STERLING – The Sterling Black Bears rolled through the opening round of the Class 1A playoffs Friday night, thumping the Herington Railers 63–6.
Sterling wasted no time putting points on the board. On their first possession, Zane Farney broke loose for a 36-yard touchdown run to finish off a 56-yard drive. Just three minutes later, Jace Darnauer ran for a 24-yard score, and with 34 seconds left in the first quarter, Farney struck again, this time on a 69-yard sprint down the sideline. The Bears ran just six plays for 157 yards in that explosive opening quarter and led 21-0.
Herington got on the board early in the second when quarterback Cameron Strauss found Jah’Cure Thomas for a 1-yard touchdown pass, trimming the lead to 21–6. But any momentum was short-lived. Wyatt Newberry immediately took the kickoff 97 yards for the touchdown, and Sterling never looked back.
Farney returned a punt 74 yards for a score, then added a 14-yard touchdown run. Newberry tacked on a 17-yard TD late in the half, and Sterling led 49-6 at the half. With a running clock in the second half, Farney added a 62-yard touchdown run to finish his night. Sterling capped the night when sophomore quarterback Meyer Anderson connected with his brother Porter on a 16-yard touchdown pass at the end of the third quarter to make the final score 63-6.
Farney was the story of the night — piling up 242 yards on just 10 carries and scoring five touchdowns. The senior standout also hit a milestone, surpassing 6,000 rushing yards for his career.
With the win, Sterling improves to 9–0 and will host Marion (7-2) next Friday in the Regional round of the Class 1A playoffs. Herington finishes their season 1-8.
