Howells-Dodge comes up short of reaching State Championship in Semifinal loss to East Butler

Dwight-The Howells-Dodge Football Team came up one game short of reaching the Class D-1 State Championship game as the Jaguars fell 22-12 at East Butler in the Semifinals Monday night.

After no one scored in the 1st quarter, the Tigers' Dalton Bohac connected with Camden Robley on a 52-yard TD strike to make it a 6-0 game in favor of East Butler with 10:04 remaining in the 2nd quarter.

The two connected again from 17 yards out with just over a minute left to go until halftime, and the Tigers led 14-0 at the break.

The duo hooked up for the third time on a 20-yard TD connection with 6 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter, and East Butler extended their lead to 22-0.

The Jaguars got on the scoreboard at the 2:02 mark of the 3rd period as Dylan Horejsi scored from 4 yards out to make it a 22-6 ball game in favor of the Tigers.

Howells-Dodge's Dax VanLengen hooked up with Jon Yosten from 17 yards away with 10:54 left to go in the game to make up the final score.

Horejsi was limited for the Jaguars as he only had 59 yards rushing on 25 carries.

VanLengen went 8-16 for 71 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Connor Blum totaled 17 tackles while Kade Hegemann made 15. Ryan Macholan notched 11 while Yosten made 9.

East Butler amassed 222 yards of total offense, including 171 through the air, while the Jaguars totaled 133 yards of offense, 72 coming through the air.

Head Coach Mike Speirs. "We were never able to establish anything run wise, and you got to credit their D-line. Big kids, they're tough. We knew coming in it was going to be a heck of a matchup for us. And we'd seen that they'd improved. Watching film that they'd improved. And we'd hoped that we'd improved enough. But apparently they improved a little more than we did."

Speirs sums up his thoughts on the game."For the most part we played really good defense I thought. We just had a couple breakdowns in pass coverage. And the Robley kid and the Havlovic kid they present matchup problems. They're big kids, they catch the ball. Havlovic made a catch on our sideline that's as good a catch as you're going to see in High School Football. Too many mistakes. And you can't do that against a good team at this time of year."

Howells-Dodge ends the season with an 11-1 record.

VanLengen finished with 871 yards passing and 15 touchdowns on the season while Horejsi racked up 1,622 yards rushing and 25 touchdowns on the year.

Jordon Brichacek had 362 yards receiving and 7 touchdowns on the season.

Hegemann made 164 tackles on the season while Yosten notched 133.

Speirs was asked about his expectations when the season got underway. "We knew we returned a lot of experience. We knew there were some teams out there like East Butler that was returning a lot of experience. So a lot of it comes down to how your regular season goes and how you get seeded in the playoffs, and when your matchups happen. And really wasn't sure to say that we had any expectations of this or anything before the season. We were just trying to be the very best that we could be."

Assistant Coach Luke Dobbins. "The boys gave everything they had and fought to the very end. This senior class is really going to be missed, they provided us with great leadership and showed the younger guys what it takes to be successful."

The Jaguars say goodbye to VanLengen, Blum, Ely Henrickson, Yosten, Brichacek, Macholan, and Zach Lund.

These seniors were very valuable members of this Howells-Dodge team for the 4 years they suited up in the Green, Black, and Silver, and will be sorely missed, you can bet on that.

The Jaguars have to be saddened by who they lose to graduation, but excited by who they bring back.

Howells-Dodge welcomes back Horejsi, Luke Rocheford, Josh Brester, Kade and Lane Hegemann, and Mitch Yosten, among others.

The Jaguars have a good strong core nucleus coming back, and I look for Howells-Dodge to come back stronger than ever next season.

The Howells teams of old always won their state championships with the power run game, and by overwhelming people and being the more physical team.

And I thought the Jaguars did that up until this last game against East Butler. The Tigers shutdown Howells-Dodge's run game though, and I thought that was the biggest difference in the game.

So knowing that that happened the way it did, the Jaguars have to work on getting bigger, faster, stronger, and more physical in the weightroom and on the playing field this offseason.

I think Howells-Dodge has a great chance to be in this position again next year, but the Jaguars need a big offseason of growth and development.

Big second half propels Howells-Dodge past Johnson-Brock in State Quarterfinals

Howells-The Howells-Dodge Football Team used a big second half to beat Johnson-Brock 54-42 at home in the Class D-1 State Quarterfinals Tuesday night.

Trailing 28-18 at the break, the Jaguars' Dylan Horejsi scored from 3 yards out at the 10:32 mark of the 3rd quarter to make it a 28-26 game in favor of the Eagles.

Howells-Dodge took the lead for good with 3:33 left to go in the 3rd period when Jon Yosten hauled in a 29-yard TD pass from Dax VanLengen to put the Jaguars up 32-28.

In the 4th, VanLengen scampered in from a yard out with 7:54 left to play to give Howelks-Dodge a 40-28 lead.

VanLengen then hit Jordon Brichacek (Bruh-kaw-check) on an 18-yard TD pass with 4:52 left in the game, and the Jaguars led 48-28.

Johnson-Brock refused to go down without a fight though as Kaden Glynn found Ty Hahn from 10 yards out a minute later to make it a 48-36 game in favor of Howells-Dodge.

VanLengen ran one in from 3 yards out with 2:20 left to go in the game to give the Jaguars a 54-36 lead.

Glynn found Hahn for a 44-yard TD pass with 1:32 remaining in the contest to make up the final score.

The Eagles came ready to play in the 1st half as Hunter Oestmann found pay dirt from 2 yards out to put Johnson-Brock in front 8-0 at the 9:24 mark of the opening period.

The Jaguars got on the board with 6:45 remaining in the 1st quarter with a safety on a bad snap that went out the back of the end zone.

Horejsi and Howells-Dodge capitalized as Horejsi ran in a TD from 7 yards away to put Howells-Dodge in front, 10-8, with 2:01 remaining in the 1st period.

Johnson-Brock Quarterback Cole Fossenbarger, who would later leave the game with an injury, gave the Eagles a 14-10 lead with a 55-yard TD strike to Hahn 10 seconds later.

Brichacek scored the final touchdown of the quarter to make it an 18-14 game in favor of the Jaguars as he ran one in from 10 yards out with 14 seconds left.

Fossenbarger hit Ben Bohling on a 63-Yard TD pass with 11:18 left to go in the 2nd quarter, and Johnson-Brock went in front 20-18. Oestmann scored on a 14-Yard TD run with 3:06 left to go until halftime to make up the 1st half score.

Horejsi ran for 242 yards on 41 carries, and scored two touchdowns for Howells-Dodge (11-0). Brichacek totaled 78 yards rushing on 12 attempts, and scored one TD.

VanLengen was 8-10 passing for 126 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

Kade Hegemann made 16 tackles while Yosten and Lane Hegemann registered 13 and 11, respectively. Connor Blum had 9 while Brichacek recorded 8.

The Jaguars racked up 484 yards of total offense, including 358 rushing, while the Eagles totaled 419 yards of offense, 333 coming through the air.

Head Coach Mike Speirs says the first half was rough. "We turned the ball over twice inside the 10. And that last one Dax just didn't even see the linebacker sitting there. We had Jon Yosten in the back of the end zone wide open. And put a little more air under the ball and we're going to be fine. And we had a holding penalty on a drive in the 1st half that killed a drive. So that's three drives right there that we should of capitalized on two for sure. And on the 3rd one you don't know what would of happened if we don't hurt ourselves with the penalties. That's what we told the kids at halftime. Really what we're doing offensively is working."

Speirs. "There's a lot of good athletes out there. Our matchup with No. 7... he's as good as there is in the state. Ty Hahn is as good a kid as you can find in the state. And he made some plays. And Jordon Brichacek was on him all night. Jordon was able to make enough plays to make a difference I guess"

Howells-Dodge advances to play East Butler on the road in the State Semifinals on Monday at 7:00 p.m. in a game that can be heard on 107.9 the Bull.

The Tigers upset Creighton 40-28 on the road Tuesday in the Quarterfinals.

East Butler is a team Howells-Dodge defeated in their first game of the season, 26-20. "That game we had to intercept 2 balls in the last two minutes of the game. So there were 3 turnovers total in that game, in the last 2 minutes. And they're good, they're awfully good. And we know that. They're big, they're physical. Hopefully we can match up with them physical wise. I guess we'll go down there and find out," Speirs said.

It should be a great game Monday night. I honestly thought it would be Creighton against Howells-Dodge in the Semifinals, but it goes to show anything can happen in High School Football, especially the playoffs.

The Jaguars can definitely win this game, but the Tigers definitely have what it takes to get revenge too.

Howells-Dodge has to play like they did the entire second half of the Johnson-Brock game for a whole game Monday night.

The winner gets either South Loup or Medicine Valley, and it would be pretty cool if Howells-Dodge and South Loup met for the Class D-1 State Championship.

Here's Why:

My Dad was the quarterback for Callaway's 1975 State Semifinal Playoff Football Team (Callaway and Arnold make up South Loup), and Joel Janecek, who will succeed Tom McMahon after football season, won a state title for Dodge, and also happened to broadcast Bobcat football while working for KBRY Radio in Broken Bow.

So I just think it would be neat for those two to play, and honestly I would have to root for both teams. What would make it more unique though is if Howells-Dodge won the state title with Joel taking over for Tom after the game.

