Nebraska state football: All kinds of history made on Day 1

A roundup of first-day action

All three state championship games included historical achievements on Monday’s first day of title games at the Nebraska state football finals. 

Bennington became the first team to win three straight Class B titles thanks to a suffocating defense. Sutton and Sandhills/Thedford both won the first state trophy in program history while Sandhills/Thedford quarterback Kyle Cox set a state record with 65 rushing attempts. 

Friday in Kearney, Sumner-Eddyville-Miller won the second-lowest scoring game in six-man title history. 

Class B: New breed of Badgers keeps Bennington rolling to third straight title 

Bennington had to reinvent itself following back-to-back Class B championships if the Badgers wanted to make it an unprecedented three in a row.

The season began with a new starting quarterback, a new starting running back, several new blockers up front, and, as a result, a new offensive scheme that, for most programs, would have meant a learning curve. But Bennington went into Monday’s Class B championship game at Memorial Stadium still riding a 38-game winning streak with a chance to win three titles in a row for the first time in Class B history.

Scottsbluff also brought a 38-game streak to Lincoln in 2004 but saw its three-peat chances dashed during a 14-9 loss to Lincoln Pius X.

Bennington made history in a 21-0 shutout of Skutt Catholic that included two touchdowns by Quinton Archer, two passing touchdowns from Payton Sanmann and a defense that allowed just 194 total yards.

The Badgers were good on defense each of the past two years but that was more of a necessity in 2023 with new faces all around the offensive lineup. Following Monday’s shutout win, Bennington ended the season with just 93 points allowed - an average of just over a touchdown per game - and four shutouts. The championship shutout was put together by a defense that included 10 tackles from state champion wrestler Kyler Lauridsen, 10 also by teammate Layne Boever, five tackles for loss, an interception and five drives that ended with three-and-outs.

The Bennington defense stopped Skutt’s first three drives with three-and-outs after taking the opening kickoff 80 yards in nine plays. Sanmann found wide receiver Kawiyou Taffa for a 36-yard touchdown to cap the possession.

It remained that way until Bennington took over near midfield with 6:07 left in the third and went 54 yards on nine plays. Archer went up the middle from the 12-yard line to make it 14-0. Skutt looked like it was about to cut the deficit in half on the next drive but it came to an end on a fourth down stop at Bennington 28. The Badgers used that momentum to take it 72 yards in 10 plays and four minutes for an Archer 32-yard touchdown catch with 10:03 left in the game.

With the defense putting together perhaps its best performance of the season, that was more than enough to seal the win. The Badger D made two more stops at their 16 and their 37.

Archer finished with 117 yards on 31 carries and a touchdown. He caught three passes for 54 and his other touchdown. Sanmann was 12 of 25 passing for 165 yards and two scores.

Anthony Heithoff led Skutt with 63 rushing yards on 14 carries. Quarterback Bennett Turman was 11 of 19 passing for 84 yards.

Class D-1: Mustangs erase fourth-quarter deficit, win first football title

Stanton forced three fourth-quarter turnovers and overcame a 10-point deficit to win Monday’s Class D-1 state football championship 42-36 over Exeter-Milligan/Friend at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.

The Mustangs scored first and took an 18-12 lead into halftime but fell behind in the third quarter on a failed fourth down then an interception. EMF used those two mistakes to score 14 points and go up 28-18 with 11:55 remaining in the game.

But the Bobcats then gave it away on each of the next three drives and saw the Mustangs put up 24 points in just 8:55 and recover an onside kick to seal the victory.

EMF starting quarterback Breckan Schulter nearly did it all on his own with 266 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Still, it wasn’t enough to overcome two fumbles and an interception over the final 12 minutes.

Those giveaways set up Stanton in EMF territory twice. After each of the three turnovers, it was Mustang quarterback Barrett Wilke capitalizing on runs of seven and 32 then a 26-yard pass to Mitchell Hupp. The Mustangs also scored the conversion following each touchdown and quickly turned a 10-point deficit into a 14-point lead.

