The 2024 Nebraska high school football season came to an end at Memorial Stadium on Tuesday with the last three NSAA Football State Championships.
Class C2, Class C1 and Class B crowned their champions, and the Hurrdat Sports team was there all day to bring you comprehensive coverage.
CLASS C2
No. 1 Norfolk Catholic 27, No. 2 Bishop Neumann 13
The Knights used a 27-0 run to complete their third straight unbeaten season and capture their 13th state championship in the first game of the day.
Callen Marshall threw for 152 yards and two touchdowns. Trevin Sukup ran for 142 yards and two scores while catching an additional touchdown. Max Hammond caught six passes for 101 yards and a touchdown while adding six tackles on defense. Aiden Corr led the defense with 10 tackles.
Bishop Neumann running back and Nebraska signee Conor Booth played through partially torn tendons in his knee and ankle. He totaled 49 yards and a touchdown, gutting it out for his team on the field he’ll play on at the next level. He finished the season with 2,955 yards.
After four straight punts to start the game, Isaiah Nagle provided a spark for the Cavaliers with a 32-yard punt return, and they capitalized on the field position with an eight-play, 56-yard drive. Booth capped it off with a 6-yard touchdown run through traffic, tying the all-class single-season record with his 50th trip to the end zone. The Knights blocked the extra point.
Neuman maintained its lead until late in the half. The Knights dropped Booth 1 yard short of the line to gain on third down in Cavalier territory, and Neumann opted to punt with 1:30 remaining in the half.
That’s all the time Norfolk Catholic needed, putting together an eight-play, 74-yard drive in 73 seconds. Marshall found Sukup in the end zone for a juggling catch that he secured along the sideline with 10 seconds to go in the half, and Hammond’s extra point gave Catholic the lead for good.
Neither team scored in the third quarter, making it a one-point game heading into the fourth.
The Knights forced a punt early in the period and capitalized on the good field position. Norfolk Catholic went for it on fourth-and-1 and Hammond converted with a 3-yard run. On the next play, Sukup ripped off a 29-yard touchdown run to extend the lead.
Norfolk Catholic forced a punt, then Hammond took a short pass from Marshall 62 yards for a touchdown. Will Brockhaus picked off a Fujan pass on the ensuing Neumann drive and the Knights turned the takeaway into points with 2-yard run from Sukup.
The Cavaliers tacked on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Fujan to Jarred Cernik with 10 seconds left, but all it changed was the final margin. With Booth limited, Fujan accounted for 207 of Neumann’s 258 yards, passing for 123 and rushing for 84.
“We knew we were going to have to be physical the entire game.”@TrevinSukup joined @Austin2Jacobsen following his three-score day to secure another state title for @NorfolkCatholic as the Knights downed Bishop Neumann 27-13. #nebpreps | @Borsheims pic.twitter.com/PDWFxil00M
— Hurrdat Sports (@HurrdatSports) November 26, 2024
CLASS C1
Wahoo junior Kip Brigham celebrates during the Class C1 state championship game. Photo by Mac Johnson.
No. 3 Wahoo 47, No. 5 Central City 7
The Wahoo defense set an unofficial record with seven interceptions as the Warriors finished off an unbeaten season with a dominant defensive showing.
The 2023 Class C1 runner-up outscored its 13 opponents 680-87 this season.
Junior running back Kip Brigham topped 100 yards on offense for the 12th straight game, totaling 133 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries plus a pick on defense. Brigham finished with 2033 yards and 36 touchdowns on the ground plus another 476 yards and seven touchdowns as a receiver.
Senior running back Noah Bordovksy completed two halfback passes for touchdowns, finding Josh Fox for a 31-yard score and Eli Shada for another from 2 yards out. He also picked off two passes on defense with an addition pass breakup and tied for the team lead with seven tackles. Wahoo held Central City to six rushing yards on 20 carries.
Logan Kelly notched two interceptions, Sam Marxsen snagged another and Caden Smart accounted for the last one while also running in a touchdown on offense.
Kaden Christen caught five passes for 106 yards and a touchdown, adding 29 yards and another score on the ground.
The first 18 minutes of the game featured four punts and three interceptions as the teams traded empty possessions. The first points came on a defensive score in fitting fashion as a Landon Fye snagged a slightly-backwards pass and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown.
The defensive hijinks continued as the next three drives saw a turnover on downs, a fumble and an interception. The Warriors scored the first offensive points of the game just before halftime with a 5-yard touchdown run from Brigham.
Four of Central City’s six drives in the second half ended with an interception, and a turnover on downs halted another. The Bison’s lone touchdown came on an 87-yard catch-and-run from Turner Hanke. The Warriors scored touchdowns on all their possessions after halftime outside the taking a knee to run out the clock at the end.
