Warrior Teams Top Ewing In Season Openers Thursday Night

They were two very different games, but both had the same outcome as the Neligh-Oakdale girls and boys won their season openers at home on Thursday.

In girls varsity action, the Lady Warriors trailed Ewing by one after the first quarter of play, 11-10. Neligh-Oakdale put up another 10 points in the second, while holding the Lady Tigers to just 3 points for a 20-14 halftime lead.

​The teams traded points in the third, but the Lady Warriors held onto a 29-22 advantage heading into the final quarter. Some key 3-pointers by Ewing put them within one with less than 2 minutes to play. However, Neligh-Oakdale was able to force some turnovers late in the game and claimed a 40-36 victory.

Neligh-Oakdale dominated early in the boys game, leading 21-6 after the first quarter and 52-17 at the half. All of the varsity boys got some playing time in this one as the Warriors continually cleared their bench, rotating several players at a time. A running clock started in the second half and Neligh-Oakdale earned a 68-21 win.

"It was a good start to the year," Coach Frank Gade said. "I really liked our business-like approach last night."

Ten Warriors put points on the board, led by Tyson Belitz with 16. Others scoring for the home team were Grant White with 14; Cole Belitz 11; Alex Kerkman 9; Clayton Anderson and Austin Rice each with 6; Damon Arehart, Chase Kallhoff and Chris Bentley each with 2; and Matthew Ervin with 1.

The 1-0 Warrior teams will host Elkhorn Valley tonight, beginning with girls JV at 4 p.m.