A couple of blocked extra points and a key defensive stop turned out to be key plays in Hays High’s 34-33 win over Abilene on Oct. 17 at Lewis Field Stadium.

With the win, the Indians kept their playoff hopes alive heading into Friday’s district finale at McPherson, which is coming off a big win against Buhler.

Abilene opened the scoring in a contest that saw the two teams exchange scores throughout. Abilene’s 7-0 lead became 7-6 after Hays missed an extra point. The Cowboys made it 14-6, but Hays retaliated with a touchdown and two-point conversion to make it 14-14.

Another score by the Cowboys was matched by the Indians to make it 21-21, but Abilene had the ball to end the first half and scored a touchdown right before the intermission. A blocked extra point made it 27-21 at the break.

After the intermission, Hays turned the ball over on its first drive, and it appeared Abilene would go up by two scores as the Cowboys drove to the five-yard line. However, a fourth and goal was thwarted when Brendan Ibarra tackled an Abilene runner for a loss. On the very next play, Alex Delton scored on a 90-yard touchdown run. The extra point attempt failed, making the score, 27-27.

Abilene came right back and scored on its next possession, but again the extra point attempt was blocked, making it a 33-27 Cowboy lead.

On their next possession, the Indians converted a key fourth down to keep a scoring drive alive that put the Indians in front for the first time, 34-33.

Abilene managed to drive the ball deep inside Indian territory on its next possession but the drive stalled at the 23. Hays then ran the final few minutes off the clock to secure the win.