The 12-0 Sandy Creek Cougars vs. The 12-0 Stanton Mustangs
The battle of the unbeatens to decide the Class D-1 state champion Nov. 25
And then there were two, two Class D-1 teams to duke it out for the state title in the class, as Sandy Creek and Stanton will battle it out Monday, Nov. 25, inside the sacred home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Memorial Stadium.
The 2:45 p.m. title tilt between the Cougars and Mustangs, despite the fact that it will be only the second time in Nebraska High School football history that the two teams have played each other, has a big amount of flavor surrounding the game.
These two teams met in the 2023 semifinal round of the D-1 playoffs with the Mustangs earning a 48-36 win on “The Hill” at Sandy Creek High School last season to earn a trip to Memorial Stadium to claim the D-1 title with a 42-36 win over Exeter-Milligan/ Friend.
This year, both teams will head to Lincoln with perfect 12-0 records and go headto- head on Tom Osborne Field for gold.
OFFENSIVE COMPARISON
These two high-powered offenses come in with different auras about themselves. Sandy Creek’s well-balanced offensive attack has totaled 4,766 yards of offense, while Stanton has totaled 5,396 yards, of which 4,639 of their total yards came on the ground.
Sandy Creek’s rushing attack has totaled 2,821 running yards, which is just under 60 percent of the Cougars’ total offensive output this season, with the other near 40 percent coming through the air, as Sandy Creek has passed for 1,945 yards.
In comparison, the Mustangs lean heavily on its ground game, with nearly 86 percent of its offensive output coming on the ground, rushing for 4,639 of their 5,396 total yards coming on the ground.
Of Stanton’s rushing total, two players have chewed up 4,031 rushing yards, as senior quarterback Barrett Wilke has run for 2,624 yards, while senior running back Becker Pohlman has gained 1,407 rushing yards.
Those two names will be called on heavily against the Cougars throughout next Monday’s game with Sandy Creek.
During the 2023 semifinal clash with Sandy Creek, Wilke had 254 rushing yards, while Pohlman had 96, as the Mustangs only threw the ball three times for 39 of their 409 total yards in the win over Sandy Creek.
Sandy Creek’s well-balanced offensive attack is led by quarterback, Ethan Shaw. The senior signal-caller has passed for 1,923 yards and ran for another 1,510 yards during the Cougars’ unbeaten run to the title clash with the Mustangs.
Wilke and Pohlman account for nearly 89 percent of the Mustangs’ offensive output, telling the story of Stanton’s livelihood on the offensive side of the ball.
Following Shaw, Sandy Creek’s well-balanced attack has seen freshman Kamerin Sealey rush for 419 total yards, while seniors Ben Sullivan and Connor Rempe come into the big game with 299 and 298 rushing yards, respectively.
Through the air, Rempe and Sealey lead the Cougars, combining for 66 catches and 1,415 of Sandy Creek’s 1,945 passing yards.
Rempe has hauled in 35 passes for 792 yards, while Sealey has made 31 catches for 623 yards, while sophomore tight end, Wes Biltoft has made 20 catches for 351 yards.
Stanton’s “two-headed monster” duo of Wilke and Pohlman will be far beyond a handful to keep under control, but the Cougars’ defense proves to be its most impressive possession.
Sandy Creek is allowing just 8.8 points per game, overall, and 8.5 points per game in the playoffs, while Stanton gives up an average of 21.3 points per game this season, and has allowed 21.5 points per game in the postseason.
The Cougars scored just under 58 points per game the entire season, while in the playoffs, Sandy Creek has stung their opponents for right at 64 points per game.
Stanton’s offense has averaged 52 points per game during their 12-game run, while in their four playoff games, the Mustangs have averaged 46.5 points per contest.
DEFENSIVE COMPARISON
Sandy Creek’s defensive efforts this season have been led by Rempe and Biltoft, as both have surpassed the 100 tackle barrier, with Rempe making 101 stops, including 38 solo stops, while Biltoft is right at 100 tackles, with a team-leading 47 solo stops, while gaining nine tackles for loss this season.
Seniors Hudson Devlin and Jack Watts anchor the Cougars’ salty defensive line, as Devlin has a team-high 14 tackles for loss, while Watts added six. Combined, Devlin and Watts have 143 tackles, with Devlin making 78 stops, and Watts, 65.
Rounding out the top six on the tackle charts for Sandy Creek is Alston Clark with 94, and Shaw with 81.
Stanton’s defensive leaders prove to be Pohlman with 108 total tackles, and sophomore Gatlin Davidson with 105 total tackles.
Mustang junior Garrett Hansen follows with 87 tackles on the year, with Wilke collecting 75 for Stanton.
