By james art Fremont emptied its tanks Friday night in what turned out to be the season finale, falling just short of upsetting No. 6 Omaha Central, 34-27.
The Tigers kept the Eagles within striking distance all evening, trailing 13-6 at halftime.
Fremont’s only score of the first half came on a nine-yard touchdown pass from Will Schleicher to Carver Kroeger, Kroeger’s first career touchdown.
Central’s lead grew to 20-7 on the opening possession of the second half, but Fremont rallied to tie the game with back-to-back scores before the end of the third quarter.
Schleicher, who finished 10 of 20 for 110 yards, hit Brooks Eiler, who also rushed for 80 yards on 10 carries, for a 4-yard score and Noah Sagehorn for a 49-yard touchdown to knot the game at 20-20.
Fremont was never able to regain the lead as Central answered with touchdowns of its own to regain the 14-point lead, 34-20.
Caden Wray kept Fremont’s hopes alive with an 88-yard punt return for a touchdown, keeping FHS within a score with 6:09 remaining.
Fremont got the ball back with 4:52 left after a third down stop. The Tigers’ first chance to tie the game ended when they fumbled on the second play of the drive, giving it back to the Eagles with 4:13 left.
The Tigers had one more drive to regain possession, backing the Eagles to a third-and-23, but couldn’t stop Central from converting, then time expired.
Max Cooper anchored Fremont’s defense with 14 tackles, including a dozen solo stops.
Fremont finishes the year with a 4-5 record. Friday’s loss will potentially be the Tigers’ final game at Heedum Field, with Fremont Stadium on campus hosting games through the 2025 season.
2. Stop short
Bergen’s comeback to prominence was cut short Friday night on the road against Arlington when the Eagles stunned the Knights 20-14 on the goal line.
Burgon’s Cale Sheets was stopped behind the line of scrimmage on the four goal-line kicks with 22.8 seconds left, tripped by Eagles linebacker Trent Koger, allowing Arlington
Both teams finish the year with 4-5 records after one-win campaigns last season.
3. Playoff Oakland-Craig
Oakland-Craig righted the ship with a 35-22 win over West Point-Beemer in the regular-season finale to finish the year with a 6-3 record.
The Knights enter the Class C-2 playoffs as the No. 10 seed on the season and a rematch with Cedar Catholic.
The Trojans won the regular-season meeting 28-23 on October 18.