A couple notes on this week’s area games. First, Maywood-Hayes Center will receive a forfeit win over McPherson County. The Longhorns forfeited their season, but have co-oped with Stapleton to play junior varsity contests this season. MHC had the option of playing the JV co-op but opted not to.
Second, Wauneta-Palisade’s game with Mullen will be played in Paxton. Anyone looking to go to the Broncos’ game will have to make the extra drive north.
A look at this week’s games:
Arapahoe (1-1) at S-E-M (0-3)
2016 result: Arapahoe won 54-32
Beau’s pick: Arapahoe
Comments: Arapahoe is looking to bounce back after a tough 41-14 loss to Blue Hill last week, and Sumner-Eddyville-Miller may be the remedy the Warriors need.
S-E-M has struggled keeping opponents out of the endzone, as the Mustangs have allowed an average of 69 points per game. The Warrior offense should see plenty of yards and points this Friday.
Bayard (1-2) at Southern Valley (0-3)
2016 result: Bayard won 38-35
Beau’s pick: Bayard
Comments: Records can be deceiving, especially with this year’s Bayard squad. The Tigers lost their opening game by five points and another by 16. In both, they scored over 30. Bayard may not have a pristine record, but its shown to be a competitive team in the Nebraska panhandle.
Southern Valley gets a unique challenge this week trying to defend a pass-first team. Bayard has averaged over 270 yards passing per game. Quarterback Mitch McKibbin has 752 passing yards and six scores to go along with his team-leading 124 rushing yards and one score.
Brady (2-1) at Medicine Valley (3-0)
2016 result: Med Valley won 62-6
Beau’s pick: Med Valley
Comments: Coming off a big win over Dundy County-Stratton, Medicine Valley gears up for a much-improved Brady team. The Eagles went 1-7 in 2016, but already surpassed that win total.
The recipe shouldn’t change too much for Medicine Valley. The Raiders will want to keep the chains moving with the run. The defense should get a good test from a Brady squad that’s scored 62 and 87 points in its two wins this season.
DCS (1-1) at Cambridge (1-1)
2016 result: DCS won 60-26
Beau’s pick: Cambridge
Comments: This should be a close contest between RPAC rivals. The big question will be how Dundy County-Stratton responds to last week’s loss at Medicine Valley. The Tigers had some success early, but were shut down for most of the second half.
DCS quarterback Nate Auffet left last week’s game with an injury and it’s unclear if the senior signal-caller will be available for Friday’s game.
Cambridge is coming off a bye and looking to avenge last year’s 60-26 loss in Benkelman. The Trojans will test the DCS defense will a steady dose of smashmouth football, headed by Taten Benson and Caden Houghtelling.
Kimball (0-3) at Chase County (1-2)
2016 result: Chase County won 48-9
Beau’s pick: Chase County
Comments: Chase County has a good opportunity to get back to .500 this week, as the ‘Horns take on Kimball.
Kimball’s defense has had trouble with stopping opponents recently, as the Longhorns have allowed at least 50 points in each of its last two contests. If Chase County is looking for a good offensive outing, Friday’s game may be as good as any.
Mullen (3-0) at Wauneta-Palisade (1-1)
Game will be played in Paxton
2016 result: Teams did not play
Beau’s pick: Wauneta-Palisade
Comments: Wauneta-Palisade has had an interesting start to its season. The Broncos started with a bye week before their Week 2 opponent, Leyton, forfeited its game. That meant Wauneta-Palisade didn’t play its first game until last week against a quality Garden County team. This week, however, the difficulty ramps up with D2 No. 8 Mullen.
The Broncos have established themselves as a power in the Nebraska sandhills. Last year, Mullen went 8-0 before losing a close game to Sandhills/Thedford in the second round of the playoffs. Mullen made up for that loss by winning the D2 boys basketball state championship in February.
Mullen is led by Lane Edis, on average, who scores a touchdown every fourth time he touches a football. The senior has nine rushing scores, in addition to one receiving and one off a pick-six. As a team, the running game averages 310 yards and six touchdowns per game.
Wauneta-Palisade will be put to task with trying to shut down the Bronco run game and find a balance on offense to keep Mullen on edge. It will take a big performance to spur the upset, but the Broncos do have Beau picking them to win.
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