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A pink sock party: Bison rumble past Bulldogs
McCOOK, Neb. — Junior Conner Kleckner sees comfort throughout all the collisions of a Friday night at Weiland Field.
“I’ve got Colin Giron on the right, Gabe Sehnert on the left and DJ Gross behind me,” McCook’s starting defensive end said. “I’m part of the best defense in the state.”
If visiting Gering even briefly thought pink socks meant the Bison were showing their “soft” side Friday night...
Most know the answer to that mistake.
The Bison pounced all over Gering for 14 points with only one McCook offensive play.
Bison tipped two early Bulldog passes and senior Morgan Fawver picked off both — the second he carried 35 yards into pink-sock paradise while firing up a 61-12 McCook victory.
“Our defense works on (scoring plays) all the time in practice,” senior linebacker Gabe Sehnert explained. “We’re working against scout team, someone shouts ‘offense’, and we all work on our blocks.”
Kleckner’s gone from those scout teams to now 8-0 as a varsity starter. No fewer than eight different Bison tallied touchdowns Friday night including senior Billy Bennett’s first score of the 2018 season.
McCook (8-0 record) now owns five consecutive wins by an average 49-4 score. A fact which actually shows how these Bison respect each and every opponent.
“These guys focus and prepare each week for whoever we are playing,” coach Jeff Gross confirmed. “Tonight (vs. Gering) I would say our domination on defense was the story. We really didn’t give them a chance to breathe.”
Kleckner contributed another three tackles before exiting early again with most of McCook’s other starters. Every Bison game since York on Sept. 7 has featured a second-half “running clock” due to 35-point-or-more Bison leads.
Yet beyond all the success, Kleckner found his most comfort from someone not close to Weiland Field Friday night.
Berdena Kleckner was visiting another son in Colorado, but the cancer survivor certainly found time to text Conner before this “Pink Out” regular-season home finale.
“She just said ‘I love you’. I know it was tough or her to not be here tonight,” Conner said.
“She’s been recovering from a broken neck and a broken back she got in a motorcycle accident recently,” he added. “And she beat cancer. She’s one of the strongest people I know without a doubt.”
The Bison honored all who’ve fought cancer with those pink socks and another strong performance.
“I thought they (the socks) looked good. I like ‘em,” senior Alec Bunger said. Bunger broke loose for a 38-yard touchdown on his only run of the contest.
He followed earlier TDs from junior quarterback Cameryn Berry (34 yards), Sehnert (one yard) and Berry again (five yards) besides the Fawver “pick six.”
“The offensive line allowed us to run just any play we wanted,” Gross observed.
“Yeah, the holes were gigantic. Alec and I could run thoughout without hardly being touched,” Sehnert added.
Seniors Hunter Cunningham, Zach Latimer, Nick Baker, Giron and junior Drew Daum powered the Bison to 395 rushing yards.
Bunger’s score made it 35-0 and Bennett showed some running power after catching a pass from backup quarterback Seth Dugger.
Bennett pushed through one final Bulldog tackle attempt.
Senior Trae Koetter capped another six-for-six PAT kicking effort to make it 42-0 entering intermission.
McCook’s reserves literally took no time to show their only impressive skills.
The first play following intermission featured junior Corban Jernigan’s 68-yard touchdown journey.
Jernigan topped 100 rush yards for a second consecutive contest.
Junior Landon Towne covered 37 yards on another impressive Bison burst.
McCook now takes all this momentum into a long-awaited district title showdown at 8-0 Scottsbluff Friday night.
“They’ll be the toughest team we’ve faced,” Kleckner concluded.