Football · State semifinals · Class C1 · Recap
Adams Central, Boys Town advance to Class C1 final
No. 9 Adams Central overcame a 12-0 deficit to beat No. 5 Syracuse 21-15 and No. 2 Boys Town beat No. 6 Ashland-Greenwood 20-10 in Friday's Class C1 state semifinals, setting up a title game at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.
Adams Central entered 10-1 and is 11-1 after the win. Syracuse entered 9-2 and finished 9-3. Boys Town entered 11-0 and is 12-0 after the win. Ashland-Greenwood entered 9-2 and finished 9-3, losing in the semifinals for the second straight year. Adams Central and Boys Town will meet in the Class C1 final on Tuesday, Nov. 24, at 2:45 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.
Adams Central beat Syracuse 21-15 at Syracuse, reaching the final after three road wins. The Patriots had won both of their earlier playoff games on the road, beating Wahoo 14-7 and then top-seeded Sidney 14-13, reversing a 20-0 loss at Sidney on Sept. 18 that was Adams Central's only defeat. Syracuse had beaten O'Neill 28-7 and Cozad 22-21. No scoring plays were published to a game file for this game. Several early touchdowns were posted without a clock.
Syracuse scored first. Jaxen Walters capped a long opening drive with a 4-yard rushing touchdown, and the extra point was no good for a 6-0 lead. It was 6-0 after one. In the second quarter, Syracuse forced a fumble, and Walters scored on a 1-yard run. The two-point try failed, making it 12-0. Adams Central answered with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Wilson Huyser, cutting the lead to 12-7. Syracuse missed a field goal to end the half, and it was 12-7 at halftime. The kicker and distance were not reported. With about two minutes left in the third quarter, Riley Propp scored on a touchdown run and added a two-point run, putting Adams Central ahead 15-12. Syracuse tied it 15-15 on a field goal with 9:09 left in the fourth, after an Adams Central goal-line stand. The kicker and distance were not reported. Huyser then broke free for a 60-yard touchdown run with 7:31 left. The extra point was no good, and Adams Central led 21-15. Adams Central bled the clock for the final five minutes and clinched the win on a fumbled punt return. The complete scoring list is in the Adams Central recap.
Boys Town beat Ashland-Greenwood 20-10 at Boys Town and is heading to Memorial Stadium for the first time since 2008. Boys Town had beaten No. 15 Alliance and then Lincoln Christian 13-8. Ashland-Greenwood had beaten No. 11 Roncalli 31-23 and then won 14-13 in overtime at Chadron. Trusted play-by-play is partial and covers the scoring through 13-3.
Two flags, the second wiping out Janard Murphy's 50-yard touchdown run, preceded Boys Town's first score. On fourth-and-10, Chase White hit Shawn Lewis for a 22-yard touchdown pass, and the extra point was no good for a 6-0 lead with 6:49 left in the first. It was 6-0 after one. Lewis scored his second touchdown of the night on a 10-yard run with 10:14 left in the second, after a third was called back on a penalty, and Boys Town led 13-0. Caleb Schinck made a 37-yard field goal with six seconds left, after his first try hit the line of scrimmage and a Boys Town false start gave him another chance, and Boys Town led 13-3 at halftime. Ashland-Greenwood scored on a 79-yard touchdown in the third quarter, making it 13-10. The clock was approximate, about 4:01 left in the third, and the receiver was not identified because trusted accounts conflicted on the name. In the fourth, after a fourth-down stop of Ashland-Greenwood, Murphy scored on a 68-yard touchdown run, making it 20-10. The exact clock was not clear. That run was the dagger. Boys Town later converted a fake punt on fourth-and-18 in its own territory with 6:19 left. An interception ended Ashland-Greenwood's last drive. The 20-10 score stood as the final. The complete scoring list is in the Boys Town recap.
Adams Central and Boys Town will play for the Class C1 title on Tuesday, Nov. 24, at 2:45 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.
Scoring summary
Adams Central 21, Syracuse 15 published scoring, which is partial and includes several early touchdowns without a clock, is listed in the Adams Central recap. Boys Town 20, Ashland-Greenwood 10 published scoring, which is partial and covers the scoring through 13-3 with later scores listed as checkpoints, is listed in the Boys Town recap.
Sources
Updates from trusted accounts. Season stats from MaxPreps. Seeds, records and prior playoff results from the NSAA bracket.