GACC falls to Burwell in State Championship Game

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) _ Cayden Owens ran for three touchdowns and passed for two more, leading unranked Burwell to its first state football championship with a 47-18 victory over No. 2 Guardian Angels Central Catholic in the Class D1 final Monday.

The Longhorns led 20-0 after one. Both teams scored 6 second quarter points, and the halftime score was 26-6 in favor of Burwell.

The Bluejays won the third quarter 6-0 to make it a 26-12 game at the end of three.

The Longhorns outscored GACC 21-6 in the fourth quarter to make up the final score.

 

Nolan Plagge hit 14 of 28 passes for 273 yards and a touchdown, but was sacked four times. 

Andrew Guenther hauled in 3 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown while Kobe Slaughter made 5 catches for 96 yards. Cole Kreikemeier added 74 yards receiving on 4 receptions.

Jared Minnick was held to 31 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries. 

Connor Klitz led the way in tackles with 23 while Gage Herbert and Slaughter made 11 apiece. Plagge and Guenther totaled 9 each.

Because of the sacks, the Bluejays had a net minus-32 yards on the ground.

GACC had 289 yards of total offense for the game.

It was a great run for the Bluejays, but GACC ultimately came up short in achieving the ultimate dream.

The Bluejays end the season with a 12-1 record.

It was a wonderful season for GACC. The Bluejays picked up big regular season wins over Clarkson/Leigh, Nebraska City Lourdes, and Pender, just to name a few.

But I thought GACC was at their best in the playoffs, knocking off the likes of Clearwater/Orchard, Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family, Heartland, and Creighton.

The Bluejays beat some great teams and put together some very fine performances all season long, and should be commended and patted on the back for a job well done.

Not many people, including myself, thought GACC would make it as far as they did, but the Bluejays proved a lot of people wrong.

It just goes to show all that matters is what the players and coaches in the locker room think. Everyone worked hard, and it showed throughout the course of the season.

Looking at some season statistics, Plagge finished with nearly 1,800 yards passing with 28 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.

Minnick had 1,329 yards rushing with 18 touchdowns while Plagge added 973 yards on the ground with 21 rushing touchdowns.

Kreikemeier finished with 736 yards receiving and 13 touchdowns while Guenther notched 696 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns.

Klitz led the way in tackles with 170.

GACC loses some talent in Kreikemeier, Plagge, Sheldon Disher, Herbert, Guenther, Damien Birchem, Slaughter, Klitz, and Danny Wordekemper.

These 9 seniors were so valuable to the Bluejays this year, and were a big reason why GACC had as much success as they did.

Minnick, Nate Yosten, Derek Petz, Michael Baumert, Mitchell Peatrowsky, Ross Klitz, Casey Doernemann, and Jacob Yosten all figure to help make up next year's team.

I think the Bluejays have a chance to have another very good season in 2017 as long as the returning players and newcomers work hard in the offseason, and new players emerge and develop from now until the start of practice in August.