SBLive Nebraska high school football power 25: How they fared
By Nathan Charles
After a 42-3 embarrassment to No. 1 Elkhorn North the week before, Grand Island went on the road Friday and picked up its most impressive win of the season. Elsewhere, Bennington won its 21st game in a row and Creighton Prep and Millard West both came back from 1-3 starts for the district title.
No. 1 Elkhorn South won 55-14 vs. Burke
Running back Cole Ballard was pretty good two weeks agon when he found the end zone six times on 13 carries for a season-high 143 yards. He was even better in an all-time performance during the home win over Burke. Ballard had 338 yards of total offense and scored seven touchdowns, just in the first half. His big night set the Class A record for single-game touchdowns for an Elkhorn South team that improved to 8-0 and will face Omaha North next week for the district title.
No. 2 Gretna won 71-17 vs. Omaha South
Gretna is a win away from its first unbeaten season in Class A and will have a rested offense ready to go for that chance next week against Lincoln East. The Dragons put up 56 points in the first half while quarterback Zane Flores accounted for six of those eight touchdowns on six touchdown passes. He completed 73% of his throws for 276 yards and the second six-touchdown game of his career. Between Flores and two backup quarterbacks, 11 different Dragons caught a pass.
No. 3 Westside won 41-34 (OT) vs. No. 12 Millard South (Thursday)
It was perhaps the greatest duel between two quarterbacks in Nebraska high school history. Westside’s Anthony Rezac and Millard South’s Cam Kozeal went back-and-forth all night in a game that featured eight lead changes and overtime. The Patriots led 14-0 after the first quarter but went to halftime down 17-14. The two teams then traded scores the rest of the way and forced overtime when Rezac led a game-tying field goal drive that split the uprights with 27 seconds left. He then found Trevor Spady for a 5-yard touchdown pass in the Warriors’ overtime possession. Ty Keifer won it for Westside with an interception on Millard South’s second overtime play. The Warriors should have needed a touchdown drive to win but the Patriots couldn’t get a kick off for the PAT when they went ahead 34-31 with 5:42 left in the game. Westside is 7-1.
No. 4 Omaha North lost 31-21 vs. No. 8 Grand Island
Too often, North couldn’t get out of its own way. The Vikings threw five interceptions, committed six turnovers overall and gave up a kickoff return for a touchdown. Grand Island scored the first 10 points of the game, North answered with a touchdown catch from Te’Shawn Porter but then gave up a kickoff return touchdown moments later. The Vikings cut it to 24-21 with a scoring drive to start the second half and picked off a pass but then gave it back on a fumble just plays later. North dropped to 5-2.
No. 5 Bennington won 21-7 at No. 24 Elkhorn North
Badger senior Nick Colvert put together the first three-touchdown rushing performance of his career while Bennington won its 21st game in a row. It was the offense’s lowest-scoring game of the season, but the defense picked up the slack with three interceptions and just 88 rushing yards against. North handed it off 30 times and average just 2.9 yards per carry against a stout Bennington front. The Badgers are 8-0.
No. 6 Bellevue West was idle, the Thunderbirds are 5-3
No. 7 Creighton Prep won 24-20 at Papillion-La Vista
Cayden’ Russel’s 1-yard dive with six seconds left in the game gave Prep its fourth win in a row and wrapped up the district title for the Junior Jays. Rushing leader Marty Brown left the game in the third quarter after putting up 189 yards on 25 carries. He had 178 of that total in the first half but was relegated to the sideline with a leg injury. Prep led most of the game until a Papio touchdown with 4:12 remaining the game and a two-point conversion put the Monarchs up 20-17. Prep then drove 64 yards and handed it off to Russell with no timeouts and the clock running. The Junior Jays were once 1-3 but lost those three by a combined 17 points; they’re not 5-3.
