Lusk Herald

The NCHS football team won their final regular season game with a 60-6 thrashing of Upton on senior night at Fullmer Stadium last Friday. Despite the Tigers big win, Southeast defeated Lingle-Ft. Laramie 27-11 to clinch a tie for the east division, sending Lusk on the road in the first round of the 1A 11-man playoffs with a 6-2 record.

NCHS quarterback Lance Hladky got the scoreboard rolling early with a 60-yard touchdown run just three minutes into the game. Zach Gill kicked the first of six successful PATs on the night and Lusk was ahead 7-0. Gill scored the first of his three touchdowns as the first quarter neared its end with a 36-yard romp. He kicked the point-after and the lead was 14-0.

The Tigers put the game out of reach before halftime, erupting for 27 points and a 41-0 halftime lead. Ace Thurston scored from 22 yards away, Hladky from 18, Derek Smith took an interception 21 yards into the endzone, and Gill added his second score of the night. Gill was 3-4 kicking the point-after attempts. This all happened in about eight minutes of the second quarter, while the Upton offense had just 33 yards rushing and 51 yards in the air in the entire first half. This was much better than their second half offense, which only gained 24 yards total.

The junior varsity had already started filtering into the game but everyone in uniform played both quarters of the second half. Jerit DeGering scored early in the third period and Gill’s kick was good for a 48-0 lead. Gill intercepted his second Bobcat pass of the game and raced 30 yards down the visitor sideline for the touchdown. He missed just his second point-after of the game but the lead was 54-0 after three quarters.

Upton scored its only points of the game halfway through the final quarter when NCHS freshman Kevin Christianson, in his first varsity action at quarterback, mishandled the snap. The Bobcats picked it up and went 48 yards for the score. Hladky got his hands on the point-after attempt for a 54-6 lead.

Derek Smith closed the Tiger scoring with his second interception return, this one a weaving 55-yard event with barely a minute left on the clock. Christianson was stopped on the two-point conversion, but the final ended up 60-6.

NCHS stats: Passing- Hladky 0 comp/3 atts. Rushing- Hladky 5 atts/95 yds 2 TD, Gill 7/72 2 TD, DeGering 10/70 TD, Smith 6/58, Ryan Prather 4/46, Thurston 3/38 TD, Colter Larson 5/6, Christianson 4/1. Kicking- Gill 6/8 PAT. Defensive points-Smith 21, Gill 20, Thurston 18, Hladky 14, Thomas Mason 6, Michael Lindberg 4, Prather 3, Andrew Niziol 3, Jordan Reed 3, Trent Johnson 2, Beau Greenough 2, Weldon Tschacher 2, Taylor Kinchen 2, Harley Cushman 1.

Team stats: NCHS- Passing 0/3, Rushing 46/386, First downs 11, 2 penalties/35 yds.

UPTON- Passing 9/24 71 yds, 4 INT, Rushing 16/33, first downs 4, 5 penalties/30 yds.

Next up is a road trip to Pavillion, home of the 7-1 Wind River Cougars for a quarterfinal matchup. Lusk hosted WR two years ago in a quarterfinal game won 7-0 by the Tigers, but this team is quite a bit different that that team was. “We’re definitely going to see a team that throws the ball... a lot, and they have some real big linemen,” said head coach Matt VandeBossche. “I sure would have liked at least one home playoff game but we kind of have ourselves to blame for that. But like I told the kids, if we want to get to where we want to go, then it doesn’t matter when or where we do it, we still have to beat the best.” Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday evening.

For the complete article see the 10-28-2009 issue.

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