Fort Calhoun routed Arlington on the first Friday of the Nebraska high school football season, while Blair lost an overtime thriller at Lincoln Standing Bear.
The Class C1 Pioneers jumped out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead Friday against the C2 Eagles and won 49-6. Kade Foy scored the first Calhoun touchdown before Kaiden Rodriguez, Eli Tinkham, Adam Elofson and Quentin Billesbach were among those to contribute to scores, according to the official FCHS social media page.
“Really proud of the way we executed and played as a team,” Pioneers coach Zach Byrd stated after the game. “Especially when we put our younger guys in and they kept the momentum going.”
Arlington coach Troy Schlueter was complimentary of Calhoun’s play, too.
“I’ll give credit to Fort as they out-coached us for sure,” he said.
FCHS next plays at Omaha Roncalli next Friday, while the Eagles host Conestoga.
In Lincoln, the Class B Bears fell 24-21 at Union Bank Stadium when the Standing Bear Grizzlies’ Brody Hiatt booted the game-winning 20-yard field goal in overtime.
Blair forced extra time, however, when Andrew Smutny thwarted a late fourth-quarter drive with an interception. Minutes earlier, BHS' Colin McCabe caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Brevin Leggott, setting up extra-point kicker Blaise Baughman to tie the game at 21-all.
Baughman, who also plays running back and linebacker, had notched the Bears’ two other touchdowns during the first half with runs of 2 and 90 yards, respectively.
“Just kind of disappointed because I think we’ve had a great preseason, and I just don’t think — from the coaches to the players — we showed the work we put in,” first-year BHS coach Will Lansman said. “Too many mistakes. Too many turnovers. Stuff we haven’t done (in practice).”
The Bears next play in a week at home against Lincoln Pius X.
For the full story on these games and additional photos, come back to enterprisepub.com/sports on Tuesday. Game coverage will also appear in next Friday’s Washington County Enterprise due to early, Labor Day deadlines for the Pilot-Tribune.
