The Gretna East Griffins will face off against the Gretna Dragons at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Gretna East sitting on six straight victories and Gretna on three.
Gretna East is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nebraska's top teams: Elkhorn North, who was ranked 16th at the time (Gretna East was ranked 15th). The Griffins came out on top against the Wolves by a score of 35-23 on Thursday.
Connor Sams was his usual excellent self, rushing for 252 yards and three scores while picking up 11.5 yards per carry. He was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 69 yards. Another player making a difference was Carson Hermann, who picked up 99 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Gretna). They simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Ralston 63-28. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as the Dragons just coasted through the last quarter.
Gretna East better keep an eye on Michael Knudsen. He was instrumental in Gretna's win, throwing for 378 yards and four TDs while completing 81.8% of his passes, and also punching in a pair of scores on the ground. Knudsen's passing game has become a key predictor of the Dragons' success: the team is undefeated when his passer rating is 110 or higher, but only 2-3 otherwise. Drew Boltz was Knudsen's top target, picking up 90 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Gretna's run defense was locked in: Ralston could only muster 2.7 yards per carry. While two picked up at least three total tackles, Bryce Lakers stood above the rest. He picked up 123 receiving yards and one TD. Gretna's run defense has been on the up-and-up: they allowed 4.46 yards per carry earlier this season, but they've only allowed 6.87 on average over their last five games.
Gretna East's win bumped their record up to 7-1. As for Gretna, their victory bumped their record up to 5-3.
Gretna East skirted past Gretna 23-20 when the teams last played back in October of 2024. Do the Griffins have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Dragons turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
