Warrior Football Has A Soggy Finish On Thursday Night

The Warriors got off to a bright start Thursday night, but ended the night with a damp 27-13 loss.

Early in the first quarter, Neligh-Oakdale moved the ball downfield and lit up the scoreboard, 6-0, with a touchdown pass from Grant White to Garett Allemang. The extra point was good.

"We played well early," Coach Ron Beacom said. "We really got off to a great start by forcing them to punt and then putting our first drive in the end zone. We just need to find greater consistency for an entire game in all three phases of the game."

Burwell tied up the game, 7-7, before the end of the quarter. 

Before halftime, a chilly rain forced fans to grab ponchos and umbrellas, and the Longhorns grabbed the lead and charged ahead for the 14-point win.

"It's been exciting to see our kids compete for the whole game two weeks in a row," Beacom said. "Regardless of the score, we have really battled throughout the entire game. We obviously aren't happy with starting out 0-2, but we've been beaten by two teams that will probably have very good years and will make the play-offs. In each of the games, we have shown that we can compete with teams of that caliber. From here, we just need to continue to grow and get better at where our inconsistencies have hurt us."

The coach said Allemang "had a very good all- around game" and Casey Garcia "was all over the field on defense." 

"If we can get a few more to play with that kind of intensity for an entire game, we will have a very good football team," he said.

Beacom said the team's "biggest need is to value the football."

"We can't continue to turn the ball over 4 or 5 times a game and expect to be a good football team," he said.

Neligh-Oakdale (0-2) will travel to Wakefield (0-1) next Friday night.