The two Nebraska eight-man football championships on Monday produced one of the greatest days of championship football in eight-man playoff history.
Sandy Creek repeated in Class D-1 with a 66-26 win over Crofton behind nine total touchdowns from quarterback Kam Sealey and a defense that held the Warriors – who set a playoff series record for points scored – in check.
The second game may have one-upped the first as Wynot defeated previously undefeated O’Neill St. Mary’s 71-60 in the highest scoring game in Class D-2 playoff history. Wynot quarterback Devin Brummer threw for seven touchdowns.
CLASS D-1: Sealey Leads Sandy Creek To Dominant Repeat
By Terry Douglass – For the Nebraska School Activities Association
Kam Sealey and Co. engineered an offensive explosion for Sandy Creek.
The Cougars amassed a class-record 53 points in the first half on their way to a 66-26 victory over Crofton in the Class D-1 state championship game at Memorial Stadium. Sealey had a hand in nine touchdowns — five rushing and four passing — as Sandy Creek (12-1) just missed the D-1 title game scoring record of 67 points set by Lawrence in 1982.
“I’m incredibly proud of the way those guys executed today,” Sandy Creek coach Andrew Kuta said. “I think we had a great game plan coming in and our assistant coaches especially did a tremendous job of finding different things that we could be successful doing. Then, these guys executed it at a high level.
“In the first half, offensively, I think that’s as good as we can look, so I’m extremely proud of them.”
Sealey was the trigger man for an ultra-balanced Cougars’ attack that rolled up 541 yards of total offense, including 272 yards passing and 269 rushing. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound sophomore completed 17 of 24 pass attempts for four TDs and no interceptions and rushed 23 times for 203 yards and five more scores.
“Our coaches had us really prepared on the offensive side. It played out just like we wanted it to,” said Sealey, who also had an interception on defense. “We really clicked today. We matched Crofton’s physicality and won in the trenches up front. I really think that was the difference in this game.”
Wes Biltoft (three receptions for 119 yards and two TDs) and Logan Tomky (three catches for 100 yards and a TD) played a large role in Sandy Creek’s offensive outburst. Kaeden Schmidt added six receptions for 37 yards and a TD and had a team-high five tackles and an interception for the Cougars.
Sealey entered the contest completing 71.1% of his passes for 2,167 yards and 32 TDs to go with 1,578 yards and 33 TDs rushing in his first season as a starter.
“Kam has really grown a lot and just had a tremendous year,” Kuta said. “His teammates trust him and they have a lot of faith in him, which is something that has really impacted his play in a positive way. His confidence has grown throughout the year and his understanding of our offense has as well.”
Sealey had a tough assignment for a sophomore, taking over at quarterback for Ethan Shaw, who led the Cougars to their first state football title in 2024. However, Sealey said he spent his freshman season taking mental notes.
“Seeing Ethan lead this team was a great thing for me,” Sealey said. “I got to see how he ran the offense, his leadership abilities and how he impacted everyone else around him and that’s what I tried to do this year.
“He left some big shoes to fill, but we ended up going back-to-back, so it’s a good feeling.”
Despite the loss, Crofton (10-3) set the D-1 record for single-season scoring in a playoff run with 292 to break the old mark of 290 points by Howells in 2009. Tyson Jackson, who rushed for 2,297 yards and 50 TDs in the Warriors’ first 12 games, had 171 yards on 12 attempts against Sandy Creek, scoring on runs of 5, 65 and 65 yards, to go with 14 total tackles on defense.
A key juncture came midway through the second quarter when Crofton, trailing 24-8, turned the ball over on downs at its own 25-yard line with 7:01 left before halftime. On the next play, Sealey connected with Tompky on a 29-yard scoring pass and the Cougars added the two-point conversion on a pass from Sealey to Schmidt for a 32-8 lead.
Sealey’s 4-yard TD run with 4:35 left in the second quarter increased the lead to 39-8. After Crofton’s 52-yard TD pass from Preston Foxhoven to Jackson Lynde, the Cougars responded with a 26-yard TD run by Sealey and a 26-yard scoring pass from Sealey to Schmidt to give Sandy Creek a 53-14 halftime lead.
The Cougars became the first D-1 team to win back-to-back titles since Elgin Public/Pope John in 2011 and 2012. With several key contributors expected to return next season, the Cougars could be eyeing a potential three-peat.
“It’s going to take me a moment to enjoy this, but man, I’m so proud of this group of guys,” Kuta said. “It’s unbelievable how much these guys have been together and put each other first the entire time.
“This group is so unselfish and they’ve put each other first the entire year. I think that’s why they are where they are.”
