pictured is Zach Miller, picture courtesy of Brad Anderson
TOWANDA – The Circle Thunderbirds continued their breakthrough season Friday night in a Senior Night 40-0 victory over the Abilene Cowboys. Circle won 6 games last season which was their most wins since 2010. The Thunderbirds only won 4 combined games from 2017-2020. Circle is 5-1 this season with their only loss to McPherson. They have a 38-35 victory over Buhler, the same Crusader team that beat them 76-0 last year.
In the victory Friday night, the Thunderbirds racked up, unofficially, 529 yards of total offense, with 315 of that on the ground. Circle jumped out to a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. In the 2nd quarter, Abilene put together a drive that went deep into Thunderbird territory that resulted in an interception by Cole Glaves. Circle took possession at their own 8 yard line and then Ty Smith caught a 62 yard bomb that set up a 7 yard touchdown run by Quarterback, Cooper Chadwell to give the Thunderbirds a 20-0 lead with 4:46 left in the half. Abilene would go on to turn the ball over two more times in a row and Circle made them pay after Dylan Foes had intercepted his second straight pass. Glaves would catch a 30 yard score with 50 seconds left in the half to extend the lead to 28-0 after the touchdown and a 2-point conversion run by Westin Rose.
Rose was the star last week for the Thunderbirds with 240 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 37-15 victory over Augusta. Friday night, the night belonged to Junior Running back, Connor Chadwell. He had 179 yards on 13 carries and scored on runs of 2, 12, & 56 yards. He was complemented on the night by Senior Receiver, Ty Smith who 3 catches for 177 yards and a 76 yard touchdown.
Abilene finished the night with 187 yards of total offense in the loss. The Nex-Tech Wireless Player of the Game, for Abilene, was Sophomore Linebacker, Landon Taplin. The Cowboys are now 3-3 on the season and are #8 in the 4A West Standings. If they finish in the top 8 they will host a playoff game. The Cowboys will host Augusta next Friday for Senior night before they wrap up the season at undefeated Wamego. Augusta is currently 1-5 on the season but they have losses to undefeated, state ranked Chanute, 5-1 McPherson, 5-1 Circle and 3-3 Buhler. The Orioles fell 28-14 to the Crusaders Friday night. Augusta has had Abilene’s number in recent seasons. They defeated the Cowboys 28-0 last year and have defeated the Cowboys 4 straight seasons in a row.
