The Ralston High School football team took Friday's first snap on its home field.
The Rams picked up a first down after two runs and then another on a Blair Bear personal foul. But, shortly thereafter, their first possession concluded with a harmless punt into the September sky.
“We got the jitters out and it just clicked,” BHS linebacker Kaden Sears said.
Ralston (1-2 overall) punted three more times during the first quarter as the Bears (3-0) built a 21-0 advantage they'd turn into a lopsided, 42-3 road win. Their first three scores of the ballgame came within 3 minutes and 36 seconds of each other in the opening quarter.
Defense loomed large in producing Blair's advantage on the scoreboard, too. It forced Ram three-and-outs, punts and resulted in short fields for the Bears' offense.
“That's our whole job,” BHS senior lineman Seagan Packett-Trisdale said. “Pick up as many (offensive) linemen as we can and let those linebackers run free.”
Dane Larsen, Sears and more benefitted from the line's play, meeting Ralston runners and putting them down for short gains during most of the first half.
“I felt pretty free,” Sears said. “I felt our line did their job. Helped us 'backers. Made it easy for us.”
Coach Bryan Soukup's squad first scored with 4:51 left in the first quarter at the end of the 64-yard drive. Larsen, a senior two-way starter, bounced an inside run to the outside and reached the end zone after 19 yards.
Two minutes, 29 seconds and a short Ralston punt later, Blair quarterback Bode Soukup connected with junior J'Shawn Unger for a 33-yard score. The receiver caught the ball short and maneuvered his way around Rams all the way into the end zone for a 14-0 advantage.
Once Ralston conducted three more offensive plays and had its punter thrown down with the ball still in hand, the Bears took back over at the 21-yard-line and scored again. Sears ran the ball 11 yards for a 21-point advantage.
Next, Larsen notched another touchdown run to start Blair's second quarter.
That was before Bode Soukup's shovel pass to Brady Brown covered 27 yards for a 35-0 advantage. The junior ball carrier finished the touchdown play with a quick cut away from the sideline, sending the last Ralston defender in his way out of bounds empty handed.
The Rams finally got on the scoreboard, though, with 42 seconds left before halftime. Their field goal cut the Bears' lead to 32 points, but it didn't cap scoring for the night.
Unger scored once more during the third quarter.
“I went from outside linebacker to D-line,” he said, describing what led to his 15-yard interception return for a touchdown. “And they said, 'Just play big.' And I think that's what I did tonight.”
After batting down at least two Ralston passes during the first half, Unger, a Nebraska baseball recruit, hauled one in for six points.
“I saw that tackle go out, so I knew it was a pass. He went to pass block,” he said. “So, I read the quarterback's eyes and, lo and behold, he threw it right to my hands.”
Kicker Sergio Dominguez added his sixth extra point at the pick-6 with 2:04 left in the third quarter. Substitutes Kaleb Loftis and Nathan Boswell later traded carries to run out the clock in the fourth as Blair picked up its third win.
“Our defense was playing really good today,” Packett-Trisdale said in the aftermath, going over how the Bears won by 39 on the road. “Linebackers were flying.”
Secondary and line play were good, too.
“Just a great game all-around,” he concluded.
BHS next competes 7 p.m. Friday against Omaha Gross at Krantz Field. The Cougars are also 3-0 with wins against Beatrice, Omaha Westview and Elkhorn.
