Though the Bobcats football team did not play in Lincoln this week as they had hoped for all season, the team most certainly had a year to be very proud of. Their tough matchup with Sandhills-Thedford was the culmination of a season full of many highs.

Unlike the state volleyball championships, there is no consolation game in high school football. Sandhills-Thedford moved on to take on Wynot in the state championship on Monday, but because of early deadlines due to the holiday, those results were not available at press time. Wynot beat Howells-Dodge to get to the championship, but unfortunately, the playoff system doesn’t include a 3rd/4th place game which of course would have been South Loup vs Howells-Dodge. Either way, the Bobcats remain number one in the hearts of their fans.

The season began for the Bobcats on Aug. 24 when they hosted Elm Creek, easily winning that game 48-21. That would set the tone for the entire season as the team did not score less than 46 points throughout the remainder of the regular season. In fact, the Bobcats outscored their regular season opponents 428-120. Now that’s domination!

However, even with that kind of success the team knew they had tough challenges ahead and worked hard to stay grounded, taking each game at a time. They headed into the playoffs with a lot of momentum and in the first round met an Ansley-Litchfield team who had struggled all season. It proved to be another easy victory for the Bobcats, 46-0.

Round two of the playoffs matched the Bobcats against Lawrence Nelson, who entered the contest with a record of 6-2 while the Bobcats had not even come close to a loss. Once again South Loup dominated on both sides of the ball, cruising to an easy 62-12 victory. That would bring up the toughest opponent the Bobcats had faced yet, the also undefeated Central Valley Cougars.

Both teams desperately wanted the win, to remain unbeaten and move on for a chance at the state finals. In the end, it was South Loup coming out on top of the hard-fought battle, 28-22. That set up a rematch with in-county rivals Sandhills-Thedford with a shot at the state championship on the line.

The Bobcats and Knights first met in league play on Sept. 15, with South Loup getting the win 48-34. That was the only blemish on the Knights's season record entering the Nov. 10 playoff finals contest, and their attempt at revenge was successful as they beat the Bobcats 33-18.

The Bobcats will lose eight seniors from this year’s team: Trey Connell, Cache Gracey, Rio Remund, Lance Wooters, Joey Sallach, Dawson Doggett, Dylan Handley, and Pedro Flores. Individual season stats for this year’s seniors are as follows: Trey Connell (Sr) - 35/62 passing for 632 yards; 196 carries for 1,562 yards rushing; 1 reception for 4 yards; 33 solo tackles, 41 assists; 3 interceptions (defensive); 1 fumble recovery; 6 punts for 209 yards; 1 kickoff return for 11 yards; 39 touchdowns and 16 conversions for 250 total points Cache Gracey (Sr) - 3 carries for 28 yards; 25 receptions for 443 yards; 22 solo tackles, 14 assists; 2 interceptions for 42 yards; 3 kickoff returns for 36 yards; 7 touchdowns and 16 conversions for 58 total points Lance Wooters - 9 solo tackles, 13 assists, 1 sack; 1 fumble recovery Rio Remund - 24 solo tackles, 59 assists, 7 sacks; caused 2 fumbles; 1 conversion for 2 points Joey Sallach - 16 solo tackles, 49 assists, 5 sacks; 2 fumble recoveries; 2 punts for 36 yards Dawson Doggett - 1 solo tackle, 8 assists; 1 fumble recovery