There is always something special each year when the alumni make their way back to a packed house for the annual homecoming football game. Beyond the pageantry of Homecoming the Central City High School football team was looking to keep their season moving in the right direction as they battled Holdrege.

The Bison battled through some unlucky bounces of the ball early on and for the second straight week it was special teams that set the tone early on. Last week Tyler Carroll returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and once again he came up big early in the game on special teams. This time it was a blocked field goal that gave the Bison the ball and they quickly built a lead and didn’t look back. When the dust settled Central City came away with a 39-14 victory over the Dusters to move to 2-1 on the season.

“I was really pleased with how we came out, especially on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball,” says Bison head coach Troy Huebert. “I thought we really did a good job of controlling the line and that was exciting. It was exciting to get our run game going on offense, we had a lot of yards rushing. Defensively we did a really good job of controlling their quarterback. That was our key going in and we knew they had a really good athlete at the quarterback position. We did a really good job of limiting him and overall, I’m just pleased with the effort.”

Carroll’s blocked field goal led to an 18-yard touchdown pass from Derek Pfeifer to Ashton Gragg to get the Bison rolling. The Bison defense came up big and then on the double pass it was Ayden Zikmund connecting with Dylan Pfeifer from 24 yards out for Central City’s second passing touchdown of the game. In the second quarter Derek Pfeifer found Kenai Kearney for a 22-yard passing touchdown that gave the Bison a big 20-0 lead.

Holdrege then began to gain some traction as they scored on a nineyard rush to narrow the lead to 20-7, but a two-yard rushing touchdown from Derek Pfeifer gave Central City a 26-7 halftime lead. In the second half it was again Derek Pfeifer who got things rolling as a goal line rush gave the Bison a 32-7 lead. Holdrege scored once again in the third quarter, but Pfeifer once again found the endzone on a short run in the fourth quarter to wrap up the 39-14 victory.

Now with their second win under their belt, the Bison will regroup and look to continue their winning streak with a long road trip to face a talented Fort Calhoun team.

“We’ve seen a lot of athletic quarterbacks this year and they have another one,” says Coach Huebert. “Another dual threat guy that can run it and throw it so it is going to be important that we do a good job of keying in on him and slowing him down. They have a couple really nice receivers on the outside that do a good job as well so offensively there are some guys on their team that can exploit us if we are not sound on the defensive side so that’s going to be important. We have to be able to move the football against a defense that wants to slant and do a lot of things up front that we haven’t seen. They blitz a little bit more so it will be a little different for our guys, but we are excited for the challenge.”

The Bison will be looking for some of the same offensive success that they found last Friday and then some more. Derek Pfeifer completed nine of his 19 pass attempts for 130 yards and two touchdowns while Ayden Zikmund also threw for a touchdown pass. Derek had a successful day running the ball as he carried it 27 times for 131 yards and three touchdowns. Dylan Pfeifer added 67 rushing yards on nine carries while Corbin Kyes rushed for 59 yards. The receiving corp was led by Ashton Gragg who caught four passes for 61 yards and a touchdown. Kenai Kearney and Dylan Pfeifer also hauled in a touchdown reception while Zikmund, Kyes and Carroll all caught passes.

The defense had a solid night with many great plays to look back on. Tyler Carroll and Dylan Pfeifer each had an interception while Carroll also had a pair of blocked field goals to his credit. Jacob Kucera continues to be a leader on the offensive line and defensive side of the ball as he recorded twelve total tackles including three for a loss. Clark Brown also played well recording four tackles as did Colter Lueders who came away with four tackles including one for a loss.

Around the C1-5 Aurora (3-0): The Huskies again looked like the team to beat in Class C as they capitalized on a big second quarter to carry them to a 33-14 victory over a talented Ashland-Greenwood team. Another big test is coming this week as they face an undefeated Platteview team who will be looking for the upset.

Adams Central (3-0): The Patriots again showed that they have one of the toughest rushing attacks in the state. Four Hyatt Collins touchdown rushes and outstanding defense gave Adams Central the edge in a 43-0 victory over Gothenburg. They now will be tested with undefeated Syracuse.

Fairbury (3-0): The outstanding turnaround continues for Fairbury who has now won more games this year then they did in the previous two seasons combined. The Jeffs came away with a 62-6 victory over Schuyler thanks to an outstanding performance from Jax Biehl who connected on 21 of his 31 pass attempts for 382 yards and seven touchdowns. Four of those were to fellow senior Jackson Martin. The tide may turn for Fairbury this week as they face a 2-1 Minden team who will be a step up in competition.

St. Paul (1-2): Struggles continue for the Wildcats early on in 2022 as they fall to Scotus 28-18 after trailing 14-12 heading into the fourth quarter. Quarterback Bryce Knapp rushed for 87 yards while John Placke rushed for 147 yards and a touchdown to lead the team. They now will face a 1-2 Lakeview team who is also looking to get their season back on track.