Central Valley beats Archangels Catholic 52-32, reaches Class D3 final

No. 2 Central Valley beat No. 3 Archangels Catholic 52-32 on Friday at Central Valley in Wolbach in a Class D3 semifinal. Both teams entered 10-1. Central Valley is 11-1 after the win. Archangels is 10-2. Central Valley had beaten Falls City Sacred Heart 44-8 and Twin Loup 50-12. Archangels had beaten Cambridge 60-12 and Dundy County Stratton 56-8. Central Valley won the regular-season meeting 40-8 at Archangels on Sept. 4, Archangels' only loss entering the rematch. Central Valley's only loss this season was 44-8 at Sandy Creek on Sept. 18. Trusted play-by-play is partial and covers the scoring through 16-8.

Central Valley struck first. Luke Shoemaker scored on a 20-yard run and Pokorny added the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead with 8:16 left in the first quarter. Two plays after a turnover, Pokorny scored on a 12-yard run, and Central Valley led 16-0 with 5:19 left. Ethan Wieseler scored on a 9-yard run and Archangels converted the two-point try to cut it to 16-8 with 3:39 left in the first.

Geilenkirchen later scored from 53 yards out and Archangels converted the two-point try to tie the game at 16. The quarter, clock, and whether the play was a run or a pass were not reported. Central Valley responded as Pokorny scored from 18 yards out with 9:49 left in the second quarter. The two-point try failed, leaving Central Valley ahead 22-16. That was the halftime score.

Shoemaker scored on a 4-yard touchdown run and the two-point conversion in the third quarter, making it 30-16 with 8:10 left. He added an 8-yard touchdown and another two-point conversion for a 38-16 lead with 3:10 left in the third. Archangels returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown. The clock and the score after that return were not reported. Nekoliczak then scored to make it 46-24 with 11:56 left in the fourth quarter. By then, Shoemaker had 213 yards and three scores. How the game went from 46-24 to the 52-32 final was not reported in the trusted notes.

Luke Shoemaker entered the game with 1,216 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns, and he was tied with Oaklan Soto for the team lead with 99 tackles. William Pokorny had 658 rushing yards and 9.5 sacks. Quarterback Lincoln Nekoliczak had thrown for 673 yards and 14 touchdowns, and Landon Shoemaker had 26 receptions for 325 yards.

Gavin Geilenkirchen entered as Archangels' leading rusher, with 1,119 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. Ethan Wieseler had 684 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns on 109 carries, had passed for 514 yards, and led the defense with 103 tackles.

Central Valley will face Anselmo-Merna, a 52-36 winner over Lawrence-Nelson, in the Class D3 final on Friday, Nov. 20, at 1:10 p.m. at Cope Stadium in Kearney.

Scoring summary

Published scoring plays (coverage partial, through 16-8):

Additional trusted scoring, posted without a complete clock or held behind an unclocked play: Geilenkirchen 53-yard score and two-point conversion tied it at 16-16 (quarter, clock, and run or pass not reported); Pokorny 18-yard score, two-point try failed, Q2 9:49, Central Valley 22-16, which was the halftime score; Shoemaker 4-yard touchdown run plus two, Q3 8:10, 30-16; Shoemaker 8-yard touchdown plus two, Q3 3:10, 38-16; Archangels returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown (clock and score after that return not reported); Nekoliczak touchdown made it 24-46 with 11:56 left in the fourth quarter, when Shoemaker had 213 yards and three scores. The 32-52 final was posted without further play detail.

Sources

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

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