With a playoff win on the line, Gretna East rose to the challenge on Friday. They were the clear victors by a 41-15 margin over the Standing Bear Grizzlies. The result was nothing new for the Griffins, who have now won six matchups by 20 points or more so far this season.
Leading Gretna East to victory were Chase Grow and Connor Sams. Grow rushed for 96 yards and two TDs on only nine carries, while Sams rushed for 169 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only 15 carries. Sams' rushing production has been exceptional for a while as that marked his ninth straight game with at least 107 rushing yards. Seth Kraegel got in on the action too, returning a kick for a touchdown.
Gretna East didn't let much get past them through the air: they limited Standing Bear to a completion percentage of just 50%. That dominant aerial defense primarily came from five players: Carson Hermann, Lucas Haverty, Cooper Westering, Brody Boone, and Jaxon Godfrey, who each logged one passes deflected. Gretna East has been improving in that area: they had allowed a completion percentage of 0.61 earlier this season, but they've only allowed one of 0.61 in their last three games.
Special teams played a big role in the game for Gretna East, adding 11 points to the final score. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Kraegel, who ran a kickoff back for a touchdown.
Despite the loss, Standing Bear still got an impressive performance from DeAndre Hill, who rushed for 92 yards and one score, and also picked up 35 receiving yards.
Griffins
| 10/31/25 vs Standing Bear | 41-15 |
| 10/24/25 vs Gretna | 35-28 |
| 10/16/25 @ Elkhorn North | 35-23 |
| 10/10/25 @ Ralston | 37-10 |
| 10/02/25 vs Platteview | 62-21 |
| + 3 more games |
The victory (which was Gretna East's eighth in a row) raised their record to 9-1. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 43.0 points over those games. As for Standing Bear, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-6.
Looking ahead, Gretna East will look to defend their home field on Friday against Skutt Catholic at 8:00 p.m. The two teams might be coming in a bit winded given these two teams combined for 804 yards in their previous games. Standing Bear does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
