Even though The Grand Island Central Catholic Crusaders scored an imposing 33 points on Thursday, the Battle Creek Braves still came out on top. Battle Creek secured a 38-33 W over Grand Island Central Catholic. Given Battle Creek's advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska football rankings (they are ranked 16th, while Grand Island Central Catholic is ranked 92nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Battle Creek's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jaxon Mettler, who rushed for 173 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.9 yards per carry. Mettler was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 50 yards. Battle Creek also got a significant boost from Aden Pochop, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 109 yards.
Despite the loss, Grand Island Central Catholic still got an impressive performance from Grayson Sack, who threw for 318 yards and four touchdowns. The team also got some help courtesy of Connor Haney, who picked up 106 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Battle Creek's win was their sixth straight on the road (dating back to last season), which bumped their overall record up to 8-1. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 0-9 West Holt and 1-7 Archbishop Bergan (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 38% over those games). As for Grand Island Central Catholic, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 2-7.
Battle Creek will head out on the road to face off against Kearney Catholic at 7:00 p.m. on October 27th. Grand Island Central Catholic does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
