LINCOLN — Nelsyn Wheeler rushed 25 times for 177 yards and a touchdown, but it wasn’t enough as Lincoln North Star held on for a 13-7 victory Friday night in district play at Seacrest Field.
Quarterback Evan Jones was 13 of 22 passing for 61 yards with an interception for the Islanders, who committed three turnovers and dropped to 0-7 on the season. Riley Holling had six receptions for 31 yards and Ryker Booth had 108 all-purpose yards, including four punt returns for 48 yards.
Hudson Oliver and Aldofo Loeza both had sacks for Grand Island’s defense, which limited the Navigators (5-2) to 271 total yards, including 116 yards rushing. Ayden Sorensen added an interception for the Islanders.
Grand Island fell behind 10-0, turning the ball over on its first two possessions.
Cameron Bretting’s fumble recovery on the Islanders’ first possession led to a 26-yard field goal by Max Kleppinger, giving North Star a 3-0 lead. Carter Geschke then intercepted a pass, setting up Tyrell Chatman’s 57-yard touchdown strike to Kamden Krieser with 7:02 left in the first quarter.
North Star extended its lead to 13-0 on a 32-yard Kleppinger field goal with 10:16 remaining in the second quarter. Grand Island got on the board when Wheeler broke loose for a 50-yard TD run, cutting the Gators’ advantage to 13-7 with 2:38 left before halftime after Thatcher Panowicz’s point-after kick.
The teams played a scoreless second half. Grand Island twice drove inside the North Star 25-yard line, but came away empty-handed both times, turning the ball over on downs at the Gators’ 28 and losing a fumble at the North Star 17 with 7:55 to play.
