Senior Ropes Retreat @ Boys Town

More Photos from Reteat 

Bonfire Kick's Off Homecoming Week

This year's homecoming week is bound to be special as several notable traditions will begin.  The biggest event is the Knights' first ever home football game played on campus.

Festivities this week include theme dress days all week.

Monday: Jersey/favorite team day
Tuesday: Twin day
Wednesday: Class Color Day: freshmen white, sophomores grey, juniors red, seniors black
Thursday: Patriot Day: Red, White, & Blue
Friday: Knight's Jersey Day / Blackout

First Knight Nominees

Marcus Cronin

Harrison Hohman

Logan Kalkowski

Go Knights

More Bonfire Photos - Yell Contest

Homecoming Game Day Schedule: September 12th

• Booster Club Tail Gate 5:15 pm
• Pre-Game Event 7:15 pm
• Homecoming Game with Half-Time Dedication
• Post-Game Alumni 5th Quarter in the Armory

The Mount Improves to 2-0

September 5, 2014

By Jim Steier

SPRINGFIELD - With heavy hearts due to Wednesday’s death of teammate Dylan Johnson, Mount Michael’s football team improved to 2-0 on Friday night with a decisive 35-17 victory over Platteview in Springfield.

“We are a family at Mount Michael and this was a tough week for us,” senior Mick Steier said. “The loss of Dylan brought us even closer together and unified us. Dylan was with us tonight.”

In his third season leading the Knights, Head Coach Jon Borer is excited about the start to the season.  “We told the guys that we needed to play good team defense and execute on offense,” Borer said. “We were sharp tonight and it was a great team victory.”

A swarming defense and big plays propelled Mount Michael to the lopsided win.

The defense shut down the Platteview running game, which featured a healthy dose of motion, jet sweeps and misdirection. “The difference in the game is that our defense dominated,” Steier said. The Knights even added a defensive score in the fourth quarter when senior Chris Riddle jumped an out route at the Platteview 41-yard line and returned it for a touchdown. It was Riddle’s second interception of the season.

Garrett Raabe and Eric Sullivan led the Knights with nine tackles each, while Jake Mumby added eight and Riddle six. Steier and Andy Ernst each chipped in with five stops. Platteview finished with 251 yards rushing, but 143 of that came in the fourth quarter when the game was already out of reach.

The nine times that Platteview faced third down during the game, Mount Michael never allowed the Trojans to make a first down.

Offensively, Knights running back Jake Mumby ran for 127 yards and two touchdowns and Ashton Legenza also scored twice, including a 98-yard kickoff return in the first quarter. “This was a tough week for us with the loss of Dylan,” Jake Mumby said. “When we lost here last year, we weren’t ready to play. This year, we were focused.”

In addition to senior Jake Mumby’s rushing totals, his sophomore brother, Matt Mumby, ran for 50 yards and Jake Batenhorst scampered for 44 yards from his quarterback position.

Through the air, the Knights were led by Steier, who had six catches for 60 yards.  Riddle had five grabs for 43 yards and Legenza hauled in two passes for 96 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Batenhorst had his second strong showing of the season, going 14-for-22 for 197 yards.

The Knights piled up 445 yards of total offense.

“Our offensive line played very well tonight,” Borer said. “Our seniors are the anchors: Chase Goddard, Ryan Anderson and Andy Ernst. Patrick Halpin improved a lot from week one to week two and Drew Goddard stepped up for the injured Sam Clements. On defense, Raabe seemed to be all over the place.”

Mount Michael built a 21-3 halftime lead by scoring on a 45-yard touchdown run by Jake Mumby and Legenza’s kickoff return and an 80-yard touchdown reception.  The Knights extended the lead to 35-3 before Platteview added two touchdowns in the final 10 minutes.

The Trojans fell to 0-2 with the loss.

Mount Michael now begins preparation for an historic occasion as it will host its first home football game in school history on Friday night versus Nebraska City. A successful fund drive to install bleachers, lights and a press box was conducted and will enable the school to now host games on its campus. 

Nebraska City will enter the game with a 1-1 record, having defeated Auburn and fallen to Omaha Roncalli in its first two contests of the year.

Dylan Johnson '16 RIP

Dylan Johnson

1997-2014

Wake: Friday, Sept. 5^th at 7 p.m. at St. Patrick’s Church in Elkhorn.

Visitation is from 5 to 7 p.m.

The funeral Mass will be on Saturday, Sept. 6^th at 10:30 a.m. at St. Patrick’s in Elkhorn.

