• Video: Highlights from Tuesday night's Class C-1 semifinal game between Norfolk Catholic and Boys Town:

Timing was everything for Jeff Bellar and Norfolk Catholic Tuesday night.

Bellar picked the perfect time to run his version of the naked bootleg, a play he said he hadn't run this season. It went for a 13-yard touchdown with just more than three minutes remaining and held up as the game-winner in the second-ranked Knights' 14-7 win over No. 1 Boys Town in the Class C-1 semifinals before about 1,500 fans at Boys Town's Corral.

The win puts Norfolk Catholic in its third title game in six years, and first since back-to- back championships in 2004 and 2005. The Knights will take on third-ranked Hastings St. Cecilia, a 14-12 winner Tuesday night over Broken Bow.

Bellar's call didn't surprise Norfolk Catholic running back Kelby Seyl. “It always seems like he pulls stuff out at the end,” he said.

Austin Ketter rolled out right without blockers in front of him and found Seyl in the flat. He sprinted toward the pylon and dived in.

But it wasn't until sophomore Luke Lyons came down with an interception inside the Norfolk Catholic 5 that the Knights sealed the win.

“We asked our kids to reach down and find something,” Bellar said. “And they did.”

The Knights scored the only points of the first half after a pair of Boys Town errors set them up near midfield. A holding call on fourth and 3 negated an 18-yard run by Cowboys quarterback Kevin Barrett to the Norfolk Catholic 5. And the snap on the ensuing punt sailed over Devin Winston's head for a 15-yard loss.

On Norfolk Catholic's first play from scrimmage, a halfback pass from Seyl to receiver Ethan Brozek got the Knights to the Cowboy 15. And then Brozek made a spectacular catch on a 3-yard touchdown with less than a minute left in the second quarter.

“Austin threw a good pass,” Brozek said. “I had to do what I could to catch it.”

Boys Town answered on its first drive after the break, marching 60 yards in less than 90 seconds and finishing with Barrett's 18-yard scamper around the right side.

The game remained tied until late in the fourth quarter when the Knights went 59 yards on seven plays to take lead.

The winning touchdown probably wouldn't have happened without another outstanding catch by Brozek. The junior outjumped two Boys Town defensive backs for a 32-yard reception to the Cowboy 12 on third-and-11. He finished with five catches for 96 yards.

Two plays later, on another third-and-long, Ketter found Seyl on the bootleg play for the winner. “It was wide open,” Ketter said.

Boys Town appeared to have a game-tying score when Barrett went in on a highlight-reel run from 31 yards out, crashing into the line, backing out and weaving from the left side to the right sideline into the end zone.

But a block-in-the-back penalty at the 2 negated the touchdown, and a false start penalty put the Cowboys at the 17. Two plays later, Barrett threw a ball up for grabs scrambling to his right that Lyons ran under to seal the win.

Penalties like that are “drive killers,” Boys Town coach Kevin Kush said.

“They made a few more plays than we did tonight,” Kush said. “You've just got to give them credit.”

The Knights' victory avenged a loss on their home field to Boys Town in last year's quarterfinals.

“We were disappointed last year that we didn't get to play (for the championship),” Bellar said. “They are a tough matchup for us in terms of the strength and speed they have. (We) hung together and believe in each other. These guys have heart.”

Barrett ran for 120 yards on 20 carries, including 90 in the second half. But his three turnovers after the break (two interceptions, one fumble) all came with the Cowboys in Norfolk Catholic territory, including a second-half pick in the end zone.

Norfolk Catholic (11-0)...............0 7 0 7—14
At Boys Town (10-1)....................0 0 7 0—7

NC: Ethan Brozek 3 pass from Austin Ketter (Drew Farlee kick).

BT: Kevin Barrett 18 run (Roberto Zamora kick).

NC: Kelby Seyl 13 pass from Ketter (Farlee kick).

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: NC, Kelby Seyl 12-46, Austin Ketter 10-minus 10, Kory Schaefer 2-3, Brant O'Banion 2-1 Team 3-minus 2 Total 29-38; BT, Kevin Barrett 20-120, Kevin Humphrey 13-75, Nehemiah Wilkins 2-22, Devin Winston 9-45 Team 1-minus 15 Total 45-247.

PASSING: NC, Ketter 11-16-0 124, Seyl 1-1-0 29; Barrett 6-13-2 51, Winston 0-4-0 0.

RECEIVING: NC, Tyler Habrock 4-54, Seyl 3-13, Ethan Brozek 5-96; BT, Jahrod Phillips 4-25, Trey Richardson 1-5, Wilkins 1-21.

Contact the writer:

850-0781, nickrubek@hotmail.com