No. 8 Grand Island won 31-21 at No. 4 Omaha North
Grand Island didn’t show any lasting effects from a 42-3 drubbing by No. 1 Elkhorn South. The defense was timely, the offense and Jace Chrisman were potent and the special teams made a huge difference as well. Defensively, Grand Island picked off five passes, forced a fumble and allowed Te’Shawn Porter just 6 yards per carry – a figure that was more than three yards below his average. Chrisman ran for 196 yards and scored three times. He found the end zone from 7, 41 and 4 yards out. Grand Island led 10-0, allowed a scoring drive but then ran back the ensuing kickoff. It was a 24-14 halftime lead that North cut to 24-21 and had the ball back following an interception. Grand Island answered with a sack fumble then drove it for Chrisman’s third touchdown of the game. The Islanders are 6-2.
No. 9 Kearney won 48-0 vs. Lincoln Northeast
The Rockets were just the medicine the Bearcats needed to get back on track following two straight losses. Kearney scored on its first five offensive possessions and improved to 6-2 on a night quarterback Treyven Beckman set the program record for touchdown passes in a season. He had three and increased his 2022 total to 19.
No. 10 North Platte won 24-13 vs. Norfolk
The Bulldogs won for the third game in a row and the fifth time in six after a 1-2 start, locking up a playoff spot and likely a home game in the first round. North Platte trailed 13-10 to start the fourth quarter then put together two scoring drives capped by Brock Roblee touchdown runs. Roblee had three touchdown runs overall. He carried it for 16 of the 21 plays North Platte had in the fourth quarter and totaled 90 yards over the final 12 minutes.
No. 11 Aurora won 73-19 vs. Fairbury
Carlos Collazo continues to assault the Husky record books. Aurora’s senior running back had three first-quarter rushing touchdowns while his team built a 53-13 halftime lead and improved to 8-0.
No. 12 Millard South lost 41-34 (OT) at No. 3 Westside (Thursday)
It was the first time the Patriots lost with Cam Kozeal under center. And it might have been avoided were it not for a missed PAT at 34-31 with 5:42 remaining in the game. Instead, Westside and it’s star quarterback, Anthony Rezac, drove the field and tied it with 27 seconds left in regulation on a field goal. A Rezac TD pass then a Kozeal interception in the end zone ended. Millard South also led 14-0 but faced a 17-14 deficit at halftime. The loss drops the Patriots to 4-4 and currently sit 12th in the power points standings. That sets up a difficult playoff path, but Millard South will be a dangerous opponent fellow Class A teams will hope to avoid when the brackets are released.
No. 13 Millard West won 27-23 at No. 15 Southwest (Thursday)
A 69-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-7 with 1:13 remaining gave Millard West the district title and earned the Wildcats arguably their most important win of the year. Quarterback Brody Peterson found receiver Jackson Williams on the play and capped a night for Williams that included seven receptions for 184 yards and three touchdowns. Williams scored his first with seconds remaining in the first half and cut into a 10-0 Southwest lead. He caught his second right after halftime and gave Millard West the lead, but Southwest responded and led 23-13 at the start of the fourth. The Silver Hawks took nearly six minutes off the scoreboard with that lead but were stopped on a fourth-and-3 then had to punt on their next drive. The Wildcats scored following both, the final on Williams’ third TD catch of the night. Millard West improved to 5-3.
No. 14 Papillion-La Vista South won 55-13 at Bellevue East
Papio South scored 22 first quarter points and had control from the opening kickoff. Despite nearly 60 points, the Titan offense had just 291 total yards but earned several short fields with five turnovers, had seven tackles for loss and three sacks. Quarterback Sam Schuler was 12 of 15 passing for 149 yards and three touchdowns. Papio is 6-2.
No. 15 Southwest lost 27-23 vs. No. 13 Millard West (Thursday)
Cal Newell gashed the Millard West defense all night, piling up 268 yards on 36 carries with three touchdowns, but Southwest squandered two 10-point leads. The Silver Hawks led 10-0 late in the first half and 23-13 at the start of the fourth. Southwest melted almost six minutes of game time up by 10 in the fourth but Newell was on the sideline for the final five plays of the drive when he came up injured after a rush. Millard West stopped that drive on a fourth-and-3, drove and scored then forced a punt and scored again on a fourth-and-7. Southwest fell to 6-2.
