The Oakland-Craig football team defeated Sutton 19-0 for the Class C2 State Championship on Tuesday at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, as aired on 107.9 The Bull.
Both teams traded punts early on, before Oakland-Craig scored on their second offensive possession of the game, a one-yard QB sneak by Colton Thomsen. The two-point conversion missed, and the Knights led 6-0 with 4:53 in the first quarter.
Both teams punted multiple times, and were turned away on fourth down tries for the remainder of the half, and Oakland-Craig led 6-0 at the intermission.
The Knights started the third quarter with the football and ended the drive with a 23-yard touchdown run by Jaron Meyer. The two-point try was no good, and the Knights led 12-0 with 9:59 in the third.
Both teams again traded failed fourth down conversion attempts and punts, and the score was 12-0 at the end of the third quarter.
Sutton was pinned back at their own one yard line after an Oakland-Craig punt, and were unable to pick up a first down, giving the Knights a great starting spot, at the Mustang 43.
The Knights were able to use up over six minutes of clock, while finishing off the drive with a 14-yard scoring run by Ian Lundquist on a fourth-and-11 play. The PAT was good, and Oakland-Craig led 19-0 with 1:12 left in the game.
The Mustangs were moving the ball on their final possession, before the Knights recovered a fumble to end the game, preserving the finals score of Oakland-Craig 19, Sutton 0.
For Oakland-Craig, Lundquist finished with 20 carries for 77 yards and a touchdown, Meyer had 13 carries for 93 yards and a score, and Thomsen had five carries for 52 yards and a touchdown.
The Knights out-gained the Mustangs 295-154, with 292 rushing yards.
Head Coach Joe Anderson says his squad really got the job done defensively. "Both teams were really limited with what we could do offensively. They don't throw it much anyways, but between the wind and the moisture down on the field it was really tough. But I thought defensively we just really set the tone early. That was a team that's averaging 500 rushing yards a game."
Oakland-Craig ends the season a perfect 13-0 and as the Class C2 State Champion.
It was a great run for the Knights.
Anderson says a lot of credit goes to the defense. "Coach Guzinski's done a great job with that defense all year long. I felt like each week they just kept getting better, and better, and better. They just play with so much enthusiasm. They just play together, they're just fun to watch play."
Anderson was a part of the 1995 team as a player that also won state. "Yeah it was neat. It was great to bring one back to this community. For the kids to go down there and represent our school the way they did it's pretty neat. There's a lot of similarities I think between the two teams. A lot of great football players out there. A lot of unselfish guys who really don't care who got the carries or who got the yards or who got the tackles, all they care about is winning."
Anderson says the win over Hartington Cedar Catholic in the first round of the playoffs kind of sticks out as a memory from this past season.
Oakland-Craig loses Thomsen, Blake Johnson, Lundquist, Tom Maline, Jarron Metzler, Jack Selken, Laurence Brands, and Wyatt Seagren to graduation.
These kids worked so hard over the course of their High School Careers, and deserve a lot of credit for the way this season went.
Their leadership and on the field performance was absolutely incredible and amazing so hats off to them.
Key returners for next year include Gunnar Ray, Coulter Thiele, Meyer, Grady Gatewood, Caden Nelson, Jack Pille, and Mike Brands.
It was a picture perfect ending to the season for the Knights, and I look for Oakland-Craig to simply reload next year.
It might be a while before the Knights think about next season though.
Oakland-Craig ought to enjoy this one for a little while.
However, the Knights must be ready to get back to work and remember the things they did to get to this point when it is time.
Win 13 Won 13 was accomplished this year, and so we will see what Oakland-Craig does for an encore next year and if they can repeat.
It wouldn't surprise me if the Knights repeated next year either as long as they have another great offseason of conditioning, lifting, and playing the game.
Congratulations to the 2019 Oakland-Craig Knights, your Class C-2 State Football Champions!!!!!!!
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