UPDATED: Class C-2 Finals Preview: Norfolk Catholic v. Bergan

Like Joey Chestnut reaching for that final hot dog, Bergan wasn’t going to be denied.

Facing a familiar (and talented) foe in last Friday’s frozen semifinal game, Archbishop Bergan mustered up a clutch defensive performance and paired it with some timely offensive big plays in a 20-0 win over Ord, a rematch of the 2020 Class C-2 state title game.

Undefeated and No. 1-ranked Bergan (12-0) will now face once-beaten and No. 1-seeded Norfolk Catholic (11-1) in next Tuesday’s Class C-2 state championship game at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2:45 p.m.

Returning much of last year’s state runner-up team the Knights were Huskerland’s preseason No. 1 and had been basically unchallenged until last Friday. But even Ord, which was playing its best football entering the game, had not much for answers against a talented and senior-laden Bergan team. Bergan won the much anticipated game, 20-0, a cold, still night.

"Our kids embraced the elements, played with passion, and displayed a will to win that wouldn't let them be denied. After being so close last year, and falling to an amazing Ord team, our kids have gone to work each week to improve from the previous game and give themselves a chance to finish the fight this year," says Bergan head coach Seth Mruz. "Going into this game, we knew we'd have to stop the run, and our kids did a fantastic job of making that happen. Despite graduating a lot, Ord has talent everywhere and they really matured throughout the season. We knew we were going to have to play one of our best games of the year to win.

"On defense, we were physical in the line, our linebackers played like an avalanche going downhill, and our secondary wouldn't let anything behind them. On offense, we were undersized in the lines but we were able to generate just enough on the run game to open things up closer in the red zone for us to take advantage of some looks in the passing game."

While Bergan has made it look easy this season, there have been challenges, says Coach Mruz. "Injuries have plagued us all year and really tested our depth, but our kids have handled the adversity well. We knew we'd be talented this year athletically. We just needed to make sure we stayed driven, humble, and mentally tough."

It’s leading senior, the best player in the class and among the best in the state, period, is quarterback Koa McIntyre, who simply dominates every game he plays whether he’s trying to or not. The other night against Ord he accounted for all three Bergan touchdowns, which is sort of in line with expectations for a guy who’s thrown for 1,869 yards and 29 TDs and rushed for 1,216 yards and 16 TDs. You know, a lot.

When Bergan goes to the air there are lots of quality receiving options but junior Kade McIntyre has established himself as a premier C-2 talent and future Division I scholarship recruit, having caught 33 passes for 813 yards and 12 TDs. Dude’s basically, as they say, uncoverable.

Another quality receiver for the Knights is senior Logan Pruss, who has caught 28 passes for 569 yards, a nifty 20 yards per, and scored six touchdowns.

Senior Jarrett Boggs is second in command when Bergan runs the ball (620 yards, 11 TDs, limited attempts) but is a five-star general on defense where he leads the team in tackles (88) and TFLs (14), and has also come up with three sacks and three fumble recoveries. What makes Bergan so hard to beat is the number of defensive playmakers it stacks on that side of the ball, among them Kade McIntyre (57 tackles, 10 TFL, 4 sacks), senior Cal Janke (55 tackles, 10 TFL), senior Owen Pruss (11 TFL, 5 sacks), and Koa (5 INT).

As for Norfolk Catholic, Coach Mruz knows his team is aiming to take down a giant.

"We have to play our best game of football that we have played all year. Norfolk Catholic is phenomenal program with amazing players and coaches. The are only three things in life that seem to be guaranteed - death, taxes and Norfolk Catholic football playing for the state championship," says Coach Mruz. "They have great size in their offensive and defensive lines. Their skill guys are big, strong, and fast. All 11 guys on the field play so physical and hard that it makes it very difficult to do what you want to do. They had a lot of youth last year and those guys seem to have matured in a hurry, as they are firing on all cylinders right now at the right time.

"For us to win the game, we need to take care of the football and then we need to be able to run the ball and stop the run. If we can do those things, we will give ourselves a chance to win."

* You remember Norfolk Catholic, right? The Knights haven’t been in a state final since way back in 2018, so you might have lost track of them.

A little hard to do with the 16 other state finals, including 10 state titles, but still.

Good along, the Knights have gotten to be a progressively better football team this season, shaking off an Opening Night loss to C-1 Boone Central - which went on to win nine games, don’t forget that part - to win its last 11 games. After easing past Hartington Cedar Catholic, 20-13, in a tough quarterfinal rematch the Knights pulled away from upstart Wilber-Clatonia in a 35-14 semifinal round win.

"We were able to run the ball very effectively against Wilber, which is good because the weather made throwing more difficult on that night," says Norfolk Catholic's Jeff Bellar, our state's all-time winningest high school football coach. "Overall, a very good performance from our defense, which gave up some yards but didn't break. We were very good in special teams play which made our opponent go the long field most of the night."

Norfolk Catholic has a wonderful blend of talents on offense, so many of them underclassmen, a group led by junior running back Karter Kerkman, who has rushed for right at 1,500 yards and 23 TDs. Sophomore Carter Janssen has emerged as an outstanding dual threat quarterback, accounting for 1,800 yards of total offense, and senior Brennan Kelley is a proven hand at wide receiver, leading the team in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns.

More young turks on defense, a platoon led by junior Kade Pieper, a monster talent in both lines, as well as junior Caden Arens, Kelley and junior Mason Timmerman, the latter also leading the team with six interceptions while Kelley has four of them.

Don’t let it get close when playing against NC since their special teams are always, well, special. Same thing this year with Timmerman averaging 36 yards per punt and Max Hammond having registered over 40 kick points.

"It is always a great feeling to play for a state championship, and I am very proud of this team for getting this far," says Coach Bellar, who has led the Knights to 10 state finals and nine state titles. "We have mixed together some youth with some experience and improved very much as the season went on."

@Huskerland Bob Sez: Norfolk Catholic is a tradition rich program that has a talented young team which has matured over the course of the season to the point where it is championship ready. It is good enough to win the thing, and will, if Bergan has any trouble at all putting that emotional Ord game in the rear view mirror...Archbishop Bergan 25, Norfolk Catholic 21.