Bluejay Football
Jays Shocked the Vikings in a Thriller
By Kolten Wragge
The Bluejays had one of the most exciting games in program history. On Friday, September 25, the Pierce Bluejays took on the Columbus Lakeview Vikings, the NebPreps statewide game of the week, in a game that shaped up to be a great one.
In the first quarter of the game, the Jays allowed the Vikings to score seven points; however, the Jays answered by going up 12-7 entering the second quarter.
In the second quarter, the score of the game fell to 25-18, and the Jays were trailing going into the half.
Head coach Tyler Legate pumped up the team during halftime.
“Let's go take it play by play and see how it will shake out in the end,” Legate said.
In the third quarter, the Jays were unsuccessful at breaking through, and the Vikings extended their lead to 35-25.
In the eventful fourth quarter, the Jays capitalized on a 4th and 15 situation where sophomore Lucas Weber caught a passing touchdown for 93 yards, putting the Jays up 36-35. In the last play of the game, with less than a minute remaining, Lakeview launched a ball to Nash Henk, which senior Gavin Lubischer intercepted to shut down their offensive drive, winning the Bluejays the game.
Weber, the man who said to have won the Jays the football game, was very excited about how things played out.
“It was the best feeling of my life; I was so excited, I was speechless. I guess all the hard work in practice paid off; I wasn’t the main look on the play, but I ran it as hard as I could,” Weber said.
Quarterback Brody Scholting ended the night with 212 passing yards and 14 carries for 173 rushing yards. Lubischer led the team in receptions with four for 48 yards. Konnar Jones had 14 carries as well for 155 yards.
On defense, Kyle Kuehler and Ethan Claussen each had six tackles, while Lakin Prince had five. Prince also had three sacks for the Bluejays.
After extending their record to 5-0, wish the Bluejays the best of luck as they take on Norfolk Catholic on Thursday, October 1.
The Bluejays Battle to the End
by Eleanor Bauermeister
Overcoming a difficult battle against a rival school, the Bluejays proved victorious against Battle Creek on Monday, September 21, during a JV football game.
The final score of the game ended up being 26-18 in the Bluejays’ favor.
“The kids have done a really good job in practice, like learning their schemes and knowing where they are going,” JV coach Kaleb Anderson said.
Each quarter was a battle between the teams, but Pierce still ended up being the top team at the end of the game. The score of the first quarter was a close one, with Pierce trailing 7-6. In the second quarter, the game took a turn in favor of the Bluejays, with the score being 13-6. Rolling into the third quarter, the Bluejays continued to build and took the score up to 20-12. To finish off the game, the Bluejays scored again and finished off with a score of 26-18.
“We came out of the game right away, ready to play,” sophomore Kiegan Werner said.
Some highlights of the game included Keegan Holan scoring the team’s first touchdown of the game, as well as Werner, who scored a 60-yard touchdown.
Make sure to catch the team in action for their next game at home versus Norfolk Catholic at 5 p.m. on Monday, October 5.