CLASS D-2: Wynot Tops St. Mary’s In All-Time Thriller
By Terry Douglass – For the Nebraska School Activities Association
The Class D-2 state championship was the epitome of a game that neither team deserved to lose.
In a three-hour marathon that featured a class-record 131 points, 920 total yards, 38 first downs, a combined 12-for-12 performance in the red zone and just two punts, Wynot captured its first state title with a 71-60 victory over St. Mary’s at Memorial Stadium.
The point production on the gridiron surpassed the combined number of points the Blue Devils and Cardinals scored last March when St. Mary’s beat Wynot 63-51 for the Class D-2 boys state basketball title.
“We knew it was going to be up and down,” Wynot senior wide receiver/safety Kotner Koch said. “Our offenses are both elite. Our defense just fought through.”
Koch finished with 13 receptions for 265 yards and four touchdowns and also had two rushing TDs. But in a game where defensive stops were difficult to come by, it was Koch’s two interceptions in the final 13:25 that might have been the difference.
“Kotner is just a great player — heck of an athlete,” Wynot coach Steve Heimes said. “He goes and makes plays when we need him to.
“I can’t say enough about Kotner. He just played a heck of a game.”
With Wynot (12-1) clinging to a 65-60 fourth-quarter lead, the Blue Devils faced a fourth-and-5 play at the St. Mary’s 12-yard line. After scrambling to buy extra time, quarterback Devin Brummer lofted a pass high into the air that sailed over the outstretched hand of a leaping defender and landed in Koch’s lap as he was seated in the end zone, giving Wynot an 11-point lead with 2:04 remaining.
“I think it should’ve been a flag. I got tripped up,” Koch said. “Our quarterback and me — we’ve just got chemistry, I guess — and he just put it right in my lap, so give him credit for that.”
Koch later squelched St. Mary’s comeback hopes, intercepting a pass and sliding to the turf with 47 seconds left. That catch set up victory formation for the Blue Devils, who won their first state title after finishing as the state runner-up in 2023.
“We were here two years ago and couldn’t get it done, but today we got our redemption,” Koch said. “We just came together and did our job. We learned from last time that nothing is too big. We just had to come out here and play our game like it was a normal Friday night.”
Brummer finished 23-of-26 passing for 394 yards and seven TDs with one interception for Wynot. The seven passing TDs tied the D-2 playoff record of Giltner’s Jake Findley set in 2012.
Lane Heimes rushed 24 times for 78 yards and a TD and also caught a scoring pass as did Blue Devils’ teammate Braylon Hans. Nixon Heimes had 10 total tackles and Jed Nelson recorded a pair of sacks for Wynot’s defense.
Gage Hedstrom was 17-of-30 passing for 347 yards and six TDs with two interceptions for the Cardinals (12-1), who were aiming for the program’s first state title since 2002. Playing with a brace on his right knee, the 6-foot, 180-pound senior also rushed for 59 yards and three scores on 23 carries.
Hedstrom came into the contest the national eight-man career record-holder for combined rushing and passing TDs with 186. He had a hand in nine more scores against Wynot.
“He’s gutsy,” St. Mary’s coach Tony Allen said of Hestrom. “I could tell he wasn’t 100%. … You could just tell he was missing a half a step and against a team with so much speed all the way around, it was just tough for him to really get going with the rushing game.
“I wish his knee would’ve been better so he could’ve ran a little bit more because he’s awful fun to watch run.”
The 131 combined points scored by Wynot and St. Mary’s set a new D-2 state playoffs record. The old mark was 127 set in 2012 when Bertrand beat Kenesaw 82-45.
“Those were two good teams, offensively,” Allen said of the St. Mary’s-Wynot matchup. “They just made more plays than we did at the end. That’s really all it was.”
Wynot started and ended its season by winning high-scoring affairs. The Blue Devils outlasted Class D-1 state runner-up Crofton 78-76 in four overtimes in their season opener.
“I really think that first four-overtime game played a role in what we did today,” Steve Heimes said. “This was very similar to that game — first one to 70 wins. It was just crazy so I really think that helped us in this game.”
The state title gave the Blue Devils a rare football-volleyball title sweep.
“I can’t say enough about the community and how much they support us,” Heimes said. “If there’s anything we need, we just ask and we’ve got it.
“Our town is just ecstatic about what’s going on. It’s a great time to be living in Wynot.”
Terry Douglass is a freelance writer based in Grand Island. He is the former sports editor for The Grand Island Independent and contributor to Harvest Sports. The weekly Harvest Sports Newsletter covers a wide variety of Nebraska prep sports.