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Bennett Bauerle slides past the Pierce defense for a four-yard touchdown and the Longhorns’ second score of the game. Bauerle also threw for a pair of touchdowns, both to Logan Jussel. (Photo courtesy of Aaron Beckman)

Pierce too much for Longhorns

    Chase County’s Longhorns knew they had a big task in front of them in the opening round of the C1 football playoffs Friday.
    As the No. 13 seed, they drew the No. 4 seed—an undefeated 9-0 Pierce team. Plus, the Longhorns had to travel the six hours to Pierce.
    The Longhorns got down early and were overpowered by a much larger team, 55-28.
    Just about like every game all season, the Longhorns were giving up size across both lines.
    Coach Dan Lenners said Pierce’s sheer size across the board gave them the advantage.
    The Longhorns were coming off a disappointing loss in the final regular season game against Ogallala that cost them the district championship.
    Lenners said the Longhorns didn’t play well in that game and one of his goals for the team was to play better than they did at Ogallala.
    His team responded.
    While the scoreboard didn’t show it, Lenners felt his team played one of their best games of the season.
    The difference though proved to be Pierce’s size and their physical play.
    Lenners said it was a good test for his underclassmen to realize they have to work harder in the summer if they want to compete at a top level.
    The Longhorns will graduate 10 seniors off this year’s team and will have some rebuilding to do next year.
    In terms of numbers, Lenners said they could pick up anywhere from eight to 16 freshman next year.
    Talking about size, Pierce has more kids out for football than Chase County has boys in high school. Chase County is one of the smallest schools in C1.
    Lenners was proud his kids could go in and compete hard and finish off the season with a strong performance, regardless of the score.

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