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Hitchcock County honors injured teammate with state playoff berth
TRENTON, Nebraska -- The Oct. 22 football victory for the Hitchcock County football team was a bit of therapy for the Falcons players, coaches and fans.
Hitchcock County ended the regular season with a 50-23 win over St. Edward in a six-man contest held at the Falcons home field in Trenton.
The Hitchcock County players wore number 14 decals on the back of their helmets Friday honoring teammate Austin Forbes. The senior suffered serious injuries in an automobile accident Oct. 16, and Austin is hospitalized in Kearney. Many Hitchcock County fans attending Friday's contest also wore special T-shirts with Austin's name in big letters on the front.
Perhaps emblematic of the week experienced by the Hitchcock County program, stormy conditions enveloped the area in the first half of Friday's contest. The dark, swirling clouds looked ominous, and a huge bolt of lightning that appeared just south of the field forced officials to run the teams off the field for a mandated 30-minute delay.
When the storm passed and the teams returned, perhaps a good omen greeted the Falcons and their fans -- bright sunshiny skies that lasted most of the remainder of the contest.
Kicking off the game with a bang
After battling through an emotional week, the Falcons appeared ready to play Friday afternoon. The hosts started the game with a bang, as junior Gabe Ware returned the opening kickoff 60 yards for a touchdown.
After St. Edward intercepted a Hitchcock County pass, the Falcons took the ball right back on the next play when Clive Brown recovered a fumble at the St. Edward 22-yard line. Brown had three straight carries -- including a 1-yard touchdown dive and the ensuing two-point conversion kick for a 14-0 Hitchcock County lead midway through the opening quarter.
Ware intercepted a pass on St. Edward's next possession, and the Falcons scored on the next play when quarterback Zach Cruz hooked up with Brown for a 31-yard scoring strike. The PAT kick sailed wide left, and Hitchcock County led 20-0 with 2:38 left in the period.
St. Edward did not record a first down until their final possession of the first half. By then, Hitchcock County tacked on three more touchdowns, all scored by Cale Brown on a 7-yard run plus TD receptions of 8 yards from Zach Cruz and 11 yards from Clive Brown. The Falcons tacked on a safely when the St. Edward running back was tackled in the end zone, followed by a 37-yard TD run by Austin Blume for a 50-0 halftime lead.
The Beavers scored all their points in the second half, playing mostly against Hitchcock County defensive reserves.
Hitchcock County rushed 28 times for 144 yards. Clive Brown led the Falcons with 51 yards on 8 carries. Austin Blume added 45 yards on 5 attempts.
The winners completed 6 of 8 passes for 79 yards, with three different quarterbacks connecting. Cruz led the trio with 51 passing yards, completing 3 of 4 attempts. Leading receiver was Clive Brown with 2 catches for 43 yards.
The Hitchcock County defense held St. Edward to 214 total yards, with 127 coming in the second half.
Long, hard week
Coach Albers said his team's execution wasn't the best, but he knew the reason why.
"Obviously with the week and all the emotions and everything, the kids aren't quite 100 percent there mentally," he said. "I know that next week, with things moving forward and getting this first week (following Austin's accident) behind us, I think the kids will be ready next week, and we'll get things cleaned up and be ready to go."
Home playoff game Oct. 29
Hitchcock County, 6-1, qualified for the state six-man playoffs sanctioned by the Nebraska Six-Man Coaches Association (SMCA). The top eight teams in the state made the state playoff field, and the Falcons have drawn the second seed in the West Division behind 8-0 Arthur County. Hitchcock County will host Sioux County Friday, Oct. 29, with kickoff set for 4 p.m. at the Falcons' home field in Trenton.
The two teams squared off Oct. 1 in Harrison. Hitchcock County survived the nearly 300-mile trip to the northwest corner of the state to claim a 48-12 victory. Sioux County will get to make the long trip south for Friday's rematch in the playoffs.
The winner will advance to the playoff semifinals the following week.
Facing adversity
Following Friday's game, the Falcons gathered at midfield carrying Austin Forbes' number 14 purple jersey in a special ceremony. A fund-raising event for the Forbes family was held Sunday at the Church of God Family Life Center in Trenton.
Coach Albers said his senior leaders have suffered through a truckload of adversity through their high school careers, with the serious injuries suffered by their teammate at the top of the list. He hopes the team can come together and keep this successful season going with a playoff win next Friday.
"Our senior class has been through a lot together," Albers said. "We used to be the team getting beat by 50 points. Those guys, some of them played as freshmen, and all of them played as sophomores, and they took their lumps. We were looking forward to this season being kind of a breakout year, and it's been very good for us, and we hope to continue on."
With every play, every game, in honor of their fallen teammate.
St. Edward 0 0 15 8 -- 23
Hitchcock County 20 30 0 0 -- 50