Broncos Stopped Short in Final Moments of 21-14 Loss

(Fremont, NE) – Heading out to Fremont to take on the Midland Warriors, the Broncos had an opportunity to tie it late, but the Warriors defense held strong in the final moments of the 21-14 final on Saturday afternoon.

Both teams were stopped on their first drives of the game, but on the first play of the Broncos' second drive, Hastings found the endzone on a big pass play. On the play, freshman wide receiver Aiden Nicholson lined up in the back field and senior quarterback Jarrett Synek found him wide open in stride across the middle. Nicholson outran the Warriors the rest of the way for the 83-yard touchdown to go up 7-0. Midland missed a 43-yard field goal in the final moments of the first quarter.

Midland later put together a long scoring drive in the second quarter, going 59 yards across 15 plays and scoring a four-yard touchdown pass to tie it at seven with 7:50 left in the half. After Hastings punted on their next possession, the Warriors completed a 77-yard touchdown pass on the first play of their drive to take a 14-7 lead. 

The next Bronco drive started at their own six-yard line, but runs by senior running back Kaiden Merryman and junior wide receiver Cole Thorne brought them to the 30-yard line at the two-minute timeout. Three plays later, Merryman found an open lane and ran 68 yards for a touchdown. Midland completed a deep pass two plays later that appeared to be headed for a touchdown, but senior defensive back Colton Marsh hustled down and stripped the Warrior receiver and the Broncos jumped on the fumble to keep it tied going to the half.

In the first half, Hastings had 120 rushing yards and 99 passing yards, while Midland had eight rushing yards and 248 passing yards. Synek was 6-11 for 99 yards and a touchdown. Merryman had eight carries for 95 yards and a touchdown. Nicholson had two catches for 90 yards and a touchdown in the opening half.

Midland took the ball down to the Bronco 11-yard line, but on fourth-and-three, junior defensive lineman Ed Tingle stuffed the Warriors short of the first down. After a three-and-out by Hastings, the Warriors got the ball in Hastings territory after the punt and took a 21-14 lead on a 14-yard touchdown pass with 5:23 left in the third. On the final play of the third quarter, senior defensive lineman Tywan January made a big sack of 16 yards on third down to give the Broncos the ball back to start the fourth quarter.

The Broncos advanced the ball to the Midland 30-yard line following a facemask penalty by the Warriors, but facing a fourth-and-one from the Midland 24, Merryman was stopped short of the first down. The Warriors converted a critical fourth-and-six from the Hastings 23, but missed a 25-yard field goal wide left to keep it a one-score game with 3:53 remaining. 

Synek connected with Nicholson for a 41-yard reception on the next play. On third-and-four from the Midland 33, Synek found senior tight end for 17 yards and a roughing the passer penalty moved the ball inside the 10-yard line with two minutes left. Two running plays got them down to the two-yard line, but the next two plays ended in a loss of one yard and an incomplete pass, as Midland held on for the 21-14 win.

Midland outgained the Broncos, 463-301, in total yards and 427-160 through the air. Hastings had a 141-36 yard advantage on the ground. Midland was 3-4 on fourth downs, while Hastings was 0-3. Synek was 9-18 for 160 yards and a touchdown, while Merryman had 17 carries for 116 yards and a touchdown. Nicholson led the receivers with three catches for 131 yards and a touchdown. 

Defensively, junior linebacker Dawson Kissinger had 12 tackles and one tackle for a loss of six yards. Marsh had nine tackles and a forced fumble.

Up next, Hastings (3-4) will play at Briar Cliff on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 1pm.