The Wolves faced off against the Bearcats on November 3, at 4:00pm. Winning this game would take the Wolves farther than any football team has gone in school history. The coin toss went to the Wolves, so they elected to kick, while the Bearcats were ready to return.
The first half kick to the Bearcats was a touchback. Once the Bearcats sent their offensive unit on, they went straight to the run game, as they have done all season. Unfortunately for them, the Wolves have one of the best rushing defenses in Class B, so they stopped them immediately and forced a quick three and out.
With the possession switching so quickly, the Wolves offense had all the momentum, so they advanced the ball up field with ease. At the 15 yard line, Coach Stanley of the Wolves decided to run a jet sweep to sophomore receiver Jase Reynolds. This play resulted in a touchdown, giving the Wolves the early lead.
The second drive for the Bearcats was no different than the first. With the possession changing once again, the Wolves offense thought they could get something going, but they were also forced to punt immediately. Loftin’s punt was muffed by the Bearcats and Jase Reynolds recovered it, putting the offense back on the field for the Wolves at the 6 yard line. In just a few plays, senior quarterback Johnny Ferguson took it himself and scored rushing touchdown for the Wolves, making it a 14-0 lead to end the first quarter
After a forced punt, the Wolves slowly marched down the field. Junior running back Jett Tingelhoff ran it in from the 2 yard line, extending the lead even further.
Once again the Wolves offense took the field, but sophomore running back Alex Uchtman fumbled the ball, giving the Bearcats the ball at midfield. With the momentum change, the Bearcats marched down the field, and got into field goal range, where their kicker knocked down a 25+ yard field goal, making the score 21-3 going into the second half.
The start of the third quarter was just like the last drive for the Wolves, they couldn’t get anything going, so they had to punt. With the Bearcats getting the ball after they got three points, they needed to do something this drive and they did. Scottsbluff ran the ball to perfection, resulting in a touchdown of their own, reducing the lead to eleven.
After the score by the Bearcats, they decided to do an onside kick, but it was not successful, giving the Wolves the ball on the Bearcats side of the field. With the Wolves having great field position, and nothing to lose, Ferguson decided to air it out to Chase Loftin. Loftin caught the ball by Ferguson in the end-zone. This gave the Wolves a spurt of momentum and a safer cushion heading into the fourth quarter.
The final quarter started off with the Wolves getting the ball back off of a failed fourth down conversion by the Bearcats. On this drive, Ferguson took it himself once again, and exploded out of the backfield, getting into the end zone, but the referees called a holding penalty on senior Ty Kunz. With Ferguson getting his big play called back, he decided to make another one, but this time he threw the ball to Jase Reynolds, who walked it into the end-zone.
The Elkhorn North defense got a little too comfortable, and the Bearcats took advantage of that. With the Bearcats being such a run dominant team, they decided to air it out. Sophomore quarterback Nate Kelley of the Bearcats threw a 30 yard dot of his own, cutting the lead once again. Unfortunately, the Bearcats two point conversion didn’t go so smooth, so the lead only got cut to nineteen.
With the Bearcats still having hope to win this game, they decide to go for another onside kick, but it wasn’t successful. With this being the last drive of the game, the Wolves kneel it, giving them the win over the Bearcats 35-16.
With this win, the Wolves will advance to the 2023 Class B State Semifinals versus the Bennington Badgers. These two teams have already faced off this year, with Bennington winning 14-0. This Wolves football team has now gone further than past years.
