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 o’clock.
Fortified by 10 seniors, the Cardinals expect to contend for a Class C-1 top 10 ranking this fall. They feature one of the state’s top all-around players in running back/linebacker Quinn Bailey, who already owns most of the school’s 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 haven’t been on the Cards’ schedule since 2019.
Chadron Head Coach Michael Sandstrom notes that Broken Bow is “used to winning,” 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. It’s 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 Cardinals’ 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 year’s Broken Bow team returns four starters on offense and six on defense. The standout is the coach’s 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 team’s tackle chart with 63 stops.
Besides Cal Wells, Broken Bow’s 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 Indians’ leading rushers a year ago also were seniors. They combined to gain more than 2,800 of the team’s 3,655 yards on the ground. None of this year’s 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 Cardinals’ signal caller and Zack Jackson is listed as the Indians’ 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 again—all 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:
Chadron’s Probable Starters
Offense
Wide receivers—Braden Wright, 5-11, 160, So., Bricen Wright, 5-11, 160, So., and Talon Jelinek, 5-11, 165, Sr.-Tobin Rust, 5-11, 155.
Tackles—Zane Cullers, 5-11, 180, Sr., and Alex Fisher, 6-3, 215, Sr.
Guards—Jon Fintel, 6-4, 250, Sr., and Owen Wess, 6-2, 215, Sr.
Center—Bryson Bickel, 6-2, 235, Sr.
Quarterback—Tobin Landen, 6-0, 165, So.
Running Back—Quinn Bailey, 5-8, 180, Sr.
Fullback—Caden Buskirk, 5-9, 170, Sr.
Defense
Ends—Zane Culler, 5-11, 180, Sr.-Owen Wess, 6-1, 215, Sr.-Talon Jelinek, 5-11, 165, Sr.
Tackles—Bryson Bickel, 6-2, 235, Sr.-Jon Fintel, 6-4, 250, Sr.-Alex Fisher, 6-3, 215, Sr.
Linebackers—Quinn Bailey, 5-8, 180, Sr., Caden Buskirk, 5-9, 170, Sr., Layne Davidson, 5-9, 160, Jr., Tobin Rust, 5-11, 165, Sr.
Backs—Tobin Meyer, 5-8, 140, Jr., Braden Wright, 5-11, 160, So., Bricen Wright, 5-11, 160, So.
Broken Bow’s Probable Starters
Offense
Wide receivers—Coy Wardyn, 5-9, 155, Sr., and Braxton Johnson, 180, Sr.
Tight end—Will Moniger, 5-10, 160, Sr.
Linemen—Jay Bumgarner, 190, Sr., Shaun Crawford, 205, Sr., Drew Ellis, 220, So., Angel Loya, 215, Sr., and Cal Wells, 230, Sr.
Quarterback—Zack Jackson, 150, So.
Running Backs—Gavin Carrizales, 160, Sr., Ayden Clark, 5-10, 200, So., Aiden Markam, 5-8, 175, Jr.
Defense
Ends—Drew Ellis, 220, So., and Cobe Wells, 5-10, 165, So.
Tackles—Jay Bumgarner, 190, Sr., Shaun Crawford, 215, Sr., Angel Lola, 215, Sr., and Cal Wells, 6-1, 230, Sr.
Linebackers—Gavin Carrizales, 160, Sr., Ayden Clark, 5-10, 200, So., and Aiden Markam, 5-8, 175, Jr.
Backs—Braxton Johnson, 180, Sr., Zack Jackson, 150, So., Dominic Nowak, 150, Jr., and Coy Wardyn, 5-9, 155, Sr.