The formula behind Nemaha Central’s two straight undefeated runs to Class 2A state championships was seemingly somewhat simple.
 
Put the ball in the hands of a Hajek (Cooper in 2022; Carter in 2023) and let them do their thing behind a massive offensive line led by the likes of All-Class 2A first-teamers Holden Bass, Abe Hilbert and Connor Deters.
 
That approach led to monster seasons for the Hajek brothers as Cooper ran for 2,094 yards and 42 touchdowns in the Thunder’s 2022 13-0 season and Carter followed with 2,431 yards and 43 touchdowns in last year’s 13-0 campaign.
 
Though Nemaha Central’s approach hasn’t changed all that much this season with Carter Hajek back to follow up his stellar sophomore season, the Thunder certainly have a different look to them. Instead of rolling out a college-sized offensive line for Hajek to operate behind, Nemaha Central seen a smaller, younger unit come of age quickly to keep the Thunder among 2A’s elite.
 
“We’ve got some new dudes up front and some new skill guys here and there,” Nemaha Central coach Michael Glatczak said of the 2024 Thunder team that returned just five starters. “Obviously, we’ve got Carter back there who will shoulder the load and we’re excited about that. Those guys work extremely hard day in and day out and really fight for each other.
 
“We’ve got the right guys there and we just need to click on all cylinders and that’s yet to come.”
 
Nemaha Central hasn’t exactly misfired all that much in getting out to a 5-1 start. After seeing their 26-game winning streak end with a 16-8 loss to Marysville in the season opener, the Thunder have reeled off five straight wins, the fifth of those coming with a dominant 24-0 shutout of arch rival Sabetha on Friday.
 
Hajek ran for 148 yards and all four touchdowns in the win as Nemaha Central took advantage of three turnovers to score twice in short-field situations and also preserve its first shutout of the season.
 

 
The Thunder controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball against Sabetha. They returned just two starters off last year’s offensive line – seniors Abram Keim and Reese Gerety – but have seen the newcomers to the unit mesh nicely.
 
That’s allowed Hajek to continue to flourish. His sixth straight 100-yard rushing game pushed him to 871 yards and 16 touchdowns this season, accounting for 73% of the Thunder’s rushing yards this season.
 
“Losing the senior class we did would affect anybody and we’ve had a lot of guys step up,” Hajek said. “NC football, we keep it pretty simple. Those guys have been getting better like everybody on the team and we’re getting really hard to stop right now.”
 
Hajek was supposed to get some help in the backfield this year with senior tight end Sam Nordhus moving to a tailback spot. But in the Thunder’s 35-7 win over Silver Lake in Week 2, Nordhus suffered a broken ankle and is gone for the season. He was also Nemaha’s second-leading tackler behind Heim, leaving a big hole on that side of the ball as well.
 
“Sam was excited all offseason,” Glatczak said. “We moved him to the backfield to take some of the pressure off Carter and he was doing good. But stuff happens and the guys have that next-man-up mentality and have bounced back and Sam’s been great at practice from the sideline helping bring the young guys up.”
 
Coming off two straight state championship seasons, Nemaha Central had a schedule that was front-loaded with tough tests. Marysville stunned the Thunder in the season opener, having won just three games a year ago, but has proven the upset wasn’t a fluke with a 5-0 start that ended Friday with a loss to Rock Creek.
 
“It was eye-opening losing Week 1, but it needed to happen,” Hajek said. “Everyone was too confident coming into the season. But losing Week 1, we got back to the basics and everyone got focused pretty quickly.”
 
Nemaha Central bounced back from that loss to top new Big East League rivals Silver Lake (35-7) and Rossville (31-28) before going on the road for a big 13-7 win over Class 4A-ranked Chanute. A breather 48-6 win over Oskaloosa last week came at the right time with the Thunder allowing some of their banged-up players a chance to rest heading into the home stretch.
 
“We knew that schedule-wise, it was going to be tough and I told my coaches that if we went 2-2 or 3-1 in that stretch I would be pretty pleased,” Glatczak said. “I told the guys after Chanute that was a big-time win and I was proud of how we fought and played. We knew Sabetha was going to be tough and physical and I’m excited to see what we can do the rest of the way.”
 