Anyways, back to analyzing the Howells-Dodge/East Butler game...Horejsi needs to have another big game running the ball for the Jaguars and Howells-Dodge has to be physical at the line of scrimmage.

The season opener was tight, and I think Monday night's game will be a similar type contest.

I look for things to come down to the wire, and perhaps the final minute or seconds.

It should be a great and electric game, atmosphere, and finish, and my golly...a trip to Memorial Stadium is on the line so strap up and giddy up and get ready for a dandy of a ball game!

The Jaguars and Tigers will go at it at 7:00 p.m. The game will be carried on 107.9 the Bull, online at www.kticradio.com, and on the free KTIC Radio App with pregame at 6:40 p.m.

It should be one to remember, that's for sure.

Howells-Dodge outlasts Nebraska City Lourdes in 2nd round of Playoffs

The Howells-Dodge Football Team won 54-32 at home over Nebraska City Lourdes in the 2nd round of the Playoffs Wednesday night.

Here is the scoring recap from the game:

First Quarter

Howells-Dodge 09:48 #28 Dylan Horejsi runs for 29 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #28 Dylan Horejsi good)
Lourdes Central Catholic 05:51 #1 Thomas Ragland pass complete to #5 James Mason for 37 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #5 James Mason no good)
Howells-Dodge 00:25 #28 Dylan Horejsi runs for 5 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion pass by #4 Dax VanLengen to Team no good)

Second Quarter

Howells-Dodge 05:19 #4 Dax VanLengen runs for 1 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #23 Jordon Brichacek good)
Howells-Dodge 00:25 #4 Dax VanLengen pass complete to #23 Jordon Brichacek for 19 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #28 Dylan Horejsi good)
Lourdes Central Catholic 00:03 #1 Thomas Ragland pass complete to #24 Andrew Aldana for 2 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion pass by #1 Thomas Ragland to Team no good)

Third Quarter

Howells-Dodge 06:47 #28 Dylan Horejsi runs for 71 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #23 Jordon Brichacek no good)
Howells-Dodge 04:40 #28 Dylan Horejsi runs for 3 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #28 Dylan Horejsi no good)
Lourdes Central Catholic 02:51 #17 Colter Fulton pass intended for Team. Intercepted by #22 Jon Yosten. (Two point conversion run by #28 Dylan Horejsi no good)

Fourth Quarter

Lourdes Central Catholic 03:36 #6 Thomas Carpenter runs for 12 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion pass by #17 Colter Fulton to Team no good)
Lourdes Central Catholic 00:31 #28 Sam Baumert pass complete to #3 Christian Watkins for 8 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion pass by #28 Sam Baumert to #12 Johnny Heng good)
Howells-Dodge 00:31 Kickoff by #3 Christian Watkins to the 31 yard line. #1 Luke Rocheford return for 69 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #12 Jacob Tomcak no good)
Lourdes Central Catholic 00:00 #28 Sam Baumert pass complete to #8 Harrison Benedict for 18 yards. Touchdown!

Horejsi finished with 210 yards rushing on 26 carries, including four touchdowns.

Jon Yosten racked up 17 tackles while Kade Hegemann made 16. Ryan Macholan had 9 while Ely Henrickson totaled 7.

The Jaguars racked up 289 yards of total offense, including 261 rushing.

Really good win for Howells-Dodge. The game wasn't as close as the final score indicated.

10-0 Howells-Dodge hosts 6-4 Johnson-Brock in the quarterfinals of the Class D-1 football playoffs Tuesday evening.

Jaguars head coach Mike Speirs says Johnson-Brock is full of talent. "I think this is a very dangerous team for us. If our offensive and defensive lines don't really come to play we could be in a lot of trouble just because they're able to put a lot of athletes on the outside. And a couple of those kids are going to be tough matchups for us."

Johnson-Brock Head Coach Mitch Roberts says the game will be decided at the line of scrimmage. "The line of scrimmage. They like to run the football. We like to establish the run too so whoever can control that front line of scrimmage is going to win this football game."

Johnson-Brock is coming off a 66-22 win over Pender in Wednesday's 2nd round.

These two teams met in Howells last year in the 1st round of the playoffs with the Jaguars winning 48-24.

The Eagles lost 42-32 to Nebraska City Lourdes and 48-26 to East Butler, two common opponents the two squads have.

Howells-Dodge's offensive and defensive lines have to show up, but Horejsi, Brichacek, and VanLengen all need to have big games too.

The whole Jaguar team has to show up ready to play and prepared to go.

No win is a given in the playoffs as we've seen this postseason.

Wins are earned this time of year...they aren't given.

Howells-Dodge has to show up ready to go and prepared to tear Johnson-Brock apart.

If the Jaguars play up to their potential they should win like they did last year though.

I really think Class D-1 in the East is going to come down to Creighton and Howells-Dodge next Monday.

That's a potential matchup the Jaguars can't be looking ahead or forward to though. First things first, Howells-Dodge has to come out and take care of business against the Eagles.

The Jaguars have to bring the lunch pail, and be ready to lay the smackdown and hammer on Johnson-Brock from start to finish.

It has to be a complete team effort. Howells-Dodge has to be relentless with their play.

Kickoff Tuesday night is at 5:00 with the game heard on 107.9 The Bull. Pregame is set for 4:40 p.m. The game is being played in Howells.

West Point-Beemer loses shootout to Pierce in State Quarterfinals

Pierce-The West Point-Beemer Football Team attempted to knock off Pierce for the second time this season Friday night, but the Bluejays had other ideas as they raced out to a 21-0 lead en route to a 54-34 home victory over the Cadets.

Pierce's Collin Tinker scored the first touchdown of the game on a 5-yard TD run at the 10:22 mark of the 1st quarter to put the Bluejays in front 7-0.

Tinker scored again with 5:51 left to go in the 1st quarter, this time from a yard out, to give Pierce a 14-0 lead.

Tinker added a third rushing touchdown from 4 yards away with 3:09 remaining in the 1st quarter, and the Bluejays led 21-0.

West Point-Beemer got on the board with 11:03 left to go in the 2nd quarter as Hunter Pilakowski scored an 11-yard rushing TD to make it a 21-7 ball game.

The Cadets got back into the game when Blake Anderson broke free for a 47-yard TD scamper at the 6:39 mark of the 2nd quarter to pull West Point-Beemer within a touchdown at 21-14.

Pierce responded with a 63-yard rushing TD from Dalton Freeman 21 seconds later, and just like that, the Bluejays led 28-14.

Freeman then hit Cody Yawn on a 34-yard TD pass with 40 seconds remaining until halftime, and Pierce enjoyed a 35-14 lead at intermission.

The Cadets made it a two touchdown game again in the 3rd quarter as Cole Hughes connected with Ben VanderGriend on a 23-yard TD strike to make it a 35-21 ball game.

Brett Tinker got into the act for the Bluejays later in the quarter, scoring on a 2-yard TD run to put Pierce up 41-21.

The Bluejays tacked onto their lead in the 4th quarter as Freeman found Jadon Magdanz for a 5-yard TD pass that gave Pierce a 47-21 advantage.

Hughes hit Anderson for 49 yards for a touchdown with 4:56 left to go in the game, and West Point-Beemer got to within 19 at 47-28.

The final Pierce touchdown was scored by Carson Oestreich, who hit paydirt from 19 yards out to extend the Bluejays' lead to 54-28 26 seconds later.

The final touchdown of the game and the season for the Cadets was scored by Pilakowski, who brooke loose for 78 yards at the 3:29 mark of the 4th quarter.

Pilakowski had 189 yards rushing on 15 carries, and two touchdowns for West Point-Beemer while Anderson registered 121 yards on the ground on 13 attempts.

Hughes was 9-17 passing for 140 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Cadets.

Hughes made 15 tackles while Cade Hughes had 9. Greg Johnson made 8 while VanderGriend and Gage Vance notched 7 each.

The Bluejays racked up 514 yards of total offense, including 475 rushing, while the Cadets had 462 yards of total offense, including 322 rushing.

What a great season West Point-Beemer had. These boys had a marvelous and fantastic season.

West Point-Beemer ends the year at 9-2.

The Cadets had a year to remember.

West Point-Beemer started the year 8-0, with wins coming over the likes of Wayne, Pierce, Fort Calhoun, and defending Class C-1 State Champion O'Neill.

The Cadets played for a district title and made it to the State Quarterfinals. Very nicely done.

I think this season puts West Point-Beemer on the map and makes them a force to be reckoned with in the future.

I think the wins show how much potential and hope there is for this program going forward, but the losses show what the Cadets need to do to become the best of the best.

Cole Hughes finished with 835 yards passing and 7 touchdowns on the season for the Cadets.

Pilakowski was the team's leading rusher with 1482 yards and 18 touchdowns on the year.

VanderGriend led the way in receiving with 479 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Cole Hughes led the way with 64 tackles while Anderson made 60.

West Point-Beemer says goodbye to seniors Cole Hughes, Tate Ernesti, Logan Knobbe, Brock Crawford, Garret Meyer, Pilakowski, Peyton Landholm, Ronny Petersen, Alex Gianella, Johnson, Chase and Austin Streeter, Jamie Palm, Devon Priestley, and Gavin Case.