Schulter finally put an end to the Stanton scoring streak when he capped a six-play drive that covered 65 yards on a three-yard run with 1:53 left in the game. His run for the conversion made it a six-point game with just under two minutes remaining.

EMF never got the ball back after a failed onside try then a fourth-and-2 sneak by Wilke that allowed Stanton to kneel out the clock.

Wilke, Hupp and Jordan Claussen each had first-half touchdowns for the Mustangs who led 6-0, 12-8 and 18-14. Wilke opened the scoring on a 45-yard rushing touchdown on the first drive of the game. Hupp hauled in an 18-yard reception at 6:35 of the first quarter. Clausen caught Wilke’s second touchdown pass of the afternoon on a 56-yard connection with 36 seconds in the half.

EMF answered each time, taking leads of 8-6 and 14-12 on runs of 23 and 58 by Schulter. He also had the conversion run following his first touchdown. The Bobcats capitalized on a failed fourth-and-7 at the Mustangs’ 29 early in the third quarter and were in the end zone four plays later on a Schluter three-yard run. An interception on the next Stanton drive put EMF near midfield and ended with another Schluter score five plays later on a 26-yard run for a 28-18 lead.

The Mustangs cut into the deficit right away with a 10-play drive that covered 65 yards then intercepted a pass on the very first play of the next Bobcat possession and forced a fumble on the second play of the possession after that.

They failed to capitalize on the fumble because of a failed fourth-and-12 but recovered another fumble on the very first play of the next EMF drive and turned it into points just about two minutes later.

The Bobcats had the ball five times in the fourth quarter, bookended the final frame with touchdowns but had just four plays and three turnovers on the three other drives.

Both teams were seeking their first football championship. Stanton completed a perfect 13-0 season and won its first title after falling 21-6 to North Platte St. Pat’s in 2004. EMF ends 11-2. Exeter-Milligan won titles in 2013 and 2014 and was the 2012 runner-up. Friend combined to make it a three-school athletic department in 2018.

Class D-2: Cox has historic day leading Sandhills/Thedford to first championship

No one has done it more than Sandhills/Thedford quarterback Kyle Cox. Cox carried it 65 times during a 50-12 Class D-2 championship win over Wynot on Monday afternoon at Memorial Stadium. Those many touches set a new Nebraska record.

The argument could also be made that while no one has done it more, no one has done it better. Cox turned 65 carries into 486 yards and six touchdowns. He had all but three of the Knights’ 68 rushing attempts and handled it on all but three of the 70 snaps.

He came up 10 yards short of setting the all-time single-game rushing record set by Jaylin Bradley in 2016 but set a new D-2 record by 35 yards and would have set the record in every other classification except for Class A.

For the playoffs, Cox had 1,436 total rushing yards and scored 24 touchdowns in five games. He finishes the year with exactly 2,900 rushing yards on 347 attempts and 55 touchdowns.

Initially, it looked like a matchup of two of the best quarterbacks in Class D-2. Wynot’s Dylan Heine came in with his own reputation for big-time playmaking following a regular season that included over 2,300 yards of offense and 30 touchdowns. But Heine was held to just 50% throwing on 34 passes, and the Blue Devil rushing attack was ground to a halt by the Knights’ defense. Wynot averaged just 2.8 yards per carry and had just 67 total rushing yards.

Wynot took the opening kickoff and marched 65 yards in 15 plays for a 6-0 lead when Heine found Carson Wieseler for a six-yard touchdown pass. But the Blue Devils came up empty on the next five drives and didn’t find the end zone again until they were down 28-6 with 4:54 remaining in the third. Wynot was stopped on downs at the Sandhills/Thedford 28 on its second possession of the game then went three-and-out on the next four drives while picking up just 21 yards.

Meanwhile, the Knights answered the Blue Devils’ opening scoring drive with a 12-yard Cox run for a 6-6 tie and ended the next two possessions with Cox runs of eight and six for a 22-6 lead with 4:45 left in the first half.

Sandhills/Thedford extended the lead on a 14-yard Cox run to cap an eight-play drive to start the third quarter with a 28-6 lead. Wynot finally answered when it put together its own drive of eight plays and 48 yards on a five-yard run by Kasen Koch.

