The first game was with the Junction City Jr. Jays and ended with a winning score of 6 – 0 in overtime on Saturday morning. It was a hard-fought game against a very physical Junction City team that is the Flint Hills Youth Football League Champions in the 5th grade division. Junction City gave us quite a battle in the first game of the tournament, but true to form, our players responded well and earned a victory.

The second game was on Saturday around noon with the Topeka Blue Thunder that ended up in a 12 – 14 loss in overtime. The game was tied up 6 – 6 in regulation, so the Cowboys had to go into overtime for the second time in the same day. The first game took a little more out of our players than they would admit to, a few of the players were pretty sore from the first game and it affected us, especially going into overtime. But, they rose to the challenge, never quit and played hard as a team until the end and that is all we can ask from them. We had several players that stepped up when they were needed to fill in on their backup positions and they performed exceptionally. The Topeka Blue Thunder was the eventual champion winning in triple overtime against the Lawrence Hurricanes.

The third game was a loss resulting in a 4th place finish on Sunday morning against the Topeka Crush with a final score of 28 – 38 with the Cowboys driving towards the Crush end zone late in the 4th quarter. We had a slow start against the Crush and got behind early but were able to make some adjustments at halftime that helped us have more success in the second half. We played well against a good Crush team that made us defend the whole field with an effective running and passing game. Again we had some players who did a great job filling in on backup positions. The Cowboys fought until the very end and overcame adversity to finish strong.

We are proud of all the players who played very well as a team at the tournament. Going to a high-level tournament and playing well against very good teams from much larger towns speaks volumes for our small-town program from Phillipsburg. We knew that going into the A bracket this year would be a huge challenge for us, but the team was ready to accept the challenge and played very well. We received a lot of positive comments about our players, fans, and program while at the tournament. The Cowboys represented our community, program, and league as true Champions.

The 5th grade Phillipsburg Cowboys ended the 2011 season at 10 – 2, outscoring their opponents 274 – 72 with 52 of those opponents points coming in the final two games. We are looking forward to another exciting season of Phillipsburg Cowboy football in 2012!

We would like to thank the communities, our sponsors, families, and parents for all the support for the program this season.
Coach Sauer

The first game resulted in a 19 – 6 win against a much improved Colby Eagles team. The score was 7 – 6 in favor of the Cowboys going late into the 4^th quarter. The Cowboys stopped the Eagles from getting a first down inside the Cowboys 5 yard line with about 1 minute to go in the game. We were then trying to run out the clock by running a quarterback sneak that turned into a 95 yard touchdown, the PAT failed. The Eagles were out of time outs and were trying to pass the ball to get back into the game when the Cowboys intercepted a pass and ran it into the end zone to go up 19 – 6 with no time left on the clock. The players played extremely hard and were down 6 – 0 at half but they pulled it together and were able to come away with a win.

The championship game on Sunday ended up going into overtime against the Pratt Greenbacks; both teams were undefeated on the season going into this game. The final score was 6 – 0 in favor of the Cowboys. We played the Greenbacks in the championship game last season and won that one 13 – 6, they are a very fundamentally sound, physical, and well-balanced team. We knew going into the game that it would be a grind it out slugfest, and that’s exactly what it was. Both teams were able to move the ball at times but neither team was able to score in regulation. Pratt was on offense first in overtime, but the Cowboys were able to keep them from scoring even though the Greenbacks were able to get to the Cowboys 2 yard line. The Cowboys then went on offense and were able to score on 4^th down with about 1 yard to go. Both teams played extremely hard and left it all out on the field.

We are very proud of the players; they showed a lot of heart and determination at the tournament. They played as a team and were resilient when things were tough. The 5^th grade Cowboys will now advance to the NYSSO Mid-States Championship tournament in Lawrence, KS on November 5^th and 6^th. The tournament brackets for the NYSSO tournament will not be available until November 3^rd, visit www.nysso.net and click on tournament brackets for more information.

We would like to thank the communities, our sponsors, families, and parents for all the support this season. You are what makes this program what it is, and we believe it is the best one there is! Thank you!

Coach Sauer

Coach Sauer

The 4^th grade Cowboys lost to Burlington, CO 36 – 0 resulting in an overall record of 1 – 5. The 5^th grade Cowboys beat the Hays Gamblers 13 – 0 resulting in an overall record of 6 – 0. The 6^th grade Cowboys beat Burlington, CO 42 – 0 bringing their record to 4 – 2.

