Nailbiter

Blue Devils hold off late Creighton rally to earn 34-28 win

WYNOT — The Wynot Blue Devils hosted Creighton Friday in the second game of the season and it went down to the wire in a real dogfight.

The Blue Devils built a two-score lead early in the fourth quarter only to see the Bulldogs rally in the final minutes and it took a goal line stop in the final seconds of the game for Wynot to come away with a 34-28 win.

Wynot‘s offense was led by Andrew Haberman who scored three touchdowns and Devin Brummer who threw for 199 yards.

Creighton’s offense was led by Nixson Hilson who rushed for two touchdowns and Jordan Condon who caught a pair of touchdown passes.

The Blue Devil defense was paced by Kotner Koch with an interception and fumble recovery for another score.

The Bulldog defense got a pair of interceptions from Jordon Condon.

The Bulldogs won the coin toss and would receive the ball first but went three-and-out. Wynot would strike quickly as Kotner Koch set up the Blue Devils with a 48-yard catch and run. Andrew Haberman dove in from the one for the score. Haberman added the PAT as Wynot led 8-0.

At the four-minute mark Creighton put together a 45-yard drive. Behind the hard running of Taylor Nilson and helped by a pass interference the Bulldog would get on the scoreboard. Nilson would cap the drive with a 3 yard touchdown push. Nilson hit Braxton Eggerling for the PAT and the score was tied at 8-8 at the end of the first quarter.

Early in the second period Lance Heimes would take an option pitch around the left side and race 35 yard for the Blue Devils score. The PAT pass was no good as Wynot was back in the lead 14-8.

The Bulldogs would mount a drive on their next possession but a Kotner Koch interception in the endzone thwarted the drive.

A Lance Heimes interception late in the period helped Wynot maintain the 14-8 halftime advantage.

The Blue Devil offense opened the second half with an interception by the Bulldogs’ Jordan Condon that was returned to the Creighton 3 yard line. Taylor Nilson dove in from the one yard line for the touchdown. The PAT was no good and the Bulldog had tied the score at 14-14.

On Wynot’s next offensive set the Bulldogs got their second interception, this one by Owen Doerr and returned it to the Creighton five yard-line. On a 4th an goal play Taylor Nilson connected with Ethan Kuhle from the 1 yard line . The PAT pass was incomplete but Creighton held the 20-14 lead.

Late in the third frame, a 30-yard Andrew Haberman catch set up the tying score for the Blue Devils. Devin Brummer connected with Andrew Haberman on a crossing pattern and he scampered into the endzone from 15 yards out to knot the score at 20-20 going into the fourth quarter.

After an exchange of punts, Wynot mounted a drive at the 6-minute mark of the fourth quarter. Nixson Heimes appeared to score from the five, but fumbled the ball as he crossed the goal line. Luckily, Kotner Koch was there to recover it in the endzone for the go ahead score. The PAT was no good as the Blue Devils had regained 26-20 lead.

With 4 minutes left in the game Wynot was on the move again. After a couple of first downs the Blue Devils would go to the Wildcat set. Andrew Haberman would carry the ball three times in a row with the last carry a 6 yard touchdown. Haberman also added the PAT run and Wynot held a 34-20 lead with 3:35 in the game.

Creightons offense would quickly move the ball down field. First down catches by Karter Gragert and Jorgan Condon put the ball inside the Devils redzone. A holding penalty set the ball back but Nilson would find Jordan Condon open again on a 22 yard crossing route for a scoring toss. The PAT pass was good and Creighton had cut the Blue Devils lead to one score at 34-28.

This is where the game got real exciting. Wynot tried to run some clock but Creighton had all three timeouts left. The Bulldog defense held and after a Wynot punt into the endzone, the Bulldogs got the ball back with 1:10 left on the clock at the 15 yard line. Three straight catches by Robinson Ladeaux and a run by Nilson put the ball at the Bulldogs 3 yard line. With no time left on the clock the final play came up inches short for the Bulldogs as Wynot got the final stop by Alex Sudbeck and Andrew Haberman and the Blue Devils escaped with the 34-28 win.

Wynot next hosts Humphrey Arch Angels.

Creighton 8 0 12 8—28 Wynot 8 6 6 14—34 Wynot Creighton Rushing 39-200 37-108 Passing 12-24-199 20-37-204 Total yds 399 312

RUSHING

Wynot - Lane Heimes, 8-104; Andrew Haberman, 12-37; Devin Brummer, 12-30. Creighton - Taylor Nilson 25 x 74; Jordan Condon 12 x 34.

PASSING Wynot - Devin Brummer, 12-199. Creighton - Taylor Nilson, 20-204.

RECEIVING Wynot - Andrew Haberman, 9-124; Kotner Koch, 3-75; Creighton - Ethan Kuhl, 7-69; Robinson Ladeaux, 5-57.

TACKLES- Wynot - Andrew Haberman, 10; Alex Sudbeck 10; Taylor Nilson 10; Nixson Heimes, 10; Kotner Koch, 10. Creighton - Jorgan Condon, 10; Ethan Kuhl, 8 Ethan Kuhlman, 6.