Less than 24 hours before they were set to get on the bus, the Wind River players found out that five of their teammates violated a team rule and would not travel to Lusk. It certainly was a shocker to the Wyopreps fifth-ranked Cougars who were looking to make a statement about their legitimacy.

It took only 17 seconds to prove to NCHS they were legit as Jereko Martinez took the handoff on the first play from scrimmage through a few Tigers for an 84 yard burst to the endzone. Morgan Miller kicked the PAT and just like that it was 7-0 Wind River. Lusk responded on the next drive when James Stone cut through the defense for a 60 yard touchdown run. Wyatt Stauffer found Teagan Tschacher on the conversion and NCHS led 8-7 at the 5:21 mark. As halftime approached and with the Tigers driving, Dylan Molzahn scrambled loose for a 23 yard touchdown run. The conversion was no good but Lusk led 14-7 after one period.

The play that may have changed the game came in the early minutes of the second, as Stauffer found the open arms of Cougar Kage Vogel, for what appeared to be a 46 yard pick-six the other way. In a stroke of Tiger luck there was a yellow flag way back on a blocking infraction, wiping away the touchdown. The Tigers capitalized a few minutes later when Stauffer found Tschacher for a 73 yard touchdown. Damien Molzahn was denied on the conversion but the red and white faithful felt pretty good with the 20-7 halftime lead.

Stauffer to Tschacher for another 34 yards in the air while the Molzahn brothers carried the ground game deep into the third. Dylan pushed the lead to 26-7 with his five yard run, and Stauffer easily converted the two-pointer.

As the final period began the visitors were not going to go away quietly. Martinez made the Tiger tacklers look bad again with a 53 yard TD run and Miller’s PAT cut the lead to 28-14 with almost eight minutes left. The Cougars quickly responded with an onside kick recovery near midfield. Two minutes later Vogel got his TD back with a four-yard run, and 5:31 still left. The conversion was no good but all of sudden the tide had changed in a bad way. Another WR onside attempt was futile and the Tigers effectively ran out the clock to preserve the 28-20 victory. “We’ve still got to get to the point where when we have a lead entering the fourth quarter, we’ve got to learn to put teams away,” said Head Coach Ryan Nelson. 

While the Tigers came out on top, and if those players (mostly linemen) had played, would the outcome have been different?-we’ll never know. Lusk soph Drake Lamp missed his second game in a row, and it could also be argued NCHS is better with him on the field healthy. “It could very well be a playoff matchup down the road, and things may be much different with those guys on the field,” added Nelson. “But Monday we begin to focus on Southeast.”

SCORE BY QUARTERS

WRHS 7 0 0 13  20

NCHS 14 6 8 0  28

TEAM STATS

WRHS: Passing 5/16, 90 yds; Rushing 33/243; 7 first downs; 10 penalties/61 yds; 5 fumbles/0 lost.

NCHS: Passing 3/6, 125 yds; Rushing 45/179; Receiving- 3 catches/125 yds; 8 first downs; 1 penalty/5yds; 2 fumbles/0 lost.

NCHS PLAYER STATS: Passing- Stauffer 3/6, 125 yds, TD, INT. Rushing- Dy Molzahn 22/74, 2TD; Da Molzahn 17/60; Stone 2/60, TD. Receiving- Tschacher 2/107, TD; Ryan Bruegger 1/18. Defensive points- Da Molzahn 28, Stone 17, Dy Molzahn 17, Tanner Carpenter 10, Jasper Caldera 9, Tschacher 7, Dmitri Richards 5, Aric Eaton 4, Stauffer 3, Jacob Miller 3, Bruegger 2, Mason Wells 1.

This Homecoming brings longtime rival Southeast to Gibson Field at Fullmer Stadium. When it comes to Lusk-Southeast all the records are thrown out in this rivalry entering its 43rd matchup. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.