The rain fit the mood in Bulldog Stadium Nov. 8 as time ticked down in the third quarter. Gretna East took a 21-7 lead with 1:22 to play in the period, putting Seward in an unfamiliar position.
Seward football hasn’t trailed much this year, let alone by more than one score. But SHS scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead touchdown with eight seconds to play, to get the 28-21 win and advance to the Class B semifinals.
“I know I sound like a broken record at this point, but this team just finds a way to get wins late in games,” Coach Jamie Opfer said. “It’s certainly not the way that we have it planned out, but this group just believes in one another and plays each and every play like it could be the last.”
Seward got on the board first with a 33-yard pass from Tresten Hass to Lathan Janousek with 5:33 to play in the first quarter.
The Griffins scored the next 21 points to take a two-score lead.
Then came the fourth quarter. Seward took the GE kickoff and marched 66 yards in 11 plays, helped by a roughing the passer call against the Griffins. On third and eight from the 12, Ed Knott dropped back and found Tresten Hass for a 12-yard touchdown pass. The point after by Ayden Siebert sailed wide, leaving the score 21-13.
Gretna East was putting together a drive on its next possession, when Sam Sagehorn stepped in front of a pass, making the interception to give the ball back to the Jays.
Five plays later, Hass connected with Jack Vyhnalek for a 13-yard touchdown pass. Knott got the carry for the two-point conversion to tie the score a 21-21 with 5:15 left to play in the game.
GE ran nine plays before it had to punt. The Jays took over at their own 16.
“Tresten’s ability to run the two minute drill at the end of the game was amazing,” Opfer said. “He understands clock management and was able to put this team in a position to keep a time out just in case we needed it. When he scrambled, he got out of bounds and was able to make plays when the designed play was not there. [That] was a big factor in our ability to score in the last drive of the game.”
Seward went 84 yards in 10 plays. The final play of the drive was a pass from Hass to Knott, who would not be denied. Siebert made the PAT to make the score 28-21 with eight seconds on the clock.
“We’ve been working on getting Eddison out more on our drop back passing game and that came up big to move the chains a few times. Eddison’s catch on the screen was a great catch, and the effort and enthusiasm that he plays with is contagious and second to none,” Opfer said.
The Jays still had to kick off, and Gretna East tried one more play, a hook and lateral drill that ended with the ball on the turf. Barrett Wiesen recovered the fumble and the celebration was on.
Opfer said Gretna East’s three turnovers – a fumble recovered by Caden Schadwinkel in the first quarter, Sagehorn’s interception and Wiesen’s fumble recovery – were determining factors in the win.
Seward had Hayden Burhoop and Jayden Hernandez back in the lineup after missing games with injuries.
“We’ve just got a group that cares about each other and wants the team to be successful,” Opfer said. “It would have been easy for both Jayden and Hayden to continue to rehab the injuries, but they are both amazing young men who care and want to help this group win.”
Hass finished the game with 29 completions on 44 pass attempts for 323 yards. Knott added 72 yards rushing on 20 attempts. Hass’s favorite receiver was Jack Vyhnalek, who caught nine balls for 121 yards. Knott had six catches, and Janousek and Peyton Else had five each.
On defense, Schadwinkel finished with five solo tackles and six assists. Max Briggs added four solo stops and nine assists.
The Jays (11-0) will get to see someone new across the line of scrimmage Friday, Nov. 15. The Skyhawks of Omaha Skutt (10-1) will make the trip to Seward for a Class B semifinal battle. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Bulldog Stadium.
Elkhorn North and Bennington are the other two semifinal teams. During the regular season, Skutt beat Bennington Oct. 18, which beat Elkhorn North Oct. 25, which beat Skutt Oct. 11.
