Class C-2 State Final Preview: Hartington CC v. Norfolk Catholic

From the time the final gun sounded, probably sooner than that, Norfolk Catholic Football plotted its return.

After getting beaten by one of our all-time best Class C-2 state championship teams, Archbishop Bergan 2021, the Knights this season went about the business of doing what the program has almost always done, winning. Winning big most of the time. But mostly, most importantly, winning.

That trend continued last Friday night when the No. 3 seeded Knights blitzed No. 2 Ord, 38-6. That means they’ve reached another state final, this time in a rematch against upstart No. 12 seed Hartington Cedar Catholic (9-3), with kickoff set for Tuesday at 10:15 a.m.

“I think we have played well. Our leading rusher has been banged up, hopefully can get him ready for next Tuesday, but overall we have played well on both sides of the ball,” says head coach Jeff Bellar, the state’s all-time winningest coach who has led the Knights to nine state titles in his career, most recently in 2017. “Cedar is a very good football team. They can run and throw both very effectively, and they have nice size up front on both sides of the ball. We know each other very well and this should be a very good football game.

“In the final game a rematch doesn’t bother me, I am just happy we are still practicing.”

Norfolk Catholic leans toward making things pretty simple, as in simply beating you up behind a powerful line that features University of Iowa commit Kade Pieper and rising junior Nolan Fennessy among others. They plow a path, or at least a lane, and then senior all-state running back Karter Kerkman and speedy senior Kanyon Talton take it from there.

Kerkman has rushed for 1,444 yards and 27 touchdowns, averaging an astounding 10 yards per carry. His style leaves little to the imagination, as he is a power back who enjoys the challenge of attacking great defenses. Talton is also a big-play back, rushing for 796 yards on just 73 carries and scoring 12 more TDs. It is a formidable pairing.

When the Knights do throw the ball, which ain’t often, junior Carter Janssen has been very accurate, completing 69% of his passes for 834 yards and nine TDs. His leading receiver is Cameron Borgmann, who has 15 catches for 250 yards and four TDs.

Senior Brandon Kollars leads the Knights defense with 126 tackles while Pieper had 104 tackles and Mason Timmerman leads the secondary with five interceptions. Timmerman is also a veteran and dependable punter, averaging 37 yards per attempt.

Like always Norfolk Catholic also has a dependable place kicker, sophomore Max Hammond, who has booted 55 PATs and two field goals.

* Cedar Catholic has been quite a story this postseason. After a three-loss regular season - full disclosure, against NC, semifinalist Battle Creek and quarterfinalist Oakland-Craig - the Trojans have blanketed opponents, allowing only 23 in its three playoff wins. Among those was a 10-9 overtime victory over unbeaten Malcolm in the quarterfinals and last week’s 6-0 semifinal win over Battle Creek.

“We have continued to grow and mature as the season has progressed. We had some setbacks during the year that really helped us learn how to focus on the details of the game and learn how to win big games so although those losses hurt at the time, they really helped us develop and improve in a lot of areas,” says Cedar head coach Chad Cattau. “We are a very heavy senior oriented team and so a lot of the kids knew this would be their last opportunity at making a playoff run and so I believe it really helped in their approach to each practice and game. We have been beaten in the quarterfinals the past couple years and I know they didn’t want that to happen again.”

Didn’t happen, that quarterfinals thing, but there was the previous loss to Norfolk Catholic, 14-0 in Week 9.

“Norfolk Catholic just seems to do almost everything the right way in all three aspects of the game,” says Coach Cattau. “They have great linemen play on both sides of the ball and their skill kids are excellent athletes that can score from anywhere on the field. They don’t make the mistakes that will cost them in the game so we need to take advantage of any opportunities we have for big plays during the game.

“They do such a good job of mixing in their play calls and getting various people the ball that it really makes you stay honest and sound in your defensive plan and fundamentals. And then they also have really good special teams so we need to be great in that aspect as well.”

Cedar Catholic has made it this far riding that big, bold and beautiful defense, a platoon led by senior linebackers Spencer Albers and Jaelen Lammers (80 tackles each) and Grant Arens (72 tackles, 4 INT).

When it comes to offensive grit, get this, the Trojans have played six different running backs this season due to injuries. The team’s leading rusher, senior Andrew Jones, has gained 668 yards and scored 11 TDs, and in his stint as the team’s QB he passed for 869 yards and nine TDs.

Sophomore Braeden Reifenrath has also played quarterback for the Trojans, accounting for five TDs, while Grant Arens (11 catches, five for TDs) and Carson Arens (15 catches for 301 yards and a TD) are the team’s leading receivers. Senior James Christensen is the team’s second-leading rusher with 333 yards and three TDs.

@HuskerlandBob Sez: When these teams met in the final week of the regular season Norfolk Catholic slugged out a 14-0 victory. A rematch in the state final didn’t necessarily seem like a lock that night but after the way Cedar has played defensively it is in position to pull the stunner of the finals...Norfolk Catholic 24, Cedar Catholic 12.