Football Recap: Abram Lee and Preston Price Pace Mead Defense

Mead lost against East Butler back in October of 2024 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. The Raiders took a hard 40-26 fall against the Tigers. While the Raiders didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Tigers 6-0 in the first quarter.

Tony Engel

Receiving Yards

09/12/25 @ Guardian Angels Central Catholic	37
08/29/25 vs Weeping Water	39
09/05/25 @ David City	43
09/19/25 vs Centennial	51
09/26/25 vs McCool Junction	85

Loss or not, Mead got some senior leadership from Mason Reed and Tony Engel. Reed threw for 254 yards and three touchdowns, while Engel picked up 119 receiving yards and a pair of TDs. Those 119 receiving yards set a new season-high mark for Engel.

Mead didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Abram Lee and Preston Price. Another thorn in East Butler's side was Brady Gartner, who picked up a sack and made 11 total tackles (2.0 for loss).

Grant Kozisek produced another solid effort rushing for 316 yards and five scores while picking up 9.6 yards per carry for East Butler. Those 316 rushing yards gave Kozisek a new career-high.

Mead has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 3-3 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 34.5 points over those games. As for East Butler, their victory was their first in the district, bumping their district record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 4-2.

We've got plenty of inter-district action coming up soon. Mead will challenge rival Shelby-Rising City at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. That matchup will pit two of the most dominant signal callers against one another: Reed and Logan Lindsley. Meanwhile, East Butler is set to square off against their familiar foe Heartland at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.