Warriors Fall At The Hands Of Howells-Dodge

Neligh-Oakdale was unable to hold on to an early lead on Friday when they took on Howells-Dodge.

The Warriors were the first to jump on the scoreboard, but were unable to hold on to that victory. They held a 6-0 lead after one quarter thanks to a 38-yard strike from Hunter Charf to Jayden Arehart. However, the size and run game of the Jaguars was able to wear down Neligh-Oakdale en route to a 46-12 win.

"We're running into teams that are bigger and stronger than us. Our lack of depth started to show in the second half as they just wore us out. We only gave up 35 rushing yards in the first half but couldn't continue that through the whole game," said Warrior head man Ron Beacom.

Neligh-Oakdale's other score came when Arehart returned a Howells-Dodge kickoff 79 yards for a score in the third quarter. Although the scoreboard didn't show a result the fans wanted, Beacom said he was glad to see the effort his team gave.

"In all, this was probably the best overall game we've played this year," Beacom said. "Howells-Dodge is a very good football team and we competed really well for the majority of the first half."

Arehart finished the day with 205 all-purpose yards to lead the way for the Warriors. They also got 110 total yards out of Andrew Herley, 50 of that coming on the ground and the remainder on kick returns. Austin Rice was the leading receiver, pulling in five catches for 45 yards. He was the favorite target of Charf who went 7-of-14 on the day for 83 yards.

The big day from a variety of players was exactly what Beacom was hoping for from his team after a week off.

"I'm really excited about the growth we showed from the first three games to now," Beacom said. "I told the kids I was disappointed after the Clearwater-Orchard game because I didn't feel we competed with our best effort that night. I have no complaints after this one. We left everything out on the field. If we can continue to see the practice field as an opportunity for growth, we will be very successful."