Elkhorn defeats Beatrice in overtime

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BY KEN HAMBLETON / Lincoln Journal Star

BEATRICE — Jared Brill battled cramps, sweat and fatigue, but still  threw for 290 yards and two touchdowns and found enough energy to outjump a Beatrice receiver in the end zone Thursday to give Class B No. 2 Elkhorn a 35-28 victory in overtime.

“I love to play the fade routes and I just timed the jump and got the break on the ball,” Brill said. “I’ve been dying to do something like that my whole life.”

Beatrice quarterback Zach Ruiz had riddled the Elkhorn defense for 170 yards and a touchdown. He scored on a quarterback sneak with 8:26 left in the fourth quarter to give Beatrice a 28-13 lead.

But the Orangemen couldn’t tack on the extra point when kick holder Justin Coleman was temporarily sidelined by cramps and Beatrice struggled to just get the PAT off.

“We make that extra point and no problem,” said Beatrice coach Bob Sexton. “It came down to a PAT and we had nobody out there to hold. Then we miss the kick. Then we let one slip away.”

Elkhorn, the Class B state runner-up a year ago, lost a fumble with 6:44 left in the fourth quarter, but the Antler defense forced a punt and Elkhorn got another chance from its 20-yard line with 5:03 left.

Brill ran for 12 yards and passed for 41 yards on an eight-play scoring drive that ended with a 33-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Oberembt with 2:47 remaining. Oberembt kicked the PAT to make it 28-20.

Elkhorn stopped Beatrice a yard short of a first down at the Elkhorn 24 with 1:50 left and Brill hit Oberembt on a 32-yard pass, then found Dan Spitler for a 13-yard pass and connected with Jake Long on an 11-yard touchdown pass. Brill then passed to Ryan Maloley for a two-point conversion to tie the game.

“That drive … well, we have some skill people and we used the skill people we have,” said Elkhorn coach Mark Wortman. “We were a  3 yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust team for so long. But we have these skill position players. …”

Collin Martineau, the third tailback in the game for the Antlers,  then carried twice for Elkhorn’s touchdown in overtime and Brill intercepted the Beatrice pass to preserve the victory.

“Even if we hadn’t won, I was thinking this was a feisty team,” Wortman said. “Brill, for instance,  was cramping up and we couldn’t get him off the field. We finally made him play just offense, but he was in there on defense for the overtime.”

Despite playing with nine new starters on defense and 10 new starters on offense, Beatrice controlled most of the game.

Beatrice senior Devin Schroeder, who had not played football until this game, had two interceptions — one to set up the touchdown that put Beatrice ahead in the second quarter and the other to set up the Orangemen’s final touchdown.

“He made some great plays and was in the penthouse, and then he got caught on their last touchdown,” Sexton said. “We’re going to learn from this. There are so many new faces out there and they played so well for a long time. I was ecstatic to see them hold up for so long.

“If we had won this, I don’t know how I would have felt about these kids.”

Reach Ken Hambleton at 473-7313 or khambleton@journalstar.com.