Still, with Cox proving to be unstoppable, it was only a momentary glimmer of hope for the Blue Devils. The Knights’ QB led three more scoring drives of seven plays, nine plays and 11 plays and scored two more touchdowns. The defense did its part by stopping the Blue Devils at the 19 late in the third and picking off a pass to end the only Wynot possession of the fourth.

Friday - Six-Man: Arbuthnot’s block makes Mustangs Six-Man champions 

Ryan Arbuthnot already had a memorable career on both sides of the ball at Sumner-Eddyville-Miller. But for as many plays as he’s made over the past four seasons, it was one in Friday night’s championship that will elevate him to legend status.

In one of the most hard-fought, defensive battles in six-man title game history, it was Arbuthnot’s PAT block with 44 seconds left in the game that earned SEM a 21-20 win over Hay Springs and its first football title in school history.

Arbuthnot came into the contest with over 700 career receiving yards and 175 tackles but has never had a moment bigger than his block on a two-point kick. It came after Hay Springs capped an eight-play drive that looked like it had put the Hawks on the brink of also becoming a first-time football champion.

It was the lowest-scoring six-man championship game since Cedar Rapids beat Lewellen 32-6 in 1992 and the second-lowest total in six-man title history since that same game 31 years ago.

The two teams combined for 540 yards, both averaged over five yards per play and only committed two total turnovers in 93 snaps. But while those numbers would typically mean more than 41 total points, both sides went 4 for 17 on third and fourth down.

Hay Springs quarterback Gage Mintken led all players with 193 yards rushing and three touchdowns to go with 62 yards through the air on 6 of 12 passing with an interception. He led his team on an eight-play drive that covered 54 yards in 3:26 following SEM’s go-ahead touchdown with 4:12 remaining. Mintken dashed 21 yards on fourth-and-1 and set up the game-deciding kick moments later.

In six-man, conversions and kicks are scored the opposite of eight and 11-man. Trying the kick meant Hay Springs was looking to take a lead 22-21. Arbuthnot denied those hopes and gave SEM its second trophy in two weeks following a volleyball championship over Amherst.

Maddox Jones rushed 23 times for 161 yards and two scores while quarterback Chance Daake went 7 for 10 with 114 yards and a touchdown to lead the Mustangs. Cohen Rohde caught four of those passes for 80 yards and a touchdown.

The two teams alternated the scoring starting with Daake’s 42-yard pass to Rohde with 4:25 left in the first half. Bode Martin hit the kick for an 8-0 advantage. A fumble and a fourth-down stop kept the score that way into the break.

Mintken put Hay Springs on the board with its first points on a 50-yard run the second play of the second half. In what would eventually become foreshadowing, Arbuthnot blocked the kick and preserved an 8-6 lead for SEM.

The Mustangs answered immediately on their first second-half play from scrimmage and took a 14-6 lead on Jones’ 50-yard run. The ensuing kick missed.

Suddenly, after a first half full of defense, offenses were setting the tone. The Hawks added to the scoring party on Mintken’s second touchdown run when he scored on a three-yard run following a 38-yard scamper just a few plays earlier. Hunter McDonald’s two-point kick tied it 14-14 with 5:25 left in the third.

It stayed that way until Jones got loose for a 30-yard touchdown run then caught the one-point conversion pass for a 21-14 SEM lead. Mintken and Hay Springs converted twice on fourth down on the ensuing possession, the final time on the 21-yard run that came before Arbuthnot’s game-winning block.

Jones recovered an onside kick and SEM knelt it three times for the win. Hay Springs could only stop the clock twice because of a timeout before a third-and-10 on the final scoring drive.

-- Nathan Charles 

Sandhills/Thedford quarterback Kyle Cox stops for a photo after the Class D-2 championship win for the Knights. Cox carried it a state-record 65 times for 486 yards and six touchdowns during the Sandhills/Thedford win over Wynot. Photo by @1000ydguy on X (Twitter).