The Niobrara/Verdigre Cougars will challenge the Hartington-Newcastle Wildcats at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Both are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Having struggled with seven defeats in a row dating back to last season, Niobrara/Verdigre finally turned things around against Walthill on Friday. They breezed by the Blujays on the road to the tune of 80-20.
Connor Thomson was nothing short of spectacular: he rushed for 110 yards and three touchdowns on only 11 carries. Another back making a difference was Arlan Lammers, who rushed for 60 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Niobrara/Verdigre was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 238 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in September of 2023.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Niobrara/Verdigre's defense and their six sacks. Jacob Motacek was especially locked on to Walthill's QB and sacked him 2.5 times.
Meanwhile, Hartington-Newcastle put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They blew past Lutheran-Northeast, posting an 82-0 victory at home. Fans of the Wildcats have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 20+ point.
Cole Heimes was a one-man wrecking crew for Hartington-Newcastle as he rushed for 148 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 9.3 yards per carry. Heimes also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, making three total tackles and defending four passes in addition to snagging an interception. Cole Rosener was another key player, gaining 166 total yards and two touchdowns.
Hartington-Newcastle's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged three passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Brayden Lammers and Heimes. Heimes is also on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last three games he's played dating back to last season.
Niobrara/Verdigre's first win this season bumped their record up to 1-2. As for Hartington-Newcastle, their victory was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-0.
Niobrara/Verdigre was dealt a bruising 52-7 loss at the hands of Hartington-Newcastle when the teams last played back in September of 2019. Thankfully for Niobrara/Verdigre, Shaye Morten (who rushed for 177 yards and four touchdowns on only nine carries, and also threw for 129 yards and two touchdowns) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
