It had been 15 years since Nemaha Central and Centralia-Wetmore faced off on the gridiron as Nemaha was Nemaha Valley and Wetmore was not co-oped with Centralia at the time as the two teams played back in 1999 and the previous year in 1998, with Centralia winning both. This time it marked a Class 3A District game when the two teams meet up on Friday in Seneca and at the end of the night it was the same winner as in 1998 and 1999 with Centralia-Wetmore claiming the 35-6 victory.

The game started with the Panthers getting pressure on the Thunder in the backfield and then it was big plays and a big night by senior, Darrian Turner who helped pave the way for Centralia-Wetmore on the night. Panthers pounced first on the score board as Turner turned on the after burners and ran 75-yards for a touchdown with 8:30 to go in the first quarter, giving Centralia-Wetmore a 7-0 lead with extra point.

Turner and the Panthers continued move the ball with effectiveness in the first half with the run as Darrian notched a 13-yard score after the Panthers capitalized on a short field, from a bad punt by the Thunder and Turner punched it in from one-yard out, three minutes before halftime, ultimately sending Centralia into the half up 21-0 over Nemaha Central.

The Thunder struggled to move the ball in the first half but did have one big opportunity to score as Devin Henry connected with Dylan Steinlage on a 40-yard pass to setup the Thunder inside the five-yard, but Wyatt VanDorn spoiled the Thunder's idea of scoring by picking off Thunder quarterback, Tristan Allen in the endzone. Nemaha Central had two first half turnovers and three overall in the contest.

Coming out of the half the Thunder defense forced Centralia into multiple punt situations, but struggled to find the offense until finally breaking through with 3:01 left to go in the fourth quarter as Allen busted off a 35-yard touchdown run, making it 21-6 after the PAT was no good.

The Panthers answered in a big way as they took to the air and VanDorn tossed the ball in the flat to Turner and Darrian did the rest going 76-yards for the touchdown to give Centralia-Wetmore the 29-6 lead with 53.7 seconds left in the third. Thunder got the ball back deep in their own territory off the kickoff and on the first offense play of that drive, Trevor Mars picks off Allen, giving the Panthers another short field. The first Panther offensive play after the interception, VanDorn goes to the air again and hits John Johnson for a 38-yard touchdown with 32.5 seconds left in the third and that made it 35-6 the final margin of the game.

Nemaha Central in the loss finished with around 240 total yards of offense but only a little over 50 yards on the ground as a team. Allen finished 8-16 for 91 yards with two interceptions and a rushing touchdown, while Ryan Hasenkamp saw action at quarterback in the second half going 5-6 for 51 yards. Zach Bradley had a solid receiving game snagging six passes for 84 yards. The loss sends the Thunder to 5-2 on the season and 0-1 in District play.

With the win Centralia-Wetmore improved to 6-1 on the year bouncing back from their first loss of the season and starting Districts with a win. Turner finished the contest with 215 yards on 21 carries with three touchdowns and caught two passes for 85 yards and a score, earning him Community National Bank "Player to Bank On" honors on KMZA. Johnson added 75 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown reception, while VanDorn was 3-4 for 123 yards and two touchdowns.

Both teams continue Districts next week as Centralia-Wetmore hosts St. Mary's and Nemaha Central hosts Rock Creek.