South Loup Returns Four Starters, Gets New Head Coach

Overview

First-year head coach Zac Sweet will inherit a South Loup team with three returning starters on offense and four on defense from last year’s 2-6 team. South Loup reached the 2017 Class D-1 state final.

South Loup Players to Watch in 2026

Player	Ht/Wt/Grade	Position	@HuskerlandBob Sez
Elijah Cool	5-9/150/12	End-Defensive Back	Team’s best playmaker, leading tackler.
Malachi Neth	6-2/210/12	Lineman	Big and experienced, anchor in both lines.
Noah Anderson	6-2/200/12	Lineman	Big and experienced, anchor in both lines.
Tysen Schacher	5-9/140/11	Back-Defensive Back	Defensive playmaker, will get chances with the ball on offense.

South Loup Head Coach Zac Sweet

“We will be a young team that will need to rely on our few veteran guys to lead the way,” says Coach Sweet, a former assistant who graduated from UN-Kearney in 2024. “We return a few linemen, and that should give us some stability and depth up front. We graduated a lot of great football players who had been contributors in our backfield the last four years, so we will need to develop a couple of players who can help build our team’s confidence by their ability run the ball and make plays.

“We need to continue to build a winning culture, not just for football but for all walks of life. We will need to play for each other, and give everything we have week after week in order to be successful. That includes focusing on the process, and having pride in being a Bobcat.”

Senior team leaders for this year’s South Loup football team will include Taytum Wiese (33) Wacey Schultz (6), Noah Anderson (21), Elijah Cool (8), and Malachi Neth (25).

Offense

South Loup will return three linemen with starting experience, a group that includes senior guards Malachi Neth (6-2, 210) and Noah Anderson (6-2, 200), and senior end Elijah Cool (5-9, 150). In addition, senior center Taytum Wiese (5-8, 210) is expected to step into a starting role after seeing considerable varsity time last season. Same case for junior end Callan Witthuhn (6-1, 150), who will also see a bump in his playing time, as will sophomore lineman Jacob King (6-2, 170).

Cool could wind up in the quarterback conversation, easy, given his versatility, while junior Tysen Schacher (5-9, 140) is another versatile back with starting experience, and senior Wacey Schultz (5-8, 170) is the team’s most experienced fullback.

Defense

Cool (66 tackles, 5 TFL) is the team’s leading defender, with Schacher (50 tackles, 3 INT) another playmaker in the secondary, and Morgan another contributor. Anderson (28 tackles, 4 TFL) and Neth (37 tackles, 3 TFL) give the Bobcats a quality set of defensive ends, with Wiese playing a role in the middle of the D-line.

Witthuhn, King (15 tackles) and Schultz will be first up at the linebacker positions.

@HuskerlandBob Sez

Look for the Bobcats to be competitive, winning two or three games.