CROFTON, Neb. — The Crofton Warriors fought hard to keep their 2024 football season alive, but it ended in heartbreaking fashion at home Friday night in a back-and-forth offensive battle. The visiting Summerland Bobcats came to Crofton, Nebraska, and roared out of town with a 48-38 victory in the Class D1 quarterfinals of this year’s Nebraska School Activities Association State Football Playoffs.
“We knew it was going to be tough,” Crofton head football coach Tom Allen said after the game. “We knew it was going to be a battle. We knew their skills were going to cause us some issues.
” The win marked Summerland’s second victory over Crofton this season and ended the Warriors’ eight-game winning streak. The Bobcats, 10-1 on the year, previously beat Crofton 32-28 on Sept. 5 at Summerland.
The Warriors finished this season with a record of 9-2; their only losses were to the Bobcats. “I’m very proud of these guys,” Allen said. “We competed hard tonight, and we lost against a good team, a team that beat us earlier in the year.
” Crofton started the scoring with a one-yard touchdown run by senior running back Wyatt Tramp in the first quarter. The two-point coversion was good. Summerland senior quarterback Michael Koenig responded later in the quarter by rushing six yards for a score.
However, the two-point conversion attempt failed, meaning the score at the end of the first frame was in favor of Crofton, 8-6. The second stanza saw each team score twice, with.