These 15 seniors and their contributions to Cadet Football will be missed for sure.

Hughes, Ernesti, Case, Pilakowski, Landholm, and both Streeters in particular won't be easy to replace.

Plenty of talent returns though, including VanderGriend, Anderson, Kade Hughes, and Vance.

The biggest question mark surrounding next year's team could be on the offensive and defensive lines, but there are plenty of talented skill players to build around.

Given the success of this year's team, expectations ought to be very high at West Point-Beemer next season.

The Cadets need to have a great offseason of growth and development.

Every player has to add muscle and shed fat, and get bigger, faster, and stronger.

West Point-Beemer has to workout with excitement and passion this offseason. Now that the Cadets know what it's like to be successful, I look for the players to push themselves and each other this offseason.

Pender loses at Johnson-Brock in 2nd round of playoffs

Johnson-The Pender Football Team went into Johnson on Wednesday and left town on the wrong end of a 66-22 ball game won by Johnson-Brock in the 2nd round of the D-1 Playoffs.

The Eagles got the scoring started at the 8:37 mark of the 1st quarter as Quarterback Cole Fossenbarger hit Ty Hahn on a 37-yard TD pass to make it an 8-0 game in favor of Johnson-Brock.

The two connected again with 4:14 left in the 1st quarter, this time from 22 yards out, and it was a 16-0 game with the Eagles ahead.

Johnson-Brock's Hunter Oestmann rambled for 58 yards with 1:45 left to go in the 1st quarter to give Johnson-Brock a 24-0 advantage.

The Pendragons got on the board at the 11:06 mark of the 2nd quarter as Brady Oliver connected with Sam Mailoux on a 37-yard TD pass.

The Eagles went up 30-8 when Oestmann scored on another TD run from 6 yards out.

Fossenbarger hit Hahn for the 3rd time on an 11-yard TD pass to make it a 36-8 with 3:54 remaining until halftime.

Fossenbarger connected with Ben Clark on a 43-yard TD pass 50 seconds later, and Johnson-Brock extended their lead to 42-8.

Oliver threw a 51-yard TD pass to Tyler Nelson with 2:05 left to go until halftime, and it was a 42-16 game, Eagles still in the lead.

Johnson-Brock scored with just over a mintue remaining until halftime as Oestmann scored from 4 yards out to put the Eagles up 50-16 at halftime.

Oestmann scored his 4th rushing touchdown in the 3rd quarter from 3 yards out, and Johnson-Brock led 58-16.

Fossenbarger ran in another TD in the 4th quarter from 28 yards away, and the Eagles went up 66-16 with 4:29 left to go in the game.

Oliver connected with Nelson for a second time on a 5-yard TD pass to make up the final score.

Oliver had 9 carries for 55 yards rushing and was 15-35 passing for 200 yards and 3 TD's for Pender.

Johnson-Brock amassed 460 yards of total offense, including 233 rushing, while Pender had 266 yards of total offense, including 200 passing.

The Eagles were simply too much for the Pendragons. Pender gave it their best shot, but simply came out on the wrong end of the stick.

The Pendragons end the season at 4-6.

Pender had an interesting season. The Pendragons played a great first game, then kind of struggled until the last game of the regular season.

Better late than never though. Pender picked the right time to get hot.

The playoff win over GACC is something these boys are going to remember for the rest of their lives without a doubt.

To beat the Bluejays in the playoffs is really saying something.

The Pendragons lose a lot of talented seniors, including Nelson, Oliver, Jared Tyrrell, Jesse Thompson, Layne Heese, Gerrit Foellmer, and Quintin Saunsoci.

These 7 seniors meant a lot to Pender Football, and their contributions over the last four years won't go unnoticed or unremembered I'm sure.

Mailoux, Korbin Hardenbrook, and Jaydon Jump figure to lead next year's team.

It will be interesting to see what the future of Pendragon Football is like.

I've heard there's a chance Pender is dropping to D-2.

We'll see what happens, but if that's the case, the Pendragons should be very competitive.

Pender should compete in D-1 too if they stay in the class, but I would say the Pendragons have a better chance to do more damage in D-2 than D-1.

Regardless of what class Pender is in the next two years though, the Pendragons have to put in a lot of hard work this offseason.

Pender's returning players and newcomers to need to work and sweat their tails off in the weightroom and on the playing field this offseason.

This is a key year for growth and development amongst the Pendragon players, in my opinion.

Pender really needs kids to develop and mature and mold into a certain breed of football player.

We won't know a lot about some of these kids heading into next year so it will be interesting to see who steps up and emerges for the Pendragons in 2018.

One thing is for sure though....these kids have a lot to live up to given the success of this program over the last few years.

West Point-Beemer beats Columbus Lakeview in opening round of playoffs

The West Point-Beemer Football Team won 35-14 at home over Columbus Lakeview in the 1st round of the Playoffs Friday night.

The Cadets led 14-0 after one and outscored the Vikings 14-6 in the 2nd quarter to go up 28-6 at halftime.

West Point-Beemer blanked Columbus Lakeview 7-0 in the 3rd quarter to lead 35-6 at the end of three.

The Vikings shutout the Cadets 8-0 in the 4th quarter to make up the final score.

Hunter Pilakowsi had 161 yards rushing on 14 carries, including a touchdown, while Blake Anderson racked up 158 yards on the ground on 13 attempts, and scored two touchdowns.

Cole Hughes made 9 tackles while Pilakowski, Anderson, Peyton Landholm, Greg Johnson, and Chase Streeter totaled 7 each.

West Point-Beemer rolled up 386 yards of total offense, 342 coming on the ground.

This was a very good, impressive win and performance by the Cadets. I was really impressed by how easily West Point-Beemer won this game.

The Cadets (9-1) take on Pierce (6-4) in the State Quarterfinals at Pierce Friday night.

West Point-Beemer Head Coach Troy Schlueter says the Cadets are going to need to be able to run and throw the ball well to come out on top. "We got to run the ball. And when there's spots that we see we got to pass the ball. We've been pretty efficient throwing the ball this year. And I think one of the things that's good about our team is we're fairly versatile. We prefer to run, but if we have to we'll pass. So I think we're going to have to do a little bit of both." 

West Point-Beemer beat Pierce 35-28 at home in overtime in the regular season.

Pierce Head Coach Mark Brahmer says the battle in the trenches will be key. "Hopefully control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football. That's going to be our challenge to our young men. And they've got good guys up front who play very hard on the offensive side as well as on the defensive side so that's going to be a challenge for us."

The Bluejays won 36-32 at Fairbury in the 1st round of the Playoffs Friday night.

I kind of figured Pierce would upset the Jeffs, although Fairbury's star running back went out with an injury.

The Cadets defeated the Bluejays 35-28 in overtime on Friday, October 13th.

West Point-Beemer stopped Pierce at the half yard line in OT to win that game, and that was a great win for the Cadets.

Round 2 figures to be tougher though.

The Bluejays are at home, and it's the playoffs, and Pierce has a lot of playoff tradition and experience.

West Point-Beemer might be up against it, but there's no doubt the Cadets can have success and win.

If West Point-Beemer runs the ball the way they did against Lakeview they're going to be awfully difficult to beat.

The Cadets have to have a good game plan and be ready to execute it, and play their best game of the year.

As good as West Point-Beemer played against the Bluejays the first time around, the Cadets are going to have to play even better to beat Pierce again I would say.

This game has all the makings of a great one and a classic, and West Point-Beemer has to go in there ready to play their best game.

The Cadets have to play to win and not play not to lose.

Some may take the Bluejays in this game, and that's fine, but I think West Point-Beemer is fully capable of beating Pierce again.

It would be a big deal for the Cadets to make the State Semifinals, and they can definitely do it, they just need to play a great game.

West Point-Beemer has to minimize penalties and turnovers, and be smart and play level headed.

The winner gets either Boys Town or Boone Central/Newman Grove next Friday night.

Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. on 107.9 the Bull with pregame at 6:40.

Pender upsets GACC in 1st round of Playoffs

Beemer-A week after losing 64-50 to GACC in the regular season finale, The No. 14 seed in Class D-1, the Pender Pendragons, upset the 3rd seeded and previously unbeaten Bluejays, 52-50,  in the 1st round of the High School Football playoffs in Beemer Thursday night.

The Bluejays got the scoring started at the 4:58 mark of the 1st quarter as Jared Minnick broke free for 70 yards to give GACC an 8-0 advantage.

Minnick scored his 2nd rushing touchdown from 35 yards out with 3:24 left to go in the opening period, and the Bluejays led 14-0.

Pender got on the board 16 seconds later when Brady Oliver connected with Jared Tyrell on a 62-yard TD pass to make it a 14-6 ball game.

The Pendragons scored on the final play of the 1st quarter when Sam Mailoux hauled in an 11-yard TD pass from Oliver, and Pender trailed 14-12 at the end of one.

GACC started the scoring in the 2nd quarter as Derek Petz connected with Jaden Rahn for 45 yards on a touchdown to put the Bluejays up 20-12 at the 11:06 mark of the 2nd quarter.

Pender tied the game at 20 with 9:34 left to go until halftime as Oliver rumbled into the end zone from 14 yards away.

GACC regained the lead with 8:22 remaining in the 2nd quarter as Petz scored from 2 yards out to give the Bluejays a 28-20 cushion.

