Sports

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.

On Friday, Nov. 10, the South Loup Bobcats traveled to Dunning to play in a heavily attended semifinal playoff game against the Sandhills-Thedford Knights. It was an epic rematch from the regular season game that ended in a 14-point victory for the Bobcats.

On Nov. 3, the Central-Valley Cougars traveled to Arnold to play the South Loup Bobcats in a highly anticipated game that lived up to all of the hype. The coin toss went in favor of the Bobcats who elected to defer, kicking off to the Cougars.

The South Loup youth football season concluded on Oct. 22, with both the A and B teams having very successful outcomes.

On Friday, Oct. 27, the Lawrence-Nelson Raiders traveled to Callaway to play in the second round of the NSAA State Playoffs against the undefeated South Loup Bobcats.

Monday, Oct. 23, saw the end of their high school volleyball careers for seven South Loup student-athletes: Grace Bierman, Maggie Birkel, Delaney Rogers, Bryn Schwarz, Charli Vickers, Delaynie Laible, and Josie Reiff. The ladies went up against North Platte St. Pat’s in a C2 District 11 match-up and played their hearts out, ultimately falling just short of the victory.

Snake stories are like fishing stories; everyone has one and the facts of the story may be a bit more fiction than fact. For example, there is a story out of “Plum Creek” (now Lexington) from 1885 about Dr’s. Stimson and Charlesworth killing a “huge rattlesnake”. While using his whip in killing the snake, Dr. Stimson said the snake bit the whip causing the whip to swell considerably. Not sure how an inanimate whip could swell, but a great story.

On Thursday, Oct. 19, the undefeated South Loup Bobcats hosted the first round of the NSAA High School State Football Playoffs against the 3-5 Ansley Litchfield Spartans. The Spartans quickly discovered they were no match for the Bobcat powerhouse offense, as South Loup cruised to an easy victory to remain unbeaten and advance to the next round.

The South Loup Bobcats had four cross country runners qualify for the NSAA State Cross Country Championships, held this past Friday at the Kearney Country Club in Kearney. It’s a tough course, and it was a hot day, but the Bobcats ran well.

The Lady Bobcats hosted Ainsworth on Tuesday, Oct. 17, in their last regular season game of 2023. It was a hard-fought nip-and-tuck match that took five sets to declare a winner. In the end, it was Ainsworth on top; however, any of the sets could have gone either way.