The Battle Creek Braves will head out on the road to face off against the Kearney Catholic Stars at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Even though Grand Island Central Catholic scored an imposing 33 points on Thursday, Battle Creek still came out on top. Battle Creek snuck past Grand Island Central Catholic with a 38-33 victory. The victory was familiar territory for Battle Creek who now have three in a row.
Battle Creek's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jaxon Mettler, who rushed for 173 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.9 yards per carry. Mettler was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 50 yards. Aden Pochop and his 109 yards on the ground were also a key factor in Battle Creek's victory.
Meanwhile, you can't lose the matchup if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Kearney Catholic's strategy against Gibbon on Friday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Kearney Catholic blew Gibbon out of the water with a 44-6 final score. The result was nothing new for Kearney Catholic, who have now won four matches by 24 points or more so far this season.
Kearney Catholic's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jacob Bosshamer led the charge by rushing for 85 yards and a touchdown on only five carries, while also throwing for 138 yards and two touchdowns while completing 83.3% of his passes. The team also got some help courtesy of Brant Christner, who picked up 39 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Battle Creek's win was their third straight on the road, which bumped their overall record up to 8-1. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 2-7 Grand Island Central Catholic and 2-7 West Holt (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 33.3% over those games). As for Kearney Catholic, the victory makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 7-2.
