Bluejays Fight Hard and Take Second
by Autumn Lambrecht
On Tuesday, November 22, the Pierce Bluejays received the chance to play on Memorial Field in Lincoln against the Columbus Lakeview Vikings for the 2021 state football title, but fell short of the win, losing 37-25.
For the quarter of the championship game, the Bluejays were able to hold down the Vikings offense to only scoring three points, but the Bluejays were not able to put up any points, ending the first quarter 3-0.
The second quarter was stronger for the Bluejays, after quarterback Abram Scholting connected with Michael Kruntorad. The Lakeview Vikings added 21 points to the board, and the first half ended 24-6 in favor of the Vikings.
Coming back from half, the Bluejays had a much stronger start to the third quarter. The Pierce Bluejays scored 13 points, with touchdowns from Scholting and Matthew Christensen with a good PAT from Keenan Valverde, and limited the Lakeview Vikings to only seven. The Bluejay defense was working hard together and was able to push back the Vikings and weaken their offense. The third quarter ended with the score 31-19.
Senior Matthew Christensen comments that he’s, “Proud of our guys for getting there. Lakeview had things going their way, and we just didn’t. It wasn’t our day, but we had an amazing season, and I wouldn’t trade any of my boys for the world.”
With one more quarter left, things were starting to look up for the Bluejays. After Kruntorad scored another touchdown, the Bluejays needed one more touchdown to tie the game and hopefully win during overtime. After tough efforts, the Lakeview Vikings found a hole and were able to score, ending the state championship game 37-25.
Head coach Mark Brahmer wraps up the season saying,”Obviously we are disappointed with the final outcome of the game, but I am very proud of our young men and the progress they made throughout the season. We dealt with quite a few injuries during the season, so to overcome those and still have a successful season was gratifying. Our boys displayed a tremendous amount of mental toughness and perseverance to be able to achieve at a very high level. The coaches and I are privileged to have had the opportunity to coach this team, and we hope our community is proud of the boys.”
Pierce ends the season as the Class C1 state runners-up and a 10-3 record.
