ELGIN - Neligh-Oakdale suffered their first loss of the season Friday night, as Elgin Public-Pope John came out on top of a back-and-forth affair 38-26. It was a matchup of thunder vs lightning, with Wolfpack running back Grady Drueke leading a ground-and-pound attack while QB Cooper Arehart headed up the Warriors' air assault.

EPPJ owned the 1st quarter, staking themselves to a 14-0 lead thanks to Drueke's two TDs. Neligh-Oakdale flipped the script in the 2nd period with 20 unanswered points courtesy of Arehart's 2 passing scores and one rushing touchdown as well, to lead 20-14 at the break.

The Wolfpack came roaring out of the locker room with a 7-minute drive, punctuated by Drueke's 3rd score of the night. The Warriors had an instant answer, though, as Arehart hit Corbin Hoefer on a 55-yard TD bomb on the next play from scrimmage. Arehart would tally 3 touchdowns, 288 passing yards and another 56 on the ground, with Hoefer hauling in 5 passes for 152 yards and 3 total scores of his own.

From there, it was all Elgin. Drueke scored his 4th touchdown to finish with 208 yards on the night. Then the Wolfpack's Evin Pelster closed out the show with two huge interceptions and a 12-yard rushing TD on offense.

EPPJ (5-2) finishes the regular season at home against Ainsworth next Friday, while Neligh-Oakdale (6-1) closes out their slate on the road at St. Mary's that same night.