The South Loup football team came into the 2024 season with the mindset that they have something to prove, and that came through in their opening game of the season on Thursday, Aug. 29. It was a battle of the Bobcats, as the Hemingford Bobcats came to town to meet the South Loup Bobcats in Arnold, and it was South Loup coming away with the W 54-36.

South Loup jumped out early, as Ethan Furne returned the kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown. Conner Paulsen ran the ball in for the 2-point conversion, to fire up the crowd and the team.

But Hemingford answered back a few plays later with an explosive 55-yard run for a touchdown, and added the 2-point conversion to tie the game. That didn’t last long. South Loup showed they were ready to play, as they got the ball across the goal line four more times in the first quarter while holding Hemingford scoreless for the remainder of the quarter. Three of those touchdowns came from AJ Starr, who rushed in from 47, 51, and 21 yards. Two-point conversions from Crew Witthuhn and Conner Paulsen were good, while the other two failed, as South Loup took a commanding 36-8 lead at the end of the first.

Both defenses tightened their lines in the second quarter, but South Loup was still able to strike twice. The first score of the quarter came on a 59-yard pass from Dylan Pandorf to Furne, while the second was the result of a 10-yard run by Furne.

The conversion failed on both attempts to give South Loup a 48-8 lead heading into the halftime locker room.

South Loup added another 6 in the third on a 39-yard pass from Pandorf to Witthuhn, and once again the Hemingford defense held out the 2-point conversion.

Hemingford was able to sneak the ball across the goal line during the third as well, and with the successful conversion the score sat at 54-16 heading into the fourth.

The large point advantage gave South Loup an opportunity to give some of the non-starters some playing time during the final quarter of the game, and also allowed Hemingford to score three more TDs. One of the three conversions was successful to make the final score 54-36.

Pandorf was 3/5 passing for 131 yards and three touchdowns. Starr had 145 yards rushing on 5 carries with three touchdowns. Furne had 2 receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns, and Witthuhn added a touchdown with a 39-yard reception.

Starr led the team in tackles with 9 solo, 3 assists, and 3 for loss. He also had 2 fumble recoveries. Paulsen had 8 solo, 4 assists, and 2 tackles for loss.

The Bobcats will be back on the field tomorrow (Sept. 6) when the travel to Eustis to take on the Hi-Line Bulls for an afternoon contest. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.