Buhler’s Warner earns 250th career victory

BUHLER — Buhler head coach Steve Warner earned his 250th career win on Friday during the Crusaders’ 21-9 win over Winfield.

Warner has coached at Burrton, Burlingame, Marysville, and Liberal before spending the last 14 years at Buhler.

Since becoming the head football coach at Buhler in 2006, Warner has 129 wins with the Crusaders, highlighted by a 13-1 season in 2013 when the Crusaders won the Class 4A State Championship.

However, the list of memories goes beyond Buhler’s 2013 state championship win over Coffeyville.

“My very first win at Buhler was against Wellington, and that was a huge win because we came from behind to win,” Warner said. “That game got the kids and myself to believe and buy in to what we were trying to build.”

Warner said he noticed he was at 249 career wins in the off-season. Friday night, an improved Winfield team was not going to make reaching 250 an easy task.

“Coach Linn Hibbs has Winfield playing hard,” Warner said. “They have some talented, young athletes.”

After a scoreless first quarter, Buhler running back Sam Elliott scored the first of his three touchdowns to give the Crusaders a lead they would not surrender.

Elliott, who rushed for 199 yards on 34 carries, and a stingy defense led the way for Warner to reach No. 250.

“I thought we ran to the ball very well, and our defense was playing an aggressive style that we like to see,” Warner said.

Buhler is now 1-1 on the season, and Warner will go for his 251st career win this Friday at El Dorado. The Wildcats are off to a 2-1 start, and could be another league opponent who is much improved from years past.

“El Dorado is running the flexbone, and they’re running it very well,” Warner said. “They have our attention. We’ll have to play very well to beat them.”