North Bend Central downs Stanton

The North Bend Central Football Team knocked off Stanton 37-13 at home Friday night.

The Tigers led 10-0 after one and 17-7 at halftime after both teams traded 2nd quarter touchdowns.

Both teams scored 6 points in the 3rd quarter to make it a 23-13 ball game heading into the 4th quarter.

North Bend Central saved their best for last, blanking the Mustangs 14-0 in the 4th quarter to secure the win.

The Tigers had 351 yards and Stanton had 274 yards.

North Bend Central rushed for 162 yards and passed for 189 yards.

Jacob Ray rushed 12 times for 102 yards and 2 Touchdowns. Ethan Mullaly carried the ball 8 times for 51 yards, and scored once. Austin Endorf was 16-22 passing for 189 yards with 2 Touchdowns and 1 interception. John Emanuel led Tiger receivers with 6 catches for 88 yards and 1 touchdown. Joe Howser had 4 catches for 50 yards.

Defensively, North Bend Central was led by John Emanuel and Ben Rolenc. Emanuel had 6 tackles and 2 interceptions while Rolenc had 9 tackles and a sack for a safety. Gavin Peterson added 10 tackles.

Head Coach Ryan Stieren says his team did what they needed to do to win. "Not everything was smooth tonight for us but we kept fighting and ended up making the plays that we needed to come out victorious. Stanton is a proud program and brought a lot of fight the whole night because we jumped all over them right away but they got the game to within 4 points before we were able to get going offensively. We don't talk about wins and losses but I am happy for these kids to be 3-0. Now, we have to move on and face a tough Grand Island Central Catholic team."

The Crusaders (3-0) won 24-21 at North Platte St. Pat's Friday night.

GICC is a solid team, and this should be a really good battle.

This will definitely be a very tough test for the Tigers with the trip to GI and everything.

North Bend Central has knocked off some very respectable programs so far, and GICC is another one of those programs.

The Tigers are starting to make a name for themselves and have definitely turned heads in the area if not throughout the whole state.

A win over the Crusaders would be good exposure and recognition for North Bend Central.

People in the Central part of the State will be able to find out what the Tigers are all about come Friday night.

This game is a lot like the Logan View/Scribner-Snyder game to me.

A game with a lot of uncertainty in terms of you really don't know how the game is going to turn out.

I think that's the case with this game too.

I feel there's the potential for North Bend Central to win, and whether they do or not honestly depends on how well the Tigers play I think.

You know what you're going to get from GICC, especially when they play in Grand Island, and that's a heck of an effort.

The Crusaders will be ready to play, I don't think there's any doubt about that.

North Bend Central has to be ready and focused themselves as well.

The Tigers have to be ready for another 4 quarter battle like they got last week.

GICC is going to do everything they can to create chaos and havoc, and make life difficult on North Bend Central.

The Tigers have to enjoy the trip out West, but be all business and ready to go when they get off the bus.

North Bend Central is going out there to win a football game, and it's not mission accomplished unless it actually happens, which I think it can.