From KPreps website:
Top-ranked Rossville will go on the road and try to take down defending-champion and No. 3 Nemaha Central.
Last season, Nemaha Central defeated Rossville 29-21 in overtime in the second round of the Class 2A playoffs. The Thunder forced four turnovers in the game and held the Bulldawgs out of the end zone on four downs in overtime. Nemaha Central went on to defeat Humboldt and Riley County before a 19-0 shutout of Norton in the 2A state title game.
This year’s Thunder team has won seven consecutive games since a 29-22 loss to Sabetha in Week 3. Nemaha Central also dropped a 15-13 decision to 3A semifinalist Holton on a last-second field goal in the season-opener.
Nemaha Central has delivered close wins over Silver Lake (40-30) and Osage City (7-0) in consecutive weeks. Nemaha Central overcame five turnovers in last week’s quarterfinal win at Osage City. The Thunder scored the only points of the game on a 3-yard touchdown run by quarterback Zac Kramer in the first quarter. The Thunder defense held Osage City to 151 yards of total offense, forced three turnovers, and stopped the Indians on downs by batting down a 4th-down pass inside the 5-yard line.
Kramer leads the Thunder offense that averages nearly 34 points per game. He’s joined in the backfield by Gage Palic and has an athletic receiving group that includes Tyler Gerety. Kramer and Gerety connected six times for 87 yards last week. Kramer did most of his damage on the ground two weeks ago when he rushed for 187 yards and five scores in the win over Silver Lake.
On the other side, Rossville has rolled to an 11-0 season behind a dynamic offense that averages 56 points per game. Last week the Bulldawgs put up a dominating first half in a 56-7 win over St. Mary’s Colgan.
Junior quarterback Torrey Horak leads the way for Rossville. Horak has rushed for 1,339 yards and 27 touchdowns and passed for 1,134 more yards and 21 scores. Woodrow Rezac is second on the team in rushing with 832 yards and 11 scores, while junior Corey Catron has added 635 yards and 12 touchdowns.
The Rossville defense has been equally impressive in forcing 20 turnovers holding opponents to an average of 13.6 points per game. Kaiden Brown and Catron are the team’s leading tacklers while Mshewe Hale has been disruptive on the defensive line.
Nemaha Central gets the advantage of playing at home, but the Thunder will have to play a cleaner game than they did last week. It’s unlikely Nemaha Central can overcome another five-turnover game and keep pace with Rossville’s high-scoring offense. The Thunder have the capability to slow the Bulldawgs down, but Rossville will make enough plays in the end to advance.
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