Tyrell scored on a 57-yard play with 2:18 left until halftime to trim the GACC lead to 2 at 28-26, which was the halftime score.

No one scored in the 3rd quarter.

In the 4th, Oliver ran in a 5-yard TD to put the Pendragons on top, 32-28, 46 seconds into the quarter.

The Bluejays regained the lead at 34-32 when Cash Meier plunged in from 3 yards away at the 8:57 mark of the final quarter.

Tyrell then hit Tyler Nelson for a 61-yard TD 21 seconds later, and Pender went back up 38-34.

GACC's Noah Hass scored on a 41-yard TD run with 7:52 left to go in the game, and the Bluejays regained the advantage at 42-38.

The Pendragons responded again though as Oliver found Tyrell on a 36-yard TD pass that put Pender ahead again 46-42.

GACC took their final lead of the game with 3:34 remaining when Petz found Rahn from 31 yards away to give the Bluejays a 50-46 lead.

The Pendragons scored the game winning touchdown with 2:47 left to go when Tyrell hit pay dirt on a 28-yard TD pass from Oliver.

Oliver was 18-35 passing for 292 yards and four touchdowns for Pender (4-5) while Tyrell was 1-1 with a 61-yard TD pass.

The Bluejays racked up 453 yards of offense, including 317 rushing, while the Pendragons amassed 442 yards of total offense, including 353 through the air.

Head Coach Andy Welsh credits the o-line and skill position guys. "Yeah we have kids that if we get them in space they can do big things. I mean we saw that tonight. Our linemen coming from last week to this week that was our other big focus is give those guys time. Seal off the blocks. And they played hard today. They blocked well. And good things happen when we get the ball out to those speedy guys out in space."

Welsh says all heck broke loose in the 4th quarter. "Yeah it got pretty crazy there in the 4th quarter. It kind of seemed like whoever had the ball last was going to win. And fortunately for us our defense was able to come up with a stop there. Our defense, we've given up a few points throughout the year to the good teams, and again we did tonight, but when it mattered they came up and they made a couple plays at the end to win the game for us."

The Class D-1 football playoffs continue Wednesday on 107.9 the Bull with a pair of teams that scored upset victories in the first round, as Pender travels to Johnson-Brock.

The 4-5 Pendragons upset then unbeaten GACC 52-50 in a wild shootout, while 5-4 Johnson-Brock handled then 7-1 Heartland 24-6.

Eagles head coach Mitch Roberts says turnovers were a big factor in that game, and he expects them to be a key against Pender, along with limiting big plays from the Pendragons. “Turnovers. We take care of the football and force them into some difficult situations, and then shut down big plays” Roberts said. “That’s a huge part of eight-man football, who has more big plays, we shut theirs down and get a few of our own.”

Welsh says he sees a lot of similarities between the two teams. “We haven’t seen a whole lot of teams this year that spread it out like we do, and that’s exactly what they do,” Welsh said. “Both teams have speed and athleticism on the outside. And obviously record-wise we’re pretty similar. They are extremely fast. Their entire team speed is fast and I just hope we can match up with that.”



Welsh adds the Pendragons are making the most of their playoff opportunity. "We're taking it one game at time. We were happy to get in as a 3-5 team. I feel like maybe we were a bad draw for CC being a 3-5. We played not very good football in the middle of the year when we were missing some players. So we thought we were better than a 3-5 team, and I guess now that we're in the playoffs it's anybody's game."

The two teams have one common opponent in Winnebago, who Johnson-Brock downed 64-28, and Pender lost to 60-42.

I think this will be a great game. Pender really has nothing to lose, and neither do the Eagles really.

This should be a dandy of a game, and if the Pendragons win it, they could host Howells-Dodge in the quarterfinals.

I'm excited for this one. I feel things can go either way.

I would expect nothing less than another barn burner and shootout of a game like the Pender/GACC game.

The Pendragons have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain by going down there and picking up a victory.

Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 Wednesday afternoon with pregame set for 3:40 on 107.9 The Bull.

Howells-Dodge shuts out Clarkson/Leigh in 1st round of Playoffs

The Howells-Dodge Football Team won 46-0 at home over Clarkson/Leigh in the 1st round of the playoffs Thursday night.

Here's the scoring recap from the game:

First Quarter

Howells-Dodge 09:55 #1 Luke Rocheford runs for 57 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #28 Dylan Horejsi no good)
Howells-Dodge 07:32 #23 Jordon Brichacek runs for 37 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #28 Dylan Horejsi good)
Howells-Dodge 01:25 #28 Dylan Horejsi runs for 10 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion pass by #4 Dax VanLengen to Team no good)

Second Quarter

Howells-Dodge 02:16 #28 Dylan Horejsi runs for 1 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion pass by #4 Dax VanLengen to Team no good)
Howells-Dodge 00:15 #28 Dylan Horejsi runs for 5 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion pass by #4 Dax VanLengen to #25 Kade Hegemann no good)

Third Quarter

Howells-Dodge 07:18 #28 Dylan Horejsi runs for 5 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #28 Dylan Horejsi good)

Fourth Quarter

Howells-Dodge 11:52 #10 Darrin Pokorny runs for 11 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #10 Darrin Pokorny no good)

Horejsi had 118 yards rushing on 23 carries with 4 touchdowns for the Jaguars while Rocheford had 64 yards rushing on 2 carries, including a touchdown.

Hegemann made a game-high 17 tackles while Jon Yosten had 15. Carter Throener registered 11 while VanLengen and Connor Blum notched 7 apiece.

Howells-Dodge racked up 310 yards of total offense, including 295 on the ground, while giving up just 48 yards of total offense to the Patriots.

If the Jaguars keep playing defense like that they are going to be very difficult to beat, in my opinion.

Howells-Dodge (9-0) hosts Nebraska City Lourdes (6-3) in the second round of the playoffs Wednesday night.

The Knights won 48-20 at home over Neligh-Oakdale in the 1st round of the playoffs Thursday night.

Nebraska City Lourdes beat the Jaguars 42-36 at home in this very round last year.

I look for Howells-Dodge to turn the tables and exact revenge on the Knights.

This Jaguars' team is better than it was last year, and I don't think Lourdes is nearly as good as they were last year.

I think a strong defense from Howells-Dodge will be the difference in this game.

All things are pointing towards a Creighton/Howells-Dodge Semifinal matchup, but the Jaguars must be focused on the Knights, and must be ready to take care of business Wednesday night.

Howells-Dodge can't get all cocky and complacent. After all, Lourdes ended their season a year ago.

The Jaguars have to be intense, pumped, amped, and fired up, and ready to go Wednesday night.

Howells-Dodge has to be ready to hit hard, and be prepared to play a complete four quarter game.

It's playoff football at Howells, and it simply doesn't get any better than this.

The players, coaches, cheerleaders, parents, and fans all have to be super excited and must create a lot of energy.

Those in the stands have to get behind this team and yell their lungs out, and the players have to be disciplined, listen to their coaches, and execute the game plan, all while feeding off the crowd's energy and enthusiasm.

This is do or die for the Jaguars. If Howells-Dodge loses this game their season and dreams of winning a state championship are gone and dashed.

Take things one day and one game at a time, and focus on the opponent and task at hand. That's what the Jaguars need to do.

Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m.

Oakland-Craig shutout at home by Yutan in 1st round of playoffs

The Oakland-Craig Football Team lost 25-0 at home to Yutan in the 1st round of the playoffs Friday night.

The Chieftains led 12-0 at the end of one and 19-0 at halftime.

Yutan blanked the Knights 6-0 in the 3rd quarter to go up 25-0 at the end of three.

Neither team scored in the 4th quarter.

Evan Reinert was 8-22 passing for 122 yards with an interception.

Garrett Seagren caught 3 passes for 55 yards.

Seagren also made 8 tackles.

Oakland-Craig racked up 146 yards of offense, including 122 passing.

The defense gave up 496 yards of total offense, 359 of them rushing.

Really tough end to what was a great season for the Knights. Then again Yutan was preseason ranked No. 1.

Oakland-Craig ends the year at 8-2.

It was a very memorable season for the Knights that came to an abrupt end.

I'm sure Oakland-Craig thought they would go farther in the playoffs. I sure did until I saw the Chieftains were the first round opponent.

Oakland-Craig's biggest wins were over Battle Creek, Logan View, Fremont Bergan, and BRLD I would say.

Reinert threw for 1,390 yards and 16 touchdowns this season.

Ben Smith was the team's leading rusher wit 517 yards and 6 touchdowns.

Seagren had 906 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns on the year.

The team's leading tackler was Ian Lundquist, who had 55 for the season.

The Knights say goodbye to Seagren, Reinert, Kobe Benne, Smith, Brandon Fentress, and Marcos Quintero.

These 6 seniors are very valuable losses and contributed a lot to Oakland-Craig Football the last four years without a doubt.

Key returners for next year include Robby Mayberry, Garrison Dodge, Jared Mulder, Lucas Hilliard, Lundquist, Jefferson McNeill, Wyatt Uhing, Daniel Sechler, Tyson Harney, Cole Bures, Max Ward, Jarron Metzler, Justyn Hale, Laurence Brands, and Wyatt Seagren.

