Football Preview: Royal Valley Panthers vs. Nemaha Central Thunder
Royal Valley hasn't had much luck against Nemaha Central recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Royal Valley Panthers will venture away from home to challenge the Nemaha Central Thunder at 7:00 p.m. Both have allowed few points on average, (Royal Valley: 11.7, Nemaha Central: 10.7) so any points scored will be well earned.
It was a proper cat-fight when Royal Valley faced off against Atchison County on Friday. Royal Valley claimed a resounding 54-8 victory over Atchison County at home. The match marked the Panthers' most dominant win of the season.
Meanwhile, Nemaha Central waltzed into their game on Friday with four straight wins... but they left with five. They blew past the Bluejays 24-0. Given the Thunder's advantage in MaxPreps' Kansas football rankings (they are ranked 33rd, while the Bluejays are ranked 88th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Carter Hajek continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 148 yards and four touchdowns. His rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his tenth straight game with at least 104 rushing yards dating back to last season.
Nemaha Central didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Jayden Seitz, Caleb Strathman, and Jack Macke picked up one apiece. What's more, Strathman also racked up 47 rushing yards, the mosthe's had since back in October of 2023. Nemaha Central got some further help from Abram Keim: he made 12 total tackles (4.0 for loss).
Nemaha Central was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 231 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
The victory made it two in a row for Royal Valley and bumps their season record up to 4-2. As for Nemaha Central, they pushed their record up to 5-1 with the win, which was their seventh straight on the road dating back to last season.
Royal Valley was dealt a bruising 62-0 loss at the hands of Nemaha Central in their previous matchup back in September of 2023. Can Royal Valley avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
