The Nemaha Central Middle School football team made the 20-minute bus trip to the rival county town of Sabetha for their last game of the season. The Thunder boys were looking for a win to finish the season 6-1 and win a share of the BIG 7 title. They knew that they would have to play hard to beat their rivals because there was too much pride on both sides to not go for it all. The rivalry would be the third in NCMS football history and so far Sabetha has been dominant, winning both of the first 2 matchups. However, the Thunder team came out looking to right that wrong on their rival’s home field.
In the first quarter, NCMS kicked off to Sabetha and Sabetha set up shop around their own 35-yard line. The Thunder defense looked really good on Sabetha’s drive and held them to a three and out. On the Sabetha punt, the Thunder dropped the ball which was quickly scooped up by a member of the Sabetha team giving them the ball back now on the Thunder’s own 20-yard line. After the Thunder forced the Bluejays to a 3 and long, the Bluejays looked to pass and connected for a first down on the Thunder’s 5-yard line. The Thunder stood a strong stand but on 3rd & goal, Sabetha finally punched it in for a 4-yard touchdown run. The Thunder defense was able to stop the two-point conversion leaving the score Sabetha 6 and NC 0.
The Thunder bounced back starting their drive on their own 40-yard line. The Thunder ran their first play, a sweep to the outside. On a 60-yard run, Carter Hajek made it into the end zone for a touchdown. The Thunder team missed the 2-point conversion and the score was tied up at 6 apiece. After that, the Thunder would kick the ball back to Sabetha and after a quick three & out, the Thunder had possession of the ball again. They moved slowly down the field as Sabetha stood their ground a little better. After a 4th and long pass from Carter Hajek that fell incomplete, the Thunder turned over downs to Sabetha.
To start the second quarter, the Thunder made a quick stop and after a Sabetha punt, they took possession on their own 40-yard line. The Thunder would quickly move the ball down the field to score a touchdown. The Thunder would miss the two-point conversion yet again leaving the score 12-6. The Thunder kicked the ball off to Sabetha but after a pounding hit on the ball carrier, which forced a fumble, the Thunder took over on Sabetha’s 35-yard line. The Thunder quickly put it into the endzone for yet another score, but another two missed points left it an 18-6 game. The Thunder then kicked it back to Sabetha yet again. After a quick three-and-out, the Thunder had possession of the ball yet again before the half. The Thunder moved the ball down the field very quickly and scored a touchdown. The Thunder went into halftime with a score of 24-6.
After halftime, the Thunder came out knowing they had to finish the game. The Thunder received the ball first and moved the ball down the field slowly to score another touchdown and they managed to execute the two-point conversion to go up 32-6. After kicking the ball back to Sabetha, their defense took the field. Sabetha moved the ball very slowly down the field and crossed the midfield mark, but the Thunder made a stop and took over possession of the ball. The Thunder moved the ball slowly down the field as the quarter came to a close with the score still 32-6.
The fourth quarter started with the Thunder still moving down the field. Sabetha was able to slow them down a slight bit, but they couldn’t hold on forever. After about half the quarter had ticked away, the Thunder finally punched it in for the touchdown. Sabetha received the ball once more, but after not being able to move the ball much, the Bluejays gave the ball right back to the Thunder. The Thunder would then run the rest of the clock down and get the win against their rivals on their own field with a score of 38-6. This was the first time that the Thunder had beat Sabetha in middle school football since joining the league.
Coach Hadden Hiltgen said, “It is always fun to beat your rivals. It was a great way to end a great season.”
The NCMS Thunder football season ended with their first-ever middle school win over their rivals since joining the Big 7 League 3 years ago. The Thunder team finished the season with a 6-1 record. Their only loss came in a close battle that came down to the last minute of action. Congrats to the NCMS team on a super football season!
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