The Anselmo-Merna Coyotes advanced to the Class D3 state football championship game knocking off previously unbeaten Lawrence-Nelson Friday night in the semifinals. Anselmo-Merna jumped out early scoring 24 unanswered points to open the game. Caenyn Priest had two rushing touchdowns and a touchdown pass on Anselmo-Merna’s first three scoring drives. Priest scored on a 23 yard touchdown run to open the scoring. Priest later connected with Creighton Marsh on a 31 yard touchdown pass and then scored on a 25 yard touchdown run to give the Coyotes control early. After Lawrence-Nelson scored to pull to within 24-8, Anselmo-Merna responded with a 51 yard touchdown drive capped off by a 19 yard touchdown run by Dane Duryea with 17 seconds left in the second quarter. Lawrence-Nelson was able to score as time expired in the first half to make the score 32-14 at halftime.
The second half started with Lawrence-Nelson recovering an Anselmo-Merna fumble on the opening drive of the third quarter but Anselmo-Merna’s defense took the ball right back by forcing and recovering a Lawrence-Nelson fumble a few plays later. It was one of five takeaways for the AM defense. Anselmo-Merna proceeded to drive down the field as Caenyn Priest scored his third rushing touchdown of the night to put the Coyotes up 38-14. Later in the third quarter, AM stretched the lead out to 46-14 on a 17 yard touchdown run by Dane Duryea. Lawrence-Nelson fought back in the fourth quarter to close to within 46-30 but that would be as close as the Raiders would get. Each team scored another touchdown to make the final score 52-36.
Anselmo-Merna advances to their first state title game since making the Class D2 final in 2014. The Coyotes will face Central Valley for the championship. The Cougars advanced with a 52-32 win over Archangels Catholic. The Class D3 state championship game will take place Friday, November 20th at Cope Stadium in Kearney. The game will be broadcast on KBBN 95.3 FM and kbbn.com with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m.
Other state semifinal scores
Class A
Millard South 45, Millard North 28
Omaha Westside 45, Bennington 14
Class B
Omaha Skutt Catholic 20, Gretna 17
Gretna East 48, Blair 21
Class C1
Adams Central 21, Syracuse 15
Boys Town 20, Ashland-Greenwood 10
Class C2
GICC 21, Yutan 7
Cedar Catholic 19, Gothenburg 6
Class D1
Crofton 78, Johnson-Brock 51
Sandy Creek 52, Stanton 16
Class D2
North Platte St. Pat’s 70, Laurel-Concord Coleridge 20
Loomis 68, Hemingford 42
Class D6
Diller-Odell 59, Leyton 42
Garden County 24, Wallace 18
