On Friday, Nov. 1, the South Loup Bobcats faced off against the Summerland Bobcats at Ewing in the second round of the football playoffs. Unfortunately, the Bobcats saw their season come to an end with a 46-0 loss; however, the team turned in an impressive performance throughout the season.

“It was a tough loss, but this was a fun team to have for my senior year!” said Jamie Tickle.

Summerland (Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard) had a strong offensive attack that proved to be too much for South Loup, while their defense managed to shut down the South Loup offense. The Bobcats only managed 1 yard passing and 111 yards rushing on the night.

Those numbers are very uncharacteristic of the Bobcats’ season. Allow the following statistics from the team leaders to remind you just how well the team has played this year!

Conner Paulsen stood out as a key player, leading his team with an average of 89.6 rushing yards per game and contributing significantly with 112 total yards per game, alongside scoring 14.6 points per game. Dylan Pandorf also made his mark, throwing for an average of 96.1 passing yards per game.

On the receiving end, Ethan Furne averaged 54.5 receiving yards per game. Defensively, AJ Starr averaged 14.5 tackles per game, while Crew Witthuhn added 0.5 sacks per game.

The loss marked not only the end of the season, but also the end of a high school career on the gridiron for a large crop of outstanding seniors. They are Harper Johnson, Jamie Tickle, Ethan Furne, Kyle Bloomer, and Colton Hicks.

The Bobcats finish the season with an overall record of 7-3, and went 4-1 in district play to finish second.