Pierce takes down defending champs in C1 quarters

PIERCE - Class C1 #2 Pierce set the tone defensively early, and built an insurmountable lead as they advanced to their fourth straight state semi-final.

The Blue Jays held off defending C1 state champs Columbus Lakeview 33-23 at home on Friday. Pierce held off a furious rally late, with the Vikings scoring all 23 of their points in the final 5:15 of the game.

The Blue Jay defense limited Lakeview's talented senior fullback Landon Ternus to just 40 yards on 13 carries. The 205-pound senior came into the game fifth in C1 with 1,062 rushing yards.

Pierce's offense hit on big play after big play once again, with senior Abram Scholting tossing three touchdowns and running for another. Scholting extended his Class C1 career record touchdown mark to 94.

Husker commit Ben Brahmer caught one of Scholting's touchdowns, and threw one of his own to fellow senior Jayden Coulter.

Pierce returns to the semi-finals for the fourth straight year. In order to make it to their fourth straight state championship game, they'll need to beat six-seed Adams Central at home next Friday.

GAME SUMMARY

LAKEVIEW (8-3) -  0  0  0 23 - 23

PIERCE (11-0)      - 14  6  0 13 - 33

SCORING SUMMARY

FIRST QUARTER

 - 9:16 - Abram Scholting (PIE) 16-yd TD run (XP no good)

 -  :00 - Abram Scholting (PIE) 36-yd TD pass to Deon Watts (2-pt conversion good)

SECOND QUARTER

 -  :35 - Abram Scholting (PIE) 5-yd TD pass to Karter Wolfe (2-pt conversion no good)

FOURTH QUARTER

 - 9:39 - Abram Scholting (PIE) 44-yd TD pass to Ben Brahmer (2-pt conversion no good)

 - 5:15 - Clayton Thomson (LAK) 1-yd TD pass to Braxton Borer (XP good)

 - 4:30 - Ben Brahmer (PIE) 53-yd TD pass to Jayden Coulter (XP good)

 - 1:21 - Owen Bargen (LAK) 6-yd TD run (2-pt conversion good)

 - 0:45 - Owen Bargen (LAK) 3-yd TD run (2-pt conversion good)

INDIVIDUAL STATS

PIERCE

RUSHING

 - Keenan Valverde: 17 carries, 67 yds

 - Abram Scholting: 10 carries, 54 yds, 1 TD

 - Tristan Kuehler: 9 carries, 45 yds

 - Ben Brahmer: 1 carry, 19 yds

 - Addison Croghan: 1 carry, 5 yds

 - Nik Harvey: 1 carry, 4 yds

 - Gavin Sullivan: 2 carries, 3 yds

PASSING

- Abram Scholting: 10-of-13, 155 yds, 3 TD

 - Ben Brahmer: 1-of-1, 53 yds, 1 TD

RECEIVING

 - Ben Brahmer: 6 rec, 88 yds, 1 TD

 - Jayden Coulter: 1 rec, 53 yds, 1 TD

 - Deon Watts: 1 rec, 36 yds, 1 TD

 - Addison Croghan: 1 rec, 26 yds

 - Karter Wolfe: 1 rec, 5 yds, 1 TD

COLUMBUS LAKEVIEW

RUSHING

 - Owen Bargen: 14 carries, 53 yds, 2 TD

 - Landon Ternus: 13 carries, 40 yds

 - Braxton Borer: 5 carries, 38 yds

 - Brenden Sloup: 1 carry, 2 yds

 - Clayton Thomson: 2 carries, -1 yds

PASSING

 - Clayton Thomson: 12-of-21, 147 yds, 1 TD

 - Brenden Sloup: 2-of-6, 20 yds, 1 INT

RECEIVING

 - Turner Halvorsen: 4 rec, 78 yds

 - Braxton Borer: 8 rec, 60 yds, 1 TD

 - Max Fremarek: 2 rec, 19 yds