Three exciting games to keep an eye on in Week 4

We are halfway through the high school football season, we are getting closer and closer to district play, every game from now on can change the dimensions of who makes it to the playoffs. Class A B and C are represented this week in some of the biggest games of the year. Our games from last week were very exciting Riverside took Osmond by surprise with a 61-6 win over the Tigers. The Chargers dominated the Tigers with 431 total yards. 89 of those 431 were passing 342 were rushing. RB Tony Berger went off not being able to stay out of the endzone. Seward took on Crete, where the Bluejays fought hard in a 46-31 victory over the Cardinals. QB and CB [player_tooltip player_id="167133" first="Gavin" last="Sukup"] went off on both sides of the ball. Our biggest game last week was between Sidney and Cozad,  despite having over 300 yards rushing the Red Raiders fell 28-38. This week the stakes are high this week, each of these games can decide who will be in Memorial Stadium this November. First off in our 3rd ranked game Battle Creek V.S. SCOTUS. The Shamrocks head to Battle Creek as two unbeaten schools try to stay at the top of Class C1. Our second game this week features the Skutt Catholic Skyhawks against the Bennington Badgers. The Skyhawks are always in competition for the state title no matter who is at the helm, and the Badgers come in as the new kid on the block who are looking forward to defeating the blue blood on their home field. And our first ranked game is the biggest game this week and potentially the biggest this season. The Bellevue West Thunderbirds take on the Millard South Patriots. Both of these teams are filled with talent Bellevue West has 12 ranked players in the 2022 class while Millard South has 5. Both of these teams have routed everyone they have played. We have three amazing games in the top three classes, every team here is undefeated. <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Battle Creek V.S. SCOTUS</strong></p> Friday Night Lights by a cornfield can it get any better than that? This battle brings the Shamrocks 51 miles north to Battle Creek where the Braves plan to defend their home turf against the Shamrocks. SCOTUS comes in this week after wins against Wahoo, Concordia, and Aquainus. Last week in their win over Aquainus The Shamrocks could not be stopped in the passing game. SCOTUS had 319 yards passing absolutely dominating the Monarchs by the arm of QB Trenton Cielocha. SCOTUS also has a great weapon for Cielocha, Garret Oakly who is the 8th ranked TE in Nebraska. Even though they had a lot of yards the final score was only 28-21. Battle Creek comes in with wins over Central City, Cedar Catholic, and West Point-Beemer.  During their last game, the Braves threw for 173 yards and rushed for 248. lead by QB [player_tooltip player_id="164350" first="Dylan" last="Amick"] and RB Rich Brauer. The Brave’s defense held firm recovering 2 fumbles and 54 total tackles. The braves cruised in for an offensive victory with the final score being 39-7. <a href="http://iframe%20src=’//www.hudl.com/embed/video/2/5754/613d0f8b9a9b750a38295e3a’%20width=’640’%20height=’360’%20frameborder=’0’%20allowfullscreen/iframe"><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/2/5754/613d0f8b9a9b750a38295e3a" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></a>4 <a href="http://iframe%20src=’//www.hudl.com/embed/video/2/11865/613cefbe8cde9e0b20ffd5d4’%20width=’640’%20height=’360’%20frameborder=’0’%20allowfullscreen/iframe"><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/2/11865/613cefbe8cde9e0b20ffd5d4" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></a> <strong>Offensive Standouts - </strong>Trenton Cielocha QB 5’11" 150lbs, though being part of the class of 2023 he is leading his team like any other senior. His performance passing the ball lead his team to stay strong in a close game. He will be able to test the Brave’s secondary and it will be interesting to see how they change up their plans against such a dominant offense. <a href="http://iframe%20src=’//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/12969208/61415a285b47670a34be361a’%20width=’640’%20height=’360’%20frameborder=’0’%20allowfullscreen/iframe"><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/12969208/61415a285b47670a34be361a" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></a> <strong>Defensive Standouts - </strong>Kase Thompson  NG 6’0" 225lbs, Kase has to lead his defense in many ways with a fumble recovery last week and with 1.5 sacks and 11 total tackles this season. His stature keeps the ball from coming his way but that doesn’t stop him from pushing through the offensive line and getting to the quarterback or grabbing a quick fumble. [embed]https://twitter.com/MarisaBrauer22/status/1429568353400672262?s=20[/embed] <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Bennington V.S. Skutt Catholic</strong></p> Our next game is just north of Omaha the legendary Skutt Catholic Skyhawks will come to face off against the Bennington Badgers. The Badgers will plan to upset the Skyhawks and head straight to the playoffs. In the last three games, the Badgers beat Grand Island North West, Aurora, and Norris. Against Norris the Badgers had a very balanced offense throwing 10 out of 14 passes for  173 yards and rushing 49 carries for 206 yards. RB [player_tooltip player_id="192723" first="Dylan" last="Mostek"] and their huge Offensive line lead them to the 35-20 victory over the Norris Titans. The Skyhawks are ready to do what they do best and that is winning they always aim high for state in every game that they play. Skutt Catholic has beat Roncalli Catholic, Waverly, and Gross Catholic. Against Gross, the Skyhawks decimated them on the ground rushing for 328 yards for 42 carries and 6 touchdowns. The leader of their rushing game was RB Maccoy Holtam who had 144 yards rushing and 5 touchdowns. Along with Holtam the Skyhawks also have QB [player_tooltip player_id="147507" first="Caden" last="Becker"] ranked 9th overall in the state of Nebraska. The Skyhawks are looking to continue their annual tradition the question is can Bennington’s defense hold against them. <a