Needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive the Nemaha Central Thunder welcomed Rock Creek to town on Senior Night for the Thunder and secured a 28-9 win to keep them alive for the playoffs in Class 3A.

Behind some offensive changes the Thunder took the lead early and used three Rock Creek turnovers and key defensive plays throughout the night and solid special teams to gain the win. The sophomore, Ryan Hasenkamp got his first start at quarterback for the Thunder and didn't disappoint, helping Nemaha Central get on the board first with 10:37 left in the first quarter finding Zach Bradley for a 49-yard touchdown pass, to give the Thunder a 6-0 early lead after a missed PAT.

Rock Creek mounted a few drives and got a score right before the end of the first quarter as Luke Neimeyer booted a 31-yard field goal to make it 6-3. It would stay 6-3 for quite some time with both teams turning over the ball and stymieing their own momentum and drives, then Rock Creek had an opportunity to tie the game after the Thunder held the Mustangs out the endzone they went for another field goal this time from 18-yards but missed fired. Nemaha Central got the ball back looking to add to their lead and did so with a drive down the field that resulted in a two-yard touchdown run by Hasenkamp and a successful two-point conversion to make it 14-3 at the half.

While it was the passing game in the first half that had some big plays for Nemaha Central the Thunder didn't complete a pass in the second half but controlled the ball with the run game and took advantage of opportunities with two of their three turnovers in the second half. The Mustangs fumbled on an option pitch and Dylan Steinlage picked it up for the Thunder, returning it to the Rock Creek three-yard line to set up a Hasenkamp two-yard touchdown run, making it 22-3. Rock Creek got their lone touchdown towards the end of the third quarter as Jackson Goodmiller tossed a five-yard halfback pass to Zach Nider for a score. Hasenkamp then ran for another score with 10:55 left in the game as Ryan busted off a 49-yard run for his third rushing touchdown to make it 28-9.

The sophomore quarterback on the night for Nemaha Central finished 5-15 for 145 yards with a touchdown and ran for 118 yards on 14 carries with three TD's, earning Hasenkamp the Community National Bank "Player to Bank On" honors on KMZA. Bradley caught two passes for 69 yards and a touchdown, while also having an interception on defense and Tristan Allen caught two passes for 58 yards, moving to tight end in this game. On defense, Steinlage recovered a fumble and Winston Meyer had a forced and recovered fumble for the Thunder.

With the win the Thunder improved to 6-2 on the season and kept their playoff hopes alive in District two in Class 3A and will wrap up the regular season next week at St. Mary's.