The Elkhorn North Wolves will face off against the Gretna East Griffins at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Elkhorn North's defense has only allowed 14 points per game this season, so Gretna East's offense will have their work cut out for them.
Elkhorn North is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nebraska's top teams: Skutt Catholic, who was ranked 13th at the time (Elkhorn North was ranked 14th). The Wolves fell 28-19 to the SkyHawks on Friday. The matchup marked the Wolves' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
Despite the defeat, Elkhorn North saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Drew Meyer picked up 98 receiving yards and two TDs.
Even if they lost, Elkhorn North's defense still kept up the pressure with three sacks. The team can thank three different players for their defensive prowess: Grant Sutko, Barry Fries, and Ben Hanson, who each picked up one sack apiece. Another thorn in Skutt Catholic's side was Sutko, who picked up a sack and made eight total tackles (3.5 for loss).
Meanwhile, Gretna East had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 33.5 points) and they went ahead and made it five on Friday. They breezed past the Rams to the tune of 37-10. The Griffins' offense checked out after the first half but had enough points banked to take the game anyway.
Elkhorn North better focus on containing Connor Sams and Chase Grow as the pair were huge in Gretna East's win. Sams rushed for 169 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.9 yards per carry, while Grow rushed for 71 yards and one score on only six carries. That's the most rushing yards Grow has posted since back in October of 2024.
Gretna East was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 258 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 258 rushing yards in three consecutive games.
Having lost for the first time this season, Elkhorn North fell to 6-1. As for Gretna East, their win bumped their record up to an identical 6-1.
Elkhorn North didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Gretna East when the teams last played back in October of 2024, but they still walked away with a 31-27 victory. Will the Wolves repeat their success, or do the Griffins have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
