Standing Bear holds off Northwest, grabs first-ever varsity football victory
The Lincoln Standing Bear football team made history Thursday night.
The Grizzlies got out to a 20-0 halftime lead, weathered a Lincoln Northwest rally and hung on for a 36-24 win for the first varsity win in program history at Seacrest Field.
Standing Bear (1-7), after playing a junior varsity-only schedule last season in its first year of existence, broke through in what has been a challenging year.
The Grizzlies before Thursday's game had played four of six games against teams that made the Class B playoffs last season. A matchup against 2023 state semifinalist Waverly became a forfeit when illness ran through the team. Before getting a touchdown last week against Lincoln Pius X, Standing Bear hadn't scored since Week 1 against Blair.
"It feels good because our players, they went through the hard times. And they stuck with us, they believed in us, they believed in the process, and now they're getting a feel for what it feels like when you dedicate time to one cause," Standing Bear coach Adam Schiltz said. "I'm super proud of them."
But when junior quarterback Hayden Holdren connected with Cooper Grosserode for an 11-yard score late in the first quarter, it was game on.
Holdren went 8-for-11 passing for 111 yards and two scores. He also ran for 15 yards and a touchdown.
"I can't put it into words. It's amazing. I love these guys. I care so much about them outside of football and in football. It just means so much," Holdren said. "I'm glad we overcame these challenges these past couple weeks."
Freshman Paul Hart scored Standing Bear's second touchdown, scooping up a fumble and returning it 56 yards for a score midway through the second quarter. Hart also caught a 40-yard pass to set up Holdren's 1-yard touchdown run late in the first half, hauled in a two-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter, and caught a pair of two-point conversion passes.
But the first one never comes easy.
Trailing 36-12, Northwest (0-8) scored twice in the game's final minute. The Falcons kicked deep after the first score and pounced on the ball when no one from Standing Bear covered the kick.
Syncere Jones ran for 155 yards and two touchdowns, while quarterback Sammy Jurgens threw for 136 yards and two more scores.
But the Falcons were bogged down by their own mistakes.
Five turnovers — three interceptions and two lost fumbles — stifled any momentum. That included the first offensive play of the game when, after Northwest recovered a Standing Bear fumble on the opening kickoff, the Falcons gave it right back on a fumbled handoff.
All three interceptions came in Standing Bear territory, including two inside the Grizzlies' 20-yard line.
The teams combined for nine turnovers and 15 penalties.
But Standing Bear wasn't concerned with aesthetics. At least not until after the game. After the postgame huddle, the team gathered in Seacrest's north end zone for a photo with the scoreboard in the background.
Win No. 1 was in the books.
"You've got to learn to win. It's a learned thing. So you can score and you can get stops as much as you want, but if you don't learn to win the right way and get through the tough times, then it's never sustainable," Schiltz said. "When you lose and you don't score for four weeks, five weeks, it is discouraging. But we've got so many good kids. The character in the locker room, the coaches who never gave up, that means a lot."
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Assistant sports editor/high schools
