Sports

   By Liz Lichty

   On March 20, 2008 the Seward golf team traveled to Beatrice for the Beatrice Invite. Seward placed 9th out of 11 teams with 401 points. Nebraska City was first with 339, Beatrice 2nd with 341, and Waverly 3rd with 353 points. Titus Tvrdy had the low score for Seward with an 84. Following him was Bryan Rodenbaugh with 101 points, Josh Luff with 110 points, Jared Hans with 112 points, and Mikhail Guenther with 103 points.

   The Seward Boys Golf team had a triangular in Seward on March 27, 2008 against York and Crete. Seward placed second at this meet with a score of 166 points but couldn't quite pull it off. York ended up winning with a score of 162. Titus Tvrdy had the low score for Seward with a score of 37. Tyler Lichty was second on the team with a score of 38. Court Croghan shot a 44, Bryan Rodenbaugh 47, and Jared Hans 48.

   Seward JV scored 192 points overall. Jeramiah Cousins had the low score for the JV team with a score of 45 points. Josh Luff was not far behind him with a score of 46 points. Matt Johnson shot a 49, Tanner Roth 52, and Brenden Osborne 56.

   On April 1, 2008 the boys golf team traveled to lincoln for the Pius Invite. Seward placed 11 out of 17 at the meet. Winning the meet was Nebraska City with a score of 306, second place went to Pius with 312 points, third place was Omaha Skutt with 329 points. The boys team worked very hard and placed 11th with a score of 361 points. Our lowest scorers were Titus Tvrdy 40-43 (83), Josh Luff 42-49 (91), Jared Hans 50-43 (93), Court Croghan 50-44 (94), and Tyler Lichty 50-46 (96).

 By: Mallory Suhr

Seward Boys Soccer

    The 2008 Seward boys soccer team is more improved and playing better than the years before.  The members include: Brogan Casey, Tyler Cordle, Logan Franck, Luke Garbers, Marcus Giabani, Kevin Kophamer, Evan Canning, Robert Kuhlman, James Lund, Reece Pekarek, Brandon Bright, Jacob Krings, Aaron Powell, Zane Schaefer, and Andrew Singleton.  The team is now 3-6 on the year. 

   Leading Team Stats:  
                    Tyler Cordle-Shots on Goal 50%, 1 assist
                    Luke Garbers-8 goals, 2 assists
                    Marcus Giabani-4 goals, 1 assist
                    Kevin Kophamer-2 goals
                    Robert Kuhlman-1 goal, 5 assists

The Jays next game coming up will be April 14 vs GINW.
                   

by Megan Schmidt 

After a big win on Saturday, Seward was ready to snatch another victory. Once again stakes were high and either team was not giving up easily. For the seniors this was it if they lost. Not one of the seniors was ready to end their highschool basketball career. Emotions were high and the fans were roaring as the game began. In the first quarter Crete took the lead outscoring Seward eight to four. Seward knew they must do better in order to win this game. Unfortunately Crete once again outscored us five to nine. The halftime buzzer rang and both teams left the court. Seward left unsatisfied with the way they were playing and prepared to do better. At halftime the score was seventeen to nine, Crete's lead. As the third quarter began Seward fans hoped and prayed that the Jay's would pick up the pace and pull off another win. Unfortunately Seward could not keep up with Crete. They were outscored in the third quarter and couldn't ever make a big enough run to catch the lead. The final score was 46 to 30. Seniors left the court devastated that their season was over.

Tyler Hackbart led the team with nine points. Tyler put his whole heart into this game and did everything he could in order to win. Seward fans were very impressed with his will to fight and win when things were going wrong. Phil Friedrich followed right behind with 8 points.

