It’s been a long time since Norfolk High has beaten Omaha Central in a football game.

Thanks to a suffocating defense, the outcome was worth the wait.

Norfolk held the Eagles to just 117 total yards en route to a 28-0 victory in Class A first-round state playoff action Friday night.

It’s safe to say that no one in the Memorial Field crowd of 1,975 was present the last time the Panthers came out on top — 1911. Omaha Central, which was called Omaha High School back then, lost for the first time in 10 meetings against the Panthers.

“I can’t remember a better defensive game from a Norfolk team,’’ said Panther coach Tom Olson. “The defense was just phenomenal. Central had a couple of opportunities early, and our defense just stood up.’’

The Panthers held Central to 39 yards rushing on 34 carries.

Norfolk took advantage of one of the Eagles three lost fumbles after Ethan Weber recovered the loose ball at the Central 21-yard line.

Sparked by fullback Tyson McGill’s 18-yard run on first down, the Panthers ran three more plays before scoring on McGill’s 1-yard bolt.

Norfolk upped its lead to 14-0 when quarterback Brady Lollman hit wide receiver Brenden Olsen for a 31-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-three with 22.1 seconds left before halftime.

Central (4-6) saw its best scoring chance go awry after recovering a Norfolk fumble on the Panthers 13 early in the third quarter.

The Eagles drove to the 1 before the Panthers defense stiffened. A bad snap from center lost 14 yards and Eagle quarterback Jake Fuhs threw incomplete on fourth down.

“We were our own worst enemy at times,’’ said Omaha Central coach Jay Ball. “But give credit to Norfolk, they have a good football team. We had some chances here and there but we didn’t make plays and they did. That’s why they’re moving on and we’re not.’’

After recovering another Central fumble at the Eagles’ 39, Lollman hit wide receiver Tyler Erwin for a 44-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-0 with 2:30 remaining in the third quarter.

Lollman led all rushers with 110 yards on 23 carries and completed 5 of 17 passes for 109 yards.

The Panthers (7-3) added their final touchdown on a 5-yard run by Lollman.

“Our coaches just asked us to win the turnover battle and we would win the game,’’ said Lollman. “Every game we’ve won this season our defense has given us the ball in good field position. That give us a chance to score and that’s all we can ask for as an offense.’’

And the Panthers defense is happy to oblige

“We hard all week in practice and if we make a mistake we stay together,’’ said defensive back Emmanuel Mtika, who also recorded an interception. “We know we’re good enough to force the other team into making mistakes. So we capitalize on everything we can. We never give up.’’

An old saying states that defense wins championships. Can this Panther defense lead Norfolk to its first state title appearance since 1995?

“Yes we can,’’ said Mtika. “We plan on going far into the playoffs.’’

Norfolk plays at Millard West in the second round.

Omaha Central.............0 0 0 0—0

Norfolk High................7 7 7 7—28

NOR: Tyson McGill 1 run. (Brady Lollman kick), 2:20.

NOR: Brenden Olsen 31 pass from Lollman. (Lollman kick), :22.1.

NOR: Tyler Erwin 44 pass from Lollman. (Lollman kick), 2:30.

NOR: Lollman 5 run. (Lollman kick), 4:33.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: OC: KeenanWilliams 11-48; Paulino Gomez 12-40. NOR: Lollman 23-110; McGill 8-75.

PASSING: OC: Payden Kuhn 1-6-0, 4 yards; Jake Fuhs 4-12-1, 74 yards. NOR: Lollman 5-17-1, 109 yards.

RECEIVING: OC: Gomez 3-51; Alex Hoist 1-17; Williams 1-10. NOR: Erwin 3-63; Olsen 1-31; Elliot Koerting 1-15.

« High Schools

Share