Here is a more detailed peek at the pregame numbers for both team’s offensive and defensive leaders going into Monday afternoon’s Class D-1 State Championship game: SC STANTON Rush Att-Yds................................ 316-2,821........... 519-4,639 Rush Yds Per Carry............................ 8.9..................... 8.9 Rush Yds Per Game.......................... 235.1.................. 386.6 Pass Comp-Att-Yds.................... 98-154-1,945......... 41-68-757 Pass Yds/Completion........................ 19.8................... 18.5 Pass Yds/Game................................ 162.1................... 63.1 Total Offense.................................. 4,766................. 5,396 Total Offense/Game........................ 397.2.................. 449.7
Sandy Creek’s 2024 Season 12-0 Johnson-Brock....................................................... (W) 60-8 Shelby-Rising City.................................................. (W) 28-6 Alma..................................................................... (W) 71-14 Tri County.............................................................. (W) 59-6 Thayer Central........................................................(W) 43-8 Sutton................................................................... (W) 59-0 Exeter-Milligan/Friend (EMF)................................(W) 58-22 Southern................................................................(W) 57-8 PLAYOFFS
Niobrara-Verdigre................................................. (W) 63-14 Sandhills Valley.................................................... (W) 76-12 Shelby-Rising City.................................................. (W) 54-0 Lourdes Central Catholic.........................................(W) 63-8 Sandy Creek’s Individual Rushing Leaders:
#2 Ethan Shaw.....................168-1,510 (125.8/gm; 9.0/carry) #3 Kamerin Sealey..................... 43-419 (34.9/gm; 9.7/carry) #29 Ben Sullivan......................... 36-299 (24.9/gm; 8.5/carry #1 Connor Rempe..................... 36-298 (24.8/gm; 11.5/carry) Sandy Creek’s Individual Passing Leader:
#2 Ethan Shaw............. 96-152-1,923 (20.0/comp; 160.3/gm) Sandy Creek’s Individual Receiving Leaders: #1 Connor Rempe.................... 35-792 (22.6/catch; 66.0/gm) #3 Kamerin Sealey................... 31-623 (20.1/catch; 51.9/gm) #12 Wes Biltoft........................ 20-351 (17.6/catch; 29.3/gm) #9 Jacob Petr................................ 4-76 (19.0/catch; 6.3/gm) #29 Ben Sullivan........................... 5-56 (11.2/catch; 4.7/gm) Sandy Creek’s Individual Tackle Leaders:
Solo Asst Total TFL #1 Connor Rempe............................. 38 63 101 2 #12 Wes Biltoft................................ 47 53 100 9 #7 Alston Clark................................. 29 65 94 7 #2 Ethan Shaw................................. 37 44 81 7 #55 Hudson Devlin........................... 27 51 78 14 #68 Jack Watts................................. 18 47 65 6 #9 Jacob Petr................................... 15 41 56 5 #3 Kamerin Sealey........................... 26 27 53 1 #13 Wyatt Hemberger...................... 18 24 42 2 #17 Alex Watts................................. 20 20 40 2 #14 Coen Eitzmann........................... 9 30 39 1 #5 Wyatt Livgren............................. 10 19 29 0 #72 Josh Spray................................. 10 18 28 4 #58 Jackson Gerdes........................... 4 9 13 2 #51 Christian Shaw........................... 5 5 10 3 **TFL=Tackles for Loss Stanton’s 2024 Season 12-0 Bloomfield............................................................(W) 42-16 Wausa/Osmond.....................................................(W) 56-6 Central Valley (Greeley-Wolbach)......................... (W) 40-28 Summerland (Clearwater-Ewing-Orchard)............ (W) 44-34 Lutheran High Northeast (Norfolk)......................... (W) 62-8 Elkhorn Valley (Tilden)..........................................(W) 76-24 Plainview............................................................. (W) 48-28 Laurel-Concord/Coleridge.................................... (W) 70-26 PLAYOFFS
Clarkson-Leigh.................................................... (W) 70-26 Exeter-Milligan/Friend...........................................(W) 48-8 North Platte St. Patrick’s...................................... (W) 38-26 Summerland (Clearwater-Ewing-Orchard)............ (W) 48-34 Stanton’s Individual Rushing Leaders:
#4 Barrett Wilke..................268-2,624 (218.7/gm; 9.8/carry) #1 Becker Pohlman.............. 176-1,407 (117.3/gm; 8.0/carry) #22 Austin Claussen..................13-172 (17.2/gm; 13.2/carry) #32 Jordan Claussen....................11-117 (9.8/gm; 10.6/carry) Stanton’s Individual Passing Leader:
#1 Barrett Wilke................. 38-65-748 (19.4/comp; 62.3/gm) Stanton’s Individual Receiving Leaders:
#1 Becker Pohlman................. 15-310 (20.7/catch; 25.8/gm) #22 Austin Claussen................... 2-114 (57.0/catch; 11.4/gm) #32 Jordan Claussen...................... 7-96 (13.7/catch; 8.0/gm) Stanton’s Individual Tackle Leaders:
Solo Asst Total TFL #1 Becker Pohlman...........................62 46 108 #53 Gatlin Davidson..........................27 78 105 #54 Garrett Hansen...........................30 57 87 #4 Barrett Wilke...............................39 36 75 #22 Austin Claussen..........................31 21 52 #42 Logan Tiedtke............................18 32 50 #88 Josh Arens..................................17 30 47 #32 Jordan Claussen..........................23 22 45 #7 Hunter Robinette.........................17 24 41 #35 Jaron Blum.................................12 17 29 #77 Ren Brown..................................8 15 23 **TFL=Tackles for Loss
