HARTINGTON — The Hartington Wildcats surprised Newcastle 14-6 in a wild one here Friday.
The story of the game was good special team play by us, and exceptional defense.
“This was a strange game in a lot of ways. Had you told me we could not run the ball well, and that Newcastle would throw the ball 50 times, I would not have believed you,” Coach Tim Manzer said.
Hartington kicked off to Newcastle to start the game, Caleb Lammers kicked the ball into the end zone. On the first play from scrimmage Newcastle scored on a 65-yard pass from Blatchford to Hinz.  The extra point kick missed its mark, however and Newcastle led 6-0.
Newcastle then kicked off and Zach Bakke raced up field for a nice return. The ‘Cats were unable to capitalize on the good field position, though, and Caleb Lammers had to punt, which put the ball at the Newcastle seven-yard line.
After three unsuccessful passes, Newcastle lined up to punt and  Zach Bakke blocked Blatchford’s kick on the four-yard line.
On the second running play Zach Marsh snuck in to find paydirt. The extra-point attempt failed, leaving the two teams tied at 6-6.
Early in the second quarter after a short Newcastle punt, Hartington scored on an 18-yard pass from Marsh to Nathan Fischer.  The two-point pass from Marsh to Austin Driver was good, and Hartington led 14-6.

PONCA —  A few inches made all the difference Friday as Cedar Catholic earned a nail-biting 18-14 win over the Ponca Indians.
Cedar gave up two big plays Friday night and came inches away from two more.
Jonathon Becker made a game-saving tackle of Ponca punt returner Justin Blatchford — a tackle the speedy Ponca senior was just inches away from breaking for a score. Ponca’s Jared Curry was just a few inches away from catching a last-second catch in bounds in the back of the endzone — a catch that would have given the Indians the lead with just seconds left in the game.
The Cedar defense prevailed in both instances, however, and the Trojans went on to open the 2007 football season with the nail-biting win. The victory keeps Cedar’s 42-year gridiron win streak over the Indians intact. Cedar now boasts a 14-4 career record over the Indians. The Trojans have won the last 11 times the two teams have met.
Coach Chad Cattau said his team answered a lot of questions Friday.
“With the inexperience that we had I was worried that in crunch time we may not know how to win, but the kids did a great job of stepping up when Ponca had the momentum and getting the job done,” Cattau said.
Ponca put the first points of the game on the board on the second play from scrimmage when All State running back Justin Blatchford took the handoff, cut to his right and raced down the field on a 65-yard touchdown scamper.
The Indians scored again in the fourth quarter when Blatchford hauled in a Corey Kruse kickoff and sprinted untouched 90 yards down the field for Ponca’s second score of the night.
Cedar sandwiched an excellent ball control offense between the two plays to take control of the game and build a solid lead.
The Cedar defense stepped up after Blatchford’s first-quarter run, holding him to just 14 more yards in the first half.
“We knew he (Blatchford) was obviously one of the better backs that we’ll see this season so stopping him was a big part of what we needed to do,” Cattau said. “If you take away his one long run we would have held him to 68 yards on 21 carries, but he did have the long one early in the game.”
Cedar forced Ponca to punt four times in the first half. The Indians also turned the ball over on downs once in the half.
A trio of seniors led the defense for Cedar. Defensive end Brandon Griess led the team in tackles with nine. Defensive tackle Kyle Dump racked up 7.5 tackles. Linebacker Corey Kruse had seven stops on the night.
The Trojans put their first points on the board when Myles Lammers ended an eight-play drive with a three-yard TD plunge.
Cedar quickly put together another solid drive in the second quarter. The nine-play drive featured mostly runs by sophomore running back Chad Koch and quarterback Kyle Kramer. Kramer ended the drive when he hit Tim Wieseler from 13 yards out on an endzone crossing pattern. Cedar again missed the extra point attempt, though, giving the Trojans a 12-8 halftime lead.

ATKINSON – The Cedar Catholic girls golf team took fourth place in the Atkinson West Holt girls golf tourney here Thursday.
Rebecca Dreesen led the Cedar team with a seventh-place finish.
This report will be updated when more information becomes available.

