Class C-1 Football Playoff Semifinals Capsules

Both C-1 Semifinal games are rematches from the regular season. Pierce won the season opener 55-34 against St. Paul, who may have found out the jump from Class C-2 to C-1 is bigger than anticipated.

BUT, the Wildcats did find out what C-1 may have felt like when Oakland-Craig routed the ‘Cats 54-13 in the 2019 C-2 semis. I think Joe Anderson’s Oakland-Craig team could have matched up well with many Class C-1 powers last season, as Aquinas did many, many times.

Kearney Catholic’s only hiccup during the regular season was the 33-7 loss to St. Paul. The Stars were on the rebound after that setback, reeling off 7 consecutive wins, In that winning streak was the impressive 33-22 victory over Adams Central (in Kearney).

Now they meet again, but much more is at stake this time around as the Stars must travel to A/C for this one.

Kearney Catholic (9-1) @ Adams Central (9-2) (Friday, November 13, 7:00 PM)

Kearney Catholic (9-1)

65 Wood River/Shelton 6

35 Gothenburg 0

7 St. Paul 33

38 Minden 0

38 Broken Bow 14

33 Adams Central 22

49 Holdrege 7

31 Cozad 0

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41 Chadron 0

21 Auburn 12

Head Coach: Rashawn Harvey (5th Season-104 wins)

Last playoff appearance: 2019 (Lost to Wayne 28-21 1st Round)

Playoff appearances since 2000 - 17, (No Championships, Runner-up-2011)

Offensive Statistical Leaders:

Passing: Heinrich Haarberg (Sr)- 110-196-1,606, 16 TDs/3 INTs

Rushing: Cale Conrad (Sr) - 885-130, 10 TDs, Heinrich Haarberg (Sr) - 504-78, 10 TDs, Riley Grieser (Jr) 315-49, 3 TDs

Receiving: Brett Mahony (Jr)-25-411, 3 TDs, Austin Christner (Sr)-15-304, 1 TD, Logan O’Brien-19-272, 4 TDs, Logan Miner (Sr) 20-245, 3 TDs, Samson David (Sr)-15-205, 3 TDs.

Defensive Statistical Leaders:

Tackles: Logan O’Brien (Sr) 85 (56-29, 3 Sacks), Tate Florell 82 (53-29, 3 Sacks, 1 INT, 1 FR), Isaiah Gaunt (Freshman) 52 (36-16, 4.5 Sacks, 1 FR)

Kicking Game: Spencer Hoagland (Sr) PATS-40-42, Field Goals-10-15-Longest-39, 60 Kickoffs-56.6/per, 27 Touchbacks)

*Extra Notes: Kearney Catholic has 16 team Interceptions, 2nd in Class C-1. Only Auburn had more (17) and the Stars defeated the Bulldogs last Friday.

Adams Central (9-2)

35 Holdrege 0

24 Wahoo 7

49 Minden 14

21 Cozad 13

66 Wood River/Shelton 0

21 Central City 8

22 Kearney Catholic 33

20 St. Paul 26 (Ove)

49 Fillmore Central 14

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31 Wayne 13

35 Ashland-Greenwood 6

Head Coach: Shawn Mulligan (7th Season)

Last playoff appearance: 2019 (Lost to Pierce 54-14 in C-1 semifinals)

Playoff appearances since 2000 - 15

Offensive Statistical Leaders:

Passing: Cam Foster (Sr)-68-122-1,186 yards, 15 TDs/5 INTs

Rushing: Hyatt Collins (Soph) 1,492-214, 20 TDs, Macrae Huyser (Sr) 380-64, 3 TDs

Receiving: Tyler Slechta (Sr) 24-492, 9 TDs, Drew Bonifas (Jr) - 12-232, 3 TDs

Defensive Statistical Leaders:

Tackles: Slade Smith (Sr) 146 (34 solo, 112 assists, 8 TFL, Blaine Pleak 102 (11-91, 5 TFL, Drew Bonifas (Jr) 68 (32-36, 3 INTs, Oaklyn Smith (Jr) 67 (18-49, 6 TFL), Sam Hemberger (Sr) 60 (17-43, 14 TFL, 2 Sacks), Drew Vonderfecht (Sr) 44 (10-34, 5 TFL, 2 Sacks, 1 FR)

Kicking Game: Tyler Slechta - 62 kickoffs/27 touchbacks/54 yards/kick, 48-51 PATs.

