“We came out and played our brand of football for about a quarter and a half,” North Platte coach Kurt Altig said. “We got a little loose and unfocused in the second quarter, which I didn’t really like. Then our first group of guys came out and really got going in the first couple of drives, and I may have been a little hasty in putting in some young guys. They kept their starters and scored a few points on us. Overall, we did exactly what we wanted to do.”

North Platte unofficially had 490 yards of offense. Caden Joneson ran for 118 yards and scored a touchdown, and Treyton Burke and Jayden Dowse both scored rushing touchdowns. Brady Haneborg had 23 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Lincoln Northeast scored all three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Quincey Montoya caught a 54-yard touchdown, Coltin Sims caught a 61-yard touchdown and Zayne Scully ran for a four-yard touchdown.

“They’ve done a great job. We’ve relied on them since their sophomore year,” Altig said of Joneson and Huntsman. “They come out and really go for it. They’re the leaders of our team.”

North Platte dominated the first quarter and half of the game, with the Bulldogs scoring on a four-play opening drive capped by Joneson’s 28-yard touchdown run.

Lincoln Northeast punted, then the Bulldogs fumbled at the Rockets’ 24-yard line. North Platte forced another three-and-out, and this time the Bulldogs scored on Burke’s four-yard touchdown run to make it 13-0.

Another three-and-out by Lincoln Northeast resulted in a 12-yard touchdown catch by Brady Haneborg, extending the lead to 20-0 early in the second quarter.

Another three-and-out by the Rockets led to a two-yard touchdown by Huntsman, giving the Bulldogs a 27-0 lead.

Both teams traded punts and interceptions until halftime. Jahven Reyes managed an interception during this period.

North Platte opened the second half with an interception by Harper Whitney.

The Bulldogs then stormed the field and scored on Huntsman’s second touchdown of the game, a 1-yard run that gave North Platte a 34-0 lead.

North Platte then made another interception and Huntsman scored his third touchdown of the game four plays later on a 30-yard run.

Lincoln Northeast followed with Montoya’s 54-yard catch-and-run touchdown. By this point, North Platte had brought in its second players. The Bulldogs fumbled and the Rockets scored again on Scully’s four-yard run.

North Platte scored again on a 2-yard run by Jayden Dowse and Lincoln Northeast responded with Sims’ 61-yard catch-and-run touchdown to make the score 47-21.

“We knew from the beginning that our defense and our team would be the strongest physical team they’ve seen all year,” Altig said. “We were really happy with our chances.”

Hay Springs 81, Creek Valley 6

Plattsmouth 48, Lexington 7

South Loup 65, Sandhills Valley 42

St. Pat’s 1, Alma 0, lost

North Platte 47, Lincoln Northeast 21

Sandhills/Thedford 70, Bayard 12

Zentraltal 68, Anselmo-Merna 20

Cozad 46, Chase County 24

Bridgeport 26, Perkins County 20

Overton 40, Hitchcock County 20

Loomis 46, Maywood-Hayes Center 6

Ansley-Litchfield 60, Medicine Valley 33

Dundy County-Stratton 50, Hi-Line 7