Warriors Nearly Pull Off Last-Second Rally On Homecoming

Neligh-Oakdale showed its potential Friday night as the Warriors nearly pulled off a homecoming victory against Ainsworth.

While turnovers plagued the Warriors in the first half, Neligh-Oakdale brushed off four early fumbles to have their chances late in the game.

Down by two points and facing fourth-and-13 with 1:49 to play, senior Austin Rice motioned to quarterback Hunter Charf as he lined up on the left side, clearly wanting the ball. Charf took the snap from the shotgun and fell straight back for a pass. With Ainsworth junior Jon Ortner closing in, Charf rolled to his left, still eyeing the deep pass.

Charf heaved the ball to Rice in the middle of the field for a 53-yard strike to give Neligh-Oakdale the lead with just 1:40 left in the game. As Rice jumped up and down in the endzone after the score, Charf was the first one across the goal line to congratulate him on the lead-changing reception.

Despite the failed PAT, the Warriors held the 34-30 advantage as they gave the ball to Ainsworth with just 100 second left in the game. Ainsworth wasted little time, responding with a pass from Oren Pozehl to Gage Delimont as he floated it to the right sideline for a heartbreaking score to regain the lead and 38-34 advantage with about a minute left in the game.

With the passing game clicking, Neligh-Oakdale immediately went back to the air and tried for the long ball as Charf nearly connected with Andrew Herley at the 8-yard line. Watching the clock, Charf went back to Rice for a short eight-yard pass. Rice went out of bounds to stop the clock

Charf and Rice immediately connected again, this time on the opposite side of the field as Rice sprinted down the left sideline until he was pulled down and out-of-bound at the 13, giving Neligh-Oakdale a fresh set of downs with about 40 second left in the game.

But despite four tries, the Warriors couldn’t convert and turned the ball over on downs after a last-ditch effort running the ball on fourth-and-10 with no receivers open in the endzone.

Neligh-Oakdale started the game on fire as Charf scampered into the endzone on the first play of the game. The junior QB went 55 yards for the score. With the PAT, Neligh-Oakdale went up 8-0.

The Warriors fumbled for the first time with 2:52 to play in the first quarter, giving Ainsworth the ball back on the Neligh-Oakdale 24. Ainsworth converted the turnover into points as Pozehl hit his target on the first play of the possession, tying the game at 8-all with 2:46 left in the first quarter.

Neligh-Oakdale reclaimed the lead as Charf connected with Dempsey at the 20 yard. The sophomore receiver sprinted down the left sideline before cutting back to the middle to the open field for the touchdown and 14-8 led after the PAT failed.

Ainsworth responded as Pozehl ran it in with just 34 seconds left in the first quarter. The Warrior defense held the Bulldogs on the PAT, keeping the score knotted at 14.

The turnover bug continued attacking Neligh-Oakdale, but the defense responded to hold Ainsworth. Charf connected with Dawson Kaup late in the second quarter to give Neligh-Oakdale the 20-14 advantage. Just as the momentum switched to the Warriors, Ainsworth answered to take the 22-20 lead with a mere four ticks left in the first half.

It didn’t take long for Neligh-Oakdale to regain the led in the third quarter. Charf handed the ball off to Dempsey as he shifted to the right and followed the sideline in for the 10-yard score with 7:32 left in the third. Hunter faked another handoff to Dempsey and ran the ball in himself for the two-point conversion as the Warriors regained the lead 28-22 in the third quarter.

On fourth down at the five-yard line, Pozehl connected with junior Grant Stec as two Warrior defenders brought him down just a second too late, knotting the score at 28. Sloan Raymond then ran the ball in for the PAT, giving Ainsworth the two-point advantage just a few ticks in the final quarter.

Neligh-Oakdale will be back in action on Friday for their second afternoon game of the season. The Warriors travel to Atkinson for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff against the Huskies on Friday, Sept. 7.

Ainsworth (1-1) 14 8 0 16 - 38
Neligh-Oakdale (0-2) 14 6 8 6 - 34

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