Pender upset by Winnebago

The Pender Football team was upset by Winnebago on Friday as the Pendragaons lost 60-42 on the Indians' home field.

Brady Oliver was 11-21 passing for 159 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Layne Heese hauled in 4 passes for 65 yards while Tyler Nelson brought in 4 passes for 56 yards, and scored once.

Oliver had 130 yards rushing on 13 carries, and scored three touchdowns. Jared Tyrell carried the ball 16 times for 83 yards.

Korbin Hardenbrook made 11 tackles while Heese totaled 10. Oliver added 7.

Pender racked up 457 yards of total offense, 288 of them rushing.

The Pendragons' offense certainly played well enough to win, but the defense definitely let Pender down.

The Pendragons (2-3) host Neligh-Oakdale (1-4) Monday night.

The Warriors lost 36-20 at home to Clarkson/Leigh this past Friday night.

The same Clarkson/Leigh team Pender beat 46-20 to start the season.

I'm not sure what's happened to the Pendragons' defense, but it has struggled ever since the season opener.

Pender needs to get things figured out quickly because right now they are on the edge of making the playoffs.

The Pendragons should be able to make it as long as they beat Omaha Nation, but a loss to Neligh-Oakdale could make things very interesting.

This loss to Winnebago is kind of the equivalent of Nebraska losing to Northern Illinois. It's a shocking, yet very humbling defeat.

How the Pendragons bounce back could very well define their season. Pender has to come out flat out angry and upset by what took place on Friday.

The Pendragons have to be more accountable on defense, and must tackle well and not give up big plays.

Pender has to be stout against the run, and must not get burned on pass plays.

It's tough to win any game when you give up 60 points, and the Warriors may very well be better than the Indians.

The Pendragons need to rediscover the magic they played with in the season opener. If Pender plays like they have ever since that game then they could very well lose to Neligh-Oakdale as well.

This is anything but a sure win for the Pendragons so Pender has to come out and rebound, and show that they're a better team than what they've showed as of late.

The Pendragons can definitely get back to playing the way they did against the Patriots, and it all starts on the defensive side of the ball against the Warriors.

Pender has to come out and lay the hammer and smackdown defensively, and continue to put up big numbers and light things up on offense.

If the Pendragons can put together four quarters of good football on both sides of the ball then they should come out on top.

Pender can't have a bad half or quarter though. That could ultimately prove to be costly.