to be denied a victory.

Simpson would say later of his Cowboys, “We won this game with our hearts. A lot of mistakes, a lot of chances to fade, but our guys just kept fighting.” Rudzik would score 5 touchdowns on the night for Ulysses; while seniors Harley Hazlett and Trey Bender would combine for six for Abilene.

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The game began with Rudzik scoring on a 56 yard run on the Tiger’s first series. Hazlett would answer with a 56 yard touchdown run of his own on Abilene’s very first offensive play. Following a Ulysses fumble, it was Trey Bender’s turn to carry the offensive load. He did scoring ultimately on a 9 yard run. Ryan LaCombe completed a pass to Parker Base for the two point conversion, and Abilene took a 14-6 lead early. It was on the following offensive series for Ulysses when Wilson denied Rudzik his second touchdown of the night. However, Abilene would not be able to capitalize on Wilson’s play and were forced to punt. Rudzik, surprise surprise, fielded Parker O’Neal’s towering punt on his own 4 yard line proceeding to outrun eleven Cowboys for a 96 yard touchdown. At the end of the first quarter, the game was tied at 14, and fans knew they were in for a great three quarters of football.

For Abilene, the spotlight now returned to Trey Bender. Following Rudzik’s punt return, Bender shouldered much of the weight on a drive ending with Harley Hazlett’s second rushing touchdown. LaCombe’s kick put Abilene back on top 21-14. Ulysses answered with another Rudzik touchdown and two point conversion to regain the advantage, 22-21. The advantage was short-lived. Trey Bender took the ensuing kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown.  Bender’s touchdown combined with a Hazlett pass for the two point conversion put Abilene back in front, 29-22. Rudzik would score one more time before half making the halftime score 30-29.

The second half would feature less scoring but no less excitement. Abilene drove deep into Tiger territory to begin the second half, but penalties forced them in to a 3rd and long when Hazlett found senior wideout Dylan Ford on a pass in the flat. Ford eluded several Tiger tacklers to put his team in position to take the lead on a field goal, but LaCombe’s try sailed just left keeping the score 30-29. Ulysses mounted an impressive drive of their own eating most of the remaining time in the 3rd quarter. Rudzik again scored, his fifth of the night, putting his Tigers in front by two scores, 38-29.

As the fourth quarter began, Abilene trailed, but perhaps still inspired by Wilson, the Cowboys never quit fighting. Senior quarterback Harley Hazlett took control of the Cowboy offense down the stretch. Hazlett completed several passes early on in the quarter to Bender, Michael Anguiano, Ben Veach, and others. Hazlett completed nearly 70% of his passes on the night for 154 yards while running for over 100 yards and three touchdowns, and he was never better than when the game was on the line. The short passing delivered the Cowboys to the Ulysses goal line, and Trey Bender scored his third touchdown of the night. Hazlett found Ben Veach in the back of the Tiger end zone for the two point conversion bringing the Cowboys back to within one point, 38-37.

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Nathan Howard’s defense forced another Tiger punt following Bender’s touchdown. On a night when Howard’s defense seemed to have no answers to stop the Tigers, Howard and his guys made adjustments that held Ulysses to only eight second-half points and zero in the fourth quarter. Following the Tiger punt, the Cowboys again rode Hazlett to the end zone. The senior quarterback would score his final of three rushing touchdowns to conclude the drive giving the Cowboys a 43-38 lead. Ulysses made the final act interesting by marching the ball into Abilene territory, but fittingly, it was Ryan Wilson who knocked away the last Tiger pass of the game in the end zone with 7 seconds remaining. The Cowboys knelt one time, and the game was over. The Abilene Cowboys celebrated with their regional championship trophy amid a very impressive Abilene crowd who braved the cold and distance to see their Cowboys win their first playoff game.

Coach Simpson’s assessment of his team’s performance was spot on. This game was won, not with Xs or Os, not with adjustments, not with trickery. This game was won with heart. Perhaps it sounds cheesy to those who didn’t drive 270 miles to witness all of it, but not to those who did. The Cowboys continue their quest for a championship at Andover Central this Friday night at 7 p.m.

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