The St. Mary's Cardinals will head out on the road to square off against the North Central Knights at 2:00 p.m. on Friday. St. Mary's knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 31 points or more in their past five contests -- so hopefully North Central likes a good challenge.
On Friday, St. Mary's took their game with ease, bagging a 63-6 victory over Elgin/Pope John. The Cardinals might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five matchups by 38 points or more this season.
Keigan Couch
| 09/26/25 @ Ainsworth | 100 |
| 10/03/25 vs Elgin/Pope John | 81 |
| 09/12/25 vs Boyd County | 55 |
| 09/05/25 @ Burwell | 16 |
| 09/19/25 @ Creighton | 2 |
It was another big night for Gage Hedstrom, who rushed for 102 yards and three scores on only 14 carries, and also threw for 181 yards and four TDs. He has been hot recently, having posted four or more passing touchdowns the last three times he's played. St. Mary's also got a significant boost from Keigan Couch, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 81 yards.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something St. Mary's proved: they limited Elgin/Pope John to a paltry 3.2 yards per carry. The team can thank Hedstrom for the heroic effort on defense: he. St. Mary's didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 6.1.
St. Mary's didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Ben Barlow.
Meanwhile, it's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 71-6, which was the final score in North Central's tilt against Ainsworth on Friday. The Knights have struggled against the Bulldogs recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive lost matchup.
Even if they lost, North Central's defensive line still kept up the pressure with six sacks. In that department, Collin Hagan was the leader with 2.5.
St. Mary's pushed their record up to 6-0 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season. The home victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 12.6 points on average over those games. As for North Central, their loss dropped their record down to 0-6.
Everything came up roses for St. Mary's against North Central in their previous meeting back in October of 2024, as the squad secured a 66-20 win. In that contest, the Cardinals amassed a halftime lead of 60-0, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
