Cougars’ season comes to an end

 

Northeast’s football season came to an end as the Irish  of Falls City Sacred Heart eliminated them in the second round of the State Playoffs by the score of 56-14.

 

It all came down to the Cougars’ inability to stop the run.   After a fruitless first three possessions of trying to pass on the Cougars, the Irish turned to the ground game.  They got their opening scoring on a read option from 23 yards out.

 

Northeast had the lead for a short part of the first quarter.  After the Northeast’s ground attack was stuffed by FCSH, they went to the air.  Alex Brehmer connected with Taylor Fuston for a 50 yard gain.  Alex Brehmer finished off the drive with a 10 yard run.  A PAT pass to Marcus Hegy had LDNE on top 8-7.

 

FCSH came roaring back with three breakaway TD runs.  Another read option run by Chaz Dunn covered 39 yards.  It was followed by two sprints by Sawyer Kean from beyond midfield.

 

Northeast broke into the scoring column shortly before half.  Marcus Hegy made a one hand catch in the back of the end zone.  The half ended with the Cougars trailing 29-14.

 

The second half was all Irish as Kean scored four times.  The 165 pound junior had a career-high night as he finished with 6 touchdowns.  He carried the ball 20 times and gained 288 yards.

 

Northeast made it to the Red Zone three times in the second half.  They turned the ball over on downs each time.  In the third quarter FCSH wrestled an interception away from a Cougar receiver on a 4th and 11 from the twelve yard line. The last drive of the game ended  when FCSH broke up a pass to  Dakota Riecken on a fourth and goal.

 

“Our lack of size hurt us in the Red Zone,” said Coach Maresh.  “We were losing the battle up front.  Our running game was not as effective as in previous games and Alex had no time to pass.”

 

The coach gave the FCSH team many compliments. “They were a complete team. Their kicker gave them hidden yards as returns were hard to come by.  Their defense was very good  and aggressive.  Their roster was deep.  They wore us down.”

 

Alex Brehmer finished his career with 144 rushing yards on 28 carries.  He was forced to pass 34 times and competed 10 for another 133 yards.  Chevy Henneman had a tough night as he gained only 32 yards, 22 coming on one run, while carrying the ball 11 times.  He did complete a halfback pass for 25 yards.

 

Henneman caught 1 pass for 17 Yards.  Dakota Riecken caught 6 passes for 56 yards.  Marcus Hegy snagged 2 throws for 10 yards. and Taylor Fuston 2 for 75 yards.

 

The Cougars had 331 totals yards.  A season low of 173 came from rushing and 158 from passing.  The Irish totaled 403 yards- 360 rushing and 43 passing.

 

Dakota Riecken finished off a stellar defensive career with 15 tackles.  Brehmer had 8 including 2 TFLs. Chevy Henneman had 9.  Taylor Fuston picked off a pass shortly before half time.

 

After finishing with  8-2 record Maresh added, “We had a rooster of 17 this season.  I don’t think that we could have gotten any more out of them.  It’s sad to  see the season end. It was really enjoyable the way the community backed us.  The road trip to Daykin and way the town turned out to cover our field with plastic before the rain shows what small town life is about.”

FCSH              15        14        20        7          -56

LDNE              8          6          0          0          -14

 

 

 

First Quarter

 

LDNE              0          FCSH  7

Dunn                            23 Yard Run

                                    PAT    Haralabidis Kick

 

LDNE              8          FCSH              7

Brehmer                       10 Yard Run

                                    PAT     Hegy Pass Reception

 LDNE              8          FCSH              15

Dunn                            39 Yard Run

                                    PAT     Kean Run

 

Second Quarter

 

LDNE              8          FCSH              22

Kean                            48 Yard Run

                                    PAT  Haralabidis Kick

 

LDNE              8          FCSH              29

Kean                            45 Yard Run

                                    PAT Haralabidis Kick

 

LDNE              14        FCSH              29

Hegy                            9 Yard Pass from Brehmer

                                    PAT  failed

 

Third Quarter

 

LDNE              14        FCSH              36

Kean                            1 Yard Run

                                    PAT Haralabidis Kick

 

LDNE              14        FCSH              43

Kean                            57 Yard Run

                                    PAT Haralabidis Kick

 

LDNE              14        FCSH              49

Kean                            9 Yard Run

                                    PAT   Kick blocked

Fourth Quarter

 

LDNE              14        FCSH              56

Kean                            3 Yard Run

                                    PAT Haralabidis Kick

Lady Cougars Earn First Ever NSAA District Plaque

By Clare Wiltse

Sports Contributor

It has been thirty years since Lyons and Decatur consolidated to form Northeast High School.  In that era, LDNE athletics has won a State Championship and had  two Runners-Up.  There are a string of plaques noting district honors won by sporting and activity programs.

