Nemaha Central (10-0) suffered a bit of a scare last week when senior running back Cooper Hajek left last week’s game with an injury.

Head coach Michael Glatczak said that if he is not well enough to go, his younger brother Carter will start in his place, but the plan is for Cooper to play both ways.

Before the injury, Cooper ran for 114 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in just 17 minutes of game time in their 36-13 regional championship victory against Rossville. Carter filled in with 132 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Senior quarterback Brayden Uphaus went 8-for-15 with 117 passing yards and a touchdown to senior wide receiver Gavin Cain, who had three catches for 75 yards and the score.

With the win, the Thunder remain undefeated and are one of just three teams that are a perfect 10-0 in Class 2A. It’s also just the second time they defeated Rossville since 2013 despite meeting up with them seven times.

Nemaha Central’s stout defense has not allowed more than 15 points in a game since Week 1 in their 35-28 road win at Holton.

They will take on a Humboldt Cubs (8-2) team that was third in District 2 and is the only team left in Class 2A to win back-to-back playoff road games. They are just one of five teams in all classifications to accomplish this feat (Blue Valley Southwest – 5A, St. James Academy – 4A, Columbus – 3A, Lyndon – 8M-DI).

The Cubs defeated Cherryvale handily in the opening round 59-13 and upset Osage City on the road 26-21 last week to win their region. Humboldt avenged their Week 6 42-34 road loss to Osage City.

Last season, the Cubs made the sectional round but lost 49-8 at Wellsville. The last time Humboldt has advanced to sub-state was in 2019 before losing to Nemaha Central 44-28. This is the only recent meeting between these two teams.

Head coach Logan Wyrick is hoping to continue his eighth year with an overall record of 46-24 and a playoff record of 8-5. This includes perfect regular seasons in 2018 and 2019.

The winner of this game will go on to play the winner of Caney Valley or Sabetha in the sub-state round next Friday.