The Council Grove Braves will venture away from home to square off against the Nemaha Central Thunder at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Council Grove is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They blew past Central Heights, posting a 67-0 win. The Braves haven't had any issues with the Vikings recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive victory against them.
Luke Stewart
| 10/30/25 @ Central Heights | 165.7 |
| 10/11/24 vs Central Heights | 152.1 |
| 11/01/24 @ Caney Valley | 146.7 |
| 10/10/25 @ Central Heights | 126 |
| 09/06/24 @ Wabaunsee | 115 |
It was another big night for Luke Stewart, who threw for 370 yards and six TDs while completing 86.4% of his passes. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in passer rating (165.7). Mason Samuels was another key player, picking up 177 receiving yards and three scores.
Council Grove's run defense was locked in: Central Heights could only muster 2.3 yards per carry. The team can thank David McDiffett for the heroic effort on defense: he. Council Grove's run defense has been on the up-and-up: they allowed 4.5 yards per carry earlier this season, but they've only allowed 4.77 on average over their last three games.
Council Grove's defense didn't let the opposing QB, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for three sacks. In fact, those sacks all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Sy'Ied Smith-Jenkins. Blaise French got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Nemaha Central). They simply couldn't be stopped on Thursday as they easily beat West Franklin 80-0. Given the Thunder's advantage in MaxPreps' Kansas football rankings (they are ranked 32nd, while the Falcons are ranked 224th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.
Council Grove better keep an eye on Carter Hajek. He was instrumental in Nemaha Central's win, rushing for 91 yards and three touchdowns on only ten carries, while also throwing for 111 yards and three TDs while completing 80% of his passes. Hajek is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in three or more in each of the last three games he's played.
Council Grove's record is now 7-2. As for Nemaha Central, their record now sits at 9-0.
Things could have been worse for Council Grove, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 21-6 loss to Nemaha Central in their previous matchup back in November of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Hajek, who rushed for 182 yards and three scores. Now that the Braves know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
