“We came out and played our brand of football for about a quarter and a half,” North Platte coach Kurt Altig said. “We got a little relaxed and unfocused in the second quarter, which I didn’t really like. Then our first group of guys came out and really went for it on those first couple drives, and I might have pulled the trigger a little too early on bringing in some of the young guys. They held their first stringers in and scored some points against us. Overall, we did exactly what we wanted to do.”

North Platte had an unofficial 490 yards of total offense. Caden Joneson ran for 118 yards and a touchdown, and Treyton Burke and Jayden Dowse both had rushing touchdowns. Brady Haneborg had 23 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Lincoln Northeast scored all three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Quincey Montoya caught a touchdown of 54 yards, Coltin Sims caught a touchdown of 61 yards and Zayne Scully ran in a score of four yards.

“They’ve done a great job. We’ve relied on them since they were sophomores,” Altig said of Joneson and Huntsman. “They come out and give it their all. They’re the leaders of our team.”

North Platte dominated the first quarter and a half of the game. The Bulldogs scored on a four-play opening drive, capped by Joneson’s 28-yard touchdown run.

Lincoln Northeast punted, then the Bulldogs fumbled at the Rockets’ 24-yard line. North Platte forced another three-and-out, and this time the Bulldogs scored on Burke’s four-yard touchdown run to make it 13-0.

Another three-and-out by Lincoln Northeast led to a 12-yard touchdown catch by Brady Haneborg, extending the lead to 20-0 to open the second quarter.

Another three-and-out by the Rockets led to a two-yard touchdown by Huntsman, giving the Bulldogs a 27-0 lead.

Both teams then traded points and interceptions until halftime. Jahven Reyes had an interception in that period.

North Platte opened the second half with an interception by Harper Whitney.

The Bulldogs then drove down the field and scored Huntsman’s second touchdown of the game, a 1-yard run to give North Platte a 34-0 lead.

North Platte intercepted the ball again and Huntsman scored his third touchdown of the game four plays later on a 30-yard run.

Lincoln Northeast followed with Montoya’s 54-yard catch-and-run touchdown. At this point, North Platte had reeled in the second stringers. The Bulldogs fumbled and the Rockets scored again on Scully’s four-yard run.

North Platte scored again on a 2-yard run from Jayden Dowse, and Lincoln Northeast answered with a 61-yard catch-and-run touchdown from Sim, making the score 47-21.

“We knew our defense and our team were going to be the most physical team they’ve seen all year,” Altig said. “We really liked our chances.”

Hay Sources 81, Creek Valley 6

Plattsmouth 48, Lexington 7

South Loup 65, Sandhills Valley 42

St. Pat’s 1, Alma 0, forfeited

North Platte 47, Lincoln Northeast 21

Zandheuvels/Thedford 70, Bayard 12

Central Valley 68, Anselmo Merna 20

Cozad 46, Chase County 24

Bridgeport 26, Perkins County 20

Overton 40, Hitchcock County 20

Loomis 46, Maywood-Hayes Center 6

Ansley-Litchfield 60, Medicine Valley 33

Dundy County-Stratton 50, Hi-line 7