2024 Week 4 (Nebraska & Colorado)
I knew I would be in Nebraska for Friday night. But my Thursday and Saturday options were up in the air. Nebraska had a surprising number of available games to choose from for Thursday. But nothing on Saturday.
I had been to Sidney, Nebraska a month earlier, and had planned to return some time in the future to see a game. It just so happened that it would be this Friday. Looking at the schedule, there were quite a few 6-man and 8-man games on Thursday. The ideal one, for getting to Sidney the next day, was going to be in Big Springs at South Platte High School. But I had just seen them play Creek Valley. A game that was struck by a large storm that resulted in over an hour lightning delay. Though I wasn’t against seeing them again, when they’d host Wallace.
There were a few others. But I wanted something that would make getting to Sidney reasonable. And that was a game in Grand Island. I had seen a game in Grand Island years and years ago. Back in 2010, I had seen Grand Island host, and beat, Lincoln East.
There’s three big schools in Grand Island. Grand Island, Grand Island Northwest, and Grand Island Central Catholic. And then there’s 6-man Heartland Lutheran. On the southwest side of town, sits the small private school and its football field. They were hosting Dorchester. A team I had wanted to see previously. So, it worked out well.
Heading west along I-80 through Iowa, I took the I-880, formerly I-680, west of Avoca toward I-29, bypassing the bulk of Omaha. Taking I-680 into Nebraska, and following US6 west to Boys Town. Then NE92 west around Wahoo, and through the small towns of Shelby and Osceola. Then US30 southwest into Grand Island after passing through Central City. Another team and stadium on my list to see someday.
I got to the stadium about an hour prior to kickoff. I hadn’t eaten, and the booster club had food out, for a requested donation. I had pulled pork and a cookie.
The sandwich was good. Tasted great. Though the pork was a little cool. Ate it sans sauce, and it didn’t need it. The sign of really good barbeque. The field itself was pretty basic. Though common for most 6-man stadiums. A large pressbox stands two stories tall, while the stands are just a few rows high. With a large number of fans standing or sitting around the perimeter of the field. Demarcated by a rope line. A nice scoreboard was situated to the southwest corner of the endzone. The lighting was going to be an issue.
#34 – Grand Island Heartland Lutheran v. Dorchester
For the game itself, it was a fun one to start. Some turnovers, and Dorchester opened up a 22-8 lead. Before Heartland Lutheran came back with two touchdowns to take a 24-22 lead into the half.
In the second half, Dorchester’s offensive prowess was lost. And what got them three first half touchdowns netted them just one score. And Heartland Lutheran wore them down, winning 42-28.
My article, with scoring tweets, is available here:
I found out after the game, while processing photos, that many of my first half photos were blurry. I had been shooting fast, but something with the tracking focus was changed. And I wasn’t sure what, exactly. So, to rectify it, I reset the setting and adjusted them to match my other camera. The second half looked much better. But still problematic.
After the game was over, I drove west to Big Springs, where I could have seen another South Platte game, to spend the night as I had already planned. In the morning, I headed west to Sidney. Just taking I-80 about an hour to Sidney. I went into town first, and then back to Walmart. After that, I headed back to the field.
Sidney’s Weymouth Field reminds me a lot of Ellis, Kansas’ Old Ellis Field. The school sits along the one sideline beyond the stands, though it’s not offset. They, too, had a tailgate setup with food from the boosters. But I had already eaten something from Walmart. I also wasn’t feeling the best, so wasn’t going to eat much anyways. The weather was beautiful. A bit of a breeze.
The field is very lush grass, just as it was the night before at Heartland Lutheran. A full track, and a videoboard was on the back of a tractor-trailer parked just outside the stadium along the north endzone. The stands were full, even pregame. Sidney reminds me a lot of Steubenville Big Red in both color/uniform scheme and the S helmet. Though on black instead of red.
#35 – Sidney v. Holdrege
I wasn’t expecting much from this game. Calpreps had Sidney as a 31-8 favorite. But it was more just being there that mattered to me. Plus, Holdrege was a new team for me, as well. As we see out west a lot, Holdrege is a 218 mile drive. Mostly along I-80. But still quite the distance.
Once the game kicked off, Sidney opened up with 4 first half touchdowns. It was clear they had the upper hand. And I was personally hoping they’d just get the running clock going as quickly as possible once the second half started.
At halftime, I went up into the visitor stands where there was room, and checked out some scores from home. On the field, Sidney had junior cheerleaders on the field doing a small performance for the home crowd. As that was going on, I did my halftime photo tweets. And just relaxed. I stayed there through the third quarter.
In the second half, I got my wish. Sidney added another touchdown. Setting the running clock. Holding Holdrege on a 4th down deep in their defensive territory. Going on to win, comfortably, 42-0. Though Holdrege had a chance to score but opted not to utilize the timeouts at the end.
It was a fun game. The crowd was into it. It also was quick. Thanks to the running clock.