Another factor to Nemaha’s success a year ago was a suffocating defense that posted eight straight shutouts and allowed just 67 points all season. The Thunder haven’t matched that level of dominance for much of this season, but against Sabetha showed the potential it had.
 
The Bluejays managed just 81 yards of total offense, rushing for just 35 yards on 26 attempts.
 
“We can’t compare it to last year’s or 2022’s defense, this is this year’s team,” Glatczak said. “We’ve got the dudes and they just compete their tail off every play.”
 
 
OTHER WEEK 6 FOOTBALL STANDOUTS

• Rock Creek jumped out to a 21-0 lead and handed Marysville its first loss of the season with a 31-14 win that forged a four-way tie atop the North Central Kansas League standings. Mack Lee threw for 179 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for 161 yards and a score. The Mustangs are now tied with Marysville, Wamego and Clay Center atop the league standings, each 3-1 in league play. Will Otott threw for 106 yards and a touchdown for Marysville while Brody Lawrence had 137 yards receiving and two touchdowns.
• Osage City came from behind for the second straight week to stay unbeaten on the season. Down 16-8 to St. Marys at halftime, Osage City shut out the Bears in the second half and rode two fourth-quarter touchdowns to a 24-16 win. Kasen Parsons put the Indians on top with an 89-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter and Dylan Theel sealed the win with a 15-yard touchdown run. Parsons ran for 172 yards and two touchdowns and also threw for 115 yards. Brady Hurla threw for 117 yards and both St. Marys touchdowns.
• Axtell extended its eight-player state record winning streak to 45 games with a 68-0 rout of St. Paul, scoring 48 points in the first quarter. Eli Broxterman started the scoring bonanza with a 42-yard run and scored on both of his carries in the game. Five different Eagles had rushing touchdowns.
• After losing by a combined 132-0 to Lebo in the last two meetings, Rural Vista got a bit of revenge with a 40-24 victory over the Wolves. Logan Tate ran for 161 yards and four touchdowns for the Heat, who improved to 5-1 with their fifth straight win.
• Clifton-Clyde handed Sylvan-Lucas its first loss of the season with a 32-6 victory. Jack Skocny started the scoring with a 63-yard touchdown pass to Joseph Fahey and then added a pair of touchdown runs, finishing with 134 yards rushing and 107 passing.
• Southeast of Saline improved to 6-0 with a 36-8 win over Hillsboro, breaking free from a narrow 16-8 halftime lead. Amarion Holub ran for 107 yards and three touchdowns, including two in the fourth quarter that put the game away. Gannon Jacobson threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 124 yards.
• Riverside pulled out a 14-12 win over Troy, denying the Trojans a game-tying two-point conversion in the fourth quarter after a touchdown pass from Gannon Bowe to Jackson Hartman pulled the Trojans within two.
• Basehor-Linwood put up the sixth-most yards in program history, churning out 527 total yards in a 44-6 romp past Tonganoxie. Carson Dixon had the fourth-best passing game in program history, throwing for 373 yards and 3 touchdowns with Nash Morrison having 7 catches for 138 yards and 2 TDs and Roman Miller also over 100 receiving yards with 103.
• For the first time in coach David Boucher’s four years as head coach, Royal Valley had three 100-yard rushers in its 54-8 win over Atchison County. Jaxson Stevens led the way with 196 yards and 3 touchdowns while Manny Oliveira added 105 yards and Nolan Bausch had 101 yards. Max Bottorff ran for 123 yards and had 12 tackles and two forced fumbles for Atchison County.
• Tayson Horak racked up 188 all-purpose yards to lead the Bulldawgs to a 71-24 win over Cair Paravel. Horak scored on a kickoff return and punt return and also ran and threw for touchdowns.
• Wellsville stayed undefeated with a 47-6 win over Bishop Ward behind four touchdowns from Armond Graves. Graves ran for 167 yards and 3 touchdowns and returned a kickoff 65 yards for a fourth TD.
• Santa Fe Trail had two backs go over 140 yards rushing in a 33-7 win over Baldwin. Rigley Sleichter ran for 156 yards and 3 touchdowns and Julion Daniels added 148 yards and a score as the Chargers finished with 308 yards and 5 TDs on the ground overall.
