Cambridge ready for long trip in C-2 playoffs

Monday, November 16, 2009

Road trip!

That phrase has likely been heard around Cambridge in recent days.

The Trojans have a long trip to Hartington Cedar Catholic Tuesday for a semifinal contest in the Class C-2 state high school football playoffs. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.

Cambridge will travel nearly 300 miles to Hartington, located north of Norfolk in the extreme northeast part of the state. Trojans head coach Josh Graves said the team planned to depart Cambridge Tuesday at 6:30 a.m., with probably a few stops along the route to stretch legs and eat lunch. Coach Graves hopes the team will arrive in Hartington about two hours before kickoff.

The Cambridge coach doesn't feel the long trip will have an adverse effect on his team.

"I'm sure it's one of the longer ones we've been on," Graves said. "I think it would even be a shorter trip to Lincoln. I suppose back in the 1990s they made trips that were this long to Laurel and places like that. It's the longest trip these kids have been on for sure.

"It will be different, but I don't mind away games. It allows our kids just to think football. I'll know what they'll be doing. We've got film that we can put on, that the kids can watch on TV on the road trip. We're all together and we're bonding and we're being part of the team. I don't foresee it being a problem."

Winner goes to Lincoln next Tuesday

Of course, the motivation for the long trip is another long trip next week -- to Lincoln for the Class C-2 state championship game.

"I was thinking about that earlier this week," Graves said. "I don't think that I'll need to say much to get these guys fired up and ready to play. Obviously it's a state semifinal game and there's going to be a lot of motivation for them to play their best regardless."

Cambridge brings a 8-3 record into Tuesday's semifinal battle, while Cedar Catholic is 9-2 on the season. Cambridge was the sixth seed in the west bracket of the C-2 playoffs, while Cedar Catholic was seeded fifth. Both squads have had relatively easy paths to the semifinals.

Cambridge opened the playoffs with a 44-8 win over Chase County Oct. 29. The Trojans then ran past Perkins County 34-8 in second-round action Nov. 5, followed by last Tuesday's 37-14 win over Sutherland in the quarterfinals.

Hartington CC blanked Thayer Central 28-0 in first-round action Oct. 29, followed by a 33-14 win over Ravenna Nov. 4 and last Tuesday's 48-0 romp past Creighton in the quarterfinals.

Big back for Cedar Catholic

Cambridge will focus on slowing down Cedar Catholic standout Chad Koch, a 215-pound senior running back. Koch has ran for over 2,000 yards this season, and over 5,000 yards during his prep career, according to Coach Graves.

"He's a stud. He's maybe one of the top backs in all of Nebraska," Graves said of the Cedar Catholic bruiser. "We'll have our hands full. He's going to get 30 carries in the game probably. He's the brunt of their offense. If we stop him, then we'll be OK. But that's a pretty tall task."

Cambridge will counter with a potent rushing attack featuring Gus Petersen, a junior fullback who has rushed for 1,112 yards and scored 14 touchdowns (11 rushing, three passing). The Trojans have a balanced attack, with five backs gaining at least 122 yards. Delvin Jackson has 667 yards and 12 touchdowns rushing for Cambridge.

Quarterback Hayden Ekberg has rushed for 437 yards for Cambridge. The senior has also completed 23 of 50 passes for 359 yards and four TDs.

"We've done a good job rushing the ball this year," Graves said. "It's nice to have some guys that compliment Gus well. Gus runs well between the tackles. We've got a bunch of halfbacks who have played really good football here in the playoffs too. Against Perkins County, we had four other running backs score on offense. Gus didn't even score on offense. So we have some weapons there, and it will be important to balance those."

Front lines key for Cambridge

Coach Graves said the key to a Cambridge victory Tuesday will be the play of his front lines.

"We have to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball," he said. "We're going to have to establish our running attack, and limit the rushing attack for Hartington Cedar Catholic."

"We have to close the gaps down for Koch and not give him open running lanes, because if he gets going, he's a tough back to catch."

Graves was the defensive coordinator on the 2005 Cambridge team that lost to Plainview in the C-2 championship final. The Cambridge coach was not on former head coach Dan Keyser's staff when the 13-0 Trojans won the '03 C-2 state title by beating Crofton 22-14.

Graves was the head coach in 2007 when Cambridge lost to Blue Hill in the C-2 playoff semifinals.

24th playoff berth

Cambridge is making its 24th playoff appearance. This year is the eighth-straight post-season bid for the Trojans. Cedar Catholic is making its 19th playoff appearance, including an 11th straight berth this year.

Cedar Catholic lost in the 2007 Class C-2 semifinals to Wakefield.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: