Pender routs Omaha Nation

The Pender Pendragons won their final home game of the regular season Friday night, downing Omaha Nation 70-24.

James Bensen had 154 yards rushing on 20 carries, including three touchdowns. Jared Tyrell rushed for 63 yards on 5 carries, and scored once. Dylan Roth had 59 yards on 4 rushing attempts, and put it into the end zone 3 times. Braden Peters amassed 57 yards on the ground on 7 carries, scoring once.

Jesse Thompson made 12 tackles while Leland Bowder had 11. Roth notched 9 while Bensen made 8.

Pender racked up 419 yards of total offense, including 380 rushing.

I thought the Pendragons really ran the ball well against the Chiefs. Pender was so effective running the ball that Roth didn't really need to throw it all that much.

The Pendragons (4-3) travel to Beemer Friday night to battle GACC (7-0) for the District Championship.

The Bluejays knocked off Winnebago 67-34 on the road Friday night.

I think Pender is going to have to be able to both run and pass the ball if they hope to beat GACC.

Roth is going to have to make plays with his arm and legs, and Bensen is going to need to be a beast in the run game as well.

The Pendragons also need to be tough on defense and try and slow down the Bluejays' run game.

Pender has to try and slow down Nolan Plagge and Jared Minnick in particular.

Those two combined for over 315 yards rushing against Winnebago.

This game is like a heavyweight bout, in my opinion. I think it's going to be a game of two quality teams slugging and gutting it out for four quarters.

This is championship football, and the Pendragons' play has to reflect that they know that.

Pender has to play with a sense of pride and purpose, and lay everything out and leave everything on the field Friday night.

The Pendragons have struggled in their big games this year, but there's still time for Pender to win that big game.

Despite the Pendragons' inconsistencies and struggles this year, all can be forgotten and forgiven with a win Friday night.

Pender should be safely in the playoffs win or lose, but the Pendragons could drastically improve their seeding with a win.

I don't know if a win over the Bluejays would give Pender a first round home playoff game, but it would be close.