Interment Mt. Calvary Cemetery.

Knights Down Roncalli

August 29, 2014

By Jim Steier

Mount Michael kicked off its football season with a gritty 23-10 victory over Omaha Roncalli on the Crimson Pride’s rain-soaked field Friday night.

The Knights, who used a 13-0 advantage in the fourth quarter to pull away, were led offensively by senior Chris Riddle.  The 160-pounder hauled in eight passes, including two touchdowns, while amassing 220 receiving yards.

With Mount Michael clinging to a 16-10 lead in the final minute and Roncalli driving, the Crimson Pride faced a third-and-10 on the Mount Michael 16-yard line with 1:12 remaining in regulation.  Mount Michael’s Ashton Legenza sealed the win by intercepting Roncalli quarterback Noah Oswald near the goal line and racing 97 yards for a touchdown.

“I was just at the right place at the right time,” Legenza said.  “I looked up and the ball was coming right to me.  After I caught it, coach told me to go out of bounds, but I didn’t want to stop and so I just kept running.”

Mount Michael coach Jon Borer laughed while agreeing with Legenza’s description of the play.  “After Ashton made the interception, I wanted him to go down so we could just run out the clock,” Borer chuckled.  “But he used his athleticism and outraced everyone down the sideline to the end zone.”

Riddle’s eight catches included touchdown grabs of 88 and six yards.  The only thing that slowed him down the entire evening was a recurring bout with leg cramps that forced him from the game on multiple occasions.  Riddle also returned a punt for a touchdown in the second quarter, but the score was nullified due to a blocking in the back penalty.

“I told the boys that we were going to face adversity during the game,” Borer said.  “In the first half, we had some breaks go against us and we made some mistakes.  But I am so proud of these guys because they fought through that adversity, pushed forward and found a way to pull out the win.”

Jake Mumby led the Mount Michael ground attack with 63 yards on 14 carries.  Alex Miklas added 21 yards on seven runs.

Mount Michael senior quarterback Jake Batenhorst went 11 for 25 passing, including the two touchdown strikes to Riddle.  Batenhorst finished with 279 yards through the air.

Batenhorst, who took over the starting duties at quarterback midway through his sophomore year, was the difference as Mount Michael mounted the go-ahead, 12-play scoring drive in the fourth quarter.  With the score knotted at 10-10, Mount Michael began the drive on its own 25-yard line with 7:20 remaining.  On four consecutive series, Batenhorst came up big for the Knights.  He hit Riddle with a 15-yard pass to the Mount Michael 40-yard line, scrambled 43 yards to the Roncalli 15, converted a fourth-and-1 situation with a quarterback sneak and then hit Riddle for a six-yard touchdown pass on a slant pattern with 3:13 left in the game.

“We worked hard in preparation for this game,” Batenhorst said.  “It is a great way to start the season and we are really pumped.  It was wet out there and challenging, but my offensive line gave me time to make my throws and our receivers just battled all night.”

Despite the key offensive plays, Mount Michael’s resilient defense allowed the Knights to overcome their early mistakes.  Roncalli totaled 377 yards of offense, but Mount Michael got tough when it mattered most, allowing the Crimson Pride to convert only three of 13 third down plays.  Miklas led the team with 12 tackles, while Ryan Anderson added nine and Garrett Raabe and Mumby each pitched in eight.  Chase Goddard and Mick Steier were also key defensive players with seven and six stops, respectively.

Reilley Jackson and Drew Goddard, a pair of sophomores, earned their first significant varsity playing time and played strong games on the defensive line to slow down the Roncalli running game.  In addition to his impressive offensive performance, Riddle had an interception and two tackles for the Knights.

According to Borer, the conditioning of his team was the difference in the fourth quarter.  “We are in great shape as a team,” he said, “and it really showed in the fourth quarter as we pulled away.  Chase Goddard and so many of our linemen play both ways.  They just found a way to get it done tonight.”

The win marks the second season in a row that Mount Michael has started its year with a victory.  That has Borer excited about the rest of the season and the trajectory of the program that he is building.  “We are moving in an extremely positive direction as a program,” Borer stated. “I could tell that this was going to be a great year just by the way the seniors carried themselves this summer.  They are locked in and ready to go.  Regardless of what happens the rest of the way, I know that I have a focused team with strong senior leaders.”

Mount Michael will aim for a 2-0 start when the Knights travel to Platteview on Friday night.  Platteview is 0-1 after dropping its opening game 20-2 to Bennington.