No. 1 Sacred Heart halts Bronco state quest

Wauneta-Palisade junior Payton Yearous (11) powers in for a shot against Falls City Sacred Heart during their district championship game at Hastings High School Friday. The Irish improved to 24-3 this season.

Diane Stamm/Johnson Publications

HASTINGS, Neb. — Falls City Sacred Heart played like a No. 1 during the 55-20 victory over Wauneta-Palisade in Friday’s Class D2-1 district title game.

The Irish improved to 24-3 as they dominated their first meeting with No. 16 W-P since a 46-21 triumph in 2016 state tournament play.

Wauneta-Palisade (11-15 final record) made a great late-season run to finish just one win of making state again. The Broncos were state qualifiers during both 2016 and 2018.

They knocked off two subdistrict finals with a roster featuring just two seniors in Michaela Dukes and Faith Lemon.

Coach Matt Cox’s team will likely return leaders like juniors Payton Yearous, Haylee Sandman, Zooey Boos, Macy Wheeler and sophomore Alexa Sandman for another run in 2021.

Watch for final game stats and Bronco season results this week.