One Day, Maybe Two

The sky from Ord to Grand Island was electric on Friday night, but the Newsletter was glad that our game finished. Not everyone was so lucky. Late games. Suspended games. Not even started games. We had it all on the opening FULL Friday of high school football.

We will try to catch you up on some of the big games from around the state, take you on our first ever Friday Night Drive and then we are going to figure out what more great content we can bring you next week. (Also, we looked at that Bennington touchdown a few times, too. Tough one. Either way.)

Grab a breakfast beverage and a snack (or a full meal if you wish), let’s take a trip around the state.

Back to November

VALLEY COUNTY: For the Ord football seniors, deep runs in November have been commonplace. The community rallies around the Chants once football season hits, and for good reason.

Coach Nate Wells’ bunch has won a playoff game each of the past five seasons, played in two state championship games, winning the 2020 Class C-2 title over Fremont Bergan. The past two seasons have ended in the state semifinals to eventual state title winners Bergan and Norfolk Catholic.

On Friday night, coach Wells group set their sites on another — final — deep run in the opening week of the 2023 high school football season.

The Class C-2, top-ranked Chants scored on five of their first six possessions in staking a 35-14 lead over Central City. And, in the end, it was a 49-29 win for the Chants in a second half that the coach admitted got a little sloppy.

“We have a lot of weapons and we were able to kind of get in a rhythm offensively,” Wells said afterward. “But, it never felt like we got in a complete rhythm. We appreciate playing (Central City), because they just make you prepare for every possible situation in a game.

“And, they force you to do things right which I think prepares our team for down the road.”

Returning all-state linebacker, Trent McCain rushed 14 times for 150 yards and scored four touchdowns (41, 9, 4 and 12 yards) to lead the Ord effort. He also forced a fumble on defense late in the first quarter that allowed the Chants to build a two score lead.

Senior Aidan Ryschon added two scores — a 33-yard catch and run from Dylan Hurlburt and a 3-yard run in the fourth quarter. Central City’s Blake Jensen and Wyatt Dent connected for touchdown passes of six and 64 yards.

Wells was pleased with the effort of his team, but knows that next week’s battle with defending Norfolk Catholic will be a great chance to see where they stand with Class C-2’s best teams.

“Norfolk Catholic is a handful,” Wells noted. “That program is just legendary in our state and they pose a lot of problems. But, I love playing this kind of schedule, especially early in the year so we can see where are at.”

FINAL (QUICK) THOUGHTS: It says here, the Wells’ team loves playing the early schedule as well. They don’t back down much in Ord.

But, a final hat tip to Central City who played their tails off the entire game. Coach Troy Huebert and his staff had a great plan that tried to slow the game down as much as they could and after Dent’s 64-yard score opened the second half it was 35-21 and anyone’s game. The Bison may cause some problems down the road.

The Rest of the Friday Story

A-G, LAKEVIEW: A first trip to Lakeview for Mike Sautter and his Pinnacle Bank game-of-the-week that saw the host Vikings score first, but then Ashland-Greenwood found their rhythm in a 28-3 win.

Coach Ryan Thompson was pleased with his team’s defensive effort to open the season. Drake Zimmerman scored twice and quarterback Dane Jacobsen threw a scoring pass to Aidan Washburn and had a 10-yard run as the Jays did all they scoring in the first half. Highlights

BATTLE FOR Q STREET: Despite a slow start, things heated up in the Q Street Classic at Buell Stadium after halftime. And, it was Millard South eeking out a 28-27 win over Millard West in the season opener. Nolan Feller scored three times for the Pats, but it was a final extra point miss — on a bad snap — that proved the difference in this one.

QUICK HITTERS: It was the 150th win for Wahoo coach Chad Fox on Friday night. And a big one over Pierce, 23-6. // Caleb Benning. Good at football. Westside rolls. // Death. Taxes. Jeff Tomlin and GISH with a comeback win. // Hey Booker! Scheierman throws for 298 yards in A-Town’s 50-30 win over Northwest.

THURSDAY SPECIALS: A big win for Papillion-LaVista to open the season over Millard North, 28-10. Payton Prestito had two touchdowns in a 19-carry, 134-yard performance. And, some trickery. And, some old school. // Mike Sautter final thoughts // Post-game with Monarch coach Tim Williams.

ALL THE SCORES // 10-11 SPORTS OVERTIME

Odds and Ends

It’s not all high school football (but, let’s face it, that’s what Saturday mornings will mostly be about here), so here is a quick trip around the state with some other #nebpreps news.

AT THE NET: The high school volleyball season is now in full swing and we started the year off with an instant classic in Waverly as defending Class C-2 champion Lincoln Lutheran outlasted the Class B, No. 5 Vikings in five sets (16-14 in the fifth). ALL THE SCORES // THURSDAY NIGHT HIGHLIGHTS // BELLEVUE WEST INVITE // SATURDAY BILL MARSHALL CLASSIC SCHEDULE

MORE RUNNING: On Wednesday, we told you — and now we are telling you again — to go follow The Prep Running Nerd for the most complete high school running coverage in the state. We have already shared his Class A and B previews, now you get Class C and D today. And, for good measure, we’ll throw in that link to his show with NebraskaTok as well.

PREVIEWS: Class C Boys / Class C Girls / Class D Boys / Class D Girls

ON THE DIAMOND: Should the weather hold, we’ll have some big softball played this weekend, most notably in Blair and at the LPS Invite at Doris Bair in Lincoln. Multiple others as well. ALL THE SCORES

And, from Thursday, a big win for Class C, No. 4 Central City over No. 2 Hastings St. Cecilia. Might see those two playing more in October. Finally, the Nebraska Tok Show with @NebraskaHSSB.

ON THE LINKS: Some of the top girls golf teams in the state met at Kearney’s Awarii Dunes on Friday for the Kearney Invitational with Lincoln Southwest placing four golfers in the 70s to win the team race with a score of 308. Omaha Westside (320) edged Lincoln East (321) for the team title with the Spartan’s Isabella Elgert taking individual honors with a 1-over par 73. Class C Broken Bow came fourth with a 338 team score.

Stadium Sellout

Not sure you can quite hype up Volleyball Day in Nebraska enough, but Wednesday is going to a be a special day in the state. Quick guide if you are going. It’s Wayne State vs. Nebraska-Kearney at 4:30 and Nebraska vs. Omaha at 7:00. Then, Scotty McCreary.

The Huskers opened their season last night with a straight set win over Utah State at the Devaney Center. Post game presser // Jacob Padilla game thread. They continue in action today and Sunday against Lipscomb and SMU in the Ameritas Players Challenge.

Parting Shot: Depth Chart Season

OH GOPHERS, I THOUGHT YOU SAID GOLFERS: It’s college football week. Hey, the Newsletter might even try to snag some games on Saturday (Notre Dame and Navy, anyone). But the real question around the water cooler is what will Thursday night look like in Minneapolis. Depth Chart

We haven’t a clue, but, we have liked the way this team and coaching staff has gone about their business since arriving in late November. They seem more interested in work than in sound bites. And, they seem genuinely interested in getting to the fourth quarter and winning close games.

So, we’ll see how it goes, and we’ll probably write about it. That’s just what we do. We give thoughts. Just give us some good, old fashioned complimentary football — a running game, special teams that appear to be coached, smart quarterback play and a little grit and toughness.

It might lead to more wins than you think. But, it might not. Building and momentum are a tough in today’s college football. So, we leave you with this.