With the sun shining, the stands filled with excited fans, and the buzz of Homecoming energy in the air, the South Loup football team defeated the Leyton Warriors in superb fashion with a final score of 50-6.

The Bobcats (2-3) offense again had a strong game with 264 yards rushing, with sophomore AJ Starr leading with 85 yards, followed by Trey Connell with 78 and Conner Paulsen with 76 yards. The Bobcats also had 19 first downs, and a 66.7-percent conversion rate on fourth downs.

The first quarter was dominated by the Bobcats with Starr scoring a touchdown within the first two minutes of play and a 2-point conversion by Connell.

Afterwards, the defense held the Warriors to less than 5 yards, the Bobcats regained control and Connell found Cache Gracey for a 44-yard run and another South Loup touchdown. Moments later, Rio Remund sacked the Warrior quarterback for a loss of three yards and a tackle by Ethan Furne forced a punt to give the Bobcats control once again. Starr seized on the chance to run up the score and ran 17-yards for another Bobcat touchdown. The score is 22-0 at the end of the first quarter.

A mere six seconds into the second quarter, Connell saunterd into the end zone for another six points for the Bobcats.

An interception picked off by Connell gave South Loup the ball and Conner Paulsen scored his first touchdown of the game.

The Bobcat defense held the Warriors to 14 yards in the next play and a tackle by Joey Sallach and Crew Witthuhn gave the Bobcats the ball again and Connell jogged six yards for another touchdown and a 2-point conversion by Dylan Pandorf to Harper Johnson to bring the score 42-0.

Another Warrior interception, this time picked off by Gracey, gave the Bobcats control once again, but a fumble made the possession short-lived. The Warriors regained control, but Lance Wooters brought down Leyton’s hopes of scoring during the first half.

A Bobcat fumble early in the third quarter gave the Warriors the green light for their only score of the game, but South Loup answered right back with anoth- er Connell touchdown and another 2-point conversion by Conner Paulsen. The third quarter ended with a score of 50-6.

The fourth quarter was for the underclassmen to get some playing time and earn their letters for the year. While neither team scored in the fourth, Paxton Bierman, Dylan Pandorf, and Jamie Tickle got in some good tackles, and Dawson Mason and Kaden Paulsen tallied up some rushing yards for the Bobcats.

The defense played hard, holding the Warriors to a mere 78 yards of offense, and -8 rushing yards. Freshman Crew Witthuhn led with seven tackles, followed by Johnson with six, and Clay Witthuhn with five. The Warriors were held to seven first downs compared to South Loup’s 19 first downs.

The Bobcats continue their play at home on Friday, Sept. 30, with a 3 p.m. kickoff in Arnold against the Longhorns of Hyannis.