Football Game Preview: Hastings Tigers vs. McCook Bison

Hastings is preparing for their first district matchup of the season on Friday. They will host the McCook Bison at 7:00 p.m. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Hastings took a loss when they played away from home last Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They came out on top against Beatrice by a score of 14-7. The win continues a trend for the Tigers in their matchups with the Orangemen: they've now won four in a row.

Meanwhile, McCook made easy work of Gering on Friday and carried off a 41-17 victory. Considering the Bison have won three matchups by more than 23 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.

McCook's win came from a few key players Hastings will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Tristan Campbell, who rushed for 134 yards and three TDs while picking up 7.9 yards per carry. Another player making a difference was Trenton Raile, who threw for 170 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only 13 passes.

Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something McCook proved: they limited Gering to a paltry 2.5 yards per carry. The team can thank Gabe Roberts for the heroic effort on defense: he. McCook didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 6.3.

Hastings' first win this season bumped their record up to 1-4. As for McCook, their victory bumped their record up to 4-1.

Hastings came up short against McCook in their previous matchup back in November of 2024, falling 34-21. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Campbell, who rushed for 245 yards and four scores while picking up 7.9 yards per carry. Now that the Tigers know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.