The 5^th and 6^th grade will advance to post season play in the WKFL Championship tournament. First round of the tournament will be on Saturday, October 22^nd in Hays. The 5^th grade will play McPherson 2 at 9 am and the 6^th grade will play the Hays Outlaws at 7:30 pm, both games will be played at Lewis Field at FHSU in Hays.

A win for each team on October 22^nd will advance each team to the finals on Saturday, October 29^th and Sunday, October 30^th at FHSU Lewis Field in Hays.

We are very proud of all of our players and appreciate all the support we receive from the players’ families, our sponsors, and community.  Come on down to Hays this Saturday to cheer on your Phillipsburg Cowboys!

Stats were not available at the time this was written.

The 4^th grade Cowboys got their first victory of the season by beating Goodland 32 – 6 resulting in an overall record of 1 – 3. The 4^th grade team played much better than it has all season and needs to carry this momentum on through the rest of the regular season. The players are starting to play better as a team and we will need to build on this to have success. The 4^th grade will travel to Oakley this Saturday, game time starts at 10:30 am.

The 5^th grade Cowboys beat Goodland 41 – 0 resulting in an overall record of 4 – 0. The 5^th grade team is making progress every week and they will continue to need to do so in order to finish the season strong. There are still a lot of areas we can improve on and will need to continue to work hard to be successful. The 5^th grade will travel to Larned this Saturday, game time starts at noon.

The 6^th grade Cowboys got their second win of the season by beating a big Goodland team 22 – 0 bringing their record to 2 – 2. Goodland had a lot of size, but we made up for it in better execution and fewer mistakes. Even though overall they were outsized, our players fought hard and outplayed their opponents to seal the deal and give Phillipsburg  3 victories at Goodland. The 6^th grade will travel to St. Francis this Saturday, game time starts at 2 pm.

Stats were not available at the time this was written.

The 4^th grade Cowboys lost to Colby 13 – 0 resulting in a record of 0 – 3. Some of the stats from the 4^th grade game are: 77 yards rushing, 1 punt return for 26 yards, 1 kick for 16 yards, and 40 tackles. The 4^th grade team played better than it has over the past two weeks, but we still need to execute better to be successful. We continue to miss assignments and hurt ourselves with mistakes. We will work hard this week in practice and will get ready to play Goodland on Saturday.

The 5^th grade Cowboys beat Colby 27 – 6 resulting in a record of 3 – 0. Some of the stats from the 5^th grade game are: 255 yards rushing, 70 yards passing, 30 return yards, 1 fumble recovery, and 45 tackles. The 5^th grade continues to improve every week and we will continue to work hard so we don’t go backwards. Goodland will be a big challenge this week, so we must stay focused to be successful.

The 6^th grade Cowboys knocked the losing monkey off their backs and beat a good Colby team 28 – 0. Some of the stats from the 6^th grade game are: 141 yards rushing, 15 yards passing, 67 return yards, and 33 tackles. Statistically we did worse than we did last week, but we played better and that put points on the scoreboard. Fewer mistakes and better team play resulted in a much needed win. We will take the rest of the season one game at a time and must stay focused on Goodland this week.

The Cowboys will travel to Goodland to play this Saturday. The 4^th grade will play at 10:30, the 5^th grade will play at noon, and the 6^th grade will play at 2:00. Come to the games and be loud and proud of your Phillipsburg Cowboys!

The 4^th grade Cowboys lost to Norton 20 – 6. Some of the stats from the 4^th grade game are: 149 yards rushing, 2 kicks for 32 yards, 1 punt for 18 yards, 1 fumble recovery, and 25 tackles. The 4^th grade played hard and has improved since the season opener against Hays, but we just made too many mistakes and turned the ball over too many times. We will continue to work hard to find ways to continue to improve and get a win.

The 5^th grade Cowboys defeated Norton 36 – 0. Some of the stats from the 5^th grade game are: 209 yards rushing, 62 yards passing, 85 return yards, 2 fumble recoveries, 2 interceptions, and 50 tackles. The 5^th grade kept their winning streak going and shut out a good Norton team. There is still a lot of football left to play and improvements to be made throughout the season.

