Warriors Down Wolfpack 37 to 30

NELIGH — Trailing by two touchdowns and outplayed in the first half, Neligh-Oakdale charged back in the second half to claim a 37 to 30 victory over Elgin Public-Pope John.
Down 30 to 21 at the start of the third quarter, the Warriors scored on their first two possessions of the third quarter to take the lead, then kept the Wolfpack out of the endzone to win the game and the district championship.
Penalties and missed scoring opportunities cost the Wolfpack, who saw their record fall to 5-2 with the loss.
“We just couldn’t finish drives,” Coach Randy Eisenhauer said. “We killed ourselves with penalties.”
Just as he did a year ago, junior quarterback Grant White proved to be elusive in the game. On the Warriors’ first drive of the game, White led the team on a 50-yard drive capped with a six-yard touchdown run.
The Wolfpack answered right back on their next possession. Capitalizing on a 32-yard run by Andrew Fangman, EPPJ moved the ball down to the 10-yard line. Quarterback Seth Schumacher scored on a quarterback keeper. Fangman’s two-point conversion gave EPPJ an 8 to 7 lead midway through the opening quarter.
A fumble recovery by Chad Bode gave the Wolfpack great field position which they capitalized on when Fangman scored on an isolation play from 29 yards out.
Alois Warner’s big toe played a prominent role in the Wolfpack’s third touchdown as the Warriors failed to cover a short kickoff, allowing Dylan Behnk to recover the ball. Fangman scored his second touchdown in a span of 25 seconds, this one on a 21-yard run, then added the two-point conversion to give the Wolfpack a 22 to 7 lead.
Having surrendered 22 unanswered points, the Warriors answered back with their passing game as White’s passes found Warrior receivers. He closed out the drive with a 23-yard touchdown strike to Chris Bentley.
For the complete story, see the print edition of The Elgin Review