Fort Calhoun High School football players have taken on new roles with recent injuries to Colby Bentley, Andrew Namuth, TJ DeMilt, Kaiden Rodriguez and others.
On Friday against Omaha Concordia, coach Zach Byrd's healthy Pioneers stepped up to the challenges associated with those injuries to dominate former FCHS coach Adolph Shepardson's Omaha Concordia Mustangs on the road, 41-17.
“We had individuals step up to the spot when they needed to,” senior Dane Jensen said after the eighth-ranked Pioneers' sixth win of the season. “They came and played hard tonight and I'm just appreciative of them.”
Bentley's absence reshaped Jensen's offensive line, which saw Dylan Keyser move to center and Nick Kusek take on a larger role alongside Colton Miles and Alex Schuler. Jensen said Calhoun's leadership group didn't have to do anything special to get the new line to gel in time to produce four rushing touchdowns against Concordia.
“Honestly, we didn't have to do much because we all knew our responsibility off of the bat,” the senior wearing No. 76 said. “Just because someone goes down doesn't mean we're just going to give up and stop working.”
FCHS' commitment to continuing its winning ways was evident on its first offensive drive. Less than 3 minutes into the game, quarterback Adam Elofson connected on a 44-yard touchdown pass to Kade Foy, who caught the ball, escaped the Mustangs and ran in across the goal line for an early lead.
Concordia pulled within 7-3 with a field goal, but the Pioneers answered with another touchdown. A few plays after another long completion to Foy, Elofson converted a fourth down play into a 25-yard touchdown run with 1:30 left in the first quarter.
It wasn't the last time Coach Byrd's team would complete a throw down the middle of the field or score on a run Friday night.
“We knew we had opportunities to cut across the middle and make some big plays,” said senior Chase Premer, noting Concordia's safety alignment in the defensive backfield. “So, when we needed yards, that's what we did and it worked.”
He caught one such pass down the middle during the second quarter before later scoring on another Elofson pass with no time left before halftime. The QB rolled out to his right on the last-second 25-yard pass, connecting with Premer in the back of the end zone. The play was tightly defended by the Mustangs, but one last defender couldn't keep the ball from its recipient.
“It nicked off his fingers and it landed in my arms,” Premer said.
Ahead 20-3, the Pioneers leaned on Jensen and the offensive line to keep producing and run out the clock. Levi Lasher scored on a 3-yard run during the third quarter before Blake Welchert took off on an 87-yarder at 34-10.
“It was a blessing,” Lasher said. “We had guys step up tonight on the line. They did their responsibilities and I just ran behind them.”
After getting caught on a long run earlier in the game, the senior's second touchdown run of the second half covered 54 yards.
“It felt great,” Lasher said, smiling. “I knew I had to turn on that second gear finally.”
The end result of FCHS' effort was a 24-point road victory. It is 6-1 overall with a home test against 7-0 Wahoo next on the schedule. The game starts at 7 p.m. this Friday.
No. 8 FORT CALHOUN 41, OMAHA CONCORDIA 17
FCHS (6-1) 13 7 14 7 — 41
OC (3-4) 3 0 7 7 — 17
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
FC: Kade Foy 44-yard pass from Adam Elofson, Chase Bierman PAT
OC: Asher Hanson 27-yard field goal
FC: Elofson 25-yard run, PAT failed
Second Quarter
FC: Chase Premer 25-yard pass from Elofson, Bierman PAT
Third Quarter
FC: Levi Lasher 3-yard run, Bierman PAT
OC: Alex Eschmann 3-yard run, Camden Hartman PAT
FC: Blake Welchert 87-yard run, Bierman PAT
Fourth Quarter
FC: Lasher 54-yard run, Bierman PAT
OC: Jarek Petersen 37-yard pass from Cole Hynek, Hartman PAT
