Sports

Sandy Creek’s boys basketball team pulled off a big feat Thursday, Jan. 27 in action against their Clay County rival Sutton. The Cougars notched a win in the annual regular-season clash, as a trio of double-figure scorers, led by junior Drake Lally, earned Sandy Creek a 48-31 win to improve to 10-7 this year, while the Mustangs fell to 3-14 with the loss.

Thursday’s win marked the first time since Jan. 29, 2009, during the 2008-09 basketball season that Sandy Creek was able to chalk up a win against Sutton. Back then, Sandy Creek earned a 48-41 win. The victory for the Cougars also gave their head coach, Cole Wiseman, a 2013 Sutton graduate, his first win over his alma mater.

The 12 season drought for the Cougars included 15 straight losses, with two losses coming in the 2011-12, 2014-15, and the 2015-16 seasons.

The Cougars, behind a 14-9 first-quarter run and a 12-10 second-quarter edge claimed a 26-19 first-half lead. Sandy Creek then extended their

Freshman Rowan Jarosik and senior Jacob Hagemeier proved to be the lone two wrestlers entered in the Southern Nebraska Conference wrestling meet Saturday, Jan. 29 at Fillmore Central High School.

Jarosik came away from the action with a third-place finish in the 113-pound weight class, while Hagemeier fell short of medal contention for the Red Raiders in the 160-pound class.

Jarosik, after a quarterfinal round bye, was pinned in his semifinal round bout with Keaton Kloke of David City, as Kloke gained the win in 2:39. Jarosik battled back in the consolation brackets to pin Av

Jarosik battled back in the consolation brackets to pin Avery Drohman of Thayer Central in 1:30 before gaining a 1:52 pinfall win over Miford’s Cooper Rea, to place third overall and account for South Central’s 12 team points in the meet.

Hagemeier fell short of a win in his weight class, falling to Carter Springer of Milford and to Izzic Paling of Fillmore Central.

The Sandy Creek boys basketball team has found their way through four straight wins after slipping past the Blue Hill Bobcats and Thayer Central Titans this past week, beating the Bobcats 56-51 and the Titans, 42-30.

The wins improve Sandy Creek to 9-6, while earning the third seed in the upcoming Southern Nebraska Conference tournament.

The five-point win over Blue Hill came with plenty of tense moments, as the two teams battled to a 24-24 tie at halftime before the Cougars would shake loose from the Bobcats in the second half, outscoring Blue Hill 15-12 in the third quarter and 17-15 in the fourth to claim the win. Seniors Micah Biltoft and

Seniors Micah Biltoft and Josh Shaw combined for 36 points, as Biltoft rattled the Bobcats for 22, while Shaw hit for 14.

Sandy Creek shot 42.6-percent from the floor in the win, connecting on 23 of 54 total shots, while making half of their foul shots, sinking four of eight in the win.

It wasn’t a week for the faint of heart for the Sutton Fillies, but despite the challenges that faced the Fillies, Sutton kept it’s winning streak alive and well as a 52-48 win over Ravenna and a 41-40 win over Fairbury improved the Fillies’ record to 13-3, and helped secure the top seed in the upcoming Southern Nebraska Conference tournament.

The home clash with Ravenna pitted the then 11-3 Fillies with the 12-2 Bluejays.

A huge 11-4 first-quarter run and a strong 18-11 third-quarter run helped the Fillies steer clear of the upset-minded Bluejays.

Sutton led 26-18 at the half, then with the 18-11 third-quarter run, Sutton headed into the fourth quarter with a 44-29 lead.

Ravenna whittled away at the 15-point lead, outscoring Sutton 19-8 to come up four points shy of the come-from-behind win.

Sandy Creek senior Josh Shaw will be a part of a first-ever scenario among Clay County football players, following his selection to play in the 64th Annual Nebraska Shrine Bowl Sunday, Jan. 23. Shaw will be a part of the first-ever father-son combination from Clay County to play in the game, set to be played on Foster Field inside the Ron and Carol Cope Stadium at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

Shaw’s father, Brian, was honored as a Shrine Bowl selection in 1995. This year’s game will be held on June 4, 2022, with kickoff set for 6 p.m. in Kearney.

Shaw led Sandy Creek in total tackles during each of the past three seasons, gaining 68 this past season, 69 as a junior, and 77 as a sophomore, while being fifth on the team with 45 during his freshman year. In all, Shaw had 259 career tackles, including 114 solo tackles during his Cougar career.

