It was a tale of two halves in Seneca on Friday night with a spot in the sub-state championship game on the line as Nemaha Central hosted unbeaten Humboldt and for the first time since 2016 the Thunder will have a chance to play for a spot in the state championship after a 44-28 win over Cubs.

The first half was ugly for both sides as the two teams combined for five turnovers and just six points with the only touchdown coming on a Gavin Duryea 4-yard run giving the Thunder a 6-0 lead at halftime.

It was shaping up to be a defensive battle in the second half but early in the third quarter it turned into an 8-man game with both teams trading blows back and forth scoring touchdowns on each possession.

Nemaha Central started the scoring with an 8-play drive that lasted over four minutes and ended with Duryea’s second rushing touchdown from a yard out while Dylan Schultejans tacked on the 2-point conversion giving the Thunder a 14-0 lead.

From there the Thunder would score on their next four offensive possessions as Duryea added two more rushing scores while Tyler Gerety added a 36-yard touchdown run and Schultejans a 51-yard passing touchdown to Austin Ahlquist.

Humboldt got their offense going as well scoring four consecutive touchdowns as senior standout Conor Haviland had two rushing touchdowns, two passing touchdowns and 155 yards rushing in the second half.

His latest touchdown brought the Cubs back to within two scores but an interception on Humboldt’s final drive iced the game away and allowed the Thunder to kneel the final minute off the clock to preserve the victory.

Nemaha Central finished with 419 total yards of offense including 295 in the second half and were led by Gavin Duryea who was the “Player to Bank on” sponsored by the Farmer’s State Bank on 92.1 KMZA as he rushed 35 times for 165 yards and four touchdowns.

Dylan Schultejans added 153 yards through the air in the win with Austin Ahlquist recording four catches for 106 yards and a touchdown in the second half.

The Thunder defense held Conor Haviland to 40 yards under his season average per game, but he still was a star rushing for 189 yards and two touchdowns while throwing for two more as the Cubs end 2019 with a record of 10-1.

Nemaha Central (9-2) now advances to the sub-state championship game next week where they will host Riley County (9-2) with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. and live coverage on 92.1 KMZA.