For the third time in the last four years Rossville stood in front of Nemaha Central in the postseason and the Thunder were looking to get pass the two-time defending 3A State Champs on Friday night but fell a bit little short capping a spectacular season with a 27-22 loss on the road. 

The game started with both teams rolling offensively as Rossville got the ball first and got the ball rolling going down the field a 52-yard pass connection between Jacob Bradshaw and Cole Schumacher went for the first touchdown of the game and the extra point and it was 7-0 with 10:09 on the clock in the first quarter. Behind the rush attack Nemaha Central responded with a solid drive that saw them convert on a fourth and one to continue the drive and then was capped by a 21-yard touchdown run and the Thunder went for two but failed and it was 7-6 Rossville with 5:47 left in the first quarter. 

The script of the game flipped in the first half after the first two drives as both teams defense's came up with several stops. Rossville turned the game back on their side with an interception of Ryan Hasenkamp and Nemaha Central that was returned to the 13-yard line and three plays later Bradshaw hit Schumacher for a seven-yard touchdown and the PAT made it 14-6 with 8:30 left in the first half. The Thunder again had an answer stringing together a strong drive that ended with a 10-yard touchdown run from Mitchell Henry and with a two-point conversion run from Henry the game was tied 14-14 with 3:10 left before halftime. That was ample time for Rossville who pushed the ball down the field and with 31 seconds before halftime scored on a four-yard touchdown run by Dawson Hammes and with the PAT made it 21-14. Nemaha Central after solid starting field position hit a solid play and tried to get them one more play in the first half with a quick spike but the clock expired and to halftime the game went with Rossville leading 21-14. 

Second half started with both teams doing nothing with the first offensive drives of the second half but Nemaha Central then chewed up most of the clock on their second offensive drive after intermission and finished the drive with a seven-yard Henry touchdown run and then a two-point conversion Hasenkamp run to take the lead at 22-21. The lead came with 1:19 left in the third quarter and marked the first time the Thunder led the contest. The Thunder defense stopped Rossville on a fourth down and three on the Nemaha 21-yard line with 9:54 left in the game but after a Rossville stop the Bulldogs had Bradshaw bust off a 64-yard touchdown run giving Rossville the lead back at 27-22with 7:39 left in the game. 

Nemaha Central had a couple of opportunities in the final portion of the game but a long potential scoring drive ended with an endzone interception by Wyatt Dyche of Rossville with 1:51 left in the game. The Thunder defense needed a stand to get the ball back one final time and Nemaha accomplished that getting the ball back with under a minute left and worked it to the Rossville 37-yard line but faced a fourth and ten with under 30 seconds left and an incomplete pass led to a turnover on downs and Rossville secured the 27-22 win. 

Both teams finished out even in total offense with 290 yards for Nemaha to Rossville's 279 yards as the Thunder had 233 yards on the ground, but Rossville was more balanced. Bradshaw finished with 8-11 for 109 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 130 yards, while Schumacher caught five passes for 76 yards for Rossville. Nemaha Central was led by Henry who had 90 yards on 18 carries with two touchdowns, while Hasenkamp added 70 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown was just 6-18 for 57 yards passing with two interceptions. The Community National Bank "Player to Bank" honors went to the Thunder team as a group for a spectacular season. 

The loss capped a stellar season for the Thunder that included their second straight unbeaten regular season, second straight Big Seven League and District titles and fifth straight playoff appearance, finishing with a 12-1 record making it two games deeper in the playoffs this year to the Sub-State game.