Longhorns return to playoffs, finish with 5-4 record

For the second year in a row, the Chase County football team improved on its previous year’s record. This year’s improvement came with the bonus of a berth in the Class C2 state playoffs.
Four seniors set the tone for the Longhorns, Dawson Mollendor, Carter Leibbrandt, Kade Anderson and Stephen Murray.
CCS Head Coach Nathan Gaswick called Mollendor, the team’s leading rusher, both a vocal and demonstrative leader for CCS.
“When difficult tasks needed to be accomplished he motivated and encouraged others around him that we were capable of accomplishing difficult things and demonstrated the effort required to accomplish them. He helped bring others up to his level when others were not sure of themselves. He has plans to play at the next level and I believe he will represent our program and community well,” Gaswick said.
Leibbrandt bounced back from an ACL injury suffered as a receiver last year to take over the role of quarterback, filling a major void in the process, Gaswick said.
“Carter is one of our hardest workers and his attention to detail is extremely high. No one on our team ever questioned Carter’s commitment levels to our team and he will be missed as true leader of character,” Gaswick said.
On the other side of the ball, Gaswick called Anderson the quarterback of the Longhorns’ defensive secondary this year.
“His knowledge of the game and understanding of our schemes and opponent threats continued to grow and improve throughout his career. He was a vocal leader during games for our underclassmen safeties and ensured everyone was on the same page. His athletic abilities and presence on the field will be difficult to replace as he was one of our ‘go to’ targets when we needed big plays on offense,” Gaswick said.
Anderson led CCS with 25 receptions for 323 yards.
Murray was new to the Longhorns this season after moving to Imperial after last year.
Gaswick said Murray found a great home in Chase County’s schemes.
“He battled some injury this year, but helped our team in many different ways. His speed and athleticism created favorable match ups in many games and his experience and confidence will be missed on the field. You could tell that Stephen was confident in his abilities and what he was capable of and played like it. That is a quality that I desire for all of our underclassmen,” Gaswick said.
Each week was a challenge for players and coaches, Gaswick said, as the Longhorns battled through a multitude of adversity throughout the season.
“Other than the COVID year, I am not sure I’ve experienced another season in my 12 years of coaching where you truly did not know what you were going to have going into the next week as we seemed to be plagued by injuries,” he said, adding one game had four offensive linemen who could not suit up due to injuries.
“With that being said, I was extremely proud of our guys for their willingness to learn, change and adapt to new roles when their team needed them most. Many players who were not starters at the beginning of the season found themselves in crucial roles and had to gain experience and confidence quickly to help support their team,” Gaswick said, pointing out the loss of Jaret Peterson on the line early in the season forced a lot of other players to step up and fill the void that was created on both the offensive and defensive lines.
From two years ago to the end of this season, Gaswick said the overall “TEAM” mentality and commitment to the cause was the biggest change coaches saw when compared to the last two seasons.
Gaswick highlighted the work of the offensive line and the tremendous strides those players made this year that led to overall team improvement.
Looking over the season, Gaswick said wins over Alliance and Hershey were among the team’s best performances.
“Both games displayed a balanced offensive attack with many players scoring and dominate defensive performances. I believe there were many other quarters throughout the season where we witnessed the same quality of performance, but the consistency throughout the game was lacking,” he said.
As a coach, watching game film could be a tough process for Gaswick, especially this year’s Wood River game.
Despite the team’s sluggishness, Gaswick said that game was also a positive experience simply from the aspect of watching the team never give up and battle back from being down two scores late in a must-win game.
A loss in the closing seconds of the Gordon-Rushville game Sept. 23 ranked as a season low.
“This was a game in which we felt we were in control for the majority of the game yet continued to let them hang around which ended up costing us late,” Gaswick said.
The Longhorns set two team goals for the season and were able to meet both of them, finishing the regular season with a winning record,5-4, and qualifying for the playoffs, both of which Gaswick said felt attainable before competition started.
“We have continued to show consistent progress over the last three years and we will expect next year to be no different. Each year our expectations and goals grow and we will be a better team moving forward as our larger underclassmen groups continue to gain valuable experience in varsity football games,” he said.