The Knights bring back a lot of talent and experience on the line and at linebacker, and at the skill positions it appears.

It also appears Oakland-Craig has some guys waiting their turn that could get starting nods next year.

So the Knights should simply be reloading and should go on to have another great season in 2018.

With a lot of hard work, determination, and effort in the offseason in the weightroom and on the playing field, Oakland-Craig should be bound and determined for another playoff run next season.

You can bet the Knights will be back and stronger than ever in 2018.

Logan View loses to Centennial in 1st round of Playoffs

Utica-The Logan View Football Team lost 28-13 at Centennial in the first round of the C-2 playoffs Friday night.

The Broncos struck first as Gavin Avery ran in a touchdown from 15 yards out to give Centennial a 7-0 advantage with 5:15 remaining in the opening period.

The Raiders knotted the game up at 7 with 2:44 remaining in the opening frame as Nathan Taylor hauled in a 14-yard TD pass from Nolan Miller.

Avery scored from a yard out with 11:27 left in the 2nd quarter to put the Broncos back in front 14-7.

Avery scored his 3rd rushing touchdown from 49 yards away at the 7:51 mark of the 2nd period to give Centennial a 21-7 advantage.

Logan View closed within 8 at 21-13 after Brady Hull scored on an 8-yard TD run with 7:33 left to go in the 3rd quarter.

The Broncos' Wyatt Ehlers scored from 2 yards out at the 3:44 mark of the 3rd quarter to make up the final score.

Jacob Polk was 9-16 passing for 118 yards and two interceptions for the Raiders while Hull had 68 yards rushing on 22 carries, including a touchdown.

The Broncos amassed 361 yards of offense, including 194 through the air, while Logan View racked up 220 yards of offense, 132 of them passing.



I thought the Raiders competed well, but just not well enough to win.

The Raiders end the 2017 campaign with a record of 6-4.

It was a good season for Logan View, in my opinion.

The Raiders upset Yutan early in the season, and reached the playoffs in Dustin Sealey's 2nd year.

I would say that's progress and growth made as a program.

Logan View says goodbye to Polk, Miller, Taylor, Brandon Hagerbaumer. and Jayvin Benavente.

At least four of these players are key losses, but the Raiders have to be excited about who they bring back and inherit from Scribner-Snyder.

Logan View will be known as Logan View/Scribner-Snyder after this year, and so players will have to adjust and adapt to their new teammates.

Key returners from Logan View include Martin Valencia, Connor Larson, Hull, Jadin Beckwith, Eric French, Brett Uhing, Nathan Wacker, Lucas Schneck, Alex Miller, and Hunter McNulty.

The Raiders should be locked and loaded, and ready to go next season.

I look for Logan View/Scribner-Snyder to have a nice offseason, and grow and mature as players and as young men.

The Raiders will have to break in a new quarterback, but I look for someone to step up and take control of the reigns for Logan View/Scribner-Snyder.

The Raiders are now on the map and are well on their way to becoming an established power I would say.

I think Logan View/Scribner-Snyder will continue to win and be really good as long as Sealey is there.

The Raiders will be back in the thick of the playoffs next year I would say.

Things figure to get a little trickier if Logan View/Scribner-Snyder jumps up to Class C-1, but there's no doubt the Raiders can adjust.

Look for Logan View/Scribner-Snyder to be a force in 2018.

GACC upset by Pender in playoffs

Beemer-A week after losing 64-50 to GACC in the regular season finale, The No. 14 seed in Class D-1, the Pender Pendragons, upset the 3rd seeded and previously unbeaten Bluejays, 52-50,  in the 1st round of the High School Football playoffs in Beemer Thursday night.

The Bluejays got the scoring started at the 4:58 mark of the 1st quarter as Jared Minnick broke free for 70 yards to give GACC an 8-0 advantage.

Minnick scored his 2nd rushing touchdown from 35 yards out with 3:24 left to go in the opening period, and the Bluejays led 14-0.

Pender got on the board 16 seconds later when Brady Oliver connected with Jared Tyrell on a 62-yard TD pass to make it a 14-6 ball game.

The Pendragons scored on the final play of the 1st quarter when Sam Mailoux hauled in an 11-yard TD pass from Oliver, and Pender trailed 14-12 at the end of one.

GACC started the scoring in the 2nd quarter as Derek Petz connected with Jaden Rahn for 45 yards on a touchdown to put the Bluejays up 20-12 at the 11:06 mark of the 2nd quarter.

Pender tied the game at 20 with 9:34 left to go until halftime as Oliver rumbled into the end zone from 14 yards away.

GACC regained the lead with 8:22 remaining in the 2nd quarter as Petz scored from 2 yards out to give the Bluejays a 28-20 cushion.

Tyrell scored on a 57-yard play with 2:18 left until halftime to trim the GACC lead to 2 at 28-26, which was the halftime score.

No one scored in the 3rd quarter.

In the 4th, Oliver ran in a 5-yard TD to put the Pendragons on top, 32-28, 46 seconds into the quarter.

The Bluejays regained the lead at 34-32 when Cash Meier plunged in from 3 yards away at the 8:57 mark of the final quarter.

Tyrell then hit Tyler Nelson for a 61-yard TD 21 seconds later, and Pender went back up 38-34.

GACC's Noah Hass scored on a 41-yard TD run with 7:52 left to go in the game, and the Bluejays regained the advantage at 42-38.

The Pendragons responded again though as Oliver found Tyrell on a 36-yard TD pass that put Pender ahead again 46-42.

GACC took their final lead of the game with 3:34 remaining when Petz found Rahn from 31 yards away to give the Bluejays a 50-46 lead.

The Pendragons scored the game winning touchdown with 2:47 left to go when Tyrell hit pay dirt on a 28-yard TD pass from Oliver.

Minnick, who left the game after getting injured in the 1st half, ran for 117 yards on 5 carries, and scored twice for GACC.

Meier added 110 yards rushing and a touchdown on 23 carries for the Bluejays while Hass carried the rock 4 times for 57 yards, including a touchdown.

Petz was 5-12 for 136 yards with two TD's.



Jadyn Smeal made 11 tackles while Casey Doernemann, Jacob Yosten, and Axcele Biteghe totaled 7 each.

The Bluejays racked up 453 yards of offense, including 317 rushing, while the Pendragons amassed 442 yards of total offense, including 353 through the air.

Head Coach Dave Ridder says the Pendragons' quarterback was on target and injuries forced some of his key players off the field. "They had some key 3rd down conversions. We had them 3rd and long and things like that. And that number 44 did a nice job. They just got the ball up where we weren't. Our kids are 5'8, 5'9, and he's 6'4, or I think so. Bit the quarterback put it where we couldn't get it. And that's just good play, that's nothing against our boys. They were covering and they were doing well. And so honestly I'm not going to fault anybody for their efforts tonight. But sometimes inexperience does get you, and when you lose a couple of your key players and probably an all-state running back."

Ridder on the loss. "They just had a really good night as far as throwing the ball. I don't know what his completion ration was, but did an excellent job with that, and they spread us out and they exposed us in some areas. And our youth kind of showed in the second half. Not so much youth as the inexperience of the type of plays they run. We haven't played a quarterback that's been that accurate for this year obviously. And he was pretty accurate last week, but I think he was even more accurate this week."

GACC ends the year at 8-1.

Ridder says this year's seniors did a lot for Bluejay Football. "Very proud of this senior class, they had a very good career here in 4 years, and I like I told them, I said if this is the worst thing that happened to you kids going through 4 years of good football, you have a pretty good life."

The loss ends GACC's three year streak of making it to the quarterfinals or further in the playoffs.

Minnick getting hurt really made a difference I think.

Not to take anything away from Pender, but if he hadn't gotten hurt, the Bluejays very well could have won.

Minnick finished the year with 1,669 yards rushing and 30 touchdowns. Petz was 40-76 passing for 701 yards with 11 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.

Smeal led the team in tackles with 71.

Seniors lost to graduation include Rahn, Petz, Yosten, Michael Baumert, and Logan Kreikemeier.

These 5 seniors meant a lot to GACC Football, and will be missed without a doubt.

Key returners include Smeal, Minnick, Mitchell Peatrowsky, Ross Klitz, Doernemann, Andrew Franzluebbers, Aaron Disher, Blake Pojar, and Biteghe.

You can bet the Bluejays will be back next year. GACC was very young this year, and I look for the Bluejays to be even better next year than they were this year.

This loss has to sting, and must be used as motivation to get bigger, faster, stronger, and more physical in the offseason.

GACC has to think of this loss everytime they workout or play the game.

It's something that needs to be on their minds whenever they participate in football related activities between now and August.

I look for the loss to only fuel and motivate the Bluejays this offseason.

I think GACC will come back strong and with a vengeance next season.

Clarkson/Leigh loses to Howells-Dodge in Playoffs

The Clarkson/Leigh Football team saw their season come to an end Thursday night when they lost 46-0 at Howells-Dodge in the first round of the playoffs.

The Jaguars led 20-0 at the end of one, and 32-0 at halftime.

Howells-Dodge blanked the Patriots 8-0 in the 3rd quarter to go up 40-0 at the end of three.

The Jaguars shutout Clarkson/Leigh 6-0 in the 4th quarter.

