Area teams battle in opening round of D1/D2 football, first round statewide scores

Several teams from the KCNI/KBBN listening area were among those across the state playing in the opening round of the D1 and D2 football playoffs. Sandhills/Thedford, Anselmo-Merna, and Twin Loup were featured on radio broadcasts Thursday afternoon and night.

Sandhills/Thedford punches ticket to second round

The Knights of Sandhills/Thedford secured a win by a wide margin over Winside, who they hosted in Dunning. The Knights scored the first six touchdowns of the game to seize the 46-12 victory.

Video replay of Sandhills/Thedford and Winside at the end of this story

Knights quarterback Mo Robinson had a great game, tossing two touchdown passes while running for three more. Brandon Goshorn was on the receiving end of one touchdown pass for 23 yards late in the first quarter, while Carter Anderson reeled one in from 30 yards out early in the third. Anderson also scored on the ground, opening the night’s scoring with a 1 yard rush.

Winside’s senior quarterback Jayden Aschoff passed for both of the Wildcats’ scores. Jahiem Hamik caught one of them at the 8:07 mark of the 4th quarter from 67 yards out, while Carter Kraus took in the other as the last score of the game late in the game from 8 yards out.

#12 Sandhills/Thedford advances to the second round, where they will play #5 Anselmo-Merna on the road on Halloween. The two met in the first week of the season, which ended in a two point victory for the Coyotes of Anselmo-Merna.

Anselmo-Merna’s run game consistency propels them to a win

Anselmo-Merna (A-M) put a tally in the postseason win column with a 58-22 victory over #28 Lyons-Decatur Northeast in Merna. A-M never trailed in the game.

Coyotes quarterback Dane Duryea, who came into the game with over 1,500 yards rushing on the season, paced the offense well for the team. Duryea threw two passing touchdowns while rushing for three more. Caenyn Priest added two rushing TDs of his own, while Timmy Myers scored once on the ground and once though the air. Jackson Christen reeled in the other TD catch late in the third quarter.

Defensively, both teams forced two turnovers by their opponent. Lyons-Decatur mishandled a kickoff for one turnover, and Timmy Myers intercepted the Cougars for the other. Anselmo-Merna had fumbles in the second and third quarters.

For Lyons-Decatur Northeast, quarterback Brady Hayes had two passing touchdowns to Kaden Knaak. He also rushed for the final score of the game from 9 yards out at the 1:57 mark of the fourth quarter.

Anselmo-Merna will host Sandhills/Thedford on Halloween in Merna for an all-KCNI/KBBN area matchup which will be on video and radio coverage.

#19 Twin Loup dominates #14 Neligh-Oakdale on the road

The Twin Loup Wolves proved that a drive of a couple hours down the road wouldn’t slow them down as they blitzed Neligh-Oakdale in the first round of the playoffs. The third quarter proved to be big for the Wolves, where they scored 21 unanswered points to pull away for a 56-22 win.

It was a big night for Oran Grint who finished with three touchdown runs, a touchdown catch, and an interception return for a touchdown. Carter Hall had two touchdown runs and also collected two interceptions defensively. Twin Loup’s final score of the game came on a 41 yard touchdown run by Blake Bottorf. The Wolves will face Hitchcock County in the second round. Hitchcock County defeated Franklin 42-14.

In other D2 playoff action, Mullen advanced with a 54-13 win over Maxwell. The Broncos will face Wynot in the second round. Wynot defeated Fullerton 44-8. Burwell advanced to the second round. The Longhorns pulled away from BDS in the second half to secure a 49-30 win. Burwell will face St. Mary’s next. St. Mary’s defeated Creighton 60-16.

In Class D1, it was a heartbreaking end to the season for Arcadia/Loup City. The Rebels and McCool Junction played to double overtime with McCool Junction coming out on top 44-42.

Thursday, October 23, 2025