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Bison tough it out against Gering
The McCook Bison football team jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter against Gering Friday night at Weiland Field, struggled in the second and third quarter and tacked on two Chris Schleeman touchdown runs in the final frame to beat Gering 35-13.
McCook, ranked No. 1 in Nebraska Class B by the Associated Press and Lincoln-Journal Star and No. 2 by the Omaha World-Herald, improved to 4-0. Gering dropped to 2-2.
"Our biggest thing was that we got off to a great start," said McCook coach Jeff Gross. "When we got up 14-0, we wanted to get Sam (Frazier) and Matt (Berry) out of there."
The McCook defense had several sacks and tackles for losses amounting to minus 46 yards on the ground for the Bulldogs. With 63 yards passing, Gering had a positive 17 yards of total offense.
After forcing Gering to punt on the first offensive series, McCook broke out the wishbone. The Bison featured Schleeman, a 5-foot-9, 205-pound senior, at fullback and 220-pounders Tyrone Sellers and Sam Frazier at the halfback spots.
Sellers carried the ball four times for 41 yards in the series and junior quarter Matt Berry twice for 36, including a 9-yard TD run.
On the next series, Frazier intercepted a pass and returned it 30 yards for a TD.
Then the Bison added a 21-yard TD run and Jeff Lorentz booted the third of five extra point kicks to give McCook a 21-0 lead.
Berry, who played with his left hand in a cast, and Frazier who has a sprained ankle, were taken out of the offensive lineup. Berry still played on special teams.
Berry was replaced at quarterback by senior Justin Spector, but he was injured in the third quarter and was replaced by junior Mike Grabowski.
Senior cornerback Andrew Reitz suffered a leg injury in the first half and was taken out of the game. His status in uncertain for next week.
The Bison were flagged several times for penalties and lost three fumbles.
Finally in the fourth quarter, the Bison offense clicked again. Schleeman scored on TD runs of 29 and 18 yards. He finished with 83 yards on six carries. Tailback Zach Wieser had a big game for the Bison, rushing for 169 yards on 21 carries.
Gering got on the scoreboard when Kurtis Doremus returned a kickoff 91 yards. Aaron Johnston kicked the extra point.
The Bulldogs added a 14-yard TD pass from quarterback Sam Hadenfeldt to Carlos Paloma as the clock ran out.
Gross said his squad knows it can play better.
"The guys are feeling down right now," Gross said. "We didn't play well, but we're 4-0 in Class B. We had 363 yards, but we know there was more for the taking. We've got stuff we need to work on.
"Our defense is phenomenal, led by (inside linebackers) Sam, Chris and Nathan Gleason. Defensively, we're a bear. We've been priding ourselves on special teams and we gave up a special teams touchdown."
McCook travels to Sidney next week.
Sidney lost to Scottsbluff 7-0 Friday night. McCook blasted Scottsbluff 44-0 in Week 1.
McCook (4-0) 21 0 0 14 -- 35
Gering (2-2) 0 0 0 13 -- 13
M -- Matt Berry 9 run (Jeff Lorentz kick)
M -- Sam Frazier 30 interception return (Lorentz kick)
M -- Berry 21 run (Lorentz kick)
M -- Chris Schleeman 29 run (Lorentz kick)
M -- Schleeman 18 run (Lorentz kick)
G -- Kurtis Doremus 91 kickoff return (Aaron Johnston kick)
G -- Carlos Paloma 14 pass from Sam Hadenfeldt (no kick)