Washington County cross-country runners and football players will be busy competing in their sports today — several for the final time this fall.
Runners will race during the NSAA State Cross-country Championships at Kearney Country Club, while the Arlington and Fort Calhoun football teams will close their seasons on the road. Blair's football squad, meanwhile, will prepare for the state playoffs with one last regular season test at home.
Arlington and Fort Calhoun cross-country at Class C State Championships, 1:30 p.m. today
The Fort Calhoun girls cross-country team will start from Box No. 5 during the 1:30 p.m. Class C race in Kearney, while the district-champion boys will start from Box No. 17 at 2.
Arlington's Colby Grefe, meanwhile, will start from Box No. 4 in the boys' race. He is the lone Eagle competing at state, while Luke Gustafson, Ely Olberding, Lance Olberding, Jacob Rupp, John McKennan, Johnathon Schwarte, Rowan Roehr, Bria Bench, Tessa Skelton, Dala Drowne, Kaitlyn Thalman and Kylie Perfetti will race top team honors as Pioneers.
Blair cross-country at Class B State Championships, 3 p.m. today
Nine Blair Bears will run around the state course at Kearney Country Club today after qualifying for the event at last week's district meet.
The BHS girls team — comprised of Mary Roskens, Chloe Schrick, Cayli Penner, Allie Czapla, Hailey Amandus and Emily Lamoureux — will compete at 3 p.m. before Dawson Fricke, Nolan Slominski and Nick Wayman race at 3:30 in the boys' race. The boys will run from Box No. 9 in Class B, while the girls will start from Box No. 2.
Every Bear, Eagle or Pioneer will be competing for their first state medal.
Blair Bears (5-3 overall) football hosts South Sioux City (1-7) at Krantz Field, 7 p.m. today
The Blair football team already knows it'll be in the Class B playoff field, but gets one more chance to warm up for the challenge with a home tilt against the South Sioux City (SSC) Cardinals.
SSC enters the game with one, 20-7 win against Sioux City West from Sept. 3. In the victory, Caleb Kriens ran for 215 yards.
Blair's Dex Larsen, meanwhile, has ran for 879 this fall. Livai Opetaia has 474 rushing yards and Dane Larsen has 126.
In the passing game, Bears quarterback Morgan Rump has thrown for 1,276 yards and 13 scores. Nolan Osterhaus and Kip Tupa have 448 and 401 receiving yards, respectively.
Arlington Eagles (2-6) football at Douglas County West (1-7), 7 p.m. today
After a tough loss at Boys Town a week ago, the Arlington football team closes the season at 1-7 Douglas County West. The Falcons beat Omaha Concordia 42-7 on Sept. 25, but have been outscored 91-20 in the three games since.
Arlington, meanwhile, is led by quarterback Josh Miller who's thrown for 1,107 yards and ran for 463 more in eight games. The senior's thrown seven touchdown passes and ran for four more.
The QB's top targets are Jesse Thompson, who has 36 catches, and Dustin Kirk who has 29 for 381 yards.
Fort Calhoun Pioneers (2-6) football at Logan View/Scribner-Snyder (7-1), 7 p.m. today
The Fort Calhoun football team closes its season against the top squad of the district, playoff-bound Logan View/Scribner Snyder. The Raiders are 7-1, but haven't beaten a team with a win-loss record better than 3-5. They haven't allowed more than 14 points in a game this fall, though, and have allowed just six total over their last three contests.
The Pioneers, meanwhile, are coming off their most productive game of the season. They scored 48 last Friday against Omaha Concordia.
Quarterback Ty Hallberg has thrown for 721 yards this fall, while Zane Schwarz has 36 receptions for 516 yards. Dillon Dierks has run for 679 yards and Clint Dierks has notched 456.
