High School

Nebraska High School Football Team Earns Emotional Victory

Elkhorn North honors head coach with win following tragedy

Dana Becker

Sam Stanley is the head coach at Elkhorn North High School.
Sam Stanley is the head coach at Elkhorn North High School. / GoFundMe

A Nebraska high school football team provided a brief moment of enjoyment during a tough stretch on the gridiron Thursday night.

Elkhorn North High School earned a thrilling 29-27 victory over Bennington in the season finale days after head coach Sam Stanley and his family lost an infant son.

Just days before the Stanley family was to celebrate Grant during one, they lost him to congenital heart disease. Grant, born a twin with brother Micah, underwent multiple open-heart surgeries and was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension, according to a report by KETV.com.

Grant Stanley was 11 months old when he passed away.

“He’s touched every high school in our community,” Elkhorn North assistant principal and activities director Luke Ford said, “so I would imagine that the atmosphere will be electric. It will be highly emotional, but I think it’s going to be a really special night.”

Nebraska High School Football Teams Honor Coach

Elkhorn North and Bennington held a purple-out in honor of Grant, as the color is used to remember the loss of life in a multiples birth. The teams also released a red balloon in his name.

Coming off a pair of setbacks to Skutt Catholic and Gretna East, the Wolves were able to finish strong and give Stanley a victory.

Jace Reynolds, who has committed to Nebraska to play football, recorded an interception and returned it for a score to make it 7-0 early in favor of Elkhorn North. The fourth featured five lead changes, as the Wolves got the last laugh on an Ethan Beachy touchdown in the final seconds.

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Dana Becker
DANA BECKER

Dana Becker has been a sports writer in Iowa since 2000, writing for The Fort Dodge Messenger, Mason City Globe-Gazette, Cedar Rapids Gazette and others. Dana resides in northcentral Iowa and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in 2022 focused on the state of Iowa. Along with providing coverage of football and wrestling, Dana also spotlights cross country, swimming, basketball, track and field, soccer, tennis, golf, baseball and softball. He began writing for High School on SI in 2023.

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