As a team Seward shot 29% from the field, 67% from the line, and grabbed 15 rebounds. Chase Koch led the team in rebounds with six for the night.

by Megan Schmidt 

Stakes were high and Seward knew they must win in order to move further along in Districts. Each player had drive and determination to make their way to state. Tonight Seward would be playing Hastings. Each team was ready to play and brought their A game. In the first quarter the teams went neck and neck but later Seward pulled away a little outscoring Hastings eleven to eight. Hastings knew they must do better and in the second quarter it was their turn to score. Both teams left the court at half with sweat streaming down their faces. The score sat at 17 to 16 until the halftime buzzer rang. Hastings had the lead by only one point. Fans grew nervous as both teams played there hardest but neither could gain a comfortable lead. Third quarter both teams scored ten points. Then as the fourth quarter went by and time ran out fans really became nervous. Seward was down by only one. As time ran out it was a tie game before we knew it we were heading to overtime. As overtime began, once again, both teams gave it their all. Time ran out and it was still a tie game. This time as seconds remained Seward knocked down a three. The Hastings team was devastated and didn't have enough time to get a shot off. Seward fans stormed the court as team members celebrated the victory. Seward would be moving on to play Crete on Monday night.

            Phil Friedrich was the leading scorer with 23 points, scoring a little over half the teams points. Phil was five for ten for two's, two for 3 from the arch, and seven for thirteen from the line. Tyler followed behind with 13 points. Tyler was three for four from the arch, and five for ten from the line.

As a team Seward shot 41% from the field, 67% from the line, and grabbed a total of 18 rebounds. Overall it was a good game for the Seward Bluejay's.

By Heather Post

  The last time the Seward Bluejays made it to state was in 2003. For the Lady Jays to qualify this year was outstanding. With a 20-1 record going into state the Seward Bluejays were the favorite for many people. For the seniors, ending their season at state was something to remember, but for the whole team it was an accomplishment. The Jays faced Elkhorn in the first round game at state. It was a tough start for both teams. The Lady Jays had great defense against the Antlers, but couldn't get a jump start offensively. It was a tough game for the Jays. Sophomore Natasha Mueller pitched in nine points and senior Megan Schmidt followed with seven points. At the buzzer the final score was 41-36 with a victory for the Elkhorn Antlers. It was an emotional ending for the Lady Jays. It was a total shock for Seward fans to see the Lady Jays go one and done.

  Even though the Lady Jays couldn't pull off a win they were all proud of the successful season they had. With an almost almost undefeated regular season, a district championship, and a qualifier for state the Lady Jays had nothing to be upset about. Losing was hard for them, but when they look back at all of the things they accomplished this season they should feel great about what they did. The five seniors leaving this year are Heather Post, Mallory Suhr, Megan Schmidt, Hailey Behlen and Jessica Owens. Ending the season at state was a memory these girls will never forget and everyone will miss what these players did for the team.     

by Megan Schmidt 

Tonight Seward was playing Lakeview and of course was hoping for a victory. Unfortunately Seward didn't bring their game faces and Lakeview did. In the first quarter Seward was outscored three to nine. In the Second quarter once again we were outscored two to eighteen. The Bluejay's left the half with only five points and spirits were low. Seward kept digging themselves a deeper and deeper hole in the third and fourth quarter. Things were looking nearly impossible for the Jay's. The time ran out and the score board revealed the unpleasant truth. Seward lost 68 to 29. Seward has only one regular season game left. It will be hosted at Seward against Crete.

Phil Friedrich led the team with nine points. He was three for ten from two's, and 60% from the freethrow line. Phil grabbed two rebounds and made one steal. Justin Grieser followed with six points. Justin was four for four from the line, and grabbed eight rebounds.