No. 16 Lincoln East won 38-0 vs. North Star
The Spartans turned to their defense and stayed alive for the playoffs with the second shutout of the season. Lincoln East came up with three sacks, forced five three-and-outs and produced three second-half turnovers. Quarterback Jeter Worthley was just as good on the other side of the ball, passing for 289 yards and four touchdowns. Lincoln East is 5-3.
No. 17 Scottsbluff won 35-0 at Gering
Sebastian Boyle raced away for a 50-yard touchdown less than a minute into the game and Scottsbluff won its sixth in a row. Boyle had four rushing touchdowns on the night while the defense held Gering to just 140 yards and forced two turnovers. The Bearcats are 7-1.
No. 18 Pierce won 48-26 at Boone Central
The Bluejays exacted some revenge from the Cardinals from a tough loss last season. Boone Central stunned Pierce with a loss at Pierce in Week 5 but had no answer for Pierce quarterback Abe Scholting. Scholting was the picture efficiency with 294 yards on just nine throws, seven completions. Four of those seven throws went for touchdowns. Jacksen Wachholtz was on the receiving end of three of those touchdown passes and had 191 yards. Pierce scored the first 13 points of the game and let by at least seven the rest of the way. The Bluejays are 8-0.
No. 19 Omaha Gross won by forfeit over Omaha Buena Vista
The Cougars are 8-0 with a road game at Skutt separating them from a perfect regular season.
No. 20 Elkhorn won 47-3 vs. Mount Michael (Thursday)
Elkhorn dominated in every facet of the game, scoring 26 points in the fourth quarter for a 40-3 halftime advantage. The Antler defense gave up just 25 rushing yards and 2.1 yards per carry. Mount Michael quarterback William Brewster passed for 248 yards but much of that came in the final two quarters with the game decided. The Elkhorn defense picked him off three times and helped lead the Antlers to a 6-2 record.
No. 21. Lincoln Southeast won 55-14 vs. Omaha Bryan
The Knights kept their postseason hopes alive and bounced back from two straight losses. Southeast led 21-0 after the first quarter and 48-7 at halftime. Senior running back Max Buettenback constantly punished the Bryan defense, piling up 223 yards on 16 carries and a career-high five touchdowns. Southeast is 4-4.
No. 22 Millard North won 69-0 vs. South Sioux City
The Mustangs will still need some help to make the postseason, but football beyond next week was out of the question without a win over South Sioux. Millard North jumped out to a 27-0 first quarter lead thanks in large part to two punt return touchdowns by sophomore Caden VerMaas.
No. 23 Waverly won 14-0 vs. Seward
A 55-yard run by Evan Kastens in the second quarter then a touchdown run by Aden Smith later in the frame were all the Vikings needed to improve to 6-2. Waverly rolled to 236 yards rushing on the night and had a combined 187 from Kastens and Smith. The Vikings thwarted Seward’s best scoring chance in the second quarter with an interception.
No. 24 Elkhorn North lost 21-7 vs. No. 5 Bennington
North couldn’t find any offensive success on the ground and became one-dimensional. The Wolves managed just 88 rushing yards on 30 carries, an average of less than three yards. Forced to carry the offense, quarterback Josh Basilevac completed 15 of 30 throws for 175 yards and a touchdown but also three interceptions.
No. 25 Omaha Skutt won 21-14 at Plattsmouth
Skutt scored in the final minute for a fourth straight win and a shot at the district title next week. The Skyhawks are 6-2 and will need to knock off unbeaten Gross to earn the automatic berth and a home playoff game. Otherwise, the Skyhawks may be able to hang on to a top eight seed but might get a rematch with Gross or a matchup with Bennington in the second round of the postseason.