*Extra Notes: Adams Central defense has recorded 56 tackles behind the scrimmage line, led by big Sam Hemberger’s 14. The Smith brothers, Slade and Oaklyn, have accounted for 213 tackles and 14 TFL, making them the most feared brother defensive combination in 11-Man football.

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St. Paul (10-1) @ Pierce (10-0) (Friday, November 13, 6:00 PM)

St. Paul (10-1)

38 Pierce 55

41 Broken Bow 6

33 Kearney Catholic 7

35 Gothenburg 6

70 Fillmore Central 6

58 Wood River/Shelton 13

41 Central City 29

26 Adams Central 20 (Ove)

69 Twin River 6

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48 Cozad 0

50 Lincoln Christian 21

Head Coach: Rusty Fuller (13th Season)

Last playoff appearance: 2019 (Lost to Oakland-Craig 54-13 in Class C-2 Semifinals)

Playoff appearances since 2000 - 12

Offensive Statistical Leaders:

Passing: Brenden Knapp (Sr)-39-79-1,114, 16 TDs/5 INTs

Rushing: Eli Larson (Sr)-1,985-216, 29 TDs (5,601 Career Rushing Yards-23rd Best All-Time), Tommy Wroblewski 592-51, 8 TDs

Receiving: Tommy Wroblewski (Sr)-14-466, 8 TDs

Defensive Statistical Leaders:

Tackles: Eli Larson (Sr) 74 (50-20, 12 TFL, 2 Fumble Recoveries), Tommy Wroblewski 62 (38-24, 2 TFL), Jaxon Klinginsmith (Jr) 53 (34-19, 10 TFL, 1 INT, 1 FR), Quade Peterson 53 (35-18, 14 TFL, 3 Sacks), Kaleb Peterson (Sr) 40 (22-18, 10 TFL)

*Extra Notes: This current St. Paul defense has an incredible 69 tackles for losses with 15 sacks. Five players (Larson, Klinginsmith, Q. Peterson, K Pederson, Landon Vogel, all have double digit TFLs)

Pierce (10-0)

55 St. Paul 34

41 Columbus Lakeview 21

48 North Bend 13

56 Arlington 13

49 O’Neill 6

45 West Point-Beemer 8

70 Battle Creek 12

19 Wayne 9

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42 West Point-Beemer 21

42 Wahoo 28

Head Coach: Mark Brahmer (25th Season @ Pierce with 208 career wins)

Last playoff appearance: 2019 (Lost to Wahoo 38-0 Class C-1 State Championship)

Playoff appearances since 2000 - 19 (Last Championships: Class C-1/2007, Class C-1 /2008, Last Runner-Up, 2019)

Offensive Statistical Leaders:

Passing: Abram Scholting (Soph)-68-114-1,358, 20 TDs/4 INTs

Rushing: Tyler Race (Sr) 867-117-15 TDs, Michael Kruntorad (Sr) 570-75-8 TDs), David Dale (Sr) 330-58-4 TDs, Abram Scholting 310-70-3 TDs.

Receiving: Ben Brahmer (Soph)-37-626, 9 TDs, Logan Moeller (Sr) 9-221-3 TDs, Garret Meier 12-211-4 TDs.

Defensive Statistical Leaders:

Tackles: Colton Fritz (Jr)-116 (37 solos, 79 assists, 4 TFL, 2 Sacks), Derrick Kolterman (Sr) 67 (11-56, 2 TFL, 5 Sacks), Logan Moeller (Sr) 64 (32-32, 5 INTs), Garret Meier (Sr) 60 (15-45), Tyler Race (Sr) 57 (17-40), Cruz Gleason (Sr) 52 (14-38, 5 TFL, 5 Sacks), Luke Collison (Sr) 51 (11-40, 3 TFL).

Kicking Game: Chaden Roth (Sr) 43-49 PATs, 1-1 Field Goals (30 yards)

*Extra Notes: 24 different players have rushed the football for Pierce for a total of 2,962 yards and 40 TDs. 11 different ball carriers have scored rushing TDs.