Pictured:
(Front Row left to right) Kash Hargrave, Levi Evans, Nolan Wilkens, Lane Hokeman, Aiden Woods, Landyn Rogers, Kayden Thrower
(Back Row left to right) Canyn Taylor, Brayden Blake, Jaxson Cuba, Heath Hoekman, Taygen Funston, Pierce Casteel and Jalen Robinson
The Abilene Cowboy football team brought back a wealth of experience in 2025. They return 8 players on offense and 6 on defense from a team that went 3-6 a season ago. Some of those same returners contributed to a Cowboy team that went 7-3 in 2023. That season Abilene defeated Arkansas City for their first playoff victory since 2015 and the Cowboys would go on to lose 28-21 to eventual 4A State runner-up Andover Central in the second round. Despite losing their entire backfield from their record-breaking 2023 offense, Abilene still averaged 22 points and 303 yards per game last season. What hurt Abilene was turnovers. Abilene had 18 total turnovers in their 6 losses compared to just 4 turnovers in their 3 wins.
This season the turnover margin will most certainly improve with the experience at the quarterback position. Abilene returns one of the top athletes in the NCKL at Quarterback in 6’1” 170 Senior, Taygen Funston. Funston was part of a talented receiving core in his Freshman and Sophomore seasons and returned to the quarterback position last year, a position he excelled at in middle school. Last season, Funston rushed for 454 yards and 10 touchdowns and threw for an additional 1,163 yards and 7 touchdowns. He also caught 13 passes, last year, for 152 yards and a score when the now graduated, Aaron Hartman took snaps under center.
Funston loses one of the top receivers in the State in Weston Rock. Rock accounted for 16 receiving touchdowns over the last two seasons which included 6 last year. This summer, he competed in the Shrine Bowl and has taken his talents to Tabor College. Rock is a big loss but the rest of the unit is back which includes the Senior tandem of Levi Evans and Nolan Wilkens, who combined for 3 touchdowns last season. Funston will also have huge targets in Seniors, Heath Hoekman and Jaxson Cuba. Hoekman, a 6’ 225 Senior, Tight-End/H-Back caught 24 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown a season ago. Cuba, a 6’3” 210 Senior, caught 4 passes for 59 yards and a score.
On the ground, the Cowboys will continue to look to Lane Hoekman to carry the football. Lane, a 5’10” 165 Senior, started at tailback a season ago and is the twin brother of Heath. Lane ran for 429 yards and 4 touchdowns last year as a Junior.
Up front, the Cowboys graduated the talented tandem of Tyler Holloway and Devin Alvarez, who were both 4-year starters. Alvarez was a KFBCA All-State pick. Holloway will play at Tabor with Rock this fall. Abilene returns three Senior starters on their offensive line in Jalen Robinson, Pierce Casteel and Canyn Taylor. New to the line this season will be Senior Brayden Blake and Junior, Cael Casteel. Cael is Pierce’s younger brother. Their father Corey, is on the staff and is a 1997 graduate of AHS.
Defensively Abilene was hit a little harder by graduation. The Cowboys lost their top 2 tacklers from last season in Landon Taplin and Weston Rock, the pair were Honorable Mention All-NCKL a season ago. Taplin was the leading tackler in each of the last 2 seasons. Abilene also graduated Joesph Welsh, who too was H.M. All-NCKL. Despite the losses, Abilene brings back 6 starters for a unit that gave up 29 ppg and 310 yards per game led by, Heath Hoekman and Jaxson Cuba. The pair stand out as defensive ends. Heath was an All-NCKL selection a season ago with 83 tackles, 41 solo, 7 tackles for a loss and a sack. Jaxon totaled 79 tackles, 30 solo, 3 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 3 fumble-recoveries. The secondary this season is led by Funston, Levi Evans and Junior, Ethan Evans. Last season the secondary was great at takeaways. Funston had 6 interceptions and Levi Evans had 3. Levi’s brother Ethan, a 6’1” 185 Junior, was fourth on the team in tackles with 81. He also had 5 tackles for a loss and 2 sacks
Abilene is led by Brad Nicks in his 6th season with the Cowboys. His staff has slightly changed with the retirement of long-time teacher/coach Mark Willey and Brad Hartman. Willey led the Cowboy offense over the last 4 years as offensive coordinator. Hartman had served on the staff for 17 seasons. Caleb Kindall was promoted to offensive coordinator. New additions to the staff are Ryan Niles and Amir Barnhardt. They join Alan Randals, Dan Rheingans, Corey Casteel, and Les Zoch.
The NCKL added Rock Creek last season and they finished tied for 1st in the league race. Wamego and Rock Creek both finished 5-1 in the NCKL but Wamego won the head-to-head matchup 20-0. The Red Raiders are led by Salina native, Weston Moody, and having been the measuring stick in the league since his arrival. Wamego finished 8-2 and reached the 4A quarterfinals last season, the semifinals in ’23 and the State Championship in 2022. Rock Creek got upset in the 2nd round by Holcomb last season but still finished 7-2. The Mustangs are led by Shane Sieben, who is also the school’s baseball coach, where he has won 3 State Championships.
Despite tough NCKL competition Coach Nicks, is excited and optimistic about the upcoming season. “I am really excited for the upcoming Cowboy football season. We have a great Senior class, that not only is talented but showed a lot of commitment this summer. Their leadership will be key this season as we continue to grow, and I am excited what the combination of our experience and younger kids can produce this season!
In all, Abilene has 53 players out for football with 14 of them being Seniors. The Cowboys will travel to Southeast of Saline on Friday 8/29 for a Jamboree at 6 pm. The other teams at the Jamboree will be Smoky Valley and Minneapolis. Abilene will then open the year against league rival Clay Center for the second straight season. You can catch all the games live on AM 1560 KABI, 95.9 FM and www.kabithegeneral.com. You can listen and watch all home games on https://www.abileneschools.org/page/5-star-studios. All games start at 7 pm and you can listen to the pregame show on KABI at 6:40 pm.
2025 Abilene Cowboy Schedule
September 5 vs Clay Center
September 12 at Chapman
September 19 at Concordia
September 26 vs Rock Creek
October 3 at Marysville
October 10 at Augusta
October 17 El Dorado
October 14 Wamego
