Bucklin, Ashland football to co-op this year

August 18 is the first day of high school football practice in Kansas, and two southwest Kansas schools have agreed to a cooperative agreement for the 2025 football season.

According to Kansas Pregame Magazine’s John Baetz on Friday, Bucklin and Ashland have agreed to enter a cooperative agreement for the 2025 football season. The team will play 6-Man football, as both teams played 8-Man football in 2024. As a result, the team will be ineligible for postseason competition, due to being in the second year of the football cycle.

According to a post from July 22 on the Bucklin Schools website, the district agreed to enter a one-year cooperative agreement with Ashland High School to participate in 6-Man football. The post cited that the cooperative agreement for this year was due to limited numbers and scheduling challenges.

Bucklin finished 9-1 in 2024 in 8-Man, Division II, with a narrow overtime loss in the Regional round of the playoffs. Ashland was 2-7 in 2024 in 8-Man, Division II. It was their first year playing 8-Man football since 2017. From 2018-23, the Bluejays played 6-Man football, and finished runner-up in 2022.