“It’s how everyone wants to go out.” @noah_bordy joined @Austin2Jacobsen after nabbing two interceptions and throwing two touchdown passes in @Wahoo_Football’s 47-7 win over Central City. #nebpreps | @Borsheims pic.twitter.com/UTYlTYPs4W
— Hurrdat Sports (@HurrdatSports) November 27, 2024
CLASS B
Skutt senior quarterback Dylan Van Dyke throws downfield in the Class B state championship. Photo by Mac Johnson.
No. 3 Skutt Catholic 29, No. 1 Bennington 26
The SkyHawks and Badgers delivered arguably the best game of the regular season when the two met in week eight. It’s inarguable that they produced the best of the six championships played at Memorial Stadium.
In another instant classic between the two Class B powers, the result proved the same as the regular season with the SkyHawks holding on for the three-point victory, avenging their loss to the Badgers in last year’s championship.
The title is Skutt’s first since 2019 and sixth overall.
After three straight unbeaten seasons, Bennington finished 11-2 in 2024 with both losses coming at Skutt’s hands.
Senior quarterback Dylan Van Dyke, who re-wrote the Skutt record book this season, went 30-for-49 for 380 yards and two touchdowns passing and also ran for two scores. His favorite target, fellow senior Joe Kolega, drew 20 targets, catching 14 of them for 185 yards and a touchdown. He added six tackles, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry on defense.
Kolega broke the Class B single-season record for receptions in the game, and he already had the Class B touchdowns record before tacking on an additional score in the championship.
Nate Christensen added four receptions for 85 yards and a touchdown on offense plus two interceptions, two tackles and a pass breakup on defense. Luke Van Dyke racked up 19 tackles, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry to lead four other SkyHawks with double-digit tackles.
The teams played to a scoreless draw into the second quarter as the first seven drives of the game ended without points. That included two empty red zone trips and an interception for the Badgers.
The SkyHawks finally broke through on a bomb from Van Dyke to Christensen, a perfect ball under pressure that dropped over the outstretched arms of a defender for a 43-yard score. Bennington answered with a 1-yard touchdown run from Lauridsen set up by a 30-yard completion from Hill to Johnson.
A false start backed up the extra point, however, and the Badgers missed. The rest of the quarter belonged to the Skyhawks. Skutt picked off Hill two more times and capitalized both times with Van Dyke hitting a receiver to get inside the five before finishing the drive himself with a 1-yard touchdown run.
Skutt took a 21-6 lead into the locker room.
The third quarter belonged to the reigning champions, though. All three SkyHawk drives ended in turnovers — one on downs, one on a fumble and one on an interception. Bennington senior Kyler Lauridsen scored two rushing touchdowns in the period, then ran in another touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter to give Bennington its first lead. Lauridsen was also responsible for forcing the fumble in the third quarter, putting his helmet squarely on the ball to knock it free from Dylan Van Dyke’s hands on a scramble.
The lead didn’t last long, however. Skutt responded with a 13-play, 80-yard touchdown drive ending with a 19-yard touchdown from Van Dyke to Kolega to put Skutt back in front. Van Dyke ran the two-point try in to make it a three-point game with eight minutes to go.
The teams traded turnovers, setting up one final drive for Bennington. The Badgers got the ball at their own 3 with 4:23 on the clock and began moving down the field, chewing up yards and clock.
Lauridsen appeared to convert a third-down during the drive only to have the play called back for an illegal hurdle. According to the NSAA rule book, it’s illegal to hurdle a defender who has two feet planted on the ground. The penalty pushed the Badgers back to set up a third-and-16, but quarterback Houston Hill went right back to a wide open Lauridsen who cut back across the field and gained 46 yards, putting the Badgers into the red zone.
A short run, an incomplete pass and a tackle for loss set up a fourth-and-11 from the 21. The kicking game had struggled all game, so the Badgers went for it. Hill took a shot in the end zone for Cooper Johnson, but Christensen broke up the pass to secure the victory.
Despite the loss, Luaridsen went down swinging. The senior has been one of the best linebackers in the state throughout his career but only ran the ball five times all season heading into the semifinals.
The Badger coaching staff cut him loose for the final two games of his high school career. He ran the ball 23 times for 121 yards and two touchdowns in a 16-7 win over Elkhorn North. On Tuesday, he carried the ball 29 times for 218 yards and four touchdowns and caught two passes for 53 yards.
Lauridsen racked up 219 of his 271 yards from scrimmage and scored three of his four touchdowns in the second half. Will Gutz ran for 136 yards on 19 carries himself.
Bennington held Skutt to seven rushing yards and outgained the SkyHawks by 147 yards overall, but the Badgers lost the turnover battle four to three.
Skutt Catholic coach Matt Turman after the SkyHawks 29-26 win over Bennington in the class B final. #nebpreps pic.twitter.com/PdmD8BhMit
— Mike Sautter (@MikeSautter_) November 27, 2024