href="http://iframe%20src=’//www.hudl.com/embed/video/2/469/613ce8519680a90a900def3d’%20width=’640’%20height=’360’%20frameborder=’0’%20allowfullscreen/iframe"><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/2/469/613ce8519680a90a900def3d" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></a> <a href="http://iframe%20src=’//www.hudl.com/embed/video/2/60/613d9af296777308c0a9d604’%20width=’640’%20height=’360’%20frameborder=’0’%20allowfullscreen/iframe"><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/2/60/613d9af296777308c0a9d604" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></a> <strong>Offensive Standout - </strong>Maccoy Holtam 6’2" 185lbs, Holtam is crazy good in only two games he has totaled 222 yards rushing in only 25 carries and 6 touchdowns in only 2 games. That is ridiculously good and with his dominance on the ground along with help from Skutt’s offensive line he won’t be stopped. He will have to be stopped by the Badgers for them to want to compete with the Skyhawks. <a href="http://iframe%20src=’//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/7835568/613b94362ab15a0b3c150dae’%20width=’640’%20height=’360’%20frameborder=’0’%20allowfullscreen/iframe"><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/7835568/613b94362ab15a0b3c150dae" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></a> <strong>Defensive Standout -</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="191202" first="Austin" last="Holtz"]  5’10 150 lbs, is a defensive hawk averaging 9.7 tackles a game so far this year he has 29 total tackles 12 assists, and 17 solo tackles 3 of those 29 tackles were for a loss. Austin also has a knack for interceptions having two already this year. He is going to be a major problem for Skutt’s rushing game. <a href="http://iframe%20src=’//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11380308/612cc1e64205bb086865983f’%20width=’640’%20height=’360’%20frameborder=’0’%20allowfullscreen/iframe"><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11380308/612cc1e64205bb086865983f" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></a> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Millard South V.S. Bellevue West</strong></p> This game might be the game of the year. The two most dominant class A teams this year come to face off in a Thursday Night Showdown! The Thunderbirds come in with dominant wings against Burke, Bellevue East, and a close win over Crieghton Prep. Against Jays, Bellevue West passed for 327 yards and rushed for 200 totaling 527 total yards. QB [player_tooltip player_id="147833" first="Luke" last="Johannsen"] leads the team in passing yards this season with 411 yards passing, RB [player_tooltip player_id="147818" first="LJ" last="Richardson"] leads the Thunderbirds in rushing with 570 yards on the ground. Bellevue West is stacked they have 12 total ranked athletes in the 2022 class here is a list of them all: Rank #3  TE [player_tooltip player_id="147504" first="Micah" last="Riley-Ducker"] 6’6" 240lbs, Rank #4 TE [player_tooltip player_id="147505" first="Kaden" last="Helms"] 6’6" 220 lbs, #14 RB [player_tooltip player_id="147818" first="LJ" last="Richardson"] 6’1" 215 lbs, #16 OL Henry Rickles 6’4" 275 Committed: AirForce , #26 DL [player_tooltip player_id="157572" first="Caden" last="Camese"] 6’2 280, #48 DL [player_tooltip player_id="147853" first="Arden" last="Jenkins"] 6’0" 225 lbs, #55 OL [player_tooltip player_id="151115" first="Nate" last="Raymond"] 6’5" 300 lbs, #56 QB  [player_tooltip player_id="147833" first="Luke" last="Johannsen"] 6’2 190lbs, #76 K [player_tooltip player_id="157630" first="Hunter" last="Brown"] 6’2 210lbs, #82 LB [player_tooltip player_id="167999" first="Jayden" last="Roberts"] 5’9" 200lbs, #108 DB [player_tooltip player_id="156059" first="Jaelin" last="Avant"] 5’11" 165lbs, #135 DB [player_tooltip player_id="156055" first="Preston" last="Ames"] 6’0" 185 lbs. Millard South is coming off of a huge streak of wins, destroying Millard North, Elkhorn South, and Millard West. Last week the Patriots passed for 195 yards and rushed for 225 in their win. This year the Patriots in total have 1,118 total yards scoring 136 total points in just three games. They don’t have as much talent as the Thunderbirds but they still have a lot of great ranked players like #7 ATH Gage Stegner 6’2" 190 Committed: Kansas State, #11 LB [player_tooltip player_id="156071" first="Jake" last="Gassaway"] 6’2 195 Committed: Northern Illinois, #46 [player_tooltip player_id="151107" first="Gage" last="Mack"] LB 6’2" 190 lbs, #111 RB [player_tooltip player_id="164872" first="Christian" last="Nash"] 6’0" 220 lbs, #148 WR [player_tooltip player_id="148261" first="Antrell" last="Taylor"] 5’9" 165 lbs. With all of this talent and with both teams leading it will be very interesting to see who can pull through, which defense can stop which offense.<iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/2/558/613415abe97a2106104eb8ab" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong>Offensive Standout -</strong>RB [player_tooltip player_id="147818" first="LJ" last="Richardson"] has scored 10  rushing touchdowns in only 3 games along with rushing for 570 total yards with 30 yards receiving. This makes his exact amount of yards at 600 total yards. If there was a High School Football Heisman he would be in the lead for it. He had a huge run early in the game against Bellevue East and it shows how a great running back can set up a great passing game. <strong>Defensive Standout -</strong>LB [player_tooltip player_id="156071" first="Jake" last="Gassaway"], Gassaway leads the Patriot’s defense in tackles and is tied for first in sacks. His sack was a 9-yard loss and his 27 tackles show consistency in the linebacker position. Out of his 27 tackles has 14 solo and 13 assist tackles. He can clog the rushing lanes with a good blitz and defend the middle from the pass. This match-up will test how really good Gassaway can do against a really tough opponent. <a href="http://iframe%20src=’//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11458287/613e23cc96777308c0ab3854’%20width=’640’%20height=’360’%20frameborder=’0’%20allowfullscreen/iframe"><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11458287/613e23cc96777308c0ab3854" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></a>