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Lincoln, NE. - The Spartan football team found the right formula to overcome a 4th quarter 12 point deficit by scoring two unanswered touchdowns to defeat Lincoln North Star for the first time in school history by a score of 20-19 in front of 3,545 screaming fans.
One solid year of weight room and conditioning has brought this tight group of seniors together and believing in each other. The start of the game exploded for the Spartans with dominance and confidence as they gained a 7-0 advantage on a 33 yard toss from Grant Ozaki to Eric Connor on the first play of the second possession. Connor provided the extra point to gain the lead. The possession was set up on a Jon Ball fumble caused by Aaron Bohl and a recovery by Connor Kaiser. Bohl was the leading tackler for the Spartans with 20 including 2 tackles for losses and 1 forced fumble. The Spartan defense was tough as nails for the first quarter causing two three and out situations and a third leading to a punt. Jared Nelson was all over the Navigators with 12 total tackles, 4 for losses, and was noticeable in the first quarter when East held North Star to 26 yards in the quarter.
The first two possessions of the second period by the Spartans brought out the ugly side of the offense as they managed only 11 yards in 6 plays and three possessions including 4:20 of possession time. Two of the possessions resulted from Spartan turnover fumbles that gave North Star the momentum. With 2:37 remaining in the second quarter Adam Meirose put the Navigators on the scoreboard with a 26 yard field goal. Marcus Wright ripped the second fumble from John Schneckloth and gave North Star the ball on the East 37 yard line. Four plays later Michael Minter put the Navigators in the lead with a 1 yard untouched touchdown. East ran out the clock and turned to the locker room down 10-7.
The third quarter did not go well for the Spartans and the fear of what we are all have come accustomed was looming for the rest of the game. Another forced fumble by North Star gave the ball to them on the East 45 yard line with 8:15 in the third quarter. Five plays later a fired up Minter plowed through the Spartans for another 1 yard touchdown. North Star had a bad yellow hanky night with 14 total penalties and 97yards. The biggest penalty of the night however, pushed the extra point back 5 yards and that was all Blake Whitney needed to steam through the middle and block the critical extra point. East with no offense the third quarter was forced to punt to North Star with 4:29 left in the third quarter. The Navigators used 8 plays to waste the rest of the quarter and kick a 27 yard field goal by Meirose to give them a 19-7 lead at the end of the quarter
In fourth quarter, East found some momentum by traveling 50 yards on 6 plays and a touchdown pass from Ozaki to Connor for 13 yard . The extra point found some trouble and Brett Nelson wound up eating the ball with North Star clinging to a 19-13 lead. Ozaki shook loose for 33 yards on two carries during the drive. Ozaki was the leading ball carrier for the Spartans on the night with 16 carries for 67 yards. Spartan defense wanted to be part of the comeback so, they went out and shut down the Navigators with a 3 and out and only 5 yards. Poor field possession from kickoff and a poor punt the Spartans were on a winning drive from the North Star 41 yard line and 6:13 of clock. Ozaki drove the team to a first down before finding Cody Jones in the end zone for a 32 yard touchdown and a 19-19 tie score. Connor came out and calmly sent the ball through the uprights for a 20-19 lead. The rest of the game was put in the defensive hands. Gabriel Morton provided a solid hard tackle night with 13, Josh Gawrick 8 tackles, Blake Whitney 8 tackles, and Connor 7 tackles. Schneckloth, Kaiser, Tahner Pinkman, Weston Kalloff, Jones were all outstanding support of standouts Nelson and Bohl.
Great teams, great work ethic and leaders seem to find a way to make an ugly situation a positive, a 1-0 start looking for revenge upon the Bearcats next Friday at Seacrest field.
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