The Buhler High School football team capped off last year’s championship run with a 31-14 win over Coffeyville-Field Kindley in the 4A state championship game. This was Buhler’s first-ever state championship in football.
This process started eight years ago when head coach Steve Warner took over the program. Warner played high school football at Hutchinson High School and played collegiately at Sterling College.
His first teaching/coaching job was at Burrton where he stayed for three years, then Burlingame for four years, Marysville for 13, Liberal for two, and finally landing in Buhler for the last eight years. In his first year, the Crusaders went 7-4 and have never looked back winning 79 games in 99 tries since 2007. Warner’s overall record throughout his 30 years of coaching is an impressive 199-81.
Buhler finished the regular season with an 8-1 record with its only loss coming to Andale in the first round of district play.
Warner attributes the team's run through the 4A playoffs to this loss saying, “It made our kids play harder in the playoffs”.
In the playoffs, Warner said its toughest game actually came in the first round against Ulysses. Buhler won the hard-fought game 14-7 to advance and play Abilene in the regional round.
Coffeyville-Field Kindley scored on the second play from scrimmage in the state championship game, but the Crusaders battled back and cruised to victory in the end. Overall, Buhler trailed in seven games last year coming back to win six of them.
This year’s team has a chance to avenge the lone loss from last year as it will play Andale in the first week of the season. Warner said Andale will be very good again this year and will probably start the season ranked in the top two in 4A Division II. He also expects Mulvane and Rose Hill to be tough in the league and Hays, McPherson, Topeka-Hayden, Coffeyville, and Ulysses to all be contenders in 4A Division I this year.
Buhler does bring back some quality players from last year as it started four sophomores in the state championship game. The key returners are junior quarterback Jace Williams (6-4 200), senior tight end/defensive end Chase Shantz (6-2, 205), senior offensive lineman Davey Dukart (6-0, 210), junior offensive lineman Jaden Abernathy (6-2, 265).
Other standouts include wide receiver Connor Ridder (5-11, 165), defensive back Dillon Engelland (5-10, 165), and the versatile Dakota Wolf (5-10, 195), who serves as the team's punter/placekicker in addition to playing running back and linebacker. Some top newcomers Warner is expecting to step up and play big roles this year are Zac Stiles, a 5-11 180 senior fullback/linebacker, Logan Lindbloom, a 5-11 175 offensive lineman/linebacker, and Dalton Roberts, a 6-2 205 offensive tackle/defensive end.
Buhler will not be able to repeat as 4A state champions as 4A will be split into two divisions this year for the first time in state history. The Crusaders will start the season with a tough game against Andale on Friday, September 5 with the hopes of becoming the first 4A Division I state champions.
