CLASS 2A
EAST
HUMBOLDT (9-1) AT SABETHA (9-1)
The only 2A semifinal matchup that doesn’t involve an undefeated team still is a high-quality matchup with the losses for each coming to teams playing in other quarterfinal games.
Sabetha spent the bulk of the season ranked No. 2 in 2A right behind Big Seven League and arch rival Nemaha Central. The Bluejays suffered their only loss to the top-ranked Thunder, falling 28-0 in the regular season finale.
That was the first time all season Sabetha’s defense was really challenged as the Bluejays allowed just 43 points in its previous seven wins leading up to the loss. A 16-point win over 3A quarterfinalist Holton was the closest win during that stretch.
Sabetha got an early postseason test last week in the regional, taking on fellow one-loss Silver Lake on the Eagles’ home field. The Bluejays took some fire out of the home crowd early, scoring on its first two offensive plays of the game – a 43-yard run by Colin Menold and 80-yard run by Chase Frey.
Menold had a huge night, rushing for a career-high 370 yards and 3 touchdowns. Frey added 100 yards and two scores as Sabetha ran for 563 yards as a team. Silver Lake’s offense cranked out 513 yards and rallied the Eagles from the early 14-0 deficit to be tied at halftime and down just three early in the fourth quarter.
But Sabetha’s defense forced six turnovers in the game, getting 5 interceptions to preserve a 45-34 win.
Menold has rushed for 1,213 yards and 17 touchdowns this season and Frey has added 600 yards and 7 scores. Starting quarterback Mitchell Kramer has returned from an injury and has thrown for 379 yards and 5 TDs.
Humboldt survived a 24-14 regional contest with Riverton, one of only three games the Cubs have had this year decided by less than 20 points. The others were a 14-7 win over Council Grove and a 36-22 loss to Osage City, the Cubs’ lone defeat.
After losing standout workhorse Trey Sommer to graduation off last year’s team that advanced to the quarterfinals before losing to eventual champion Nemaha Central, Humboldt has leaned heavily on senior quarterback Blake Ellis this season. A complement to Sommer a year ago, Ellis has taken over this year and rushed for 1,149 yards and 13 touchdowns and thrown for 1414 yards and 18 touchdowns.
He's got weapons to go around him with Cole Mathes rushing for 758 yards and 9 touchdowns and Sam Hull catching 43 passes for 722 yards and 9 touchdowns.
Humboldt has reached eight wins for the fourth time in the past six years, each of the other three seasons also reaching the quarterfinals. The Cubs advanced to the state semifinals in 2018, falling to Riley County.
Three of Sabetha’s four losses over the past two seasons have come to Nemaha Central, including a 30-14 loss in last year’s state semifinals. The Bluejays were back-to-back state champions in 2017 and 2018 when the program was in Class 3A.
OSAGE CITY (9-1) AT NEMAHA CENTRAL (10-0)
Nemaha Central’s shutout streak may have ended in last week’s 55-13 regional win over Riley County, but the Thunder’s winning streak rolled on with Nemaha Central riding a 23 consecutive wins into Friday’s quarterfinals.
The Thunder actually fell behind for the first time all season last week when Eli Harmison hit Jake Lambert on an 18-yard touchdown pass on the Falcons’ first possession of the game. But the lead was short-lived. Carter Hajek answered with a 43-yard touchdown pass to Carter Rottinghaus and Nemaha Central scored 48 straight points to blow the game open.
Prior to Riley County’s touchdown, Nemaha Central had posted eight straight shutouts since a 31-6 win over 3A quarterfinalist Holton to start the season. The Thunder outscored their opponents 333-0 during that streak, including a 28-0 win over fellow 2A quarterfinalist Sabetha, the Bluejays’ only loss.
Taking over as Nemaha’s offensive workhorse for departed Top 11 pick and older brother Cooper Hajek, Carter has exploded onto the scene this season as a sophomore. Hajek has rushed for 1,694 yards and 34 touchdowns and also thrown for 803 yards and 9 TDs.
His counterpart in Friday’s game knows all about filling some big shoes in becoming a sophomore starter. Osage City’s Kasen Parsons had the seemingly unenviable task of replacing standout Landon Boss as the Indians’ quarterback after Boss re-wrote the school’s offensive record books.
