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In 2018, Dighton’s Jaden Coleman was the lone freshman on one of the more famous teams in recent Kansas football history. Coleman, a running back/defensive back, served as a role player on the “Dighton Nine,” the Hornets’ nine-player roster that won nine games and advanced to the state semifinals. Coach Ken Simon said Coleman was a solid player as a freshman, though “just really small.”
Dighton graduated four key seniors from the ’18 squad, and then went through a litany of issues the last two seasons. Simon knew the years could be challenging. In ’19, Dighton finished 1-8 with its lone victory by forfeit. The Hornets also had to forfeit two games and play a six-man contest in the season finale.
Last fall, Dighton forfeited a pair of contests and had a game cancelled. Dighton won its opener and then dropped seven in a row. Dighton had to play primarily freshman and sophomores and missed Hornets because of injury and non-football reasons. Coleman started both years.
This season, Coleman, the team’s lone four-year player, has continued to improve and is now part of a much more experienced and talented roster. Dighton lists 21 players, its most in more than a decade, including standout junior quarterback Max Neeley.
The Hornets have been one of Kansas’ top breakout teams with a 6-1 record, 4-0 in Eight-Man, Division II, District 7.
“I was expecting those years to be pretty tough on us,” Simon said. “But we have continued to work hard and develop those kids, and they have done a heck of a job working in the weight room and busting their tails to try to get better, and it’s kind of paid off for them.”
On Friday, Dighton plays at No. 5 Bucklin (7-0, 4-0) for the district championship. Bucklin, a headliner all fall under coach Trever Powell, already has its most victories since an 8-2 season in 1996. Bucklin is 1-6 against Dighton all-time with the lone victory a 60-24 win last year.
“I have just been impressed with the guys’ work ethic in practice, and just you can tell that they want to get better every week,” Powell said. “And we really haven’t even played our best football game yet this season, which I am hoping that comes out on Friday against Dighton.”
Bucklin has enjoyed a bevy of milestones, including its first Week 1 victory since ’07 and ending losing streaks of at least four games versus Spearville, South Central and Hodgeman County. The Red Aces beat Hodgeman County, 50-48. Bucklin defeated Spearville (22-6) and earned key district victories versus SC (63-18) and Minneola (68-22). Senior quarterback Nathan Bowman has completed 42 of 91 passes for 775 yards with 11 scores versus three interceptions. Powell has continued to work on making the offense more multi-dimensional.
Bucklin entered the fall with high expectations and has received plenty of attention throughout town. Powell has been pleased with the Red Aces’ ability to stay focused on each game.
Senior Scott Price is one of the short list for best Division II player. He paces Bucklin with 102 carries, 759 yards and 15 TDs and 75 tackles. Bucklin starts all sophomores on the defensive line.
“They have been working really good these past couple weeks trying to fix the little stuff, the little mental mistakes that are still there,” Powell said. “We are getting to the end of the season, and they know that stuff needs to be cut out before we try to make a run in the playoffs. I have just been impressed with their willingness to be coached, and try to improve on the little things, so that we can put together a complete football game.”
Neeley has completed 38 of 72 passes for 484 yards with eight touchdowns against four interceptions. He has 127 carries for 936 yards and 20 scores. Neeley’s grandfather pole vaulted at Oklahoma, and Max’s dad, Steve, pole vaulted at Emporia State. Steve is Dighton’s pole vault coach. They attend multiple camps. Neeley won the 1A pole vault title last spring.
“He works like no other,” Simon said. “Here in the weight room, he’s a strong leader. He wants to do well. He loves to compete. His pole vaulting kind of runs in his blood. … Football, same thing. He puts in the work. He’s a basketball player, too. Just a good overall kid, works extremely hard.”
Coleman is Dighton’s second-leading rusher with 76 carries for 493 yards and nine touchdowns. He has 36 tackles, along with four passes defended, two interceptions and a 70-yard fumble return. Simon said Coleman grew between his sophomore year and “definitely come a long way.” Coleman notably improved his speed, along with his weight room work.
“Knows the system,” Simon said. “Knows our defense very, very well. Knows our offense. You can kind of count on him to help lead the way. He is one of our captains this year. Obviously does a great job complementing Max. Get in a rough game, he gets some of those tough yards. So kind of takes the pressure off of Max just a little bit and on defense, he’s our free safety, so he’s kind of the quarterback of the defense. He kind of gets us aligned well and does a pretty good job coming up. He’s pretty physical.”
In Week 2, Dighton outgained Quinter and had multiple red zone opportunities, though fell 36-22. Quinter is currently 6-1. Then, the Hornets had three big wins versus lower-tier opponents, before a 32-20 road victory at Coldwater-South Central and 46-0 versus Minneola last week. Minneola running back Eli Lang entered with 1,159 rushing yards, but Dighton held him to 10 carries for 26 yards. Dighton really stressed team defense and not giving up the edge. Simon labeled the performance the best all year and the defense “exceptional.”
Senior Koda King and junior Eli Wilkinson have started at offensive guard, and junior Antonio Dominguez starts at center. Junior Rey Castillo splits time with freshman Daniel Cramer at end. Sophomore Carson Shimer is at tight end. Simon called Wilkinson a “real force” at defensive end, and King has been a “pleasant surprise” at nose guard.
Neeley leads Dighton with 67 tackles. Wilkinson is second with 64 stops and paces with 10 TFLs. Jack Jenkinson has played in just two games after a dislocated shoulder. Jenkinson has posted 4.6 seconds in the 40-yard dash as a freshman.
King had played little football before this season, though is good-sized and strong, does well with getting a push and controlling the ‘A’ gaps. King has 38 tackles, four TFLs. Dighton has the No. 1 scoring defense in Division II with 84 points allowed. Bucklin allowed 402 points in a 6-4 season last year and has permitted just 106 points this year. The Red Aces, No. 1 Axtell and No. 2 Thunder Ridge are the lone undefeated squads in the classification.
“Their team speed,” Simon said. “They’ve obviously got a ton of quickness and a whole heckuva lot of team speed. It looks like they are a little more improved as far as their total physicality on defense. So they are obviously going to be a tough challenge to try to keep the ball moving and get it down the field.”
Bucklin, which has good depth and runs several different defenses, has a collective 47 tackles for loss, along with nine interceptions and three fumble recoveries. Last year, the Red Aces went 6-4 with 20.5 TFLs, along with five interceptions and seven fumble recoveries. The sophomore class was expected to be a breakout group, and Powell has been pleased with their work ethic and demeanor. Andrew Bowman has 65 tackles, 10.5 for loss.
Sophomore Izaiah Pearce has 45 tackles, eight for loss. Drew Ellis has 36 stops, 9.5 for loss, before he suffered a broken leg versus Satanta in Week 5.
“He was very hard to block,” Powell said. “He just goes and goes and goes.”
Sophomore Waylon Dolezal has delivered 34 stops, 6.5 for loss. Dolezal suffered a knee injury in the season opener, though is now back at 100 percent. Sophomore Darius McKinsey (5-9, 195) has played up front, especially once Ellis was hurt and Bucklin goes to a four-front. Linebackers are Price, Nathan Bowman and senior Nathan Imel. Nathan Bowman also plays some safety. Freshman Lucas Kirk starts at safety.
“You really wouldn’t be able to tell that they were just sophomores,” Powell said. “They are really smart, they play hard. They understand things.”
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