Stars tasked with stopping Wood River’s run game
KEARNEY — Kearney Catholic has one goal going into Friday's Class C2 football playoff with Wood River.
Stop the run.
"We see a team on film that wants to establish a run, and that's what the stats say," KCHS coach Rashawn Harvey said. "Their running back, (Beau Rohrich) he's a good athlete, he gets a lot of carries in every game. ... He's a strong lower-body guy. Yaou can't tackle him up in the shoulders, either, so we've got to be able to bring him down."
Rohrich could easily go over the 2,000-yard mark on Friday. He needs just 61 yards and is averaging more than three times that number.
And he's not the only threat.
Quarterback Madden Brabec is Wood River's second-leading rusher and he's closing in on the 1,000-yard plateau.
"That's a one-two punch that we've got to be able to contain," Harvey said.
It will be a challenge for the Stars. Defending against a strong running game hasn't been their strength.
"They've seen our film from Mitchell and those other games that we've had some challenges with that, so we expect nothing but a run from them," Harvey said.
Kearney Catholic won its first six games before getting run over by Mitchell. Two weeks later, the Stars lost to Valentine, a loss they avenged in the first round of the playoffs.
In spite of losing two of the last four games, Harvey said he thinks the Stars are back on track.
He sees the loss to Valentine as "a blessing for us," forcing the team to prioritize their focus and discipline.
"Game 1 against Valentine, we didn't play with discipline. We didn't tackle well, and so we got a chance to correct that and they understand that was the important part for us to get the win, was to play with discipline and tackle well in that football game," Harvey said.
Wood River's strong running game has led them to a 9-1 record, including back-to-back wins over Doniphan-Trumbull.
"They have a loss to Boone Central, but outside of that, they've about dominated every game they've played," Harvey said.
The Stars have picked up some late-season bonuses as players injured in mid-season have returned. The second Valentine game saw the return of two linemen, a defensive back and a linebacker.
"Those guys are definitely valuable on both sides of the ball for us," Harvey said.
While the Stars' defense is focused on Wood River's running game, the Stars' offense offers the opposite challenges for Wood River's defense. KCHS quarterback Jake Bosshamer has passed for more than 1,800 yards and he has thrown 21 touchdown passes, matching what Rohrich has done on the ground.
"We think it's a very winnable game for the Stars. If we go out there and play disciplined football, we expect to win the football game," Harvey said. "We're efficient in running the ball ... but we've got to do that. We've got to win the turnover battle, and then we've got to hit some key passes."
