It didn’t take the visiting Patriots long to gain the upper hand in the season opener for the NCHS football team. U-S easily handled Lead-Deadwood, SD during the Zero week and had a full game under their belt before facing the young Tigers.

Friday night on Gibson Field at Fullmer Stadium the visitors scored on just their third play from scrimmage as quarterback Clayton Louderback broke free for a 45 yard touchdown run. Jerrett Schloredt kicked the PAT and the #2 team in 1A looked as good as advertised. NCHS responded with a drive of their own, capitalizing on a pretty throw from Wyatt Stauffer to Teagan Tschacher for a 33 yard touchdown. Drake Lamp was stopped on the two point run but NCHS was right back in the game.

NCHS couldn’t take advantage of a Patriot fumble as the period ended. A muffed punt gave the visitors very good field position and Louderback scampered in from 19 yards out before Schloredt made it 14-6 just 90 seconds into the second stanza. The Tigers moved the ball but never got the big play offense going, yet did a nice job keeping the potent Pats off the field. The visitors had one more chance before the break and made it count as they moved downfield and Louderback connected with Jayden Caylor for a three yard score. Schloredt kicked the PAT and it was 21-6 at halftime.

“Just missed opportunities, dropped passes, missed blocks, and assignments- we had our chances to be tied at halftime,” said Tiger Head Coach Ryan Nelson. “We had them backed up again down there but couldn’t capitalize, that’s what makes a playoff team.”

Midway through the third quarter Tiger soph Lamp went off the field with a knee injury, along with most of what Lusk had left of umph. While the locals did not completely fold it was obvious this had drained the team of any hope of a comeback. Caylor scored twice in the final four minutes of the period from 41 and six yards away, as Schloredt hammered two more through the uprights.

As the fourth quarter moved toward the end, Patriot Jess Claycomb put the final points on the board with a 43 yard scamper to cap the 41-6 win for Upton-Sundance.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

U-S 7 14 14 6  41

NCHS 6 0 0 0  6

NCHS PLAYER STATS: Passing- Stauffer 4/8, 53 yds, TD. Rushing- Lamp 21/132; Damien Molzahn 14/32; James Stone 11/27; Tschacher 1/ 3. Receiving- Tschacher 2/41 yds; Lamp 1/7; Ryan Bruegger 1/5. Defensive points- Dylan Molzahn 23; Stone 9; Riley Blackburn 9; Jasper Caldera 9; Da. Molzahn 8; Lamp 7; Bruegger 7; Stauffer 4; Tschacher 4; Aric Eaton 3; Dmitri Richards 3; Kade Clark 2; Tanner Carpenter 2; Jacob Miller 1.

This week the Tigers go to Tongue River to face a rebuilding Eagle squad. TR lost to Moorcroft during week one-yet was missing three starters, and Nelson is cautious. “Yes, it’s a winnable game but with Drake’s injury status and a five hour road trip ahead, we have to focus and be prepared to play our game.” Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. in Dayton.