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Bison fight off Ogallala 21-0; McCook claims B-7 district title; No. 1 seed in West bracket
OGALLALA -- The top-ranked McCook Bison fought off the No. 2 Ogallala Indians 21-0 Friday night, and claimed the Nebraska Class B-7 district championship.
McCook improved to 9-0 overall, 3-0 in district play and earned the top-seed in the Class B West bracket.
Ogallala fell to 8-1 overall, 2-1 in district play and will earn a wild card berth in the playoffs.
The Bison, who extended their regular-season winning streak to 68 games, host a first-round playoff next week at Weiland Field.
McCook will host Columbus in the opening round of the playoffs.
The Bison played without the services of senior fullback/linebacker Chris Schleeman -- he was replaced by senior Brock Kotschwar at fullback and junior Greg Younger at linebacker.
Senior quarterback Matt Berry injured his back during practice on Tuesday but played against the Indians.
McCook and Ogallala fought to a scoreless first quarter. The Bison had the ball in Ogallala territory but could not punch in any points.
McCook senior Jeff Lorentz missed a field goal in the second quarter.
Ogallala forced three turnovers in the first half. McCook's Berry picked off an Ogallala pass.
The Bison cracked the scoreboard with 5:27 left in the third quarter on a 2-yard plunge by Berry. Lorentz kicked the extra point and the Bison led 7-0.
McCook went 55 yards on 14 plays and the drive took up 6 minutes, 33 seconds. Ryan Hardin made a big third down catch during the series.
McCook stopped Ogallala on the next series when senior Aaron Ruppert recovered a fumble at the McCook 15-yard line.
On the play before the fumble, Ogallala's Jade Cleveland gained 20 yards on a 4th-and-2 situation.
Three plays into the fourth quarter, Berry hooked up with senior Dillon Goltl for an 84-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown.
Lorentz booted his second PAT and McCook led 14-0.
On the next series, Goltl intercepted an overthrown pass.
Berry tacked on an insurance TD from 3 yards out and Lorentz' third PAT kick gave the Bison a 21-0 victory.
The McCook defense, ranked No. 1 in Class B, limited the Indians to 128 yards of total offense -- 106 rushing and 22 passing.
The Bison were held to 286 yards in total offense by Ogallala. McCook entered the game averaging 465.38 yards per game.
Berry passed for 137 yards and rushed for 88. He threw three interceptions.
His main target was Goltl, who caught 5 passes for 103 yards. Hardin caught 1 pass for 15 yards, Ruppert 1 for 13 and Sellers 1 for 6.
Kotschwar rushed for 41 yards on 9 carries. Wieser and Smith each had 10 yards rushing.
"We knew it was going to be a very tough game," said McCook head coach Jeff Gross. "We played phenomenal defense. We struggled on offense. It was total team effort.
"Defensively we were unbelievable. It's hard to single out any one player. Zach Wieser, Nathan Gleason, Greg Younger, Seth Schaeffer and Dillon Goltl played great on defense."
McCook (9-0) 0 0 7 14 -- 21
at Ogallala (8-1) 0 0 0 0 -- 0
M -- Matt Berry 2 run (Jeff Lorentz kick)
M -- Dillon Goltl 84 pass from Berry (Lorentz kick)
M -- Berry 3 run (Lorentz kick)
Elm Creek 28,
Cambridge 21
ELM CREEK -- Elm Creek scored three in a row to lead 21-14 going into the fourth quarter and was able to match Cambridge point-for-point in the final period to beat the Trojans 28-21 in high school football action Friday night at Elm Creek.
Elm Creek turned in 341 yards of total offense by completing 8 passes for 183 yards in the air and 158 yards on 37 carries on the ground.
The Trojans had 294 yards total offense, with 195 yards on 48 carries and 99 yards on 18 completed passes.
