GRAND ISLAND — Grand Island forced nine turnovers, including six interceptions, on its way to a 69-0 senior-night victory over Omaha Northwest Friday at Memorial Stadium.
The Islanders’ defense, which limited its final three opponents to 19 total points, notched its first shutout against the Huskies (1-8). Omaha Northwest finished with 51 total yards, which included 24 yards rushing on 33 attempts.
Carson Washburn led Grand Island’s pick parade, coming up with three. Gavin Kuhlman, Kaeson Larson and Isaiah Wyatt also had interceptions, while Max Holling, Roman DeVault and Kuhlman all had fumble recoveries for the Islanders (2-7).
Offensively, Grand Island’s Nelsyn Wheeler gained 16 yards on his first carry to top the 1,000-yard mark for the season. The junior finished with 46 yards on six carries, including a 10-yard touchdown run.
Senior Ryker Booth led the Islanders’ ground game, rushing 12 times for 83 yards and three TDs, scoring on runs of 29, 15 and 5 yards. Teammate Max Holling rushed for 40 yards and two TDs on six carries, including scoring runs of 38 and 2 yards.
GISH rushed 25 times for 167 yards and ended with 345 yards of total offense.
Starting quarterback Gavin Semm was 7 of 12 passing for 101 yards with three TDs and one interception. The sophomore threw TD passes of 14 and 31 yards to Riley Holling and also connected with Kobyn Bolton on a 19-yard scoring pass.
Backup quarterback Evan Jones was 2 of 4 passing for 42 yards, including a 21-yard TD pass to Bolton. Punter Thatcher Panowicz added a 35-yard completion to Ayden Sorensen on a fake punt.
Bolton finished as Grand Island’s top receiver with three catches for 50 yards and two TDs. Riley Holling had two receptions for 45 yards and two scores.
Despite outscoring Bellevue East and Omaha Northwest by a combined 111-6 in their final two games, an 0-7 start doomed the Islanders to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2012. Entering the season Grand Island had qualified for the postseason in 20 of the past 21 seasons.
