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HARTINGTON — Two Top Five high school football teams will clash Friday when Cedar Catholic and Boone Central battle at Russ Hochstein Field for the 2025 season opener.
Cedar enters the 2025 campaign rated as the second best team in Class C2 in all three major polls. Defending state champion Norfolk Catholic starts the year off where they ended 2024 — in first place in all three polls.
State sports writers have mixed feelings about Boone Central. All three major polls have the Cardinals rated in the Top 10. The Omaha World Herald and Huskerland Prep Report rate the Cardinals in fourth, while the Lincoln Journal Star has Boone Central rated seventh.
The Cardinals hold a lopsided 9-4 advantage in the all-time series against Cedar.
The last time the Trojans tasted victory against the Cards was a 25-6 win in 1996. In that game, Deon Thoene broke free for a career-high 251-yard rushing game to lead Coach Terry Kathol’s offense. Junior Craig Wortmann also had a solid game, rushing for 58 yards on 10 carries.
This year, Boone Central returns six starters on both sides of the ball from last year’s 6-4 state playoff team. The Cards lost a lot of talent to graduation, though, and have some big shoes to fill.
The Cards will once again rely on a strong running game with senior all-stater Brogan Benes expected to do most of the heavy lifting for the offense.
The 6-0, 190 Benes rushed for 1,637 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. He also hauled in 10 passes for 211 yards and a TD and returned two punts and a kickoff for scores.
Daron Dozier, a 5-9, 170-pound junior will get some carries.
Jacob Miller, a 5-10, 170-pound junior, returns as the starting quarterback. He passed for 678 yards and six TDs last year and carried the ball for another 316 yards and five TDs.
Cedar Catholic is hoping to build on their 2024 8-3 season. The Trojans bring an experienced offensive line and a potent running attack into the contest.
