SHICKLEY, NE — Bruning-Davenport/Shickley overcame a halftime deficit to defeat Sandhills/Thedford 36-28 and capture the Class D-2 state championship Friday night in Shickley.

The win finished off an incredible four-year run for the Eagles’ senior class. The nine-player group won two state championships (’17, ’20) and lost just two games in their careers.

“It’s unbelievable,” senior lineman Eric Schroeder said. “It’s dreams come true for everything. It’s amazing.”

Two seniors made the game-clinching play. Leading by eight with about three minutes left, BDS faced third down near midfield. The Eagles could have played conservative and run the football to wind down the clock and put the pressure on the Sandhills/Thedford offense. Instead, they went for it all. Quarterback Dominic Philippi hit Schroeder down the right sideline for a 46-yard touchdown to put the Eagles up two scores with 2:48 left.

“Dominic threw a heck of a pass, I mean it was right on the numbers,” Schroeder said. “It was amazing.”

The game didn’t star as impressively for the BDS offense. The Knights’ held them to three straight punts on the way to a 6-0 lead after one quarter. The big play took over in the second quarter with each team scoring two touchdowns to make it 20-14 at half. Three of the four touchdowns came on runs of 30+ yards.

The BDS defense came out with more energy in the second half. They forced three and outs on three drives and a turnover on downs before a Knights’ touchdown with one minute left. Co-head coach Chris Ardissono says it was a mindset shift for his defense.

“I think we just dug in and played a little tougher. We needed to match match their physicalness.”

BDS has won two championships in the last four years and three in the last six.