Class D-2 State Championship Game Preview
Sandhills/Thedford (11-1) vs. Wynot (12-0)

When: Monday, November 20 at 2:45 pm
Where: Memorial Stadium (Lincoln)
TV/Stream: Nebraska Public Media
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Sandhills/Thedford Knights (11-1)
State Championships: None
Runner-Up: 1985 (D-1 as Sandhills); 2020, 2021 (D-2)
Head Coach: Tyson Cox
Distance to Memorial Stadium: 216.4 miles
Final NEBHSFB.com Regular Season Rank: No. 9
Offensive Average: 53.4 | Defensive Average: 21.0
Key Players: Carson Cooksley (5’10/160, RB/DB, Jr.); Kyle Cox (5’10/165, QB/DB/P, Jr.); Brady Dahlberg (6’5/230, TE/DL/K); Aaron Hall (TE/DL, Frosh.); Coby Higgins (6’4/190, RB/LB); Rhett McFadden (5’11/195, OL/LB); Russell Norton Jr. (6’0/165, RB/LB, Frosh.); Maurice Robinson (5’11/170, DB, Soph.); Peyton Saner (5’10/160, TE/LB, Soph.); Zeb Wilde (OL/DL); Caden Zutavern (6’2/225, TE/DL, Jr.)

Sandhills/Thedford
The senior class at Sandhills/Thedford is making its third trip to Lincoln in the last four years, finishing as runner-up in 2020 and 2021. You could say the Knights have some unfinished business. Junior Kyle Cox (2,414 rushing yards, 49 TD’s; 970 passing yards, 11 TD’s) is the clear focal point of the offense. Cody Higgins (549 rushing yards, 7 TD’s; 201 receiving yards, 2 TD’s)) gives the Knights another option out of the backfield as well as in the passing game. Brady Dahlberg (267 receiving yards, 2 TD’s) is a big target in the red zone for Sandhills/Thedford. Rhett McFadden (170 tackles, 11 TFL), Zeb Wilde (123 tackles, 15 TFL, 9 sacks), and Cox (102 tackles, 5 INT’s) are the leaders on defense for the Knights, who are 43-5 over the past four seasons.

Wynot Blue Devils (12-0)
State Championships: None
Runner-Up: None
Head Coach: Steve Heimes
Distance to Memorial Stadium: 160.8 miles
Final NEBHSFB.com Regular Season Rank: No. 3
Offensive Average: 36.7 | Defensive Average: 12.8
Key Players: Zack Foxhoven (5’10/165, RB/LB); Emersyn Guenther (5’11/185, OL/DL, Soph.); Andrew Haberman (5’8/150, WR/LB, Jr.); Brennan Heimes (5’7/210, OL/DL); Dylan Heine (6’2/150, QB/DB); Kasen Koch (6’0/175, RB/DB, Soph.); Kotner Koch (5’11/150, WR/DL, Soph.); Chase Schroeder (6’5/165, TE/DL); Joseph Sudbeck (6’0/160, WR/DB); Carson Wieseler (5’8/165, WR/LB)

Wynot
Why not Wynot? Making history, Wynot advanced to the state championship game for the first time in school history in football. Last season in boys basketball, Wynot went to the D-2 state title game and lost to Parkview Christian, 52-49. Quarterback Dylan Heine ( 2,042 passing yards, 25 TD’s)) leads an impressive group of seniors. Carson Wieseler (57 receptions, 720 yards, 6 TD’s) and Joseph Sudbeck (48 receptions, 657 yards, 8 TD’s) are the top receivers for the Blue Devils, who feature a dynamic passing game. Zack Foxhoven (142 tackles), Andrew Haberman (126 tackles, 8 TFL), and Heine (77 tackles, 5 INT’s) lead a defense that has allowed just 12.8 points per game with four games allowing six points or less, an extremely impressive tally for an eight man program.

What to Expect
Either way it goes, one of the schools will be taking home its first state championship trophy in football after this one. Cox will be tough to stop, but Wynot’s defense may have the ingredients to make things more difficult for Sandhills/Thedford’s offense.

2023 Class D-2 Playoff Results

Semifinals: Sandhills/Thedford 33, South Loup 18; Wynot 22, Howells/Dodge 14

Quarterfinals: Sandhills/Thedford 60, Johnson-Brock 28; South Loup 28, Central Valley 22; Wynot 34, Humphrey St. Francis 12; Howells-Dodge 36, Dundy County-Stratton 28

Second Round: Johnson-Brock 36, Anselmo-Merna 14; Sandhills/Thedford 52, Lourdes Central Catholic 12; South Loup 62, Lawrence-Nelson 12; Central Valley 46, BDS 6; Wynot 50, Mullen 20; Humphrey St. Francis 42, Axtell 8; Dundy County-Stratton 48, Twin Loup 14; Howells-Dodge 32, Ainsworth 12

First Round
West – DCS 38, Elm Creek 6; Anselmo-Merna 30, Boyd County 24; Axtell 28, Loomis 24; Sandhills/Thedford 74, Overton 38; Ainsworth 72, Kenesaw 13; Twin Loup 40, Hitchcock County 28; Mullen 35, Hyannis 8; South Loup 46, Ansley-Litchfield 0
East – Johnson -Brock 58, Winside 0; Howells-Dodge 34, Bloomfield 6; Nebraska City Lourdes 28, High Plains 20; Humphrey St. Francis 40, Fullerton 8; Central Valley 62, Wausa 28; Lawrence-Nelson 24, Elgin/Pope John 14; Bruning-Davenport-Shickley (BDS) 30, Osceola 22; Wynot 42, Silver Lake 0