 

Up to 2012 there is one award that cannot be found in the trophy room- a NSAA trophy for volleyball.  1996 and 2009 were outstanding teams, but they stumbled in sub-districts finals.

 

The 2013 team found itself being the smallest school in the EHC.  They played against only two D-2 schools during the regular season and beat them.  Despite a 9-22 season record, they had high hopes for playoff success at sub districts held in Pender.

 

The Cougars had a first round contest against Winside.  LDNE had faced the Wildcats in September with a 2-1 victory.  The second match had the same results.  Northeast won 3-1.  The teams traded wins in the first two sets, but Northeast stepped up their game for easy wins in games three and four.

 

Brianne Haskell had a good hitting game with 14 kills while also leading the team in digs with 26.  The seniors all made sure that this was not their last match with good games.  Vanessa Peterson had 6 kills and 7 blocks.  Haley Bacon served 4 aces and had 6 blocks.  Hannah Christiansen had 7 kills and 3 blocks.   Libero Sarah Alford had 21 digs.

 

The second round game was against top seed Bancroft-Rosalie.  The Panther boasted an 18-13 record.  They opened the match with a 25-22.

 

Vanessa Peterson said that the team was pretty confident that they could beat B-R.  “We consider them rivals and we really want to beat them.   We knew we could play better and we did.”

 

The next two sets were decisive wins as the Cougars won 25-19 and 25-18.  The fourth set was close but LDNE came out on top 25-23.  Northeast had won their sub district.

 

The team got a big lift at the serving line as they had 15 aces.  Hannah Christiansen led the way with 9.  Brianne Haskell had 14 kills.  Vanessa Peterson had 7 blocks. The team had 121 digs with Haskell leading with 25 while Alford had 23.

 

The district finals were held at Fremont Middle School on November 7.  Their opponent was a 25-5 Mead team that was rated number in the state by the Omaha World -Herald.

 

“We knew they would be a challenge,”  said Vanessa Peterson.  “We just had to try our hardest.”

 

The Cougars had a great start as they jumped out to a 4-0 lead.  They were up 8-4 with the help from kills from Darcy Simonsen, Hannah, and Vanessa.

 

The Raiders slowly pulled back into the game and tied the score at 14.  The teams traded points. With kill by Hannah the score was knotted at 17.  Mead scored four of the next five points to gain a 21-18 lead.  Northeast got another three points, but the Raiders tallied 4 to win the set.

 

Mead jumped out to a 7-0 lead in set two.  Northeast battled back to a 13-9 difference, but Mead put the match out of reach as they ran off ten straight points on a way to a 25-11 win.

 

The Mead front line over powered Northeast in the third set.  They had six kills and three blocks as they started with a 10-0 lead.  Northeast could not change the momentum and would lose 25-8.

 

With no experience in district finals the girls left the court after the congratulating the Champions.  It was a big surprise when the announcer asked for the captains to come forward and receive the Runner-Up plaque.  Coach Cronin was there to receive it for the  team.

 

“We did not know that we were going to get a trophy,” said Peterson.  “It was so exciting when  Coach Cronin showed it to us.  I am so proud of our team.”

 

The Cougars finish the 2013 season with a 11-23 record and a NSAA District plaque.

 

 

Winside            15        27        13        9

LDNE              25        25        25        25

 

K A B D:  Maddie  1  0  0  10,  Darcey  1  0  1  17,  Brianne  14  1  1  26,  Abby 0  0  0  0,  Sarah     0  0  0  21,  Kelly  9  1  2  16,  Vanessa 6  2  7  7,  Hannah  7  1  3  7, Haley  5  4  6  16.  Set Assists:  Darcey 27.

 

B-R                  25        19        18        23

LDNE              22        25        25        25

 

Maddie 2  0  0  15,  Dasrcey  2  1  0  17,  Brianne  14  2  1  25,  Abby  0  0  0  12,  Sarah  0  0  0  23,  Vanessa  3  1  7  56,  Kelly  5  1  0  13,  Hannah  7  9  4  5,  Victoria 0  0  0  0,  Haley  5  1  5  6.  Set Assists:  Darcey  27.

 

Mead               25        25        25

LDNE              21        11        8

 

Maddie 0  0  0  10,  Darcey  1  1  3  6,  Brianne 6  0  2  9,  Abby  0  0  0  2,  Sarah  0  0  0 11,  Vanessa 3  1  6  3,  Kelly 2  0  0  6,  Hannah  2  0  1  4,  Victoria  0  0  0  0, Haley  1  1  1  5. Set  assists:  Darcey 12.