JOHNSON – A northeast Nebraska football team made the near three-hour trek to the southern part of Nebraska to open the Class D2 Playoff.
From Johnson, #10 Winside visited #7 Johnson-Brock Thursday late afternoon.
The host Eagles scored on six straight possessions and forced the running clock early in the second half to defeat Winside, 56-6. Johnson-Brock has now won four straight and are 7-2 on the season while the Wildcats ended with back-to-back losses falling to 5-4.
The lone first half score came on an eight-yard passing touchdown from junior Dax Behmer to sophomore Austin Nelson with 2:58 left in the opening half. (two-point conversion no good). Winside also saw senior Art Escalante find senior Gabe Escalante on a six-yard passing touchdown with 1:20 remaining in the game (two-point conversion failed).
Winside had a pair of turnover on downs early in the game and punted three straight times in the second quarter while Behmer was picked off twice in the second half (one for a TD).
Johnson-Brock was led by senior quarterback Caleb Fossenbarger who ran for three scores and passed for two touchdowns.
Sophomore running back Sloan Pelican opened the game with a one-yard TD (Fossenbarger converts two-points) with 7:13 left in first quarter to lead 8-0.
The Eagles then saw Fossenbarger hook up with junior wideout Nic Parriott from 25-yards out (two-point conversion by Pelican) with 21 seconds left in the first quarter to lead 16-0.
Second quarter scoring for Johnson-Brock came from Fossenbarger on a 22-yard run with 11:36 left in the second quarter (two-point added on a catch by senior Ryan Bohling); Fossenbarger ran in from three-yards with 4:37 left until half (two-point try failed); Parriott ran back a kickoff return for a TD with 2:49 left until half after the Winside score (two-point run by senior Hunter Gravatt) and Fossenbarger found Gravatt on a 50-yard passing strike with 1:25 left until half (failed two-point try) to lead 44-6 at the half.
In the second half, Johnson-Brock opened the third quarter with a one-yard score from Fossenbarger with 10:14 left in the third quarter (two-point try failed) to lead 50-6. Bohling then recorded a pick-six for the Eagles with 33 seconds left in the third quarter (two-point try failed to lead 56-6.
1st 2nd Half 3rd 4th Final:
0 6 6 0 6 12 – Winside
16 28 44 12 0 56 – Johnson-Brock
Eight-man playoff football second round games will be played on Friday, October 29 with the 16 winners being re-seeded 1-16 statewide.
Class D2 playoff bracket: Friday, October 29
#1 Sandhills/Thedford (9-0) vs. #16 Mead (5-4)
#8 Osceola (8-1) vs. #9 Leyton (7-2)
#5 Riverside (8-1) vs. #12 Johnson-Brock (7-2)
#4 Bloomfield (8-1) vs. #13 Elgin Public/Pope John (6-3)
#3 Pender (9-0) vs. #14 BDS (6-3)
#6 Mullen (8-1) vs. #11 Ansley-Litchfield (7-2)
#7 Kenesaw (9-0) vs. #10 Falls City Sacred Heart (8-1)
#2 Humphrey St. Francis (9-0) vs. #15 Blue Hill (5-4)
Class D2 East bracket:
#1 Humphrey St. Francis defeated #16 Allen, 42-14
#2 Pender defeated #15 Creighton, 69-32
#3 Bloomfield defeated #14 Wausa, 66-20
#4 Osceola defeated #13 Homer, 70-27
#5 Falls City Sacred Heart defeated #12 Osmond, 63-41
#11 Mead won at #6 Wynot, 26-20
#7 Johnson-Brock defeated #10 Winside, 56-12
#8 Bruning-Davenport-Shickley defeated #9 Fullerton, 66-34
Class D2 West bracket:
#1 Sandhills/Thedford defeated #16 Lawrence-Nelson, 60-20
#2 Riverside defeated #15 Sandhills Valley, 74-20
#3 Mullen defeated #14 Loomis, 58-12
#4 Kenesaw defeated #13 Medicine Valley, 56-0
#5 Leyton defeated #12 Hyannis, 47-12
#11 Blue Hill defeated #6 Garden County , 28-8
#7 Ansley-Litchfield defeated #10 Pleasanton, 74-8
#9 Elgin Public/Pope John won at #8 St. Mary’s, 30-26
