The Guardian Angels Central Catholic Football Team advanced to the Class D-1 State Semifinals by defeating Heartland 56-34 at home in the State Quarterfinals Tuesday night.
The Huskies led 14-8 after one and won the second quarter 20-18 to take a 34-26 lead into the locker room.
The Bluejays shutout Heartland 16-0 in the third quarter to lead 42-34 at the end of three.
GACC blanked the Huskies 14-0 in the fourth quarter.
Cole Kreikemeier paced the Bluejays with 98 yards rushing on 11 carries, including a score while Jared Minnick had 88 yards rushing on 13 carries, including a score. Nolan Plagge notched 78 yards on the ground on 16 attempts.
Plagge was 10-14 passing with 69 yards and four touchdowns.
Connor Klitz made a game-high 21 tackles while Michael Baumert and Plagge had 15 and 14, respectively. Damien Birchem and Andrew Guenther notched 10 apiece while Kobe Slaughter and Kreikemeier totaled 9 and 7, respectively.
GACC amassed 415 yards of total offense, including 298 yards on the ground.
Heartland totaled 444 yards of offense, including 306 rushing.
Head Coach Dave Ridder says the Bluejays really came to play in the second half.
"Yeah we had to make some adjustments at halftime defensively, and well we weren't keeping our responsibilities as far as our defensive responsibility. And offensively we decided we needed to run the ball, and run at them, and mix in a little play action pass, and that seemed to work well for us."
GACC outscored Heartland 30-0 in the final 24 minutes after trailing 34-26 at the break.
The Bluejays (11-0) advance to take on Creighton (10-1) at home in the Semifinals on Monday at 6:00 p.m.
Creighton won 90-54 at home over Nebraska City Lourdes in the State Quarterfinals on Tuesday
Ridder says the Bulldogs have a diverse offense.
"It's going to take a great defensive effort because I think they have the number one offensive stats in the state. They pass it well, but they run the ball very well. And they move it around. Their quarterback does an excellent job of distributing the ball."
This game is definitely a battle between two heavyweights. This is a game for men, and for all the marbles.
Everything is on the line in this game. A chance to represent the East at the Class D-1 State Championship game at Memorial Stadium.
It's every players' dream to play at the Huskers' stadium.
Well GACC is now one game away from doing so.
Creighton is a really good team, there's no denying it, but so are the Bluejays.
GACC has defied the odds and played really well this season, and I think they can win on Monday.
It should be a good game. I think the game will come down to the fourth quarter, and perhaps be decided in the final minutes or even seconds.
Every possession, every play is critical and counts, so the Bluejays have to be focused and locked in on every play.
Emotions will no doubt be running high throughout the game, but GACC has to do their best to remain composed and poised throughout.
The Bluejays can't afford to commit any costly and silly penalties like personal fouls and late hits.
GACC has to be the smarter team and force the Bulldogs to make mistakes.
This should be a great game, and I'm really looking forward to it.
Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. in Beemer, and the game can be heard on 107.9 the Bull with pregame starting at 5:40.
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