The Nebraska state playoffs are in full swing. Hail Varsity was on the scene in Lincoln for the quarterfinal matchup between Elkhorn South and Lincoln Southeast. No. 5 seeded Elkhorn South took the game over No. 4 seeded Lincoln Southeast by the score of 28-7. It was a hard-hitting defensive battle. Elkhorn South will now face Kearney in the semifinals. That will determine who will go to Lincoln for the state championship.
Here are my five thoughts about the game.
Old school action
There has been a lot of movement towards more open, fast-paced offenses in the state. That tends to happen when the major state school runs the same type of offense. This game was a matchup between two grind it out teams that like to run the football. Everyone expected more of a defensive game between these two teams and the game didn’t disappoint.
Elkhorn South offensive line is rolling
It seems like every time I watch Elkhorn South play I come away from the game thinking they started slowly. Eventually the line wears its opponent down. It happened again on Friday night. That was no easy task against Southeast which is a big, physical team. The Storm’s line is led by Husker commit Teddy Prochazka and Isaac Zatechka. They put together a dominating performance once again.
And @ESStormFootball answers back with a one-yard TD run from Cole Ballard. Good PAT and we are tied at 7 with 3:38 left in the 2Q. #nebpreps pic.twitter.com/UCzmWiEWpq
— Greg Smith (@GregSmithHV) November 7, 2020
Dominant defensive performance
It was very tough all game for Lincoln Southeast to move the football against Elkhorn South. There was a lack of explosive plays during the game for Southeast due in large part to how well the Storm played. Elkhorn South did a really good job containing Jake Appleget all night. Trevor Winterstein drew Appleget primarily in coverage. He even managed to come away with an interception. It was a great performance all around defensively for the Storm.
Third quarter changed game
The second half is when we really started to see that Elkhorn South was going to pull away in this game. The third quarter started with a long touchdown drive. It was capped off with a short touchdown run by Cole Ballard.
5-yard TD run for Cole Ballard of @ESStormFootball. Good PAT and they lead 14-7 over @SoutheastFB with 5:47 left in the 3Q. Drive was powered by the Storm OL. #nebpreps pic.twitter.com/dvvEkAYk88
— Greg Smith (@GregSmithHV) November 7, 2020
That was a long drive powered by the running game. Those drives can really shift momentum and deflate and opponent. Those types of drives are what make Elkhorn South such a tough out in these playoffs.
Congrats to Lincoln Southeast
Coach Ryan Gottula’s team had a great season and should be commended for it. The team’s first loss of the season was this game. Friday night’s game is a tough way to end the high school careers of seniors like Maddox Burton, Teilor Tuioti, Derek Branch and others. Despite needing to replace some key seniors next season, Southeast will be back in the mix next year.