Cort Pokorney had 11 tackles while Jacob Gall and Hector Mendoza made 10 and 7, respectively.

The Patriots had just 48 yards of total offense while Howells-Dodge amassed 310 yards of total offense, including 295 on the ground.

Difficult end to the season for Clarkson/Leigh. Rematches are always tough though.

The Patriots wrap up the year at 3-6.

Clarkson/Leigh had a tough start to the season, but really picked things up against Omaha Nation I thought.

The Patriots played really good football in the middle part of the season, struggled at the beginning, and stumbled to the finish line you could say.

To make the playoffs for the 6th straight year though is a big deal, and Clarkson/Leigh should be proud of what they accomplished this season.

The Patriots' biggest win of the year came against Neligh-Oakdale without a doubt.

Bruhn led the team in rushing and passing as he ran for 670 yards and 13 TD's, and threw for 352 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Gall led the team in tackles with 82 on the season.

Clarkson/Leigh says goodbye to seniors Haden Held, Tim Zimmerman, Gall, Mendoza, Bruhn, and Alex Machmueller.

These 6 seniors and their contributions to Patriot Football will be missed without a doubt.

Key returners for Clarkson/Leigh next season include Travis Stanley, Lance Paprocki, Lane Kudera, Isaak Wiese, Dillon Knapp, Tommy McEvoy, Douglas Pocasangre, and Kobe Indra.

The future of Patriot Football looks to be really promising as I believe this year's JV team had a successful season.

I look for Clarkson/Leigh to be back better than ever next year, and be ready to make a playoff run in 2018.

I think the Patriots will be better next year than they were this year.

New opponents and a new district likely await Clarkson/Leigh next season, but there's no doubt the Patriots can adjust and adapt, and go on to have a nice year.

Clarkson/Leigh just has to get after things in the offseason, and work hard in the weightroom, on the playing field, and wherever they may do running and agility drills.

The Patriots figure to get bigger, faster, and stronger with a year to grow and mature.

Look for Clarkson/Leigh to be a factor and force to be reckoned with in 2018.

Logan View beats BRLD to reach playoffs

The Logan View Football Team won 21-20 at home against BRLD Friday night to qualify for the playoffs.

Brady Hull had 21 carries for 168 yards and a touchdown. Jacob Polk ran the ball 16 times for 56 yards.

Polk was 2-6 passing for 69 yards with two touchdowns.

Nolan Miller hauled both passes in, scoring both TD's.

Nathan Taylor made 15 tackles while Connor Larson totaled 10. Eric French made 8.

The Raiders tallied 293 yards of offense, including 224 on the ground, while giving up 315 yards of total offense, including 115 rushing.

It's a big deal for Logan View to be in the playoffs, and I'm sure the Raiders are very happy to be there.

Logan View (6-3) takes on Centennial (9-0) on the road in the 1st round of the playoffs Friday night.

The Broncos knocked off Sutton 20-12 at home this past Friday night to close out the regular season.

Centennial is a solid team, but I think the Raiders can go in there and compete and win.

Logan View beat Yutan 27-20 while the Broncos downed the Chieftains 28-25.

Central City defeated the Raiders 44-21 though while Centennial topped the Bison 27-13.

The regular season and scores with common opponents may not mean much, but it's how I am trying to measure these two teams.

It's really hard to say how things are going to go.

Polk and Hull need to be on top of their game for Logan View to be able to win though.

These two need to have huge games for the Raiders, and be lethal weapons.

I think both are capable of going off and doing big things for Logan View, and the Raiders will definitely need their offensive production.

Logan View's defense has to be up to snuff too though.

The Raiders have to try and slow down Wyatt Ehlers and Gavin Avery.

Avery had 98 yards rushing and two touchdowns in the Broncos' win over the Mustangs while Ehlers had 79 yards rushing and a touchdown and 59 yards passing.

Not really numbers that stand out for a team that's the No. 2 seed in the playoffs I would say.

Centennial's offense appears to be solid and efficient, but not anything explosive or anything.

I really think Logan View matches up well with the Broncos, and has a shot to win.

The Raiders have to be confident heading into the game, and must dream and visualize on the bus ride to Utica what it would be like to win.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with pregame at 6:40 on 107.9 the Bull, online at www.kticradio.com, and on the free KTIC Radio App.

Oakland-Craig shuts out Fremont Bergan to win District Title

The Oakland-Craig Football Team won 31-0 at Fremont Bergan Friday night to win District C2-3.

Evan Reinert was 8-16 passing for 134 yards and two touchdowns.

Ben Smith rushed for 64 yards on 17 carries.

Ian Lundquist made 8 tackles.

Oakland-Craig had 361 yards of total offense, including 222 on the ground.

The defense held Bergan to 156 yards of offense, including 46 passing.

Great win for Oakland-Craig. An 8-1 regular season and a District Championship is a job well done, in my opinion.

The reward though is Yutan (6-3) in the 1st round of the playoffs at home Friday night.

The Chieftains were the preseason ranked No. 1 team in C-2, and have won their last six contests, including blowout wins over 8-1 Wilber-Clatonia and 7-2 Lincoln Lutheran.

One common opponent is Logan View, who Yutan lost to 27-20 and Oakland-Craig beat 18-14.

The Chieftains lost to them, Battle Creek, and Centennial early though, and appear to be playing better football now than they were then.

So I could definitely see Yutan pulling the upset, but I could also see the Knights winning too.

Reinert, Seagren, Benne, and Smith need to have big games for Oakland-Craig though.

I think the Knights are going to need to have tremendous balance running and throwing the ball, and will need to hit some big plays to win.

Oakland-Craig is making their 10th straight playoff appearance though so don't think the Knights are going to go down easily.

Oakland-Craig is a very tough team, and has been a really tough out the last three years prior to this year.

The Knights had a better overall regular season than the Chieftains, and their only loss came to top seeded Ponca.

This is still going to be a tough game, and is a scary, dangerous, and difficult first round game for Oakland-Craig though as it could be argued that Yutan is playing better football right now.

The Knights have to start and finish strong in particular, but play a full, complete, four quarter game as well.

Oakland-Craig has to stay focused the entire game, and constantly make plays to have success I would say.

Limiting penalties and turnovers will be very important, in my opinion. No silly personal fouls or unsportsmanlike conducts.

There's really not a whole lot of room or margin for error for the Knights in this game I would say.

Oakland-Craig can't afford to play sloppy on offense or defense and shoot themselves in the foot on offense.

The Knights need to play well for 4 quarters to win.

It should be a great game, and I wish Oakland-Craig the best of luck. I hope they win.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Oakland.

GACC records another undefeated regular season and wins District Title with win over Pender

The GACC Football Team capped off an undefeated regular season and another District Championship with a 64-50 win at Pender Thursday night.

The Bluejays led 24-14 at the end of one, and outscored the Pendragons 20-6 in the 2nd quarter to take a 44-20 lead into the locker room.

Pender won the 3rd quarter 16-14 to make it a 58-36 game at the end of three.

The Pendragons outscored GACC 14-6 in the 4th quarter.

Jared Minnick had 339 yards rushing on 40 carries, and scored 8 touchdowns....holy moly!!!!!

Derek Petz added 116 yards rushing on 18 carries, and scored once.

Jacob Yosten made 8 tackles.

The Bluejays rolled up 490 yards of total offense, including 466 rushing, while giving up 292 yards of total offense, including 166 on the ground. 

I'm sure GACC would have liked to have been more dominant than they were, but the Blujeays can't complain about an undefeated regular season and a District Championship.

GACC (8-0) hosts Pender (3-5) in a rematch in the 1st round of the playoffs in Beemer Thursday night.

I would say Minnick and Petz need to go off again for the Bluejays, and GACC has to try and slow down and focus on Brady Oliver.

The Bluejays were outplayed in the second half against the Pendragons I would say, and cannot let that happen again.

GACC has to come out determined, focused, and flat out upset given the fact they gave up 50 points to Pender.

Credit the Pendragons for continuing to fight and never giving up, but Pender had not been playing good football leading up to this game.

The Bluejays are better than what they showed Thursday night, in my opinion, and could potentially show that this Thursday night.

I wouldn't be surprised if GACC blows the Pendragons out, but the Bluejays have to come out and be in playoff mode.

GACC has to come out and dominate from start to finish like they are capable of.

The Bluejays have to notch things up a few gears, and play like I know they can.

I feel GACC is better than to give up 50 points to Pender, and quite honestly the Bluejays should be motivated and upset given the fact they allowed that many points to the Pendragons.

Pender finally played up to their potential offensively I would say though so now is the time for GACC to answer and reach their potential defensively.

The Bluejays have a very tough road back to Lincoln, but all GACC can do is take things one game at a time, and go out there and dominate against the Pendragons.

The Bluejays have to get jacked, psyched, pumped, and fired up for Thursday night's game.

It's playoff football in Northeast Nebraska, and this is usually GACC's time of year.

It's time to go out there and show why you are one of the best teams in the State if you are the Bluejays.

GACC has to go out there and take care of business, and send a message to the rest of the playoff field that they are a force to be reckoned with, and will be tough for anyone to beat.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on 107.9 the Bull with pregame at 6:40. The game can also be heard online at www.kticradio.com and with the free KTIC Radio App.

