WEEPING WATER, Neb. - Friday night marked then end of the 2022 football season for powerhouse Elmwood-Murdock and Weeping Water, the surprise team of Class D-1, in the quarterfinals of the state football playoffs.

The Knights took their high-powered offense on the road, but they ran into a buzzsaw at No. 1 North Platte St. Patrick's. The Irish implored a suffocating defense to hold down the EM offense, while scoring early and often in a 63-16 victory. 

EM finished the season with a 9-2 record with the two losses coming to teams with a combined 18-1 record. 

As for Weeping Water, it upset Cross County and Laurel-Concord-Coleridge in the first two rounds of the playoffs. The two wins as a No. 15 seed gave the Indians a home game on Friday, hosting No. 7 Clarkson/Leigh. 

Clarkson/Leigh led 16-12 at halftime as a fired-up Weeping Water crowd loved the effort in the first half, but in the second half, the game completely flipped. 

The Patriots outscored the Indians 30-6 in the second half in a 46-18 win. Patriots star running back Kyle Kasik ran for 204 yards on 27 carries while finding pay dirt five times.

Weeping Water's incredible postseason run ended abruptly as it finished the season 6-5. The Indians won six of their final eight games to end the year. 

Clarkson/Leigh takes on Stanton in the semifinals and North Platte St. Pat's will play Neligh-Oakdale.