Past Shrine Bowl participants from Clay County include:

HARVARD: Ryan Roy, 1963.

Freshman Rowan Jarosik continued to make a strong run during the 2021-22 wrestling season, as the Red Raiders’ 113-pound grappler ran his season record to 27-9 with a second-place finish at the Cross County/Osceola Bob Orsborn Classic held at Cross County High School Saturday, Jan. 15.

Jarosik earned four straight wins in the meet, pinning his way to the finals.

The freshman opened with a 53-second pin over Kalan Lane of Cross County/Osceola, before pinning Joe Archer of Archbishop Bergan.

Once in bracket wrestling, Jarosik pinned Morgan Bunner of Clarkson/Leigh in 1:22 to advance to the semifinal round where he would pin state-rated Jacob McGee of Logan View in 6:49.

In the title bout, another state-ranked opponent in Pedro Hernandez of Wilber-Clatonia handed Jarosik an 8-0 defeat to lay claim to the 113-pound weight class.

The Sutton Fillies ran their season record to 11-3 this past week, as the Fillies stretched their current winning streak to six games with a 66-27 thrashing of Wood River and a 48-35 Southern Nebraska Conference win over Thayer Central.

Sutton struck early and often in the Jan. 13 39-point win over the Eagles.

Sutton opened with a 15-2 first quarter run, then added a 26-13 second quarter surge to take a 41-15 halftime lead.

In the second half, Sutton combined for a 25-12 scoring run to claim the 66-27 win.

The Fillies shot at a hot clip of 62.8-percent from the floor, making 27 of 43 shots. In the shooting effort, Sutton was an impressive 8-14 from three-point range (57.1%).

Defensively, Sutton held Wood River to 23.1-percent shooting, as the Eagles hit on nine of 39 total shots.

Kate Griess hit for 17 points to pace Sutton individually, while Alivia Huxoll and Xytlaly Bautista added 16 and 12 points, respectively.

The Sandy Creek and Harvard girls basketball teams, for the second straight season, opened the January portion of their respective season facing off against each other, Tuesday, Jan. 4, with the Cougars gained their third win of the season, taking a 58-31 decision, leaving the Harvard girls still searching for their first victory of the season.

Sandy Creek opened play with a 16-6 first quarter advantage and remained in front by the 10-point margin at halftime, as both teams tallied nine points to set the game at a 25-15 Cougar lead.

As the two teams took to the floor in Sandy Creek after the break, the Cougars wrapped up the third period on a 21-10 run to give Sandy Creek a 46-25 lead going into the final eight minutes.

The Cougars’ 12-6 run in the fourth produced the 58-31 win, as Sandy Creek improved to 3-7, while Harvard fell to 0-10.

The Sutton Fillies ran their current winning streak to four straight games this past week, as the Fillies gained a 38-25 win over Cross County Jan. 6, before rolling past Centennial in Southern Nebraska Conference play, beating the Broncos 55-28 Jan. 7.

The two home victories for Sutton pushed their season record to 9-3.

The 13-point win over Cross County this past Thursday would see Xytlaly Bautista pace the Sutton offense with 11 points, while Alivia Huxoll added eight.

Sutton and Cross County played to an 18-15 halftime score, with Sutton adding to their three-point halftime lead in the third quarter, outscoring the Cougars 15-6 in the third to claim a 33-21 lead heading into the fourth period.

A low scoring 5-4 edge for Sutton gained the Fillies the 38-25 win.

Sutton shot at a 38.5 percent clip, making 15 of 39 total shots.

Holiday tournament action at Grand Island Central Catholic proved to be an up and down pair of games for the Sutton Fillies, as an opening-round 41-31 loss to St. Mary’s of O’Neill led the Fillies to the consolation game of the tournament, Tuesday, Dec. 28 and Wednesday, Dec. 29.

In the clash for third place, Sutton took out their frustrations of the 10-point loss to the Cardinals on the Osceola girls, beating the Bulldogs in dominant fashion, 45-17.

The loss to the Cardinals in the opener would see the Fillies struggle shooting the ball from the floor, as Sutton shot just 27.3 percent, making 12 of 44 total shots. From three-point range, Sutton hit on just one of 16 shots (6.3%).

In contrast, St. Mary’s hit at a 38.9 percent rate, sinking 14 of 36 total shots, including a 5-12 outing from three point range (41.7%).