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2023 Football State Championships: Tuesday Roundup

by Nov 21, 2023Preps Football

2023 Football State Championships: Tuesday Roundup
Photo Credit: Mike Sautter

Memorial Stadium played host to the Class C1, C2 and A state championships on Tuesday, and the Hurrdat Sports team is providing updates throughout the day.

For all of our coverage from the D1, D2 and B championships, go here.

CLASS C1 — No. 2 Boone Central 12, No. 1 Wahoo 0

The first 12 drives of game one Tuesday were an exercise in offensive futility — or defensive brilliance, depending on your perspective.

Boone Central totaled 81 yards and picked up six first downs on six drives, punting five times with an interception. Wahoo was nearly identical with 79 yards, three first downs, five punts and a pick. The teams had combined for 361 yards of gross punting and 160 yards of total offense just over four minutes into the third quarter.

Then the dam finally broke.

Boone Central put together a 12-play, 53-yard touchdown drive that included two third-and-long conversions. The second conversion set the Cardinals up at the 4 … before a false start and a 2-yard loss backed them up to the 11. However, Boone Central star Parker Borer ran it in on the next play to get the Cardinals on the board with 2:03 to play (though the kick failed).

Boone Central had a chance to bury the Warriors after forcing and recovering a fumble inside the Wahoo 10, but the Warrior defense held and then blocked the field goal attempt to keep it a one-score game.

Three more empty drives (two Wahoo punts sandwiching a Boone Central fumble) followed before Borer added an insurance run, ripping off a 61-yard touchdown with 5:17 to go, and the defense finished the game from there.

Borer finished with 127 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries, giving him 2,0002 yards and 25 scores on the season in addition to 167 and two more touchdowns receiving.

The prolific back finished his career with 4,242 yards and 56 touchdowns rushing, 554 yards and four scores receiving, 690 yards and a touchdown in the return game and two pick-sixes on defense.

Wahoo finished with 76 yards of total offense, went 2-of-11 on third down plus 0-1 on fourth down and committed three turnovers. Tuesday was Boone Central’s seventh shutout as the Cardinals finished 13-0 to capture their third state title.

They only allowed 63 points all season and no team managed to score more than 14 against them. Senior Caden Stokes led the way Tuesday with 11 tackles and a pick while senior Hank Hudson added nine tackles including 2.5 for loss and three quarterback hurries.

The Warriors finished the season 12-1 but only had nine seniors on their roster. Starting quarterback Jase Kaminski, the team’s top three running backs and the team’s top two tacklers are all set to return next season.

 

 

CLASS C2 — No. 1 Norfolk Catholic 41, No. 3 Ord 3

After the teams traded punts to open the game, the Chanticleers capitalized on takeaway to put points on the board with a 40-yard field goal.

Ord never scored again. Norfolk Catholic proceeded to rip off 41 unanswered, triggering a running clock midway through the third quarter.

The Knights captured their record 12th state title, the 11th under Coach Jeff Bellar, in dominant fashion.

Norfolk Catholic outgained Ord by 200 yards, holding the Chanticleers to 146 yards from scrimmage and forcing four turnovers plus two more turnovers on downs. Ord went 1-for-9 on third down and completed just two passes for 20 yards with three interceptions.

Senior Carter Janssen out-gained the Chanticleers by himself, completing six of his 10 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown and gaining 66 yards and another score on 12 rushes. Senior Brandon Kollars led the Knights with 86 yards and two scores on 14 carries. Junior wingback Max Hammond totaled 63 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns on eight touches.

Senior Mason Weidner led the defense with 11 tackles including one for loss and a pick. Junior Hayden Kelley wasn’t far behind with eight tackles including one for loss and an interception. Clayton Carney had the third interception and also added a 33-yard receiving touchdown on offense.

Ord two-way star Trent McCain suffered an injury late in the first half and did not return, and the Norfolk Catholic defense really keyed in on dual-threat quarterback and two-way player Dylan Hurlburt, limiting him to 54 total yards. Talan Buha knocked down the 40-yard field goal in the first half and was the one who picked off a pass to set up the score as well.

 

 

CLASS A — No. 1 Omaha Westside 56, No. 3 Elkhorn South 0

Westside quarterback Anthony Rezac (5) celebrates with his teammates after one of his two rushing touchdowns. Photo by Eric Francis.

The Warriors stamped an exclamation point on a historically dominant season in Tuesday’s nightcap, pitching their eighth shutout of the season to win their second straight title and third in four years.

Westside outscored its opponents 643-46 in a 13-0 season and surrendered just six points during the playoffs. The Warriors surrendered seven touchdowns all season while recording at least seven touchdowns in a game on their end eight times.

Senior Anthony Rezac got plenty of receivers involved, finishing 21-of-25 passing for 259 yards and a touchdown and also added two more touchdowns on the ground. Four different receivers had more than 45 yards and seven different players caught a pass.

Nebraska commit Caleb Benning led the receiving corps with six catches for 82 yards and a touchdown plus an interception on defense. Senior Jahmez Ross added 125 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries plus a pair of receptions for 19 yards. Junior Christian Jones had a 30-yard pick-six on the second drive of the game and also added two catches for 47 yards on offense. Seniors Bo Ryan and Brody Goc scored a touchdown apiece as well. Westside hit the running clock threshold less than five minutes into the third quarter.

The Westside defense forced four turnovers and surrendered just 109 total yards to the Storm, who went 3-for-11 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down. Notre Dame commit Teddy Rezac led the way with 12 tackles and a pass breakup.

The game featured a scary moment as Elkhorn South junior quarterback Madden Riggs, who stepped in when senior Carson Rauner went down with a season-ending injury in week four, took a big hit early in the third quarter and didn’t get back up. Medical personnel attended to him for roughly 10 minutes before taking him off on a stretcher.

Rezac wrapped up his three-year starting career with two state titles and a runner-up finish, amassing 5,791 yards and 68 touchdowns while completing 69.9% of his passes and 2,264 yards and 36 touchdowns on 310 rushes (7.3 yards per carry). He threw for 2,331 yards and 30 touchdowns and rushed for 880 yards and 15 more scores as a senior.

Ross capped a spectacular senior season with his eighth 100-yard rushing game of the season, finishing with 1,524 yards and 22 touchdowns.

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