After a tough loss to begin the 2026 season, the Bobcats football team bounced back with a dominating win on Thursday, Sept. 3, against Sandhills Valley on their home field in Arnold.

The Bobcats came out firing and scored two touchdowns in the opening eight minutes of play, then added two more in the second quarter. Meanwhile, the defense held the Mavericks scoreless, and South Loup took a commanding 26-0 lead into the halftime locker room.

The Bobcats added another 8 points in the third quarter, and 6 in the final period. Sandhills Valley finally got on the board in the final minutes of the game to avoid a shutout, and the game ended with a 40-6 South Loup victory.

South Loup’s offense was built entirely on the ground game as the Bobcats amassed 314 total rushing yards on the night. Nearly 100 of those yards - 98 to be exact - came from quarterback Tysen Schacher, who kept the ball himself 8 times and scored 3 touchdowns. Senior Elijah Cool got the call for 8 carries as he racked up 77 yards and 2 touchdowns, with the other touchdown coming from sophomore Jett Morgan, who finished the night with 55 yards on 9 carries.

Freshman Jaxsen Schacher had 6 carries for 31 yards in the game, followed closely by sophomore Remi Flynn with 28 yards on 6 carries. Dawson Downing ran the ball twice for 18 yards, and senior Wacey Schultz added an 8-yard carry.

The Bobcats’ defense was fierce, and nearly everybody got in on the action. Sophomore Braxton Cozad had 4 solo tackles in the game, and all of them resulted in lost yards for the Mavericks. T. Schacher also had 4 solo tackles, 2 for lost yards, while 2 of Noah Anderson’s total tackles lost yards for the Mavericks. Flynn, Schultz, and Braxton Green each had a tackle for loss.

The Bobcats will take their 1-1 record on the road to Eustis on Friday, Sept. 11, to meet the Hi-Line Bulls who are looking for their first win of the season. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.