Orangemen fall to Lincoln Pius X on the road

Mistakes by Lincoln Pius X kept the Beatrice football team in the game early, but the Thunderbolts would eventually pull away.

Pius defeated Beatrice 41-0 Friday night at Lincoln Pius X High School.

Pius got the ball to start the game and fumbled on the kickoff, but recovered it. They then fumbled on the first play from scrimmage and recovered it again.

On the third play from scrimmage, Beatrice's Merrick Johnson forced yet another Pius fumble and this time, Isaias Achtemeier recovered it, giving the Orangemen the ball at the Pius 34 yard line.

Positive run plays by Johnson and Connor Hayden got Beatrice one first down. Beatrice themselves then fumbled on the next play, but recovered it. The drive stalled and a 42-yard field goal attempt sailed wide, giving the Thunderbolts the ball back at their own 20 yard line with the score still tied 0-0.

On the second play of the drive, a slant pass almost went the distance for the Bolts, but the receiver was caught, tackled, and then fumbled the ball through the end zone, giving Beatrice the ball back at their own 20.

Beatrice couldn't take advantage and was forced to punt after a three-and-out. Pius started their next drive at their own 38 and were finally able to put a scoring drive together. A nine play scoring drive consisting of seven run plays and one pass was capped by a six-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-0.

Another quick offensive possession for the Orangemen gave Pius the ball back at their own 30. Nine plays took the Bolts into Orangemen territory, but the Beatrice defense would hold them to a 30-yard field goal, making it 10-0.

A fumbled snap by the Orangemen on their next drive was recovered by Pius at the Orangemen 12 yard line. Four plays later, they scored on a one-yard touchdown run to make it 17-0.

While Beatrice's offense continued to struggle, the Bolts would have one more 35-yard touchdown run and a 24 yard field goal to make it 27-0 at the half.

In the third quarter, Pius would score on another one-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 34-0.

A 15 yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter extended the lead to 41-0, which would be the final score.

Beatrice falls to 1-7 on the season and will wrap up their regular season at home on Friday when they host Lincoln Standing Bear.