South Loup hasn't had much luck against Pleasanton recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. South Loup will challenge Pleasanton at 7:00 p.m. South Loup will be strutting in after a victory while Pleasanton will be coming in after a defeat.
South Loup barely beat West Holt the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. South Loup breezed past West Holt to the tune of 28-0 on Friday. The matchup was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point South Loup had established a 20-point advantage.
Conner Paulsen
| 09/26/25 vs West Holt | 133 |
| 09/19/25 vs Sandhills Valley | 89 |
| 09/12/25 @ Perkins County | 21 |
| 11/01/24 @ Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard] | 51 |
| 10/24/24 vs Perkins County | 101 |
| 10/18/24 vs Arcadia/Loup City | 179 |
South Loup's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Dylan Pandorf, who rushed for 140 yards and three TDs on only 11 carries, and Conner Paulsen, who rushed for 133 yards and one touchdown. That's the most rushing yards Paulsen has posted since back in October of 2024.
Meanwhile, Pleasanton scored the most points they've had this season on Friday, but it wasn't enough. They took a 50-45 hit to the loss column at the hands of Arcadia/Loup City. While the Bulldogs had to settle for second, they closed the game well in the third quarter, where they outscored the Rebels 12-8.
South Loup will have to keep a close watch on Sam Smith and Brennan Lindner, a pair of players who had a big impact on Pleasanton's prior game. Smith gained 178 total yards and four touchdowns, while Lindner gained 318 total yards and two touchdowns. Smith also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, forcing one fumble and making 17 total tackles.
The win made it two in a row for South Loup and bumps their season record up to 2-3. The victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 6 points in those games. As for Pleasanton, their loss dropped their record down to 0-5.
Thursday's game will pit two of the most dominant signal callers against one another: Pandorf and Lindner. Pandorf just won't slow down this season and has thrown 3 touchdowns while averaging 70.2 passing yards per game. Lindner has been a dominant force too and has thrown 10 touchdowns while averaging 206.4 passing yards per game.
South Loup was dealt a bruising 50-22 defeat at the hands of Pleasanton when the teams last played back in October of 2024. That contest was all but decided by halftime, at which point South Loup was down 38-16.
