The Blair High School football team may only be 2-5 after Friday's loss at Seward, but the Bears certainly gave the unbeaten, Class B No. 3 Bluejays a fight.
“Kids played hard, that's for sure,” BHS coach Bryan Soukup said after the 20-13 loss.
Facing a stacked schedule of opponents ranked in the Omaha World-Herald's top-10, Blair has struggled to find its next win after a 2-1 start. It readily accepted a test against Seward, however.
“Every challenge is a new opportunity,” Soukup said. “We thought all week it was a good matchup for us.”
It proved to be, too, as BHS took a 13-7 lead about 3 minutes into the second quarter. Senior Brock Templar scored the Bears' first touchdown during the first on a 4-yard run before Aidan Slominski scored the second on a punt block recovery and return, Soukup said.
Elijah Tabor and Nate Murray's pressure led to Slominski's score as they converged on the Seward punter and, ultimately, blocked the kick.
The Bluejays took the lead back just before the half, though, when Tresten Hass scored his second 1-yard touchdown run of the game, according to maxpreps.com.
While Blair remained within striking range from there, it couldn't overcome. Seward's third touchdown during the fourth quarter created some more space on the scoreboard the Bears were unable to match. They're last offensive possession on the Bluejays side of the 50-yard line, though.
“Some key injuries tonight hurt us, but other kids stepped up and played hard,” Soukup said. “Proud of our effort tonight.”
The coach credited the play of quarterback Cooper Sorensen and his receivers — Nelson Kosch, Keenan Wyman, Hayden Daggett and Andrew Smutny — for giving BHS a shot to win against the state's third-ranked team in Class B. Altogether, Sorensen was 23-for-30 passing with 193 yards, according to the Seward Bluejay Network broadcast. Blaise Baughman was noted one of his top targets, too.
Next, Blair faces its first opponent with losses since a Sept. 27 game against 6-1 Elkhorn North. The Elkhorn Antlers are 3-4 after Friday's 35-7 loss to No. 1 Bennington, which bested the Bears by the same score.
The Antlers will host Friday's 7 p.m. game against Coach Soukup's squad. BHS won there a year ago.
No. 3 SEWARD 20, BLAIR 13
BHS (2-5) 7 6 0 0 — 13
SHS (7-0) 7 7 0 6 — 20
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
S: Tresten Hass 1-yard run, Ayden Siebert PAT
B: Brock Templar 4-yard run, Blaise Baughman PAT
Second Quarter
B: Aidan Slominski punt block return, PAT failed
S: Hass 1-yard run, Siebert PAT
Fourth Quarter
S: Peyton Else 20-yard run, 2-point conversion failed
