Cowboys Look For Additional Success This Season

After a great turnaround season in 2021, the Culbertson Cowboys are hungry for more success this football campaign.

“We’re excited to be back,” Culbertson Coach Brian Manning said at one of the team’s first practices.

He noted the Cowboys are young with 14 of their 22 players being either sophomores or freshmen.

“It’s a pretty good number,” Manning said of the turnout. “That’s where we started last year too.”

Leading the Cowboys are seniors Payton Perkins, Kobe Nickoloff, Justice Bengochea, Colin Avance, Hugh Donaldson and Tucker Finnicum.

Avance at offensive guard and Nickoloff at defensive back each earned All-State honors last season. Bengochea was a second team All-Conference pick at linebacker.

“We want to keep getting better each and every game,” Bengochea said.

One of the Cowboys’ goals is having a better post-season after losing in the first round of the playoffs last season.

“We’re still unsatisfied,” Avance said.

Nickoloff added, “We didn’t play the way we should the last couple of games.”

The Cowboys realize that the regular season will be a challenge in a tough league that includes powerhouses Fairview and Scobey. The top three teams will qualify for the playoffs. This year’s format is different as each team will face the other league squads once during the season schedule.

“It will be a tough division,” Manning said. “We have a long ways to go. It’s early.”

Underclassmen with a decent amount of varsity playing experience include Reese Moon, Bridger Salvevold and Carson Solem.

“We have a lot of moving parts from last year, but we’re confident,” Manning said.

The Cowboys will open their season at a strong Chinook team on Saturday, Aug. 27. “It will be a good measuring stick right off the bat,” Manning said.

Culbertson’s first home game is against Ekalaka on Saturday, Sept. 10.