  As a team Seward shot 22% from the field, 58% from the line and grabbed a total of twenty rebounds. Seward struggled shooting and couldn't seem to make a run at any point of the game. Tonight was Lakeview's night and they played a hard fought game. 

by Megan Schmidt 

As Seward entered the court to play Crete things were looking good. In the first quarter Seward outscored Crete ten to seven. Once again Seward outscored Crete in the second quarter only this time it was only by one.  Seward was ready to go and looking for a victory. Unfortunately Seward battled the whole game but Crete pulled away in the end to get the win.  In both the third and fourth quarter Crete outscored Seward all together by 12. The final score was 45-37. For seniors Tyler Hackbart, Tanner Roth, and Justin Grieser, this would be their last regular season game for Seward High.  It was senior’s night and emotions were running high. Nobody fought harder then the senior’s playing on that court. Unfortunately they left the court defeated.

            Senior Tyler Hackbart led the team with 17 points. He was five for five from the line, and shot 40% from the field. Phil Friedrich followed right behind with 16 points. Phil was 50% from the line, and 43% from the field.

            As a team Seward shot 32% from the field, and was 78% from the line. They grabbed 16 rebounds, and made a total of 9 assists.

By Heather Post

On Friday February 15, the Lady Jays played their last regular season home game against the Crete Cardinals. The atmosphere was loud and the seats were full of fans. This was going to be a tough game and very sad one for the seniors. This was senior's night for five of the Lady Jay players. The seniors are Megan Schmidt, Mallory Suhr, Heather Post, Jessica Owens and Hailey Behlen. As a reward, all five seniors got to start the last home game of their career. It was emotional for the team before the game with the recognition of the five seniors.

   It was a close score throughout the whole game. Sophomore's Natasha Mueller and Laural Wagner hit a couple huge three pointers to put the Lady Jays ahead. Freshman Emily Cady fought hard in the post area and put up some big points. The Jays played together and in the end pulled out another victory, 35-31. The Lady Jays were led in scoring by Mueller and Cady with 10 points each. The Lady Jays record is 18-1, which is an extremely hard thing to accomplish. This season has been one of the best seasons for the girls. The Lady Jays will play in their first round of districts on Thursday February 21 at 5:15 against either Schuyler or Aurora. Good Luck Lady Jays!!!! 

   The Seward Lady Jays basketball team ended their season 12-2, the best record of the JV team in seven years.  The JV girls had a fantastic season just losing two games to Aurora and Pius X.  

   The last and final home game of the season was against Crete.  The Jays ended their season strong with a solid win, winning the game 51-46.  The Jays were down at half by 12 but battled back and won.  

   Zoie Smetter was the leading scorer with 21 points and her sister Grace Smetter added 14 points.  Brittany Telecky also chipped in 12.  Zoie also grabbed down eight rebounds, five offensive and three defensive.  Dakotah Duer also grabbed six rebounds, three offensive and three defensive.  As a team, the Jays had 19 steals.   The girls played a very good game to end their season and worked hard all year to become the great team that they were.   

The Seward fans were still recovering from the jaw dropping victory over York the night before, however, the Varsity team was ready to steal another victory. This time everyone was hoping for an easier win and a less tense game. Once again it went down to the last shot. Tyler Hackbart who was the savior of Friday night’s game had a chance to be the savior of the game against Fairbury. Seward played hard the whole time and knocked down some tuff shots. The First quarter the Jeffs outscored Seward 15 to 7.  However the Jay’s came back and outscored Fairbury 13 to 9. Once again it was a close game. Once halftime was over Seward came out ready to play. Both teams went neck and neck and played their hardest. Fairbury was knocking down some tuff shots but so was Seward. Fourth quarter rolled around and once again nothing comes easy for the Jay’s. With only twenty seconds remaining Fairbury makes a tuff shot to make the score 43 to 41. Seward was devastated but didn’t give up. Tyler Hackbart threw up a quick three to try to win the game. As the buzzer blared the shot didn’t fall. Everyone was overwhelmed with the hard loss.

            Once again Tyler was the high scorer with 20 points. He was 7 for 17 from the field and 2 for 2 from the line. Tyler grabbed two rebounds and made four assists. As a team Seward was about 38% from the field and 50% from the line.