The Skutt Catholic SkyHawks will take on the Gretna East Griffins at 8:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Skutt Catholic is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They took their matchup with ease, bagging a 49-7 win over Gering. 49 seems to be a good number for the SkyHawks as the team scooped up a victory with the same number of points in their previous game.
Skutt Catholic relied on the efforts of Conor Mogensen, who threw for 194 yards and two touchdowns, and Brenden Ruth, who gained 83 total yards and two touchdowns. Wyatt Liebentritt was in the mix as well, providing the SkyHawks with two scores.
Skutt Catholic's run defense was locked in: Gering could only muster 3.1 yards per carry. The team can thank Beckham Werner for the heroic effort on defense: he. Skutt Catholic's run defense has been on the up-and-up: they allowed 4.94 yards per carry earlier this season, but they've only allowed 6.97 on average over their last five games.
Special teams also deserves some recognition, posting 13 points in total. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Grady Turman, who ran a punt back for a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Gretna East came tearing into Friday's contest with seven straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 25.7 points), and they left with even more momentum. Everything went their way against the Grizzlies as they made off with a 41-15 win.
Skutt Catholic better focus on containing Chase Grow and Connor Sams as the pair were huge in Gretna East's win. Grow rushed for 96 yards and a pair of TDs on only nine carries, while Sams rushed for 169 yards and two touchdowns on only 15 carries. Those 96 rushing yards gave Grow a new career-high.
Gretna East didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Wil Hogrefe and Brody Boone.
Gretna East's victory bumped their record up to 9-1. As for Skutt Catholic, their win bumped their record up to 8-2.
Friday's game might be decided on the ground. Skutt Catholic has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 177.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Gretna East struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 258.1 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other football content.
