Longhorns Win, 40-10, Over Leyton

The Kimball Longhorns football team had a reason to celebrate Friday night, at the expense of the Warrior team from Leyton.

It was the Longhorns first home win since the end of September 2018, which gave the rebuilding program a greatly needed shot in the arm.

The Horns are 1-1 on the 2023 season.

The Warriors, trying to recover after an opening loss to Hemingford, got off to a good start in the game. Their defense was able to keep the Longhorns pinned down deep in their own territory, and then sacked Kimball quarterback Ryker Behrend in the end zone for a safety and two points. However, those two points were all the Warriors would score until late in the fourth quarter.

Kimball's first score came in the first quarter on a 41-yard touchdown run by Derek Kauffman. The Longhorns continued to press their running attack with great success, as the Warriors could not hold the line against the rushing attack. Leyton's lone touchdown came late in the game, after the starters sat and the backups got some playing time. Sophomore Jeremiah Hajek was able to score on a short run, and a two point conversion brought the Warrior score to 10 points.

The Kimball offense rushed for 339 yards and six touchdowns. Behrend also tossed two touchdown passes in the victory.

Leyton quarterback Trenton Rushman struggled passing, completing only 5 of 22 passes for 17 yards. He was also picked off two times in the game. Senior Kaleb Borges had the most success rushing, carrying the ball 17 times for 84 yards. Sophomore Kaleb Miller led the defense with 11 total tackles. Leyton rushed the ball 37 times for only 123 yards in the loss.

Next up for Kimball is a 7 p.m. Friday date with visiting North Platte St. Pats, who are always a challenge.

Leyton tries to get on the winning side of the ledger on Friday when they host the winless Morrill Lions in Dalton at 7 p.m.