Kansas Pregame 8-Man Top 8: Ashton Dowell

Kansas Pregame polled 8-Man coaches earlier this month who voted for the top four seniors they coached against this season. Kansas Pregame staffers then used those votes to develop a Top 8 list of seniors for each division. Kansas Pregame will provide features for each of the 16 Top 8 selections. Check out the 13th of those profiles below:

Ashton Dowell, QB/DB, 6-0, 190, Hoxie, 8-Man Division I

Hoxie quarterback Ashton Dowell has finally allowed a collective sigh of relief for defenses on the Indians’ schedule.
 
Since earning the starting spot his sophomore season, Dowell has made a habit of shredding defensive backfields, totalling 5,970 yards with 65 passing touchdowns and 23 rushing scores.
 
“Ashton was a three-year starter at QB for us and he improved each and every year,” head coach Lance Baar said. “He is a true passer and set all the passing records at Hoxie over the last three years. We had a few games this season where we passed 40 times and that was because of the type of QB Ashton was. We could trust him to take care of it when throwing it that many times, he was smart with the football.” 
 
During his senior campaign, Dowell was 142 of 238 passing for 2,179 yards with 34 touchdown passes and seven interceptions. He added another seven scores on the ground with 261 rushing yards on 89 carries, but prefers to do his damage within the confines of his offensive guards.
 
“I feel like my greatest asset as a quarterback in 8-Man is my ability to stay in the pocket and make throws,” Dowell said. “Over my four years I have definitely been labeled a pocket passer. I can make people miss when needed and can scramble for the amounts needed, but I’m not very fast so an offense with running the quarterback wouldn’t be the offense for me. I succeed when I can line-up, read the defense, snap the ball and throw to the open receiver.”
 
After being an offensive specialist years prior, Dowell made a big impact on defense in 2021, totalling 38 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and three interceptions - with one of them a pick-six.
 
“Playing two sides of the ball is a lot more work than I’m used to after playing offense only the previous two years,” Dowell said. “It was a very enjoyable experience this year and some could say I succeeded at it, but we also gave up a lot more points than Hoxie has given up in the past. As for the last couple years, Hoxie has been a defensive minded team.” 
 
Dowell’s two-way efforts helped Hoxie to a 6-4 record and a Regional playoff appearance this season, where they were knocked out by Hill City in a 68-48 shootout. The Ringnecks were responsible for two of the Indians’ losses, the others were against 8-2 Trego and the 2020 defending champs Wichita County. In 2020 Hoxie finished 9-2 with season opening and season ending losses to Wichita County, the latter in the state semifinal.
 
“This was the first year Ashton really played any defense at all,” coach Baar said. “He started out at defensive back, playing safety and corner, but we ended up moving him down to defensive end because of his size and physicality. He was a good DB for us, but we had some other needs within the defense and he filled in wherever we would need him to play.” 
 
Dowell is also a standout on the basketball court and golf course, where he was a member of the Indians’ 24-1 team in hoops last season, and placed 11th individually at the 2A State Golf Meet. The senior is willing to consider playing college football, if the right offer comes along, but is planning on attending a four-year college to play golf, before going on to get a postgraduate degree.

“Man the season flew by just like they said it would,” Dowell said. “I couldn’t have been more blessed with the teammates and coaches I had. The season consisted of a lot of ups and downs unfortunately we ended the season with a disappointing loss in the second round of the playoffs. But looking back I am forever grateful to call myself a Hoxie Indian.”

*Editor's Note: Kansas Pregame has opted to include only seniors in our Top 8 list in an effort to reward them for their success in high school. This year, especially in Division II, there were a number of top players who were juniors. Axtell's Isaac Detweiler, Wheatland-Grinnell's Jett Vincent and Thunder Ridge's Dylan Bice are just a few of those likely among the Top 8 players in the classification. Fortunately, multiple other outlets have recognized those athletes for their contributions this season and Kansas Pregame will consider each of them for feature coverage in our 2022 Football Preview along with the many other top returning players from across the state.