Knights edge Cedar in quarterfinals

HARTINGTON — Cedar Catholic was out to prove something Friday night.

The Trojans were out to prove they were better than the 52-14 drubbing they took the last time they matched up against Oakland-Craig.

The Trojans improved their performance against the defending state champs, but they still ultimately fell, 15-6, in a slobber knocker of a Class C-2 quarterfinal game that ending the CCHS season at 8-3 overall, but not before making their mark on the memory of everyone who followed this team.

Things didn’t exactly get off on the right foot in this one, as the Trojans’ first play from scrimmage ended up being an interception that allowed the Knights to score just one play later.

Cedar Catholic Coach Chad Cattau was pleased with the way his team responded to that adversity.

“We had some things go against us early in the game and the kids could have easily folded, but they continued to battle and really made Oakland-Craig work for every yard they got on the night.”

The offense struggled – as evidenced by the six points scored – and that came from an inability to keep drives going.

“We had our opportunities to score, but we just weren’t able to capitalize on some of those chances,” Cattau said. “We were able to make some plays on the ground and through the air, but we just weren’t able to do it consistently enough throughout the game.

Despite the mis-steps and miscues, the Trojans battled toe-to-toe with Oakland-Craig the entire game.

“It was really a great high school game, though, and I am extremely proud of the way our young men prepared all week and competed during the game, Cattau said.”

All but three of the game’s points were scored in the first quarter, including Tate Thoene’s two-yard scoring run that, with the missed PAT, pulled CCHS to within 12-6 after the first 12 minutes.

All told, the defenses dominated, with Oakland-Craig outgaining the host Trojans 196-195.

Easton Becker accounted for almost half the Trojans’ offense, as he ran for 90 yards on 12 carries.

Three CCHS turnovers didn’t help their cause.

Cedar didn’t let that letdown bother them, though.

“I thought defensively we played outstanding: I thought Coach Johnson came up with a great plan and the players did a great job of executing it,” Cattau said. “They really played with great effort and energy throughout the game. It was probably the best defensive performance we had all season long. Each player did a great job of winning their individual battle on each play.

Yet, in the end, just getting a season completed was a big victory for the program and the young men across Nebraska considering the age of a pandemic is upon us.

“I really didn’t know what to expect going into this season because we had a lot of uncertainties,” Cattau said. “We were replacing our defensive coordinator, we had two new assistants that had relatively zero experience coaching, and we also had to replace some great leadership and some very productive players from last season. We were able to win a close game in week one vs O’Neill and that really set the tone for the rest of the year. It made the kids really believe that they could beat the teams on their schedule and that we could win close games.

“In week two, we played in 90-degree temperatures in an afternoon game against Battle Creek and we were able to win in overtime. It was at that point that this team really began to learn how to beat good teams and the energy and effort it takes to play at a consistent level. This group really competed each and every practice and they were never satisfied with what they had accomplished. We also developed a lot of leadership throughout the season and that helped carry us when we had things go against us.”

Going forward, the program is looking solid due to Cattau’s use of underclassmen throughout the season and watching the CCHS JV roll through the season unbeaten.

“I am really excited about what we will be able to do next season,” Cattau said. “We return a lot of our core players from this year’s team. It will not be easy to replace the kids we will be losing so we will need some kids to step up into some important roles next season for us.

“I really believe we have the nucleus to become a very good team if these kids put in the needed time and effort throughout the offseason to improve themselves. I think this loss will really push each of these kids from now until the beginning of next season. They need to improve on a lot of things, but the ability will be there to have a very good season.”

Cattau is also very happy that his team could escape more perils that could have been associated with the COVID-19 virus.

“We were very lucky from the standpoint that we didn’t have COVID affect our season in terms of the games we played,” he said. “We were able to play our entire schedule and we were very fortunate for that. We told the kids each week that they were getting an opportunity that a lot of kids in the state weren’t getting so they needed to take advantage of that opportunity.”

Senior Noah Arens was pleased that if the season had to end with the loss, it was one they could accept with pride.

“I am proud of the way we played,” Arens said. “We put a lot of work in this week of preparing. We had to fight and we wanted it. We were in more comfortable positions and felt more prepared.”

The familiarity of having played Oakland-Craig three times over the previous 15 months helped as well.

“We were recognizing what they were like and what their tendencies were and what they ran,” Arens said. “I wouldn’t want to go out any other way. They are probably the best team in C2.”

Cedar Catholic 6 0 0 0 — 6

Oakland-Craig 12 3 0 0 — 15

PASSING Cedar - Tate Thoene, 6-14-52. O-C - Grady Gatewood, 0-7-0.

RUSHING Cedar - Easton Becker, 12-90; Tate Thoene, 19-33; Myles Thoene, 4-18; Charlie Schroeder, 1-2; Kerby Hochstein, 2-0. O-C - Caden Nelson, 20-127; Jack Pille, 1-38; Tavis Uhing, 7-30; Jaron Meyer, 1-4; Grady Gatewood, 2-1; Coulter Thiele, 3 - -2; Carter Bosquet, 1- -2.

RECEIVING Cedar - Easton Becker, 1-23; Carter Arens, 1-11; Myles Thoene, 2-9; Connor Vlach, 1-7; Charlie Schroeder, 1-2.

TACKLES Cedar - Kerby Hochstein, 10; Jay Steffen, 7; Noah Arens, 6; Carter Arens, 6; Myles Thoene, 3; Owen Heimes, 3; Easton Becker, 2; Owen Dendinger, 2; Grant Arens, 2; Hunter Thoene, 2; Alex Kuehn, 1; Ethan Becker, 1; Charlie Schroeder, 1. O-C - Mike Brands, 8; Jack Pille, 6; Coulter Thiele, 4; Tavis Uhing, 4.

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