Beef beat Bandits 24-17 in I-29 battle

The Omaha Beef scored 14 unanswered points to come from behind to beat the Sioux City Bandits for the seventh straight time in a 24-17 victory Saturday at Liberty First Credit Union Arena. The 54^th all-time meeting between the two teams came down to the final moments again, but Omaha’s defense got a big turnover and another big stop as the Beef took a 30-24 lead in the all-time meetings. The two teams will meet for the 55^th time on May 10^th in Sioux City.

Both teams got on the scoreboard with their kickers hitting their first field goal of the season as Greg Conry hit one from 38 yards with 7:41 remaining in the first quarter and Caleb Shudak hit a 26 yarder with 2:27 remaining in the first quarter. Sioux City would get the first touchdown of the night when Verlon Reed hit Damond Powell on a 30-yard strike to get the Bandits a 10-3 lead after the first quarter.

The Beef would tie it up at 10 just before halftime when Jeff Mack took it in from four yards out. Mack finished the night with 5 rushes for 2 yards. Tabyus Taylor lead the team with 17 yards on six carries and quarterback Lorenzo Brown added 14 yards on 14 rushes.

Sioux City would use a 12-play drive that took 7:22 on the clock before Reed hit Fred Bruno on a 7-yard pass to give the Bandits a one score lead. The Bandits only had 15 offensive plays in the first half. The drive featured the running of Andrew Prohaska as the Bandits ran the ball 10 of the 12 plays. Prohaska finished the game with 79 yards on 19 carries. Reed completed 8 of his 16 passes, but two big interceptions were costly.

Omaha would take the momentum back as Lorenzo Brown hit Devanaire Conliffe on a 5-yard pass with 2:15 remaining in the third quarter. Brown finished the game completing 18 of 24 passes for 150 yards. Troy Evans Jr. was the leading receiver as he caught six passes for 49 yards while Korell Kohlmoos had four receptions for 47 yards and Mack added 30 yards on four catches.

Then the defense took over as Marcus Gray picked off Reed after Sioux City had driven down to the Beef five yardline after they had forced a Beef fumble. Tabyus Taylor then scored the go-ahead touchdown with 3:23 remaining on a 3-yard run. The defense would make another big stop as then force a turnover on downs after Sioux City had gotten to the Beef two yardline, but the Omaha offense failed to gain positive yards and were forced to attempt a long field goal, which was kicked out of bound with :23 seconds remaining. Sioux City’s final attempt was picked off by Trey Dudley-Giles and the Beef ran the final four seconds off. Grey finished the night with 14 tackles.

Carlton Watkins and Devin Groenhagen led Sioux City’s defense, each making ten tackles while linebacker Juan Moore added 9.

Omaha is on a bye this coming week before hosting a non-league game vs the Dallas Falcons on May 3^rd.

OTHER NOTES:  

Tickets are on sale, you can buy them by visiting the arena box office or online at Omaha Beef Football | Liberty First Credit Union Arena

The coaching show takes place on Mondays from 6-7pm at Let It Fly Sport Bar, located at 1080 Capital Ave, Omaha.

A watch party for away games will take place at Hurrdat Sports Bar, located at 12744 Westport Pkwy. There will be a prize board, giveaway items, along with great food and drinks!!!

The annual Omaha Beef Junior Dance Camp returns for May 24th, register your participant for just $30.00. Each camp participant receives a ticket to the game, a two-hour dance clinic followed by a pizza party with other participants, an exclusive dance clinic shirt, plus an on-field performance at halftime!!! You can also purchase additional tickets through the QR code for family and friends. Register today!!!

ALL ABOARD!!!! Your Omaha Beef are scheduling a fan bus for our match-up against the Sioux City Bandits on May 10th....BUT YOU MUST RSVP BEFORE MAY 1st!!!! $55.00 gets you a reserved seat on the bus along with a ticket to the game with all of your fellow Beef fans!!! Help us represent the orange and black and cheer on your football team in the final regular season battle of the I-29 Rivalry.

Any questions call the Beef office at 402.346.2333.

2025 Omaha Beef Schedule (4-1, 3-0)

Beef All-Time records vs. (As of 4/20/25)