Cougars wrap up season a perfect 13-0, average 56.5 points per game during 2024 run
There was never any doubt that when the 2024 football season began in late August that the Sandy Creek football team had only one goal on their minds, and that was to win the Class D-1 state championship. That goal was accomplished on Monday, Nov. 25, with a 44-42 win over the Stanton Mustangs, the only team that has been able to defeat the Cougars the past two seasons.
The two-point victory ended Sandy Creek’s season with an umblemished 13-0 record as Sandy Creek was 8-0 during the regular season, and 5-0 in the post-season.
The Cougars opened the year with a dominating 60-8 win over Johnson-Brock, before holding off Shelby- Rising City in the closest battle the Cougars faced until the state title game with Stanton. The Huskies battled strong but fell 28-6 in week two of the season.
Over the course of the next four weeks, Sandy Creek dominated Alma, 7114, Tri County, 59-6, Thayer Central, 43-8, and Sutton 59-0, before closing out the regular season with a 58-22 win over Exeter-Milligan/ Friend, and a 57-8 win over Southern.
Once in the playoffs, the Cougars stepped on the gas pedal even harder, outscoring their opponents 256-34 in the first four rounds of the post-season, an average of 64.-8.5. Sandy Creek crushed Niobrara/Verdigre 63-14 in the first round, clobbered Sandhills Valley 76-12 in the second round, then in their rematch with Shelby-Rising City, the Cougars rolled the Huskies 54-0, and added a semifinal win over Lourdes Central Catholic of Nebraska City, 63-8 to set up the championship big battle with Stanton. This gave the Cougars their revenge over the Mustangs, after Stanton gained a 44-38 win in the 2023 semifinal round.
Sandy Creek’s potent and well-balanced offensive attack this season totalled 5,121 total yards, with 3,073 yards coming on the ground, while another 2,048 yards came through the air.
OFFENSIVE LEADERS Leading the show was senior Ethan Shaw, as he passed for 2,026 yards, while completing just over 63 percent of his passes, completing 102 of 161 passes.
Shaw chewed up a total of 1,698 yards on the ground, an average of just over 130 yards per game.
Shaw’s main targets through the air were to senior Connor Rempe, freshman Kamerin Sealey, and sophomore Wes Biltoft.
Rempe hauled in 38 passes, covering 819 yards, an average of 21.6 yards per catch. Rempe also had a team-high 14 touchdowns through the air.
Sealey made 33 catches covering 667 yards, an average of 20.2 yards per catch, and hauled in 11 touchdown passes.
Biltoft grabbed 21 passes on the year, covering 383 yards, an average of 18.2 yards per catch. He also made nine touchdown grabs on the year.
Sandy Creek’s rushing attack, following Shaw’s total of 1,698 yards, gained Sealey another 419 yards on the ground, while toting the ball 43 times, an average of 9.7 yards per carry.
Wyatt Livgren ran for 273 yards while carrying the ball 37 times this year, an average of 7.4 yards per carry, while Rempe carried the ball 30 times for 362 yards, an average of 12.1 yards per carry.
In regards to total offense, Shaw amassed 3,724 yards, an average of 286.5 yards per game.
Rempe followed with 1,181 total yards, an average of 90.8 yards per game, while Sealey covered 1,108 total yards, an average of 85.2 yards per game.
DEFENSIVE LEADERS Four players surpassed the century mark in tackles this year, led by Rempe with 129 total stops, including 54 solo stops. Biltoft made 118 total tackles, 55 of which were solo tackles, leading Sandy Creek in the form of solo stops this season. Junior Alston Clark brought down 111 opposition players this season, while gaining 34 solo stops, while Shaw made 101 tackles, including 46 solo stops.
On the defensive line, senior’s Hudson Devlin and Jack Watts combined for 177 total tackles, with Devlin making 94, and Watts, 83. Devlin made 33 solo tackles and led the team with 17 tackles for loss, while Watts made 23 solo stops and had eight tackles for loss.
Devlin was also the sack leader this year with eight, while Alston Clark made four sacks, and senior Jacob Petr made four sacks to go along with 70 total tackles.
Of the Cougars’ 11 interceptions this year, Rempe and Sealey both had four, while Biltoft had a teamhigh three fumble recoveries, as Sandy Creek forced 16 fumbles during the season.
SANDY CREEK TOTALS:
Rush Att-Yds.............................. 345-3,073 Rush Yds-Carry...................................... 8.9 Rush Yds-Game................................. 236.4 Pass Comp-Att-Yds.............. 104-163-2,048 Passing Yards/Catch............................. 19.7 Passing Yards/Game.......................... 157.5 Total Offense..................................... 5,121 Total Offense/Game........................... 393.9
INDIVIDUAL STATS RUSHING- (Att.-Yds): Ethan Shaw: 193-1,698, Kamerin Sealey: 43-419, Connor Rempe: 30-362, Ben Sullivan: 36-299, Wyatt Livgren: 37-273, Wyatt Hemberger: 3-20, Kaeden Schmidt: 2-5, Jack Clark 1-(-3).
TEAM: 345-3,073.
PASSING- (Comp.-Att.-Yds): Ethan Shaw: 102-161-2,2,026, Kamerin Sealey: 2-2-22. TEAM: 104-163-2,048.
RECEIVING- (Catch-Yds): Connor Rempe: 38-819, Kamerin Sealey: 33-667, Wes Biltoft: 21-383, Jacob Petr: 4-76, Ben Sullivan: 5-56, Kaeden Schmidt: 2-25, Jack Clark: 1-15, Wyatt Livgren: 1-7. TEAM: 104-2,048.
TACKLES- (UT-AT-Total): Connor Rempe: 54-75-129, Wes Biltoft: 55-63-118, Alston Clark: 34-77-111, Ethan Shaw: 46-55-101, Hudson Devlin: 33-61-94, Jack Watts: 2360-83, Jacob Petr: 19-51-70, Kamerin Sealey: 34-33-67, Wyatt Hemberger: 20-25-45, Coen Eitzmann: 10-33-43, Alex Watts: 20-20-40, Josh Spray: 12-23-35, Wyatt Livgren: 1020-30, Jackson Gerdes: 4-11-15, Christian Shaw: 5-5-10, Kaeden Schmidt: 1-9-10, Cage Kackmeister: 3-6-9, Jack Clark: 4-4-8, Ben Sullivan: 3-1-4, Jaxen Heath: 0-4-4, Christian Lorena-Parks: 1-2-3, Evan Swartzendruber: 1-1-2, Mason Johanson: 0-1-1, Cedric Oeltjen: 1-0-1. TEAM: 395-648-1,043. * UT=Unassisted Tackle • AT=Assisted Tackle.
THE 2024 SEASON - 13-0
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...................W 58-22 Southern (Wymore)......................... W 57-8 Class D-1 State Playoffs- Niobrara/Verdigre..........................W 63-14 Sandhills Valley..............................W 76-12 Shelby-Rising City........................... W 54-0 Lourdes Central Catholic.................. W 63-8 Stanton..........................................W 44-42
