By Con Marshall
After winning the first game of the season each of the last seven years, the Chadron High Cardinals will strive to keep that string alive when they open the 2024 football schedule Friday night by hosting Broken Bow at Cardinal Field. Kickoff will be at 6 oโclock.
Fortified by 10 seniors, the Cardinals expect to contend for a Class C-1 top 10 ranking this fall. They feature one of the stateโs top all-around players in running back/linebacker Quinn Bailey, who already owns most of the schoolโs single game, single season and career rushing and scoring records.
Bailey will be bolstered by a strong group of classmates who will be blocking for him when he carries the ball and lead the way in forming what is expected to be a potent defense.
Broken Bow is something of a mystery team because the Indians havenโt been on the Cardsโ schedule since 2019.
Chadron Head Coach Michael Sandstrom notes that Broken Bow is โused to winning,โ and will undoubtedly be a challenging opponent. The Indians won their first playoff game last year, finished with a 7-4 record and were ranked eighth in Class C-1 by the Omaha World-Herald at the end of the season.
One concern is the fact that under Carlie Wells, who is in his fifth season as the head coach at Broken Bow, the Indians have generally run the Maryland I. It usually places three running backs directly behind the quarterback, providing an array of handoff and pitch options. Itโs something opponents seldom see and can baffle a defense, particularly early in the game before the would-be tacklers figure out the tendencies.
Battle Creek, the team that ended what had been the Cardinalsโ perfect season in 2021 with a 28-20 victory during the first round of the playoffs, is the only other team to employ the Maryland I that the Red Birds have met in recent memory.
This yearโs Broken Bow team returns four starters on offense and six on defense. The standout is the coachโs son, Cal Wells, a 6-foot-1, 240-pound lineman who was a first-team all-stater last season, when he participated in 79 tackles. His younger brother, Cobe, listed at 5-10, 160, started as a freshman and was third on the teamโs tackle chart with 63 stops.
Besides Cal Wells, Broken Bowโs probable starters include four linemen who weigh at least 190, although apparently none of the four was a starter last season.
All three of the Indiansโ leading rushers a year ago also were seniors. They combined to gain more than 2,800 of the teamโs 3,655 yards on the ground. None of this yearโs probable ball carriers ran for more than 125 yards last fall.
Broken Bow completed just 24 passes for 438 yards last season.
Both teams are expected to be breaking in a sophomore quarterback. Tobin Landen will be the Cardinalsโ signal caller and Zack Jackson is listed as the Indiansโ probable starter under center. Neither saw much playing time at that position last fall, but Jackson played enough defense to make 19 tackles.
Broken Bow owns a 6-4 advantage in the all-time series. The Indians won the first game 27-6 during the second round of the Class B playoffs in 1987 and went on to win the state championship.
It would be 22 years before Chadron and Broken Bow met on the gridiron againโall in regular season contests. The Indians also won the first three games in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Following a three-year gap in the rivalry, the Cardinals won in 2014. The Indians prevailed again in 2015, Chadron won in both 2016 and 2017, Broken Bow came out on top in 2018 and the Cards triumphed again in 2019, the last time the football teams from schools that are nearly 250 miles apart played one another.
The probable starters:
Chadronโs Probable Starters
Offense
Wide receiversโBraden Wright, 5-11, 160, So., Bricen Wright, 5-11, 160, So., and Talon Jelinek, 5-11, 165, Sr.-Tobin Rust, 5-11, 155.
TacklesโZane Cullers, 5-11, 180, Sr., and Alex Fisher, 6-3, 215, Sr.
GuardsโJon Fintel, 6-4, 250, Sr., and Owen Wess, 6-2, 215, Sr.
CenterโBryson Bickel, 6-2, 235, Sr.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย QuarterbackโTobin Landen, 6-0, 165, So.
Running BackโQuinn Bailey, 5-8, 180, Sr.
FullbackโCaden Buskirk, 5-9, 170, Sr.
Defense
EndsโZane Culler, 5-11, 180, Sr.-Owen Wess, 6-1, 215, Sr.-Talon Jelinek, 5-11, 165, Sr.
TacklesโBryson Bickel, 6-2, 235, Sr.-Jon Fintel, 6-4, 250, Sr.-Alex Fisher, 6-3, 215, Sr.
LinebackersโQuinn Bailey, 5-8, 180, Sr., Caden Buskirk, 5-9, 170, Sr., Layne Davidson, 5-9, 160, Jr., Tobin Rust, 5-11, 165, Sr.
BacksโTobin Meyer, 5-8, 140, Jr., Braden Wright, 5-11, 160, So., Bricen Wright, 5-11, 160, So.
Broken Bowโs Probable Starters
Offense
Wide receiversโCoy Wardyn, 5-9, 155, Sr., and Braxton Johnson, 180, Sr.
Tight endโWill Moniger, 5-10, 160, Sr.
LinemenโJay Bumgarner, 190, Sr., Shaun Crawford, 205, Sr., Drew Ellis, 220, So., Angel Loya, 215, Sr., and Cal Wells, 230, Sr.
QuarterbackโZack Jackson, 150, So.
Running BacksโGavin Carrizales, 160, Sr., Ayden Clark, 5-10, 200, So., Aiden Markam, 5-8, 175, Jr.
Defense
EndsโDrew Ellis, 220, So., and Cobe Wells, 5-10, 165, So.
TacklesโJay Bumgarner, 190, Sr., Shaun Crawford, 215, Sr., Angel Lola, 215, Sr., and Cal Wells, 6-1, 230, Sr.
LinebackersโGavin Carrizales, 160, Sr., Ayden Clark, 5-10, 200, So., and Aiden Markam, 5-8, 175, Jr.
BacksโBraxton Johnson, 180, Sr., Zack Jackson, 150, So., Dominic Nowak, 150, Jr., and Coy Wardyn, 5-9, 155, Sr.