By Rich Winter

605 Sports

WINNEBAGO, Neb. — The names have changed but the Winnebago football team continues to pile up huge rushing numbers. In Winnebago’s 40-34 win over Pine Ridge, the Indians rushed for 351 yards. 

Junior Adarius Flemister had 15 carries for 229 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Raiden DeCora managed 93 rushing yards and a touchdown. 

The Indians led 34-14 before Pine Ridge came storming back. Marvin Richard III posted three of his four touchdown passes late, two of them to Dominic Ghost Bear, as the Thorpes tied the game, 34-34 late in the fourth quarter. 

Flemiester sealed the game for Winnebago with a 75-yard touchdown run as the Indians improved to 2-0, tied with Todd County atop the All-Nations Class 9A standings. 

Results for week 2: 

Todd County 54, McLaughlin 0 - After coming out a tad sluggish in its Week 1 win over Little Wound, the Falcons came out firing on all cylinders while shutting out a young McLaughlin team. 

Little Wound 48, St. Francis Indian 24 - Little Wound looks to be one of those teams in the upper echelon of Class 9A. The Mustangs scored 22 in their Week 1 loss to Todd County and played extremely well in defeating a solid St. Francis Indian team. 

Cheyenne-Eagle Butte/Tiospaye Topa 44, Mahpiya Luta 28 - Cheyenne-Eagle Butte/Tiospaye Topa looked much better than they did in its opening game loss to Winnebago. Mahpiya Luta looks to be much improved from where they were in 2023. 

All-Nations Class 9A standings after two weeks:

Winnebago 2-0

Todd County 2-0

Little Wound 1-1

Cheyenne-Eagle Butte/Tiospaye Topa 1-1

Pine Ridge 1-1

St. Francis 1-1

McLaughlin 0-2

Mahpiya Luta 0-2

Week 3 schedule: 

Thursday, 9/12 - McLaughlin at Winnebago

Thursday, 9/12 - Mahpiya Luta at Todd County

Thursday, 9/12 - Little Wound at Pine Ridge

Thursday, 9/12 - St. Francis Indian at Cheyenne-Eagle Butte/Tiospaye Topa

Lower Brule, Omaha Nation take control of All-Nations Class 9B division

A year ago, the Omaha Nation Chiefs took a major step forward finishing 7-3 and losing to Tiospa Zina in the semifinals of the Class 9B playoffs. Omaha Nation avenged that loss to Tiospa Zina defeating the Wambdi 20-0 in week one of the 2024 season. Last week the Chiefs piled up 64 points on their way to a 64-14 win over Marty. 

Lower Brule continued to impress on both sides of the ball scoring 118 points in two games while giving up zero points in those games.