My article, and scoring tweets, are available here:
https://pafootballnews.com/news/nebraska-spotlight-sidney-v-holdrege-photo-gallery/
After the game, I headed north to Alliance to spend the night. After some early morning running around, I had one game to get to playing Saturday night. And that was Briggsdale.
I drove back south through Sidney. Following NE19 to CO113. Taking US138 southwest through Sterling to CO14. And following that west 60 miles to Briggsdale. Passing by Prairie High School, in Raymer or New Raymer, Colorado. The town is named Raymer, while their ZIP Code is listed as New Raymer. And the Post Office has never considered changing it to match the name of the town.
Briggsdale is a small stopping point in northern Colorado. If you aren’t paying much attention, you might miss it. It sits at the junction of CO14 and CO392. But the bulk of the town sits to the southeast of the intersection. Noticeable as you drive by, but not otherwise feel like you’re in a town. It’s a small town, certainly. Their high school capable of hosting six-man football.
When I got there, I was expected there to be people. And by the parking lot, there were. But none were at the field. It was a eerie lack of people you’d expect less than an hour before the game. But that was until I remembered, as noted by someone else showing up, that the crowd was over at the gymnasium, where the two teams’ girls volleyball teams were playing. As with many small schools, football and volleyball are the fall sports you’ll find. And they tend to travel together to ease transportation costs. And give fans something more than just a single game.
It’s something that I forget. I’m used to JV and Varsity, or Middle School and High School. But not the two-sport doubleheader.
But the crowd slowly started trickling in the closer we got to kickoff. Even though the volleyball game hadn’t ended yet.
Falcon Field is a combined baseball/football field. The baseball field sits with homeplate in the northwest corner, facing southeast. With the first base line serving as the homeside sideline. The visitor side has some portable bleachers situated along that sideline. But the goal posts are not permanent. They are constructed on wheels, to be rolled out into place. Something I hadn’t seen before. Even states that play 6- or 8-man games at turf 11-man fields, they use some type of sled-like goal posts usually. The home side has a really nice small stadium elevated above the sideline, and with a large pressbox. The batting cage and two dugouts are plainly visible. Lights are only on one sideline. The far sideline, due to the baseball field, are only at the corners of the endzone. Giving notable shadows. And kept me on the home sideline.
#36 – Briggsdale v. New Raymer Prairie
It was a cool, windy early autumnal feeling game. A strong breeze was consistent across the prairie. Briggsdale started the scoring, on an 8-yard TD pass. Taking an 8-0 lead after the kick. But Prairie came back with three scores in the first quarter, to take a 20-8 lead. That was a devastating turn of events. Briggsdale scored early in the second, to trim the lead to 20-14, but that’s as close as they’d get. Prairie answered late in the half, on a 7 yard pass in the shadow of the backstop. To go up 28-14.
In the third quarter, Prairie and Briggsdale traded scores. First a 16-yard pass by Prairie followed by a 10 yard run by Briggsdale. The kicker, so to speak, was the next score by Prairie. A 43-20 lead after not kicking the ball and going for the easy single point via run or pass. I missed the PAT who scored it, so I didn’t report it, as I was getting the photo up for the touchdown. But the score was now feeling out of reach. Even for the high scoring and quick changing 6-man game.
Prairie pushed it further, with a long TD run, to go up 49-20. At this point it was over. Briggsdale’s tone changed, both on the field and the sideline. The mood that a comeback was possible had dissipated. Prairie wins, 49-20 in this Route 14 Rivalry game between the two schools separated by a scant 30 miles.
My article from this game can be found here:
https://pafootballnews.com/news/colorado-6-man-spotlight-briggsdale-v-prairie-photo-gallery/
After the game, I drove down CO392 to Greeley to spend the night.
ECONOMICS
For the entire weekend, I drove 633 miles between games and ending in Greeley. I spent 24.34 on a Lyft. Donated $5 to Heartland Lutheran for the tailgate food. And $68 for other food. Primarily Arby’s on Thursday night, Walmart on Friday afternoon, a breakfast burrito on Saturday morning, and again Arby’s Saturday afternoon for lunch. Otherwise, it was a rather uneventful weekend of travel notes aside from the games.
All six teams this weekend were new for me. As were all three of the stadiums. A fun weekend with a lot of memorable moments.
PHOTOS OF THE WEEK
2024 Statistics
36 Games
72 Teams
17 Stadiums
8 States
39 New Teams
13 New Stadiums
1,608 different teams
508 different stadiums
1,496 total games
NEXT WEEK
I will be in Montana. That’s about as much as I’ll know. There’s a lot of options, but I’ll be in a part of Montana more centrally located. Which makes game selection a little new for me. As I’m used to the eastern edge. But I have one throwback game I might be able to make on Saturday. Thursday is devoid of games, as the closest to see one would be all the way in Billings. Which is 248 miles from me as I write this.
For photos from this game, and others this weekend, click HERE.
For photos from previous weeks and seasons, visit http://www.flickr.com/sykotyk/sets/