Gavin Duryea

Since a week three loss to Holton, the Nemaha Central football team has won seven consecutive games including a 29-21 second round playoff win over Rossville in what was one of the top games in the state.

A big reason for the turnaround after the 1-2 start the year has been the play of senior Gavin Duryea which continued Friday night as he notched 83 yards rushing and two touchdowns including the game-winner on a 1-yard run in overtime.

On the season Duryea has rushed for over 550 yards and six touchdowns while in just the past three weeks alone he has run for over 400 yards and four scores.

He posted over 160 yards rushing in each of the Thunder’s two wins over Maur Hill-Mount Academy and St. Mary’s which were both games Nemaha Central desperately needed to win with their season on the line.

He’s done this all despite missing a couple of games earlier this season and has stepped up in the absence of Gage Palic who was the leading rusher for the early portion of the season but has been dealing with an injury.

Duryea has been great all season long and will look to continue his strong play as of late on Friday night as the Thunder look to claim a sectional title by hosting unbeaten Humboldt (10-0) with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. and live coverage on 92.1 KMZA.