But Parsons hasn’t flinched in churning out equally impressive numbers. He’s thrown for 2,009 yards and 24 touchdowns and also run for 776 yards and 11 scores. Parsons was slowed a bit by Council Grove in last week’s regional game, throwing for 125 yards and a touchdown for his second-lowest output of the season.
But his 60-yard pass to Quenten Stark in the third quarter proved to be the game-winner in a 15-8 Indian win that moved Osage City into the quarterfinals for the second time in four years. The last time was in 2020 when the Indians also met up with Nemaha Central in the quarterfinals and fell 7-0.
WEST
SOUTHEAST OF SALINE (10-0) AT HOISINGTON (10-0)
After vanquishing the team that knocked it out of last year’s playoffs in a double-overtime semifinal thrilled, Southeast of Saline’s reward is a spot in the only quarterfinal in any classification that pits two undefeated teams against each other.
The Trojans picked off a big one in last week’s regionals, fighting off a Kingman team that ended their undefeated season a year ago with a 28-22 double-overtime victory. This year’s meeting seemed headed that direction again, tied 14-14 midway through the second quarter.
But Southeast got a 51-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Kejr to Cameron Witte to close the half and opened the second half with a 40-yard touchdown run by Nathan Friesen to go up two scores and Kingman never got closer than a touchdown the rest of the way.
It was only the second one-score game the Trojans have had this year, the other coming in a 22-17 win over 3A quarterfinalist Clay Center – the Tigers’ only loss. Southeast has more than adequately the firepower it graduated off last year’s team as Kejr has stepped in at quarterback and had a big year, throwing for 1,270 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushing for 818 yards and 12 scores.
Friesen, the lone holdover skill starter, has added 915 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground.
As impressive as Southeast’s resume is, Hoisington’s might be even better. The Cardinals have had only one game decided by less than 28 points, a 27-19 win over Pratt. Hoisington’s defense has been smothering, allowing just one team to score 20 or more – Cimarron achieving that in mop-up time of a 67-20 Cardinal win.
Tony Moore has been solid at quarterback, throwing for 1,169 yards and 16 touchdowns and rushing for 539 yards and 6 scores. Teron Kraft leads a ground game that averages 285.5 yards per game with 955 yards and 10 scores.
Hoisington is in the quarterfinals for the ninth time in Zach Baird’s 10 seasons as head coach, going a combined 97-18 during that stretch. The Cardinals played for the 2A state title in 2020, falling to Rossville in the finals.
This is the second straight year for the Cardinals and Trojans to meet in the quarterfinals with Southeast taking a 44-21 win in last year’s contest. The Trojans have reached the state semifinals each of the last two seasons, their 2021 berth coming in 3A.
NORTON (10-0) AT ELLSWORTH (9-1)
After injuries derailed a promising season a year ago, Norton has reloaded behind a stout defense that continued to shine last week in a 18-6 win over TMP-Marian.
The Bluejays are allowing just 10 points a game. Norton gave up a season-high 34 points in its playoff opener against Cimarron but held TMP to just 161 yards of offense last week to remain undefeated.
Norton’s top win was a 12-8 defensive struggle against perennial power Smith Center in Week 2.
Junior quarterback Eli Jones has turned in a strong season, throwing for 1,802 yards and 16 touchdowns. Tyce Melvin has a team-high 43 catches for 669 yards and five touchdowns while Roman Hauser has hauled in 30 passes for 514 yards and six TDs.
Jones is the team’s top rusher with 708 yards and 16 touchdowns while Tyler Backman has 595 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground.
Hauser is a force at defensive end with a team-best nine sacks. Melvin leads the team in interceptions with five.
After closing the season with a 30-0 loss to Southeast of Saline, Ellsworth opened the playoffs with a 42-0 victory over Haven then survived a tight game with Garden Plain last week, outlasting the Owls 34-31 to keep one of the best seasons in program history going.
Ian Andalon-Silva and Loden West each went over 100 yards rushing in the Garden Plain win and rushed for two touchdowns apiece. The Bearcats sealed the victory in the closing seconds with a defensive stop after the Owls were backed up deep in their territory.
Like Norton, Ellsworth has relied heavily on its defense, which is allowing 12 points per game.
The last meeting between the Bluejays and the Bearcats was in 2021, with Norton pulling out a 21-20 win.
For previews of every sectional round football game, be sure to check out the stories for all the other classes and divisions here: Football Archives