Football Preview: Elkhorn North vs. Scottsbluff Bearcats
Two dominant signal callers in Ethan Beachy and Nate Kelley are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. Elkhorn North will face off against the Scottsbluff Bearcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Elkhorn North is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They were the clear victor by a 35-14 margin over Elkhorn. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for Elkhorn North considering their six-point performance the matchup before.
Elkhorn North's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Beachy, who rushed for 76 yards and two touchdowns on only nine carries, and also threw for 124 yards and two touchdowns. Another rusher making a difference was Jett Tingelhoff, who rushed for 144 yards and a touchdown.
Elkhorn North was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 231 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2023.
Meanwhile, you can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Scottsbluff's strategy against Gretna on Friday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Scottsbluff blew Gretna out of the water with a 55-27 final score. The win was familiar territory for the Bearcats who have now won six matches in a row.
Scottsbluff relied on the efforts of Kelley, who rushed for 273 yards and six touchdowns on only 15 carries, and Desmonde Smith, who rushed for 215 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 13.4 yards per carry. With that strong performance, Kelley is now averaging an impressive 2.3 rushing touchdowns per game.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Scottsbluff's defense and their 4.5 sacks. Leading the way was Jhett Webb with two. He is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made six or more in the last 11 games he's played dating back to last season.
Elkhorn North's victory was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-2. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 33.1 points per game. As for Scottsbluff, their record is now 9-1.
Elkhorn North strolled past Scottsbluff in their previous meeting back in November of 2023 by a score of 35-16. The rematch might be a little tougher for Elkhorn North since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
