Sandhills/Thedford traveled to O’Neill Friday to face top five St. Mary’s in the quarterfinal round of the Class D2 state football playoffs. St. Mary’s offense was difficult to slow down as the Cardinals jumped out to a 14-0 lead. Sandhills/Thedford got on the board with 5:09 left in the first quarter when Maurice Robinson scored on a 14 yard touchdown run to make the score 14-8 but that was as close as the Knights would get as St. Mary’s put up 52 points in the first half and led 52-16 at the half on their way to a 66-24 victory. Maurice Robinson scored all three touchdowns for the Knights on runs of 14, 3, and 29 yards. St. Mary’s was led by quarterback Gage Hedstrom who finished with eight total touchdowns including five rushing and three passing. Sandhills/Thedford concludes the season at 8-3 while St. Mary’s advances to the state semifinals to face Howells/Dodge who defeated Lawrence-Nelson 30-8 to advance.
SEM faced Southwest on the road Friday evening in the quarterfinals of the six man football state playoffs. It was the second meeting between the two this season. Southwest won the regular season matchup 65-30. This time it was much closer and lower scoring. In the end, Southwest would hang on for a 27-23 win. SEM concludes the season at 7-3 overall. Southwest advances to the state semifinals where they will face Red Cloud who defeated Wallace 54-36.
