Crofton, Sandy Creek advance to Class D1 final

Both winners entered the night 10-1 and are 11-1 after the wins. Johnson-Brock and Stanton each entered 11-0 and finished 11-1. Crofton and Sandy Creek will meet in the Class D1 final on Monday, Nov. 23, at 2:45 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.

Crofton beat Johnson-Brock 78-51 at Johnson-Brock. Crofton had beaten Elkhorn Valley 59-6 and won 62-32 at Ravenna. Johnson-Brock had beaten Amherst 69-24 and Exeter-Milligan-Friend 42-8. Crofton also beat Johnson-Brock 88-56 in the second round of the 2025 playoffs. Crofton's only loss this season was 40-24 to Stanton on Sept. 18.

Preston Foxhoven and Tyson Jackson combined for 10 touchdowns. Johnson-Brock scored first, but Crofton led 22-14 after one and 48-30 at halftime after Jackson scooped up a fumble and returned it for a touchdown as the first half expired. Crofton led 62-38 after three and closed out the 78-51 win. For the first time in program history, Crofton is making a return appearance to Memorial Stadium, a back-to-back trip to the Class D1 title game. The complete scoring list is in the Crofton recap.

Sandy Creek beat Stanton 52-16 at Sandy Creek. Sandy Creek had beaten Ponca 72-6 and Sutton 62-28. Stanton had beaten Alma 78-27 and Hartington-Newcastle 58-6. Sandy Creek's only loss this season was 34-26 to Johnson-Brock on Sept. 4.

Kam Sealey threw a touchdown pass to Wesley Biltoft for a 6-0 lead, and Logan Tiedtke answered with a 47-yard touchdown run to put Stanton ahead 8-6. Sealey ran 12 yards for a touchdown late in the first quarter, and Sandy Creek led 14-8 after one and 22-8 at halftime. Sandy Creek pulled away in the third. After the published scoring reached 36-8, Sandy Creek forced a fumble and scored two plays later, then Logan Tomky returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown to make it 52-8 at the end of the third quarter, and the clock ran. Austin Claussen's touchdown run wrapped up the scoring in a 52-16 final. Trusted play-by-play is partial and covers the scoring through 36-8. The later scores were posted without a clock, and the score after the fumble touchdown was not reported.

Crofton and Sandy Creek will play for the Class D1 title on Monday, Nov. 23, at 2:45 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.

Scoring summary

Crofton 78, Johnson-Brock 51 scoring plays are listed in the Crofton recap. Sandy Creek 52, Stanton 16 published scoring plays, which are partial and cover the scoring through 36-8, are listed in the Sandy Creek recap.

Sources

Updates from trusted accounts. Season stats from MaxPreps. Seeds, records and prior playoff results from the NSAA bracket.

Class D1 bracket · Semifinal preview