The opening round of the Class D1 and D2 NSAA state football playoffs took place Thursday. South Loup advanced to the round of 16 in Class D2 with an impressive 40-6 win on the road against defending state champion Kenesaw. South Loup got on the board first with 4:26 left in the opening quarter as Trey Connell scored on a 3 yard touchdown run to cap off a 53 yard touchdown drive. Kenesaw responded on their next offensive possession as Randyn Uden connected with Joel Katzberg on a 9 yard touchdown pass to make the score 8-6 in favor of South Loup with 9:39 left in the first half. Kenesaw would not score again while South Loup would score on their next five possessions to pull away. Trey Connell finished with five touchdown runs including a long of 44 yards and AJ Starr broke loose for a 74 yard touchdown run for the Bobcats.
Twin Loup also advanced to the second round of the D2 playoffs with a 66-26 win over Elgin Public Pope John. The game was tied at 8-8 with 5:02 left in the first quarter but Twin Loup would outscore the the Wolfpack 22-6 in the rest of the first half to build a 30-14 lead at the half then pulled away in the second half. Rusty Oxford threw for three touchdowns and ran for one. Quincy Ryker had a punt return for a touchdown and touchdown runs of 41 and 57 yards. Slate Micheel and Aaron Glendy also scored touchdowns for the victorious Wolves.
Sandhills/Thedford rolls into the second round of the D2 playoffs winning big over Hyannis 80-28. In other area D2 action, Mullen saw its season come to an end as they fell to Elm Creek 52-8. In Class D1, Sandhills Valley’s season ended as they fell to Sandy Creek 24-18.
In other area action, SEM concluded its regular season undefeated as they handed Shelton just its second loss of the season 54-27 in six man football. The six man football playoffs begin Friday, October 28th.
Thursday (10/20/2022)
Ainsworth 64, Loomis 20
BDS 46, Nebraska Lutheran 6
Bennington 52, Mount Michael Benedictine 14
Bloomfield 88, Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family 0
Boone Central 48, St. Paul 0
Central Valley 52, St. Mary’s 6
Clarkson/Leigh 28, Wisner-Pilger 23
Creighton Preparatory School 44, Omaha Benson 13
Crofton 40, Freeman 27
Dundy County Stratton 42, Axtell 8
Elm Creek 52, Mullen 8
Elmwood-Murdock 59, Plainview 26
Fillmore Central 55, Wood River 12
Heartland 20, EMF 18
Hi-Line 52, Arapahoe 16
Hitchcock County 78, Maywood-Hayes Center 0
Howells-Dodge 64, Creighton 12
Humphrey St. Francis 64, Falls City Sacred Heart 12
Johnson-Brock 58, Wausa 22
Laurel-Concord-Coleridge 68, Mead 20
Lawrence-Nelson 62, Lourdes Central Catholic 16
Lincoln North Star 23, Columbus 17
Millard West 48, Omaha Bryan 20
Nebraska Christian 38, Alma 36
Neligh-Oakdale 70, Cambridge 22
North Platte St. Patrick’s 56, Elkhorn Valley 24
Omaha Roncalli Catholic 56, Omaha Concordia 6
Ord 43, Centura 16
Osceola 88, Fullerton 38
Plattsmouth 34, Ralston 13
Ravenna 42, Perkins County 18
Riverside 55, Maxwell 12
Sandhills/Thedford 80, Hyannis 28
Sandy Creek 24, Sandhills Valley 18
Santee 81, Elba 33
South Loup 40, Kenesaw 6
Southwest 47, Paxton 42
Stanton 79, Pender 20
Summerland 28, Bridgeport 14
Sumner-Eddyville-Miller 54, Shelton 27
Thayer Central 44, Shelby-Rising City 0
Twin Loup 66, EPPJ 26
Wayne 35, ONeill 2
Weeping Water 42, Cross County 22
Wynot 56, Winside 20