Cambridge 6 0 8 7 -- 21
Elm Creek 0 7 14 0 -- 28
CHS -- Petersen 7 pass from Eckberg (kick failed)
ECHS -- Lang 27 interception (Meier kick)
ECHS -- Hubbert 69 pass from Meier (Meier kick)
ECHS -- Lange 71 pass from Meier (Meier kick)
CHS -- Petersen 9 pass from Eckberg (Eckberg pass)
ECHS -- Foster 25 run (Meier kick)
CHS -- Petersen 6 pass from Eckberg (Campbell kick)
Rawlins County-Atwood 58,
Syracuse 25
ATWOOD -- The Rawlins County-Atwood Buffaloes blasted Syracuse 58-25 Friday night at Atwood.
Rawlins County rushed for 533 yards and passed for 25. Syracuse had 85 yards rushing and 127 passing.
Rawlins County plays at St. Francis next Thursday.
Rawlins 14 22 22 0 -- 58
Syracuse 12 6 0 7 -- 25
Arapahoe 20, Amherst 0
ARAPAHOE -- The Arapahoe Warriors evened their record at 4-4 with a 20-0 victory over Amherst in a Friday afternoon football matchup at Arapahoe.
Amherst fell to 4-4.
Dillon Breinig scored all three of the game's touchdowns -- a pair of 1-yard runs and a 2-yard run.
The Warriors converted 1-of-3 2-point conversion tries. Arapahoe led 6-0 at halftime and 12-0 after three quarters.
Breinig rushed for 76 yards on 21 carries and made 17 tackles on defense.
Amherst's top ball carrier was Beau Sheen, who gained 50 yards on 17 carries.
Medicine Valley 43, Wauneta-Palisade 14
WAUNETA -- Medicine Valley jumped out to a lead early and added 12 points in the fourth quarter to defeat Wauneta-Palisade 43-14 in Friday night football action.
"We played well for three quarters, and Med Valley took over in the fourth," Broncos coach Randy Geier said. "We had 3 senior starters who did not play -- two were at National FFA and another injured his knee last week. Due to injures and FFA, we had 13 in uniform. I am proud of our kids," Geier said.
"Med Valley is well coached and should do well in the playoffs. Our district was very tough."
Clint Bryant had 11 carries for 106 yards and 4 touchdowns for Medicine Valley, while Ben Wolfe and Matt Zyssit added one TD each and Tylan Peterson completed 6 of 12 passes for 104 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Wauneta Palisade had 258 yards total offense by rushing 178 yards and completing 11 of 19 passes, while Medicine Valley had 306 yards total on 202 yards rushing, 104 passing.
WPHS 8 6 0 0 -- 14
MVHS 18 6 7 12 -- 43
MVHS -- Bryant 37 run (run failed)
MVHS -- Peterson 20 int return (run failed)
MVHS -- Bryant 1 run (pass failed)
WPHS -- West from Anderjaska 16 pass (Geier from Andrjaska)
MVHS -- Bryant 6 run (run failed)
WPHS -- Anderjaska 1 run (pass failed)
MVHS -- Zysset 15 pass from Peterson (Kick good)
MVHS -- Bryant 55 punt return (kick blocked)
MVHS -- Wolfe 10 pass from Peterson (kick failed)
NEBRASKA/KANSAS AREA
FOOTBALL SCORES
Alliance 21, Sidney 0
Arapahoe 20, Amherst 0
Elba 32, Hitchcock County 26
Elm Creek 28, Cambridge 21
Elwood 42, Eustis-Farnam 36, 2 OTs
Hayes Center 74, Potter-Dix 13
Hoxie 36, Plainville 18
Kearney Catholic 58, Dundy County 26
McCook 21, Ogallala 0
Medicine Valley 43, Wauneta-Palisade 14
Oakley 40, Oberlin 12
Rawlins County-Atwood 58, Syracuse 25
Scottsbluff 26, Gering 10
Sharon Springs 52, Cheylin 6
St. Francis 68, Wichita County-Leoti 32
Wallace 50, Garden County 46