The 6^th grade Cowboys lost to Norton 19 – 7. Some of the stats from the 6^th grade game are: 255 yards rushing, 42 yards passing, 133 return yards, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception, and 37 tackles. Statistically we should have won the game, but stats don’t put points on the scoreboard, penalties and missed assignments kept us out of the end zone. We will work hard this week to turn things around and prepare for Colby.

The Cowboys will host Colby on Saturday, September 24^th at Panther Stadium. The 4^th grade will play at 10:30, the 5^th grade will play at noon, and the 6^th grade will play at 2:00. Come to the games and be loud and proud of your Phillipsburg Cowboys!

The 4^th grade Cowboys lost against a good Hays Gamblers team 21 – 0. Some of the stats from the 4^th grade game are: 76 yards rushing, 48 return yards, and 20 tackles. The kids played hard and learned a lot from their first game as a team. We will build on what we learned and will work hard to get better.

The 5^th grade Cowboys defeated a tough Hays Outlaws team 18 – 6. Some of the stats from the 5^th grade game are: 234 yards rushing, 64 return yards, 1 fumble recovery, and 39 tackles. This is an Outlaws team that we lost to once and defeated once last season, so we were pretty sure that it would be another tough game. The Cowboys came out ready to play and were able to come away with a win. We still have a lot of work to do and will work hard to improve as the season progresses.

The 6^th grade Cowboys lost in a tough game against a good Hays Outlaws team 19 – 0. Some of the stats from the 6^th grade game are: 43 yards rushing, 6 yards passing, 61 return yards, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception, and 52 tackles. We faced this Outlaws team last season in the league tournament and came away with a quadruple overtime victory, but we were unable to get the best of them this time. We knew going into this game that it would be a tough one against a good Outlaws team. We will work hard to improve in all aspects of our game and take the rest of the season one game at a time.

The Cowboys will host Norton on Saturday, September 17^th at Panther Stadium. The 4^th grade will play at 10:30, the 5^th grade will play at noon, and the 6^th grade will play at 2:00. Come to the games and be loud and proud of your Phillipsburg Cowboys!

Coach Sauer

The Championship round on Sunday had the Cowboys facing the Lawrence Gorillas. The Cowboys controlled the ball on offense and our defense kept the Gorillas from scoring. Again, our offense faced a little different defense with the Gorillas, but we made some blocking adjustments at halftime and were able to gain some good yardage in the second half and put points on the board. The final score was 32 – 0, scoring 4 touchdowns and converting on all of the extra points. Some of the stats from the game were 223 yards rushing, 54 yards passing, 27 tackles, and 90 yards kicking.
We are very proud of the way they played and conducted themselves at this tournament and all season. They have come a long way this season and kept working hard and improving. We would like to thank all the parents who made the long trip to Lawrence in support of the team, once again we had the best fans and following of any team out there.

The Phillipsburg Cowboys 4th and 5th grade players and coaches would like to thank all the parents, sponsors, businesses, community volunteers, local officials, and schools who helped us make this season a success. Having a successful program like we do is a community effort and your support is critical to that success. We are looking forward to next year and another great season of Phillipsburg Cowboy football!

For more information, please visit our website at www.phillipsburgcowboys.net .

The 5th grade Cowboys played a hard fought game against the 5th grade Hays Outlaws in quadruple overtime and came out on top 19 – 13. Some of the stats from that game are 223 yards rushing, 9 yards passing, 39 yards in kick returns, 22 yards in punt returns, 40 tackles, 3 fumble recoveries, 1 interception, 39 yards kicking, and 33 yards punting. The Cowboys came out of the championship game with a heartbreaking 6 – 0 loss to the McPherson Bullpups.Some of the stats from that game are 98 yards rushing, 12 yards passing, 3 yards in kick returns, 6 yards in punt returns, 30 tackles, 2 interceptions, 12 yards kicking, and 58 yards punting.

The Phillipsburg Cowboys youth football teams have had a great season with a combined record of 15 – 2 with only a 7 point deficit on the losses in league and postseason play. We are extremely fortunate to have a great group of players, families, sponsors, and coaches. The players in particular have worked very hard and progressed well all season. The support we receive from the area community has been tremendous and much appreciated.

- Coach Sauer