Kearney football ready for rematch with Millard South

KEARNEY, Neb.- Go all the way back to September 12th (or not, if you know what happened that day) of this year. Kearney Football walked off the field at Millard South on the bad side of a 52-3 loss. It is the Bearcats’ only loss this season, going 10-1.

But since that loss, Kearney has won eight in a row. Senior offensive lineman Turner Bertrand says hitting the heater at the right time — right now — is the best feeling.

“It’s great. We all have the confidence in the world,” the Washington state commission said. “We all have the confidence in each other in the world, we all just believe we can get it done.”

Some teams learn from their losses. Kearney was one of them, allowing just 11.6 points per game since the last loss. Defensively, the ‘Cats were a wagon, with Kansas State linebacker Sawyer Schilke averaging 9.5 tackles. The senior has also collected six sacks this season. Offensively, Kearney scored 31.3 per game, with senior quarterback Griffin Novacek throwing 15 touchdowns and throwing just two interceptions.

A win would put Kearney back in the State Championship for the third time since 2006, the last time the Bearcats won it. Head coach Brandon Cool, who led Kearney to that state title, explained the key to making that happen on Friday.

“We have great leadership; for the most part, we’ve been able to stay pretty healthy all season,” Cool said. “We are healthy and going into this game, and that gives you advantages.”

Cool also mentioned that this is the third time Kearney will play at Buell Stadium this season, knowing that the Bearcats had road games against the Patriots, and Millard North a little later, in what was a 36-33 triple overtime thriller, at 1 October. 11.

A 2-1 win at Buell Stadium would be nice, and all of Kearney would probably agree or disagree. It does, it goes to Lincoln for the first time since 2017. The Bearcats and Patriots will go to battle on Friday evening at 7 p.m.