Photos/Sandra Johnson

A hard-fought win in Hulett Friday afternoon has set up the Lusk football team with an early-season showdown against rival Southeast this Friday night in Yoder. The Cyclones are the top-ranked team in class 1A 11-man, while NCHS is ranked second, according to Wyopreps.com.

At Hulett Friday afternoon, Lusk earned a 24-10 win over a Hulett team that should still be around when the playoff dust settles in a couple months. Throughout the first half there was a feeling out process, as the teams had never played before and the players were mostly unfamiliar with each other. Each team had their chances to score but was either stopped by the other or a penalty nullified a drive.

The only score of the first half came after Derek Smith fell on a loose ball on the Hulett 28-yard line. Quarterback Lance Hladky wasted no time in finding Trent Johnson in the endzone. Johnson couldn’t keep his feet under him but was able to keep hold of the ball for the 28-yard touchdown pass and 6-0 NCHS lead. The point-after attempt was no good but the Tigers led with just 20 seconds left before the halftime break.

The game was a defensive struggle so far, as NCHS had only 63 rushing yards and Hulett 59. Hladky was 6-9 passing for 99 yards in the first half to the Red Devils’ 0-5.

The home team wasted little time in the third quarter as quarterback Dylan Bush connected with Leland Pfeifer for a 36-yard pass before being tackled inside the Tigers 20. Bush scored from six yards out a few minutes later and Ryne Baier kicked the point after for the 7-6 Hulett lead.

Jerit DeGering had trouble handling the ensuing kickoff and the Red Devils recovered on the 19-yard line. The Tiger defense came up with three big stops before Baier kicked a 24-yard field goal, extending the lead to 10-6.

Instead of folding up, NCHS took the ball and marched downfield before Hladky heaved a pass downfield where Ryan Prather made the catch just behind a Red Devil defender. Prather caught the ball on the five and made his way into the endzone for the touchdown. Ace Thurston was stopped on the two-point attempt but NCHS led 12-10 with under a minute left to go in the third period.

Hulett coughed the ball up just seventeen seconds later as Smith stepped in front of a Red Devil pass and returned it 13 yards to the Hulett 16-yard line. Upon the quarter change and march inside the five-yard line, Smith was rewarded with his first touchdown of the season as he plunged in from a yard away. DeGering’s two-point attempt was stuffed but the Tigers lead was 18-10.

After another defensive stop, NCHS scored one last time as Thurston scored his first touchdown of the season with three and a half minutes to go. The two-point pass attempt by Hladky fell short but the lead was 24-10.

Hulett gave it one last shot as Bush took the kickoff 74 yards down to the Tiger seven. However, the Red Devils coughed up the ball and any chance at a comeback.

“It would have been very easy for our kids to tuck their tails and think they were getting outmanned and outplayed,” said head coach Matt VandBossche. “But they stepped up at the end of that third quarter and played great Tiger football.”

As mentioned above, the win sets up a showdown with the archrival Southeast Cyclones Friday night at their place. The Cyclones have won three straight state championships and have beaten the Tigers five times in six trips to Goshen County since 2000, yet VandeBossche knows what it will take to win. “They’re big and have some good, fast skill players. I think we’ll match up ok with them but it will come down to who limits their mistakes and plays all four quarters.” Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

NCHS stats: passing Hladky 5 comp/10 att, 123 yds, 2TDs. Johnson 1/1, 11 yds. Rushing DeGering 15 atts/50 yds. Hladky 9/40. Smith 10/29, TD. Johnson 2/20. Thurston 4/20, TD. Gill 4/7. Receiving Johnson 3 catches/72 yds, TD. Prather 2/51, TD, Hladky 1/11. Kicking Gill 0/1 PAT. Defensive points: Thurston 12, Smith 9, Gill 8, Andrew Niziol 7, Hladky 6, DeGering 6, Johnson 4, Jake Spivey 3, Jordan Reed 3, Weldon Tschacher 2, Thomas Mason 2, Prather 1, Taylor Kinchen 1.

Team stats: NCHS: passing 6/11, 134, 2 TDs. Rushing 44 atts/166 yds, 2 TDs. Receiving 6 catches/134 yds, 2 TDs. First downs 6. Penalties 8/38 yds.

HULETT: passing 2/12, 46 yds, 1 INT. rushing 29/99, TD. Receiving 2/46. First downs 4. Penalties 6/35.

Monday night the Tiger JV defeated Southeast 8-6 in Lusk.



For the complete article see the 09-16-2009 issue.

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