Pender loses shootout to GACC; gets rematch with Bluejays in 1st round of playoffs

The Pender Football Team dropped their last regular season game Thursday night, losing 64-50 at home to GACC.

The Bluejays led 24-14 at the end of one, and outscored the Pendragons 20-6 in the 2nd quarter to take a 44-20 lead into the locker room.

Pender won the 3rd quarter 16-14 to make it a 58-36 game at the end of three.

The Pendragons outscored GACC 14-6 in the 4th quarter.

Brady Oliver was 10-23 passing for 126 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Oliver also had 125 yards rushing on 11 carries, and scored 3 times.

Layne Heese made 18 tackles while Jaydon Jump totaled 14. Oliver and Jesse Thompson made 9 apiece while Korbin Hardenbrook recorded 8.

Pender racked up 292 yards of total offense, including 166 on the ground. The defense surrendered 490 yards of of total offense, including 466 rushing.

The Pendragons hung in there in the 2nd half with the Bluejays. Credit Pender for never giving up.

The Pendragons (3-5) travel to Beemer Thursday night for a rematch with GACC (8-0) in the 1st round of the playoffs.

The Bluejays relied heavily upon Jared Minnick and Derek Petz to shoulder much of the load Thursday night.

With that said, Pender relied a lot upon Oliver.

I think the Pendragons can definitely make this an interesting game to say the least though.

I honestly thought GACC would win rather easily over Pender in the regular season finale, but the Pendragons showed a lot of fight, moxie, and perseverance by fighting and battling the way they did.

It just goes to show that Pender is never going to give up and throw in the towel.

The Pendragons can appear to be down and out of a game, but they will never give up.

At no point Thursday night is this game over. Not with the way Pender scored on the Bluejays this past Thursday night.

The Pendragons have to focus on trying to slow down Minnick and Petz.

If Pender can limit those two then the Pendragons will be in great shape.

Easier said than done though given the way GACC ran the ball on Pender Thursday night.

Minnick had 339 yards and 8 touchdowns in the 1st game between these two teams.

Pender has to do a much better job against him this time around if they want to win.

The Pendragons are definitely capable of pulling the upset though. This should be a very interesting game.

Pender appears to be at full strength right now so that should bode well in their favor.

The Pendragons get a second shot at GACC...a shot at redemption.

Pender has to make the most of their opportunity, and seize the moment.

Playoff Football is a privilege and a reward for a great season, and the Pendragons have to make the most of this second chance in the playoffs.

Pender struggled in the regular season, yet here the Pendragons are in the playoffs with a chance to shock the state.

Strap up the chinstraps and hold on because we could be in for a dandy on 107.9 the Bull Thursday night.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with pregame at 6:40, again on 107.9 the Bull, online at www.kticradio.com, and on the free KTIC radio app.

Howells-Dodge caps off undefeated regular season and wins District Title with win over Clarkson/Leigh

The Howells-Dodge Football Team won 42-22 at Clarkson/Leigh Friday night to finish the regular season 8-0 and win a District Championship.

Here is the scoring recap from the Game:

First Quarter

Clarkson-Leigh High School 06:35 #55 Anthony Bruhn runs for 1 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #55 Anthony Bruhn good)
Howells-Dodge 03:59 #28 Dylan Horejsi runs for 19 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #28 Dylan Horejsi no good)
Clarkson-Leigh High School 00:22 #55 Anthony Bruhn pass complete to #42 Hector Mendoza for 26 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #55 Anthony Bruhn no good)

Second Quarter

Howells-Dodge 09:25 #28 Dylan Horejsi runs for 31 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #28 Dylan Horejsi no good)
Howells-Dodge 00:35 #4 Dax VanLengen runs for 5 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #28 Dylan Horejsi good)

Third Quarter

Howells-Dodge 08:37 #28 Dylan Horejsi runs for 4 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #28 Dylan Horejsi good)
Howells-Dodge 06:35 #4 Haden Held punts to the Jaguars 49 yard line. #1 Luke Rocheford return for 51 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #28 Dylan Horejsi no good)

Fourth Quarter

Howells-Dodge 09:26 #4 Dax VanLengen pass complete to #22 Jon Yosten for 12 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #28 Dylan Horejsi good)
Clarkson-Leigh High School 01:39 #6 Lance Paprocki runs for 12 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion pass by #6 Lance Paprocki to #23 Isaak Wiese good)

Horejsi had 211 yards rushing on 28 carries, and scored 3 touchdowns.

Kade Hegemann had 17 tackles while Horejsi and Jon Yosten registered 14 apiece. Ryan Macholan notched 8 while Kyle Pickhinke made 7.

The Jaguars had 276 yards of total offense, including 254 on the ground. The defense gave up 197 yards of total offense, including 121 rushing.

Good win for Howells-Dodge. The Jaguars started the game off slow, but really turned things on in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.

Howells-Dodge (8-0) rematches with Clarkson/Leigh (3-5) in the 1st round of the playoffs in Howells Thursday night.

The Patriots are a tough team, and can't be counted out of any contest.

The Jaguars definitely can't afford to overlook or look past Clarkson/Leigh. The Patriots should have Howells-Dodge's full attention.

With that said, the Jaguars could potentially rematch with Nebraska City Lourdes in the 2nd round of the playoffs, or perhaps travel to Neligh to take on Neligh-Oakdale next round.

But again, I must stress the importance of not taking Clarkson/Leigh lightly.

If Howells-Dodge isn't focused on the Patriots then they could be in for some real trouble.

Howells-Dodge simply has to come out and play a complete, four quarter game.

The Howells teams of the past would roll teams from start to finish on their way to all those state titles.

And Howells-Dodge has done that a lot this year.

It's just something the Jaguars need to do throughout these playoffs if possible.

I really think that if Howells-Dodge plays up to their full potential in the playoffs they have a chance to make the state championship game in Lincoln and win it.

Creighton, GACC and maybe East Butler could have something to say about that before things are all said and done, but I think the Jaguars have as good a chance as anyone to go all the way.

It would be real fitting for Howells-Dodge to win it all this year too.

The Jaguars' quest for a state championship starts with Clarkson/Leigh Thursday night.

Howells-Dodge has to come out and play smashmouth football from start to finish against the Patriots, and run the ball the way they did last week.

The one thing I will say is the Howells and Dodge teams of old used to run the ball with a lot of authority and purpose, and Horejsi did just that against Clarkson/Leigh.

I think he will need to have a big game again for the Jaguars to win comfortably.

It should be an exciting game and an electric atmosphere.

Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m.

Emerson-Hubbard loses final contest to Randolph

The Emerson-Hubbard Football Team wrapped up their season Friday night, losing 42-12 at Randolph.

It definitely had to be disappointing for the Pirates not to make the playoffs. Emerson-Hubbard played some good, tough teams though.

The Pirates conclude the 2017 season with a 2-6 record.

All of Emerson-Hubbard's losses were to teams with records of 5-3 or better.

The two wins came over Scribner-Snyder and Winside.

Only having 14 kids out for the team this year had to make things difficult, especially in practice and late in games.

The Pirates lose seniors Connar Newton, Micah Lamprecht, Blake Eriksen, Nick Ahlers, and Spencer Emmons.

Emerson-Hubbard figures to be strong next year with the return of Jacob Kneifl, Spencer Burcham, Drake Steele, Nolan Ostrand, Nolan Belt, and Kaden Swanson.

The Pirates should have a solid and dandy team next year, and I'm excited to see what Emerson-Hubbard can accomplish.

The Pirates have to be disappointed by the fact their 4-year playoff streak ended, but you can bet Emerson-Hubbard will be back next season.

The Pirates need to have a good offseason of hard work, weightlifting, running, agility drills, maturity, as well as growth and development amongst players.

Emerson-Hubbard should focus on football as much as possible in the offseason.

I know it's tough to spend a lot of time on it in the winter and spring with Emerson-Hubbard being such a small school and kids out for 3 sports and some playing baseball in the summer, so I can definitely understand how hard it will be to work on football for the rest of the school year.

With that said, these kids have to find a way to manage their time and make time for football.

The student-athletes have to wake up everyday excited and passionate about making themselves better as athletes on an off the field.

Getting involved in community service projects if they're not already in them doesn't hurt.

Finding ways to serve and being successful on the field and in the classroom is very important for the Pirates I would say.

Emerson-Hubbard has to try and be as successful as they can be. Normally success in other aspects of life besides sports tends to result in success in sports quite a bit of the time.

It definitely wouldn't hurt these players to be well rounded athletes if they aren't already.

Scribner-Snyder loses final game to Cedar Bluffs

The Scribner-Snyder Football Team lost their final game as a program Friday night, falling 34-16 at home to Cedar Bluffs.

It was definitely a difficult way for the Trojans to go out as it wasn't the easiest season for Scribner-Snyder by any stretch of the imagination.

The Trojans end their season with an 0-8 record.

Seniors on this year's team include Josh McMillen, Hunter Adams, Harrison Riggle, Ryon Leffel, and Victor Zamora.

These players were a big reason why Scribner-Snyder was as successful running the ball as they were this year I would say, especially Riggle, Leffel, and Zamora, who were all linemen.

If you hadn't heard the Scribner-Snyder Trojans are no more.

Scribner-Snyder is going to co-op with Logan View in all sports starting next year.

