Warriors' Season Ends In First Round Of State Playoffs

After charging back in the second half of the season to qualify for the state playoffs, Neligh-Oakdale saw it's season come to an end in the first round on Thursday.

The Warriors kept it close early on, but 34 straight points from Lourdes Central Catholic was enough to put Neligh-Oakdale away 48-20.

Neligh-Oakdale got on the board when Julien Hearn took a Hunter Charf pass 69 yards to tie the game up at eight. Neligh-Oakdale then tied it again, this time at 14, when Colton Klabenes barreled in from one yard out. Unfortunately, the Warrior offense went cold after that, not scoring again until the fourth quarter when Charf punched it in from one yard out for the final score of the Warriors' season.

Despite the early exit from the playoffs, coach Ron Beacom said his team his shown lots of improvement since day one.

"Our execution was better in all three phases of the game by the end of the year. We had an opportunity to develop so many young kids and yet remained competitive in the majority of our competitions. By the end of the year, opposing coaches were stating how impressed they were with what we put on film compared to what they saw on the roster," he said.

One of the trigger men behind that improved execution was quarterback Hunter Charf, who finished the day with a team-high 44 yards on the ground and 186 yards through the air, racking up two total touchdowns and zero turnovers.

Andrew Herley, the team's leading rusher on the year, added 26 yards on the ground on nine carries and another 28 yards on six catches. Austin Rice accounted for 66 yards through the air on six catches and Jayden Arehart caught two passes for 12 yards. 

A number of freshmen joined in on the action. Klabenes had the touchdown on his only carry of the night, Hearn finished with 85 yards on three catches and Garret Belitz and Brock Kester combined for 19 yards rushing. Those freshmen are just some of the reason's to like Neligh-Oakdale's potential in the future, something the Beacom acknowledges.

"Like we told the kids after the game, there is a lot of potential here for us to really have a nice run of success in football in the very near future," Beacom explained. "However, potential can be a dirty word. It means we haven't accomplished it yet, so it will be very important for all of them to continue to work their craft and get in the weight room and participate in other sports, etc. so that they can better themselves as individuals and that will allow us to put together the best product as a team next fall."

Defensively, the Warriors had four players finish with double digit tackles. Klabenes led the way with 15 total tackles. Charf added 12 tackles and a sack. Kaleb Pofahl accounted for 10 more tackles.

Senior Nate Buck had a strong game to finish his high school career, racking up 13 tackles, including one for a loss. His work both on and off the field will be missed by coach Beacom and his staff.

"We will miss Nate Buck and Thomas Daniel," said Beacom. "Especially, the leadership that Nate has provided us on the field for the last few years. He has really grown and developed as a quality linemen on both sides of the ball. It will be important for some of the younger kids to build on the success that they experienced over the last month and come into next fall with a confidence that will start us at a higher point than what we are ending on."