Hosting the back-to-back Class 2A state champions, the Chanute Blue Comets fell to the Nemaha Central Thunder, 13-7, in Week 4 action on Friday night.
Chanute’s offense, coming off a prolific night against McPherson a week ago, looked anemic through much of the night against the Thunder.
“We just didn’t execute very well and I didn’t call a very good game,” Chanute head coach Clete Frazell said. “First and foremost, the finger points directly at me. Secondly, we panicked early. We had some good things going. We just couldn’t get out of our own way all night. We’re not used to playing from behind and we couldn’t recover from it.”
Particularly damning for Chanute were two turnovers in the red zone — an interception and an errant pitch on an option play that both came from quarterback Kris Harding’s hands.
“The moment we were in got a little stressful,” Frazell said. “We needed to score some points. Kris is a hell of a football player and he was just trying to make plays for his team. It wasn’t a fun night.”
Frazell heaped praise onto Chanute’s defense, which limited the Thunder to one touchdown.
“Our defense was playing lights out,” Frazell said. “It’s the same kids out there that play both ways, a lot of them, and they were on the field a lot tonight. They got worn down at times but they gutted it out and only gave up 13 points. They battled their butts off.”
Nemaha Central led 6-0 at halftime thanks to a pair of field goals from Levi Thomas, including one from 47 yards out on the right hash.
“We knew from film that he had a heck of a leg on him,” Frazell said. “They haven’t lined up to kick a lot of field goals this year. We didn’t know how good of a placekicker he was. But he was really good for them tonight.”
Harding was responsible for the only touchdown for Chanute — a 4th-and-goal quarterback sneak from the 1-yard line with just under four minutes to play in the game.
The loss for Chanute was the first the Blue Comets suffered on the 2024 campaign.
“We played about as badly on offense as we could’ve,” Frazell said. “We had a lot of penalties. Nemaha is a great football team. Our kids respected them. You don’t win two state titles without being good. If it affects us with anybody saying anything, they need to let that run off their shoulders. We just need to do better in adverse situations. These seniors haven’t trailed in games very much. We’ve just got to keep it together.”
Up next
Chanute faces winless Independence in an SEK League showdown on the road on Friday night. The Bulldogs may not present the type of challenges Chanute’s first four opponents have, but the Blue Comets will head down to Montgomery County looking to mend wounds.
“We’ll prepare just like we always do,” Frazell said. “It’s another game on our schedule. We’ll see what we need to do on film. We’ll treat it like any other game. If you want to be great, you can’t overlook anybody.”
