HUTCHINSON – Caleb Strathman left his imprint on Saturday’s Class 2A state championship game. And he did so early.
The Nemaha Central senior returned the game’s opening kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown, then less than two minutes later, returned a punt 76 yards for a score to give his team an early 14-0 lead before they even ran an offensive play.
Nemaha Central relied on its stout defense that forced three turnovers and a consistent run game to control the ball and defeat Southeast of Saline, 35-6.
Saturday’s state title is the fourth in school history and the third in the past four seasons for Coach Michael Glatczak and the Thunder.
After the Thunder’s quick start on special teams, the two teams settled in defensively. Southeast of Saline pulled to within 14-6 on the first play of the second quarter on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Tiernan Ptacek to Malachi Hopkins. Ptacek, who took over for injured starter Gunnar Jacobson mid-season, scrambled to the sideline, avoided a sack, and flipped the ball in the back of the end zone to Hopkins at the last second.
The Trojans appeared to be seizing the momentum late in the first half with a drive inside Thunder territory, but a fumble at the Nemaha Central 32-yard line ended that threat. On the very next play, Nemaha Central’s Carter Hajek broke free for a 68-yard touchdown run and a 21-6 Thunder lead.
Southeast of Saline lost two more fumbles in the third quarter. In each instance, Nemaha Central answered the turnovers with touchdown drives.
Hajek added a 4-yard touchdown run in the third quarter which pushed the lead to 28-6, and gave the senior the all-time state record for career touchdowns scored. Hajek scored 132 touchdowns in his career, surpassing the previous record-holder DeAngelo Evans of Wichita Collegiate.
After a second Southeast of Saline fumble, Jayden Seitz broke through the middle for an 8-yard run that pushed the lead to 35-6.
As he has so many times in his career, Hajek helped Nemaha Central control the clock with their ground game – draining any hope Southeast of Saline had of creating the same late-game fireworks featured in last year’s championship game in which the Trojans won 36-28.
Hajek finished Saturday’s contest with 32 carries for 211 yards and two scores. For his career, he surpassed 7,900 rushing yards and more than 3,000 passing yards.
For Southeast of Saline, Grady Gebhardt finished a brilliant senior season and career with 116 yards rushing on 25 attempts.
The victory was special for the Nemaha Central senior class. Thunder senior lineman Daniel Childress (No. 61) was diagnosed with brain cancer earlier this season. His class, team, the Nemaha Central community, and several other communities around the state have helped support Childress with his fight this season.
On Saturday, he was able to celebrate a state football championship with his teammates.
Nemaha Central 35, Southeast of Saline 6
NCHS (13-0): 14 – 7 – 14 – 0 | 35
SE Saline (12-1): 0 -- 6 – 0 – 0 | 6
Scoring Summary:
First quarter:
11:47 | NCHS – Caleb Strathman 84-yard kickoff return (Layton Thomas kick), NC 7-0
10:13 | NCHS – Caleb Strathman 76-yard punt return (Thomas kick), NC 14-0
Second quarter:
11:50 | SE Saline – Malachi Hopkins 5-yard pass from Tiernan Ptacek (run failed), NC 14-6
:54 | NCHS – Carter Hajek 68-yard run (Thomas kick), NC 21-6
Third quarter:
5:35 | NCHS – Carter Hajek 4-yard run (Thomas kick), NC 28-6
:38 | NCHS – Jayden Seitz 8-yard run (Thomas kick), NC 35-6
TEAM STATISTICS
NCHS SE SALINE
Rushing 45-253 37-147
Passing (Comp-Att-INT) 3-4-0 12-22-0
Passing Yards 21 110
Total yards 274 257
First Downs 13 13
Turnovers 0 3
Punts-Avg 4-30.0 4-34.8
Penalties 0-0 2-10
Time of Possession 26:45 21:15
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING:
NCHS – Hajek 32-211; Seitz 9-42; Strathman 2-2; Team 2-(-2)
SE Saline – Grady Gebhardt 25-116; Tiernan Ptacek 7-14; Kanyon Douglas 2-13; Amarion Holub 3-4
PASSING:
NCHS – Hajek 3-4-0-21
SE Saline – Ptacek 12-22-110
RECEIVING:
NCHS – Strathman 1-13; Layton Thomas 1-5; Jayden Seitz 1-3
SE Saline – Holub 4-47; Hopkins 3-20; Douglas 2-36; Bryson Lippold 2-2; Gebhardt 1-5
Use your Facebook account to add a comment or start a discussion. Posts are subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your Facebook name, photo & other personal information you make public on Facebook will appear with your comment.