HARTINGTON The Cedar Catholic Lady Trojans dropped the volleyball season opener Thursday night in a triangular with Elkhorn Valley and Battle Creek.
The Lady Trojans lost the first set 25-21 against Elkhorn Valley. Cedar jumped out to a big 5-0 lead in the second set, but the Lady Falcons refused to go away, eventually knotting up the game, and then coming from behind twice to earn the 26-24 win.
Cedar took on Battle Creek in the nightcap.
This report will be updated when more details become available.

HARTINGTON — Over 70 Hartington area residents packed the Governor’s Mansion Sunday to help the Nebraska landmark celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Gov. Dave Heineman and First Lady Sally Ganem stood at the front door of the Georgian Colonial-style mansion and greeted area residents as they entered Sunday.
The private ceremony was organized as a joint effort by the Hartington Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Corporation and city of Hartington. The three local groups came together to present a gift from the residents of Hartington to the Governor’s Mansion.
The gift was presented to honor the three former Hartington residents — Gov. Ralph Brooks, Gov. Dwight Burney and Gov. Charles Thone — who served as Nebraska’s Governor, and lived in the mansion.
A public ceremony outside of the mansion was then held on Monday to officially unveil the glass etchings by Hartington artist Angie Gildersleeve Peitz.
The special events helped kick off a week full of celebrations to observe the 50th anniversary of the mansion. The Nebraska Governor’s residence, located just south of the Capitol, was built in 1957.

HARTINGTON —  Cedar Catholic has some big shoes to fill if it wants to have another successful season and reach the playoffs for the ninth straight time.
The Trojans graduated 22 seniors last year.
Cedar only has one full-time starter and two part-time starters returning this year.

WYNOT —  Wynot High School Coach Ron Rolfes is faced with a difficult task this year.
Rolfes must replace all but one starter on defense. The Blue Devil team will have to rely on a lot of young kids to step up if the Trojans are to have any success, Rolfes said.
Returning letter winners for Wynot are: Tyler Koch, Ross Pinkelman, Zack Humphrey, Wade Thoene, Jimmy Thoene, Ryan Eskens, Ryan Heimes, Zach Jones, Ryan Boeckman and Justin Boeckman.
The Devils will have two other big obstacles to overcome in their season-opener Friday. They open on the road against one of the best D1 football teams in the state.
Wynot travels to Bancroft to take on the ranked Panthers.
B-R is again expected to be led by running back Kyle Novak. Although Novak is 5-6, and 185 pounds, he is quite a good ground gainer. He churned out 1,379 yards and scored 21 TDs last year.
Bancroft is led by  a strong defensive line, as well. Clint Soll, Kyle Novak, Jeremy Anderson and sophomore nose guard Blake Reil.
(6-1, 225).

HARTINGTON — The 2007 high school football season will kick off Friday night here when the Hartington High School Wildcats host D-2 powerhouse Newcastle in the season-opener.
Hartington opened last season against the Red Raiders, as well, dropping a 26-13 contest on the road.
The Wildcats are hoping to avenge that loss and keep things rolling after completing an impressive 5-3 season last year.
Hartington will have a lot of depth to help in that effort. Coach Tim Manzer said 30 athletes are out for football this year.
Zach Marsh, Nathan McPhillips and Colten Bensen are all expected to be big contributors on offense this year for the Wildcats.
Newcastle is expected to provide a very tough test for the Wildcats. The Red Raiders return some very solid athletes in the skill positions.

By Deanna Anderson
Cedar County news
WYNOT — Wynot’s Centennial Celebration starts first thing Sunday morning, Sept. 2 with a Men’s Softball Tournament.
According to Centennial Chairman John Eskins there are 12 teams entered. The tournament was organized by Lee Heimes.
A pancake breakfast will be ready by 9 a.m. at the Parish Hall.
A noon parade, which Jay Heimes is coordinating, will kick off the afternoon activities.
“It will be a good parade. We already have over 60 entries,” said Eskins.
Delicious food at a lunch stand will be available during the day at the Main Street Hall. Snack booths will include funnel cakes, cotton candy, popcorn and more.
There will also be a display of antiques and other historical items at the Main Street Hall, according to Co-chairman Diane Wuebben.
“Joe Schulte donated a lot of pictures and information. His Dad Alex Schulte was one of the founders of Wynot,” said Wuebben.
You will also be able to stop at one of the oldest original buildings in Wynot and choose from a variety of ice cream. An Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor will be located at the original Harness Shop on Main Street.
A horseshoe tournament, horse and buggy rides, a chainsaw artist, and  arts and crafts will also be featured.
At 2 p.m., a time capsule will be unveiled at Telleson Park.
Items were put in the capsule 25 years ago at the time of Wynot’s Jubilee Celebration, said Wuebben.
“We don’t know what is in the capsule,” said Eskins who is also the Mayor of Wynot. “The town board will be adding items when it is opened.”