So key players from Scribner-Snyder for next year's Logan View/Scribner-Snyder team include Austin Peters, Sebastian Arnold, Austin Lewin, Teague Stewart, James Hudson, Daymen Jurisch, and Noah Banks.

Logan View/Scribner-Snyder should be pretty good next year. Logan View is in the playoffs this year, and already has a good established program and system in place.

The jump from 8 to 11-man will no doubt be challenging for the kids from Scribner-Snyder, but there's no doubt they can all adjust and make a big impact on the team.

I just want to say what a pleasure it was writing about Scribner-Snyder Football these last three years.

I want to thank Head Coach Anthony Ruzicka for all his help in making the blog posts what they were, and wish all the Scribner-Snyder Trojans the best of luck in the future.

I don't know what the future holds for everyone, but it was nice to be able to share insight and write about Trojan football these last three years.

I'm sure it's a very sad time for Scribner-Snyder with it being the end of their program, but I'm sure Logan View/Scribner-Snyder will be a power for years to come.

These kids have to adjust and adapt to their new roles and teammates as best as possible, and make do of the situation.

The boys need to go out and still have fun, and establish new relationships with their new teammates.

Logan View and Scribner-Snyder already combine in Boys and Girls Basketball so that should help ease the transition I would think.

I'm sure these players, coaches, parents, and fans will always remember the days of the Scribner-Snyder Trojans.

It's never easy having to adjust to change, but I'm sure as time goes on, it will be easier for everyone to deal with the new situation.

West Point-Beemer drops regular season finale to Norfolk Catholic

WEST POINT – It was a matchup of unbeatens when West Point-Beemer hosted Norfolk Catholic for the C1-5 District football championship on Friday, October 20.

The Knights blocked a WPB punt on the opening possession, setting up first and goal at the 10. Dylan Kautz rushed for his first of three touchdowns, and Norfolk Catholic raced to a 23-0 lead after the first quarter.

West Point-Beemer scored its only touchdown on the first half on a two yard run by Blake Anderson. Norfolk Catholic led 36-7 at the intermission.

The Knights scored on a quick 72-yard run by Kautz to start the third quarter, and would lead 42-7 until Anderson added his second score for the Cadets, this time from 11 yards out with 26 seconds left in the quarter.

In the fourth, Norfolk Catholic scored on a 70 yard run by Peyton Love and Cole Hughes plunged in for a one yard QB sneak for the Cadets. The final score was Norfolk Catholic 49, West Point-Beemer 21.

Unofficially for West Point-Beemer, Hunter Pilakowski carried 15 times for 122 yards and Anderson carried 17 times for 97 yards and two scores.

Hughes was 3-12 passing for 55 yards.

The Cadets had 300 yards of total offense, including 245 on the ground.


West Point-Beemer finishes the regular season at 8-1 and qualifies for the playoffs for the first time in a decade.

Head Coach Troy Schlueter says his squad simply didn't do enough to beat the Knights. "I think we had some good moments, especially offensively, but they took the momentum, and we didn't make a big play to get it back at any point in the game. They are a good team, and played to their strengths very well, which is a credit to them."

The Cadets (8-1) host Columbus Lakeview (7-2) Friday night in the 1st round of the playoffs.

The Vikings defeated Ord 21-20 at home this past Friday night to close out the regular season.

A couple of common opponents between the two teams are Norfolk Catholic and O'Neill.

Lakeview lost 34-7 to the Knights and beat the Eagles 28-17. West Point-Beemer downed O'Neill 41-21.

This should be a good game.

Schlueter says the Cadets are led by their running game. "We do like to run the ball, and have been effective against everybody so far this season in that phase of the game. I think the kids take pride in being a physical football team, and having an effective running game is a part of that mentality."

Pilakowski and Anderson had good games against Norfolk Catholic, and were big reasons why West Point-Beemer had the amount of rushing yards they did.

Schlueter says the team is happy to be in the playoffs. "We're happy as a staff to have another week with these guys, and are looking forward to hosting a quality opponent in Lakeview."

It's great to make the playoffs, but teams always want to do something when they get there, and I feel West Point-Beemer has a chance to do just that.

Schlueter says his squad will need to play their best game of the year to win. "I think to be successful this week we have to hit a new level of play in all phases that we haven't hit previously this year. We are looking forward to the challenge."

Columbus Lakeview probably has a bit of an edge as a program when it comes to playoff experience as they've been there before, but the Cadets are a good team, and are at home so I feel the game being in West Point is an advantage for West Point-Beemer.

The winner gets either Fairbury or Pierce in the Quarterfinals, and I could easily see the Cadets playing the Bluejays next round in a rematch.

I think West Point-Beemer has a shot to get to the Semifinals if they play up to their potential.

The Cadets should dream big, but yet be focused on the Vikings before worrying about any other potential game down the road this season.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in West Point.

Clarkson/Leigh loses regular season finale to Howells-Dodge; gets rematch with Jaguars in playoffs

The Clarkson/Leigh Football Team started Friday night's game out strong against Howells-Dodge at home, but wound up losing 42-22.

Here is the scoring recap from the game:

First Quarter

Clarkson-Leigh High School 06:35 #55 Anthony Bruhn runs for 1 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #55 Anthony Bruhn good)
Howells-Dodge 03:59 #28 Dylan Horejsi runs for 19 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #28 Dylan Horejsi no good)
Clarkson-Leigh High School 00:22 #55 Anthony Bruhn pass complete to #42 Hector Mendoza for 26 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #55 Anthony Bruhn no good)

Second Quarter

Howells-Dodge 09:25 #28 Dylan Horejsi runs for 31 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #28 Dylan Horejsi no good)
Howells-Dodge 00:35 #4 Dax VanLengen runs for 5 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #28 Dylan Horejsi good)

Third Quarter

Howells-Dodge 08:37 #28 Dylan Horejsi runs for 4 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #28 Dylan Horejsi good)
Howells-Dodge 06:35 #4 Haden Held punts to the Jaguars 49 yard line. #1 Luke Rocheford return for 51 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #28 Dylan Horejsi no good)

Fourth Quarter

Howells-Dodge 09:26 #4 Dax VanLengen pass complete to #22 Jon Yosten for 12 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #28 Dylan Horejsi good)
Clarkson-Leigh High School 01:39 #6 Lance Paprocki runs for 12 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion pass by #6 Lance Paprocki to #23 Isaak Wiese good)

Bruhn was 2-7 passing for 76 yards with a touchdown. He added 52 yards rushing on 28 carries, and scored once.

Jacob Gall made one reception for 50 yards.

Gall made 12 tackles while Hector Mendoza registered 9. Isaak Wiese and Dillan Knapp totaled 7 each.

The Patriots amassed 197 yards of total offense, including 121 rushing. The defense gave up 276 yards of total offense, 254 coming on the ground.

Head Coach Jim Clarkson says his team started the game strong, but couldn't keep it up in the 2nd half. "The Howells-Dodge game started out the way we had hoped. We got up early and even had a chance to go into Half with the lead, but a couple mistakes by us allowed them to take the lead just before half.  They are a well coached team and you cannot make little mistakes or they will make you pay.  In the second half we could not get it going on offense and that allowed them to wear us down with their strong running game. I believe our kids believe they can play with Howells-Dodge, but we have to play our best to have a chance."

The good news for Clarkson/Leigh (3-5) is that they get a rematch with the Jaguars (8-0) in the 1st round of the playoffs in Howells Thursday night.

Clarkson says making the playoffs again is a big deal, and the team looks forward to the game. "Getting to the playoffs on the first 6 years as Clarkson-Leigh is a big deal.  It has been close the last couple years, but we knew our boy numbers were going to be low and we would have some struggles, so I am really proud of our guys to be able to grind out enough wins to get into the party, even if that means taking on a Top 5 team in the 1st round. We have pulled off the upset before so what the heck, bring them on."

Clarkson adds the two teams are very familiar with one another. "The cool thing is the players and coaches all know each other so well. Jaguar assistant Coaches Wes Pokorny and Mark Ernst and myself coached together for several years in Clarkson, and I have know Coach Speirs for a long time, so there is a lot of banter between the two staffs. Our kids always seem to really get excited to play those guys so it is really just a fun game everytime we play."

I think that familiarity helps the Patriots more than it hurts them. I think facing Howells-Dodge is better than facing an unfamiliar power.

Howells-Dodge's Dylan Horejsi had 211 yards rushing with 3 touchdowns in Friday's win.

Clarkson says the key to slowing him down this time around is winning the battle at the line of scrimmage. "He is a nice Back, he runs real hard and does a nice job of finding the hole and hitting it hard. I have to give some credit to their guys up front their linemen really get after you especially Macholan that kid plays with a high motor. We will need to keep their Linemen off our LB's as much as possible, we will need them to make as many tackles near the Line of Scrimmage as possible to slow them down."

I think Clarkson/Leigh can definitely hang with and give Howells-Dodge a game again.

The Patriots have to do what they did the first time around, only play a complete four quarter game this time.

If Clarkson/Leigh is to pull the upset, Bruhn and the offense has to click on all cylinders throughout the game.

The Patriots also have to try and slow down Horejsi, and make Dax VanLengen beat them with his arm.

I feel Clarkson/Leigh is better off trying to make the Jaguars beat them with the pass than the run.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Howells.