92.1 KMZA Broadcast - Pleasant Ridge at Nemaha Central (1st round 3A Playoffs) - click here to listen 

For the third-straight year the Nemaha Central Thunder have picked up a first round Class 3A playoff victory on the gridiron this time beating Pleasant Ridge for the second straight year earning the 59-26 win. 

Plenty of offense and big plays as Nemaha Central earned the lopsided win, but Pleasant Ridge made it interesting at times with their success moving the ball. Getting the ball to start the game, Pleasant Ridge mounted a 12-play drive that got them to midfield before stalling out, but it also took over half the time off the first quarter clock. The Thunder ultimately forced the punt, and after a run and Ram penalty, Nemaha Central busted a 56-yard touchdown run by Mitchell Henry who helped the Thunder to the 7-0 lead with 5:02 left in the first after the PAT was good. Nemaha Central didn't wait much longer to find the endzone again as they ran just a few plays on their next offensive drive and Henry connected with Camron Feldkamp for a 63-yard touchdown and with the PAT it was 14-0. 

Early in the second quarter, a 55-yard punt return by Henry put the Thunder on the door-step of another score as they were on the five-yard line and a few plays later Henry ran it in from one-yard making it 20-0 after the extra point was missed. The Rams had an answer has they had found some success running the ball and Breydon Baragary was at the forefront of that. Baragary busted a 59-yard run that was almost a touchdown as he was pushed out at the two-yard line but on the next play he ran it in for the score but the two-point try was no good so it was 20-6 with 8:49 left in the first half. Nemaha Central added a pair of scores before halftime as Luke Reitz found the endzone on a two-yard run and Henry scampered in from 10-yards out to guide the Thunder into halftime with a 34-6 lead. 

Out of halftime Pleasant Ridge was set to kick it to the Thunder but instead attempted an onside kick and recovered it, then capped the drive with a score as Baragary hit Konner Walker for a big 33-yard catch to set up a score. The touchdown came on a Baragary nine-yard connection to Clayton Richter making 34-12 with 7:55 remaining in the third quarter. Nemaha Central had an answer as they handed the ball to Reitz three straight times and he hit runs of 25, nine and then 36 which went for a touchdown and the PAT good it was 41-12. A 13-yard touchdown run by Henry made it 47-12 Thunder, but Pleasant Ridge didn't go away as Baragary hit Richter for a 26-yard touchdown to make it 47-18. The reserves finished the way for the Thunder as Andrew Leonard came in an ran wild including at 10-yard touchdown run, while Dalton Schmelzle had a five-yard scoring run to cap the scoring the game. Sandwiched in between those two Nemaha scores was 79-yard fumble return score by Pleasant Ridge as Hunter Wagner snatched the ball and returned for the score but Nemaha claimed the win 59-26. 

On the way to the win the Thunder put up over 530 yards of total offense and Henry led the charge going 6-9 for 140 yards with a touchdown and ran nine times for 118 yards with four touchdowns. Henry's performance earned him Community National Bank "Player to Bank On" honors on KMZA. Leonard in mop duty ran for 132 yards on 12 carries with a touchdown, while Reitz notched 92 yards on the ground on just seven totes with two scores. Feldkamp caught two passes for 79 yards with a TD. 

Pleasant Ridge in the loss record 391 yards of total offense and won the turnover battle three to two. Baragray finished the contest 9-18 for 132 yards with two touchdowns and ran for 144 yards on 24 carries with a touchdown. Richter caught four passes for 75 yards and two scores, while Walker had 118 yards of total offense. 

The Rams with the loss fell to 3-7 on the season as they fell in the first round of the playoffs for the sixth straight year. Nemaha Central with the win is 10-0 on the season and is set to host Silver Lake on Saturday, November 4th in the Regional round of the Class 3A. That game will kickoff at 4:00 PM and be broadcast live on KMZA 92.1 FM.