By Deanna Anderson
Cedar County News
BELDEN —  When Devin Stapelman arrived back on U.S. soil, he felt some culture shock.
He had left behind a different world — one filled with camels, desert sands, 130 degree temperatures, soldiers and a war.
Stapelman has just finished a nine-month deployment to Iraq.
Before flying home, he was in Kuwait for approximately three days for debriefing and getting his travel arrangements in order.
The flight from Kuwait to Germany took about six hours; Germany to Baltimore was another 12 hours in the air.
After a stop at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, he was back at Schiever Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colo., where he is stationed.
He is now spending time with his parents, Brad and Theresa Stapelman, in Belden.
Stapelman said he actually spent 11 months with the other men in his squadron which included soldiers from all over the United States.
“We met up at Fort Lewis, Tacoma, Wash., for two months of training before we left for Iraq,” said Stapelman. “The camaraderie among the men was very good over there.”
Stapelman said he was alongside soldiers you could trust with your very life.
“The soldiers I worked with — you could trust them and rely on them,” said Stapelman who was trained as military police. “You knew they were always there for you. We helped motivate each other.”
Stapelman had four “good” roommates in his pod, which he said was kind of like a trailer house split in two.
“There were four of us,” said Stapelman. “One was from Washington, although he was originally from the Philippines. Another was from D.C., and one was from southern California.”
Stapelman, who worked with area security operations at FOB Camp Bucca, said he saw quite a improvised explosive devices while in Iraq.
Stapelman said the enemy blended in with the regular Iraqi people.
“They do not come out and fight. They stay away from that,” said Stapelman. “I only saw sporadic fighting while I was over there but there were a lot of I.E.D.s, though.”
It was hot and humid in Iraq — two of the soldiers from his unit suffered heat exhaustion.
Stapelman said his camp was right by the Persian Gulf and the temperature was around 130 degrees, and long hours were the norm while he was in Iraq.
The soldiers had six days on and one day off. A day of work was typically 14 hours long.
The soldiers did have some four-day R-Rs (Rest and Relief) though.
Stapelman has been on active duty with the military for two years. He has six years left to serve.
When he gets out of the military. he plans on going to college.
Stapelman attended grade school in Randolph and is a 2005 graduate of Cedar Catholic High School.
Stapelman said he did not really get lonesome while he was living half way around the world.
He was able to keep in touch with his family on a regular basis by calling home using a phone card.
If Stapelman was asked to go back, he said he would not mind being deployed to Iraq again.

OMAHA — Hartington’s Ben Hochstein was named this week as one of four team captains for the University of Nebraska-Omaha football team.
Three seniors and a junior have been elected captains of the 2007 Maverick football team.
Those elected were: Zach Miller, Hochstein, Amp Ferg and Randy Kush.
Hochstein earned first-team All-American honors a year ago. The senior offensive tackle from Cedar Catholic was the NCC’s most valuable lineman in 2006, anchoring an offensive attack that led the nation in rushing.
Miller, a junior quarterback from Wahoo, Neb., earned all-North Central Conference honors last year while rushing for 1,098 yards and a school-record 19 touchdowns.
Ferg is a senior nose guard and two-year letterman from Oakland, Neb. He is a returning starter and last year recorded 23 total tackles.
Kush, a senior rover back from Gretna, Neb., needs one interception to tie the school career record of 15. He’s a two-year starter who has twice been named to the all-NCC second team and in 2005 was second in the nation with nine interceptions.