After having lost a blowout in their previous game against St. Mary's, Elgin/Pope John was happy to have turned things around on Friday. They managed a 36-32 victory over the Neligh-Oakdale Warriors. This was payback for the Wolfpack, who suffered a 48-8 defeat the last time these two teams met.
Grady Drueke was his usual excellent self, rushing for 179 yards and two touchdowns. He also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, making 11 total tackles and defending a pass in addition to snagging an interception. Dylan Kolm got in on the action too, returning a kick for a touchdown.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Elgin/Pope John was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 287 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Neligh-Oakdale only rushed for 169.
Elgin/Pope John didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Jarek Erickson and Drueke. Erickson also set a new season high mark in total tackles with 14.
Despite the loss, Neligh-Oakdale still got an impressive performance from Cooper Arehart, who rushed for 161 yards and four touchdowns, and also threw for 264 yards and a touchdown. With that strong performance, Arehart is now averaging an impressive 2.1 rushing touchdowns per game.
Elgin/Pope John now has a winning record of 4-3. As for Neligh-Oakdale, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 2-5.
Elgin/Pope John will face off against Ainsworth at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. One thing working in Ainsworth's favor is that they have posted at least 31 points every time they've taken the field this season. As for Neligh-Oakdale, they will square off against St. Mary's at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. St. Mary's knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 31 points or more in their past seven contests -- so hopefully Neligh-Oakdale likes a good challenge.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
