Sports

The big county battle between Sutton and Sandy Creek was dashed last Friday night, with the Cougars program reporting a COVID-19 case, so both teams missed out on the big bout between each other.

However, the Mustangs and Cougars will once again return to action Friday night. The Mustangs were to play at Superior Friday, but Covid-19 has struck the Wildcats, so now Sutton will travel to Ord to take on the 6-0 Chanticleers, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. The Cougars will host the Cardinals of Doniphan-Trumbull, also at 7 p.m.

Sutton heads to Ord to take on the Chats, with a 4-1 record, while currently standing in a two-way tie for 11th place with Norfolk Catholic in the Class C-2 playoff point standings, as both teams have 41.000 points.

The Twin Valley Conference Cross Country meet, hosted by Deshler at Hebron, proved a successful meet for South Central Unified and Harvard runners, with Brayton Jarosik placing first for the boys, and another seven placing in the top 15 spots.

Jarosik came across the finish line in 17 minutes, 29 seconds, following closely by teammate Logan Menke, who finished in 18:09. Also competing for the SCUD boys were Theo Kathman, 13th, 20:48; Jacob Hagemeier, 14th, 20:57; Itzamna Diaz, 18th, 22:14; and Zach Brennfoerder, 24th, 25:44.

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A first quarter flurry of turnovers would set the tone during Friday night’s 50-14 road win over Silver Lake for the Harvard Cardinals.

Sophomore Drayden Whetstine-Jones had a field day with the Mustangs, causing two fumbles in the first two minutes of the D6-4 district bout for both teams.

The first recovery for Whetstine-Jones came just 40 seconds into the game, but would leave the Cardinals without points as the Cards would give up the ball on downs.

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Friday night’s opening C2-4 District game between the Sandy Creek Cougars and Superior Wildcats wasn’t one for the faint of heart, as the two Southern Nebraska Conference schools battled back and forth to the bitter end before the home-standing Cougars hit paydirt with 17.3 seconds left in the game to gain a 21- 20 homecoming win over the Wildcats.

The game proved a challenge that left fans, coaches and players alike a little on edge until senior Keifer Anderson secured the win after senior quarterback Rodney McDonald, referred to as “Runnin’ Rodney” by Sandy Creek announcer Greg Morris, gave the Cougars the one-point lead with a one-yard touchdown plunge.

The Sutton Mustangs, despite a sluggish start to their opening C2-4 District, took a firm hold on the district lead, as after a 7-3 first quarter, the Mustangs blanked the Hastings St. Cecilia Bluehawks 31-0 in the final three quarters to improve to 4-1 overall with the win. St. Cecilia, who has missed two games this season related to a COVID-19 quarantine, fell to 0-3.

The Mustangs hit paydirt first in the opening quarter, as junior Jesse Herndon scored on a 26-yard run to give Sutton a 7-0 lead following a Jackson Anderson extra-point kick.

The Bluehawks then posted a 22-yard field goal to trim the Sutton lead to four, but that was all the further St. Cecilia would get as far as scoring.

In the second frame, Herndon bulled his way into the end zone for the second of four scores he would post on the scoreboard Friday.

Herndon scored from 11 yards out to set the Mustangs up with a 14-3 lead.

Friday’s homecoming battle with the Warriors of Lincoln Lutheran was chocked full of twists and turns, as the Mustangs, for the second straight week, hit the field without all-state quarterback Cade Wiseman, who is rebounding from a shoulder injury.

The game itself would see the high octane passing attack of the Warriors lead them to an early 10-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. A 28-7 run by the Mustangs surged Sutton to a 34-17 lead by the end of the third period, before Lincoln Lutheran dug in and challenged the Mustang defense for 14 fourth-quarter points, as Sutton held on for a 42-31 win in the shootout to improve to 3-1 on the season.

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Fresh off a tough one point, 13-12 loss to Wilber-Clatonia, the Sutton Mustangs took to the road this past Friday night to get back in the saddle and get the 2020 season back on track, despite doing so without senior quarterback Cade Wiseman, who injured his left shoulder in the loss to the Wolverines.

Of the Mustangs’ five touchdowns in the win, three came from the Sutton offense and two from it’s stingy defense, which allowed just 109 total yard for the Jeffs. Fairbury could only muster up 68 yards on the ground and 41 through the air.

In contrast, Sutton’s offensive attack rolled up 232 rushing yards, while back-up quarterback Myles Jones connected on two of three passes for 19 yards.

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A trip to St. Edward High School this past Friday night was just what the doctor ordered for the Harvard Cardinals, as a pair of season-opening losses to two of the top six-man teams in Nebraska in the opening weeks had left Harvard with an 0-2 mark.

But an astonishing defensive effort by the Cardinals, which allowed only 12 total yards of offense by the Beavers, combined with a steady running game for Harvard, powered the Cardinals to the much needed 38-0 win going into the Cardinals bye week for the 2020 season.

The Cardinals wasted very little time in priming the offensive power, as after nearly four minutes of scoreless football, the Cardinals blistered the St. Edward defense for 24 points in the final 6:09 of the first period.

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The Sutton Fillies picked up two dominating wins in the first two rounds of the Friend Invite this past Saturday, Sept. 12, as the Fillies cruised past the host Bulldogs 25-8, 25-11 in the opener

Sutton then advanced to the championship finals with a big 25-16, 25-15 win over Lawrence-Nelson, before the Timberwolves of Exeter-Milligan handed the Fillies a second loss to the T-Wolves, falling in the finals 25-20, 25-16.

Sutton ran their season mark to 6-4 with the tournament run.

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The Bruning-Davenport/ Shickley girls got the better of two Clay County volleyball teams on Sept. 1, as the Eagles downed Sandy Creek 25-21, 26-24, in the opening match of a triangular with Sandy Creek and Sutton, before taking down Sutton 25-22, 25-23 in the second match of the night.

Sutton would then hold off a challenge from the Cougars in the nightcap, as the Fillies claimed a 25-17, 25-18 win, improving the Fillies to 1-2 on the season, with Sandy Creek falling to 0-3 after the action in the Cougars Den.

In the nightcap, Sutton used an 18-9 kill advantage over the Cougars to seal the Fillies’ first win of the season.

Kylie Baumert gained six of the Fillies’ 18 kills, with Lily McCroden gaining four and Kate Griess, three.

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