Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Crete looked like a champ from the start

Filed by Mike Patterson

12:40 a.m., Wednesday: Sometimes it takes a while to figure out which team is going to reign during a given season.

Other times, an omen happens very early. Such was the case this season with the Crete football team.

I covered the Cardinals on Sept. 3, a road game against Omaha Skutt. The SkyHawks had knocked Crete out of the playoffs last season, so the Cardinals were a team with some serious motivation.

Crete beat Skutt that night 40-0, and the score could have been worse. It was a dominating performance against a team that is usually pretty solid and always tough at home.

I thought after the game that I had just seen the probable Class B champion, and that turned out to be true. The Cardinals kept right on rolling to the title, capped off by another dominating performance in the final with a 34-0 win over Elkhorn.

Crete finished 13-0, including six shutouts. An awesome season, to be sure.

Congratulations to coach Chuck McGinnis and his squad. The Cardinals were outstanding in early September and outstanding in late November. And every week in between. »

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Two sides collide for perfect storm in Class A final

Filed by Nick Rubek

7:39 p.m., Tuesday: One day after Millard North’s amazing second-half turnaround, I still find myself wondering which side of the ball was more impressive in the final two quarters Monday night.

A Mustang offense, which looked overmatched against the Patriots through the first 24 minutes, suddenly couldn’t be stopped with a simple wrinkle added to its attack.

And Millard North’s defense, which was carved up for 20 first-half points, was an absolute force after the break.

Millard North coach Fred Petito always seems to get it figured out and get his guys in the right position.

When you combine all those factors it provided the perfect storm for a 21-0 third quarter, a scoreless second half for Millard South, and a state title for the Mustangs.

Congrats to Petito and company. Bringing back the “Soph Q” — as Petito calls Mustang sophomore quarterback Isaac Aakre — will put them right in the mix again next season.

Too soon? »

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Volleyball attendance down in GI-Hastings

Filed by Mike Patterson

1:07 a.m., Tuesday: The state volleyball tournament is now history, and — as expected — attendance was down because of the shift from Lincoln to the Grand Island-Hastings area.

The Grand Island people did everything possible to make visitors welcome, and coaches were quick to compliment the many helpful volunteers. The matches also were compelling, but it was unfortunate that attendance this year was down 19 percent from last year.

Chalk that up in large part to the presence of so many Metro-area teams (11) and the fact many of those schools didn't send many students farther outstate than the one-hour drive to Lincoln. One exception was the hundreds of girls from Omaha Marian who attended the Crusaders' semifinal match Friday morning, though most did not return for Saturday's Marian-Papio South final.

I interviewed several area athletic directors before the tournament, and some cited the added distance as a factor in the decision not to dismiss students or rent buses to the tourney. It's unfortunate, but you knew that might happen.

It will be interesting to see how the NSAA reacts in 2011 after the tourney's final year of the two-year Grand Island-Hastings contract. The GI people did all they could, but the dip in attendance is something that can't be ignored. »

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Two-point call not always a shocker

Filed by Mike Patterson

9:50 p.m., Sunday: Watching that botched two-point conversion in overtime by Iowa State on Saturday reminded me of two high school games I covered in the past few weeks that had similar situations — the only difference being neither of the high school teams were lining up in a kicking formation. »

Friday, November 5, 2010

Friday night recap, Nov. 5

Filed by Stu Pospisil

11:45 p.m., Friday: And then there were four, in Class A and in Class B, and six of the eight were expected. Not that Lincoln Southeast's 34-10 win over Millard West or Elkhorn's win over Boys Town rank as stunning upsets, but the higher-ranked team lost.

Southeast's defense played big in the first quarter, when the lead spurted to 21-0, and then kept Millard West in check. Those five turnovers were costly for the Wildcats, who won't be in the state finals for thefirst time since 2007. But can the Knights be as successful against Millard South's offense? It got 300 yards on the ground in its 21-14 win over Prep, ending Tom Jaworski's 39 years as Junior Jays coach.

Millard North wore down Lincoln Northeast and Omaha Burke overran Columbus, which was overcome by injuries that included the loss of workhorse Dillon Loschen.

So it's Millard North at Burke and Southeast at Millard South, game times TBA. Will they avoid overlap with the KU-Husker game at 6 on Saturday, Nov. 13?

Crete and Aurora are eying a 1 p.m. start for their semifinals showdown in Class B on the 13th at Simon Field in Crete. I'd like one of the other three semifinals that day to start around 5 p.m., let's say, so I can catch a second game.

Blair and Elkhorn will go at it again after Elkhorn pulled out the regular-season game 21-20 after trailing by two scores. The Antlers are 2-1 all-time against Blair in the playoffs. »

Thursday, November 4, 2010

What's in a name?

Filed by Mike Patterson

12:41 a.m. Wednesday: What's in a name? Plenty, if your name is Taylor Johnson.

There have been two recent volleyball players who answer to that. Taylor Johnson of Grand Island Northwest graduated last year and is a freshman middle blocker at Kansas State; Millard North's Taylor Johnson is a 5-11 senior outside hitter.

"My mom pointed that out to me last year after seeing a story about (the other) Taylor Johnson,'' Millard North's TJ said. "She'd say, 'Hey, Taylor, your name is in the paper!'"

The Mustangs' Taylor Johnson played an important role Wednesday night for the Mustangs, pounding nine kills in a district final win over Millard West. That victory will send Millard North to the state tournament, to be held in Grand Island — hometown of the other Taylor Johnson.

Are you confused yet? »