The Nemaha Central Middle School football team traveled Southeast to Meriden to play the Jeff West Tigers on Thursday, September 15. The Thunder, with a 2-0 start to the season, was looking to make it 3-0 against the Tigers.
The Tigers kicked off to the Thunder to start the game. The Thunder team looked to have a good opening drive but was stopped by the Tigers’ defense. The Tigers, looking to strike early, also had a really good drive but were forced to turn the ball over. The Thunder was on their own half of the field to start their second drive and had a really good drive, but it resulted in a fumble and they also turned the ball over. The Tigers looking to get a touchdown on their next drive struck by running it for a big touchdown to make it 0-6. The Thunder had a really good stop on their 2-point conversion. So the quarter ended with the Thunder trailing in the game.
The second quarter of play started and NC had the ball. The team had a bad drive and turned the ball over on downs. Following the turnover, the Tigers proceeded to have a really good drive, followed by a touchdown. Again, they were stopped on their two-point conversion attempt to make the score 0-12. In the next series of plays, the Thunder had a really long run but was tackled right before the goal line. They followed up the long run with a touchdown to make the score 6-12. They too were also stopped on their two-point conversion attempt.
In the third quarter, the Thunder kicked off against the Tigers. The Tigers started on their own 46-yard line. The Thunder had a big interception against the Tigers. Things turned around on the Thunder drive as it also resulted in a big interception from the Tigers. The Tigers followed it up with a big 80-yard run resulting in a touchdown to make the score 6-18. The Thunder's defense stopped the Tigers on their two-point conversion attempt just at the goal line.
To start the fourth quarter of play, the Thunder looked to score. However, the NC boys fumbled and turned the ball over. The Thunder's defense stood strong forcing the Tigers to turn the ball over on downs. The Thunder took the ball back, however they fumbled again turning the ball back over to the Tigers. Jeff West starting at the 20-yard line ran the ball in for another 6 making the score 6-24. They were stopped again at the goal line by the Thunder. The Tigers kicked off to the Thunder and the Thunder had a big 70-yard kick return to score their second touchdown of the game. NC was going for the 2-point conversion and made it successfully making the score 14-24.
Even though the Thunder lost, they felt like they didn’t play their best game. The Thunder team had a lot of turnovers that possibly changed the game. The Thunder’s record went to 2-1 and they are looking to get back on the winning streak again next week.
“It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you played the game that counts,” said Conner Lueger.
“We played a great game, if we stopped them just one time we would have had the game in the bag,” said Carter Stallbaumer.
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