• Seaman’s Max Huston accounted for five touchdowns to lead the Vikings to a 59-34 win over Shawnee Heights. Huston threw for 210 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for 168 yards and three scores. Kaden McKinney ran for 217 yards and 2 touchdowns. In the loss, Heights’ quarterback Aiden Scott continued his big season, throwing for 357 yards and 5 TDs with AJ Gallegos having 108 yards receiving and 2 TDs and Tyren Parker also catching a pair of TD passes.
• The DeWalt brothers accounted for over 300 yards rushing and 5 touchdowns as Valley Heights rolled past Herington 54-8. Jayden led the way with 184 yards and 3 touchdowns and Brady added 120 yards and 2 scores. Max Shanks also threw for two touchdowns with Jayden catching one of those scoring passes.
• Junction City ended a four-game losing streak, jumping out to a 37-0 lead on Topeka High before settling for a 50-21 win. Conrad Gomez threw for 233 yards and 4 touchdowns with Lovell Autry catching two of those TD passes. Scholar Brown had 130 yards receiving and a touchdown while Justice Fonoti ran for 120 yards and a score and Jamarcus Tyson ran for two touchdowns.
• Dysen Schooler threw for 124 yards and two touchdowns as Silver Lake picked up a big 28-6 district win over Riley County. Sam Allen ran for 158 yards and the lone score for the Falcons.
• Burlingame’s Dane Winters scored six touchdowns in the Bearcats’ 76-0 win over Hartford. Winter caught 4 passes for 124 yards and 3 touchdowns, took his only carry 39 yards for a score and returned an interception 82 yards for a TD.
• Garrett Metcalfe threw for two touchdowns and ran for one and Tristan Gorden returned an interception 90 yards for a score to lead Perry-Lecompton to a 43-14 win over Jefferson West.
• Lane Loiseau ran for two touchdowns, caught a touchdown pass and returned a punt 42 yards for a score to lead Frankfort to a 54-8 win over Blue Valley-Randolph. Wes Anderson threw for 330 yards and 2 touchdowns and added a rushing TD.
• Wyatt Griffin had touchdown runs of 23, 75 and 51 yards and Chase County also got long touchdowns from Luke Budke (56-yard run) and Colton Kewley (56-yard interception return) to roll past Flinthills 56-6. Griffin finished with 161 yards rushing and completed his only pass for a touchdown to Budke.
• Dexton Hoelting had 197 total yards, rushing for 82 yards and a touchdown, throwing for 84 yards and adding 31 return yards in Olpe’s 34-14 win over Mission Valley. Eli Markowitz ran for 157 yards and 2 touchdowns and Abbott Bailey added a pair of rushing TDs.
• Jefferson County North led 40-6 at halftime and took a 48-14 win over Valley Falls. Merrick Noll ran for 144 yards and 3 touchdowns and Will Elias added 143 yards and a touchdown rushing and completed all three passes for 69 yards and 2 touchdowns.
• Eisaac Girton ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns to lead Clay Center to a 28-0 win over Concordia as the Tigers played without starting quarterback Cole Pladson.
• Piper’s Keith Slaughter had touchdown runs of 41 and 58 yards and finished with 135 yards rushing to help the Pirates pick off Lansing 47-28. Slaughter was one of two backs over 100 yards on the ground with Roman Byers adding 123 and two scores. Jayden Correa threw for 125 yards and a touchdown and Cooper Busick sealed the win with a 22-yard interception return for a TD. Lansing got a pair of touchdown passes from both Reid Oakley and Jaxon Pollard and Makhi Butler finished with 106 yards receiving and two scores.
• Lane Smith returned the opening kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown and Madison played from ahead the entire way in a 40-36 win over Lyndon. Cruz Leiser ran for 193 yards and three touchdowns and Colton Isch added another 142 yards and two touchdowns on the ground for the Bulldogs.
• Solomon picked up its first win of the season, blowing out Goessel 58-8. Matt Hamm-Jones ran for 133 yards and 5 touchdowns and Breken Coup threw a pair of touchdown passes to Carlos Duran.
• Abilene’s Weston Rock caught 10 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown in the Cowboys’ 36-22 loss to Augusta. 
• Oskaloosa’s Richie Rockhold ran for 152 yards in the Bears’ loss to Hiawatha.