Football Preview: Kearney Bearcats vs. Bellevue West Thunderbirds
Kearney and Bellevue West are an even 3-3 against one another since October of 2018, but not for long. The Kearney Bearcats will face off against the Bellevue West Thunderbirds at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Kearney will be looking to extend their current seven-game winning streak.
Kearney is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They took down Millard West 21-7.
Kearney had a senior duo take command as Zaire Lagrone gained 84 total yards and a touchdown and Griffin Novacek threw for 128 yards and two touchdowns while completing 72.7% of his passes. The dominant performance also gave Lagrone a new career-high in rushing yards (45).
Kearney was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 228 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 185 rushing yards in four consecutive matches.
Kearney didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off four passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Cayden John, Josh Dolence, Lagrone, and Carson Baker picked up one apiece.
Meanwhile, Bellevue West was able to grind out a solid victory over Lincoln North Star on Friday, taking the game 14-6. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Thunderbirds.
Bellevue West pushed their record up to 7-3 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 43.2 points per game. As for Kearney, their victory bumped their record up to 9-1.
Kearney skirted past Bellevue West 16-14 in their previous meeting back in September of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for Kearney 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
