Sandy Creek set for rematch with Sandhills Valley Friday night, Nov. 1
Sandy Creek started the first round of the Class D-1 state playoffs with a big win over Niobrara-Verdigre 63-14, which brought Sandy Creek’s record to a perfect 9-0.
Sandy Creek’s defense was a big part of the victory, holding Niobrara-Verdigre scoreless until the fourth quarter, behind the strength of 79 tackles, one sack, four interceptions, and one fumble.
Niobrara-Verdigre started with the ball, but Sandy Creek would get a stop, and then on offense Ethan Shaw found Wes Biltoft for a big gain. Shaw then punched it in from seven yards for six points, before Shaw passed to Biltoft for the two-point conversion to make it 8-0 with 8:16 to go in the first.
On the next defensive possession, Connor Rempe intercepted, followed by Shaw going 24 yards on offense for a touchdown, while finding Jacob Petr for the two-point conversion to make it 16-0 Sandy Creek with 5:45 to go in the first.
Kamerin Sealey came up with another interception on the next defensive series for the Cougars. The Sandy Creek offense wouldn’t go anywhere turning the ball over on downs; however, Sandy Creek’s defense would do the same thing in the next series on defense to hold Niobrara-Verdigre.
Sandy Creek worked their way to the 32-yard line where Shaw found Petr for a screen pass for 48 yards to the house, giving the SC Cougars a 22-0 lead with 8:55 to go in the second quarter.
Niobrara-Verdigre had a nice drive going but Rempe in his own end zone would come up with a pick, allowing Sandy Creek to take over. On the first play, Shaw aired it out deep for Rempe and he hauled it in before getting tackled at the six. On the next play, Shaw found Biltoft for six to make it 28-0, Sandy Creek, with 5:10 to go in the first half.
Sandy Creek forced yet another stop and a couple of plays later, Shaw found Sealey over the middle of the field, leaving the rest to Sealey who hit the end zone to make it 34-0 with 27 seconds before the halftime break. Sealey would end the first half with an interception to improve his stats.
Out of the half, Sandy Creek scored quickly with an option pitch from Shaw to Rempe for 34 yards to make it 40-0. Sandy Creek held Niobrara-Verdigre and on the next offensive possession, Shaw found Biltoft for a 12-yard touchdown pass, and Rempe’s point after was good, giving the SC Cougars a 47-0 lead with four minutes left to go in the third.
Sandy Creek forced another stop on defense, and Sealey on the Sandy Creek drive would score from seven yards out, while Wyatt Livgren would get the two-point conversion to make it 55-0. Niobrara-Verdigre would score on the next drive, but on the kickoff, Livgren returned it 68 yards for a SC touchdown. Jack Clark caught the two-point conversion to make it 63-8 Sandy Creek. Niobrara-Verdigre would score once more but it wouldn’t matter as Sandy Creek would run the clock out on their next possession to seal the win.
THE COUGARS BYTHE NUMBERS
Sandy Creek’s offensive stats had 430 total yards, with 145 coming on the ground and 285 from the air.
Shaw went 12-18 with five touchdowns and 285 yards through the air.
Rempe led Sandy Creek with three receptions for 110 yards and one touchdown, while Sealey had three receptions for 60 yards and one score.
Biltoft grabbed four receptions for 56 yards and two touchdowns, Petr had one reception for 48 yards and one touchdown, and Ben Sullivan had one reception for 11 yards.
Shaw led Sandy Creek’s rushing attack with nine carries for 81 yards and two touchdowns; Sullivan had two carries for 46 yards; and Sealey had two carries for 18 yards and one touchdown.
Defensively, Sandy Creek’s 79 tackles was led by Alston Clark with 14, Shaw made 10 stops, Wyatt Hemberger, eight, and Coen Eitzmann, six, while Rempe, Biltoft, Alex Watts, Jack Watts, and Hudson Devlin had five tackles each.
Eitzmann would record the only sack for Sandy Creek, while Rempe and Sealey had two interceptions each.
THISWEEK
Sandy Creek is set to host Sandhills Valley Friday, Nov. 1, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. Sandhills Valley comes into the game with a 4-5 record, after a 42-20 win over Pleasanton.
Score by Quarters
Sandy Creek............................. 16 18 13 16 -63 Niobrara-Verdigre.................... 0 0 0 14 -14 SC N-V
Rush Att-Yds..................... 13-145 34-83 Pass Comp-Att-Yds.........12-18-285 9-20-154 Total Offense.......................430 237
