Football · State semifinals · Class D6 · Recap
Diller-Odell, Garden County advance to Class D6 final
No. 4 Diller-Odell beat No. 9 Leyton 59-42 and No. 3 Garden County beat No. 2 Wallace 24-18 in Friday's Class D6 Class D6 state semifinals, setting up a title game at Cope Stadium in Kearney.
Both semifinals matched 9-1 teams. No. 4 Diller-Odell hosted No. 9 Leyton at Diller in the afternoon, and No. 3 Garden County went to No. 2 Wallace at night. Diller-Odell and Garden County are both 10-1 after the wins and will meet in the Class D6 final on Friday, Nov. 20, at 7:10 p.m. at Cope Stadium in Kearney. Leyton and Wallace finished 9-2.
Diller-Odell beat Leyton 59-42. Leyton had won both of its playoff games on the road, beating Riverside 70-59 at Spalding and then 51-46 at top-seeded Stuart. Diller-Odell had beaten Sterling 56-12 and Red Cloud 60-30, reversing an 18-6 loss to Red Cloud on Aug. 28 that was the Griffins' only defeat entering the semifinal. The 59-42 final is official on the NSAA Week 13 results. Diller-Odell reaches a football state championship game for the first time in school history.
Trusted play-by-play for Diller-Odell and Leyton covers the scoring only through 38-34. Leyton scored first on an unclocked first-quarter touchdown pass from Colt Van Anne to Cooper Benish for an 8-0 lead. On Diller-Odell's first play from scrimmage, Peyton Humphreys broke loose for a 51-yard touchdown to tie it at 8. Van Anne scored a touchdown to put Leyton back in front 16-8, and Griffin Zabokrtsky returned the kickoff for a touchdown to tie the game at 16.
Early in the second quarter, Van Anne threw his second touchdown pass of the day, finding Austin Beutler with 9:52 left for a 22-16 Leyton lead. Humphreys then converted fourth-and-14 for a 51-yard touchdown, tying it at 22. Christian Townsend hauled in a contested touchdown catch over a defender to give Leyton a 28-22 lead. Humphreys answered from 16 yards out with 5:53 left in the half, his third touchdown of the first half, and Diller-Odell led 30-28. The next two scores were posted without a quarter or a clock. Van Anne connected with Benish for their second touchdown pass of the day, and Leyton led 34-30. Humphreys then hauled in a juggling touchdown catch in the end zone, putting Diller-Odell back in front 38-34. That was Humphreys' fourth documented touchdown, and the last scoring play in the files. No trusted scoring plays were posted after 38-34. Diller-Odell closed out the 59-42 win.
Garden County beat Wallace 24-18 in the other semifinal. Garden County had beaten Meridian 58-12 and Medicine Valley 44-22. Wallace had beaten High Plains 32-12 and Southwest 56-28. Garden County beat Wallace 42-16 at home on Sept. 17, the Wildcats' only loss entering the rematch. Garden County's only loss this season was 21-12 at Southwest on Sept. 11. The Eagles also beat Leyton 60-6 on Oct. 23.
No trusted play-by-play with quarter, clock, and score-after was posted for Garden County at Wallace, so individual scoring plays cannot be listed. The first quarter ended 0-0. Wallace led 6-0 at halftime. Wallace led 12-8 at the end of the third quarter. Garden County scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and went from down 12-8 after three to a 24-18 win. Trusted accounts posted no fourth-quarter scoring plays, so who scored, and how, cannot be listed.
Diller-Odell and Garden County will play for the Class D6 title on Friday, Nov. 20, at 7:10 p.m. at Cope Stadium in Kearney.
Scoring summary
Diller-Odell 59, Leyton 42 scoring plays are listed in the Diller-Odell recap. No trusted scoring plays with quarter, clock, and score-after were posted for Garden County 24, Wallace 18.
Sources
Update from @steepintheseats, @LjsLuke, @NEBHSFB, @HFR_Sports, @sabaumert.