Bluejay Football
Pierce Victorious Win Against Concordia
By Natasha Zamora
The Pierce Bluejays took the field playing an astonishing game, winning against Omaha Concordia, ending it 47-24 on Friday, September 11.
Pierce marched onto their home field to start the first quarter with a tie against Omaha Concordia, leaving the score 7-7.
“We stayed physical, and the whole game we stayed together, even though we faced a little bit of adversity there in the first half,” Konnar Jones, a running back for the Bluejays said.
In the second quarter, the Bluejays pushed through. Following an interception by Gavin Lubischer, Jones ran the ball back for a touchdown. The Mustangs answered right back before the end of the second quarter, scoring a touchdown to narrow the gap. Pierce took the lead 21-14.
“Definitely right after halftime, I could definitely feel our offense was kind of figuring things out, and we’re definitely blocking everything better after half. And, you know Konnar Jones had some good, really long touchdown runs; Baiden scored. I think the team just definitely felt a shift of momentum after halftime,” Pierce cornerback and wide receiver Gavin Lubisher said.
In the third quarter, Pierce extended the lead when quarterback Brody Scholting threw a touchdown pass to Ethan Nordby giving Bluejays the lead 28-17 at the end of the third quarter.
In the final quarter, Pierce broke a challenging fight by scoring three consecutive touchdowns. Scholting took the game to whole another level by making the final touchdown. The Pierce Bluejays dominated the Mustangs with the 47-24 victory.
“Got some things to work on, maintaining our kickouts, and hitting holes directly. But, it was a good game overall,” Jones says.
As Pierce’s season continues after a 3-0 record, the Bluejays travel to Arlington on Friday, September 18.
Bluejays Fall Short of a Victory
By Payton Ebmeier
Although they gained momentum late, the Bluejays fell short of the Hartington Cedar Catholic Trojans in junior varsity football on Sept. 14.
The junior varsity football team faced major trials throughout the game. By the end of the first quarter, the scoreboard read 16-0 in the Trojans’ favor. After another 12 minutes, the whistle blew to signal the halfway point of the game; the score was 32-0, again in the Trojans' favor.
“The boys came out slow in the first half and shot themselves in the foot many times. In the second half we were a lot more physical and played better football. Hartington is always a physical team, and we started to match that intensity as the game went on,” junior varsity coach Kaleb Anderson said.
A new sense of pride was instilled in the boys because they managed to secure a touchdown and the point after with 15 seconds left in the third quarter.
However, the third quarter surge was not enough to secure the Bluejays a win against the Trojans, as the final score was 39-7.
“The thing that relit the spark in the game was that our coaches encouraged us to keep fighting even after we were losing the game,” outside linebacker Kiegan Werner stated.
Make sure to catch their next home game against Norfolk Catholic on Monday, October 5.
Junior Varsity Doubles Down on Scotus
By Payton Ebmeier
The junior varsity football team kept fans on the edge of their seats on Tuesday, September 9, battling through multiple ties and a double overtime against Columbus Scotus.
“We have a physical game coming up, which will be one of our toughest games we will have throughout the season. We have grown from our first game to our second, so if we stay mentally locked in during team time at practice, we will do just fine the rest of the season,” sophomore outside linebacker Wynn Pfeil commented.
The boys dominated early over Scotus with the board reading 21-6 during halftime. Although the momentum began to drag during the third quarter, the team stayed resilient. By the end of the fourth quarter, the game was locked at 34 each.
With a winner still undecided after the first overtime, the game went into double overtime. The final moment came when the Bluejay defense stepped up to block a Shamrock 2-point conversion, locking in the 42-40 win.
“I thought overall the team improved a lot between last Monday and this week. There is still lots to improve on, but it was good to see the boys take a step in the right direction and get better. We had some really good individual performances, but as a whole I felt the team played harder. The offense was better, but we still have a lot of work to do on the defensive side. We appreciate all the parents and community who came out to support the boys,” Grant Doerr, JV coach, commented.
Mark your calendars for Monday, September 21, because the junior varsity team travels to compete against the Battle Creek Braves.
