Week 6 High School Football Stars

Atkinson West Holt's Josh Coyle...just may be Nebraska's best high school RB.

*Josh Coyle-Atkinson West Holt - 233 yards rushing in a 41-16 win over Laurel-Concord puts this young man far in front in the state's rushing race. The 195 pound junior, who may be the best all-around football player in Nebraska, now has 1,424 yards in just SIX games. That's 237 yards a game, folks.

*Jake Schlager-McCook - Pretty sure Hastings High does want to see Schlager again soon. The all-state linebacker had 6 solo tackles, 4 for losses, blocked 2 kicks, and seemed to be in on every tackle assist there was in the 41-12 win. In addition to running backs, I'm kind of addicted to those linebacker guys. Can you imagine having a pool of these linebackers to choose from if you were a coach? Schlager, Alex Hunt-Aurora, Connor Eberhardt-GINW, Josh Bandaras-Lincoln SW, Nick DeLuca-Millard North, Nate Meier of Pierce, Alex Hunt-Kearney Catholic, Austin Svoboda-David City Aquinas and Joel Grafel of St. Cecilia.....talk about the cream of the LB crop in Nebraska...Holy Moly!

*Kyle Bockmann -Grand Island Northwest - 25 carries, scoring on 1 and 15 yard runs in the Vikings shocking 54-0 dismantling of high powered Aurora.

Teamate Alex Larsen caught 5 passes for 121 yards and scored TDs on 49, 10 yard receptions. Larsen now has 40 receptions for 814 yards and 11 scores for the season. He is one yard behind South Sioux City's Nate Rogers, who has 815 yards for the season on 36 receptions (10 Tds)

*Calvin Strong - Omaha North - Sophomore speedster burned Papillion La Vista for 298 yards on 23 carries and scored on 39, 65 runs as the Vikings shocked Papio 49-28. Omaha North gauged the Monarchs for 474 yards rushing as Strong swelled his season rushing total to 907.

*Alex Ditoro-Papillion La Vista - Continued his torrid passing pace by throwing completing 31 of 50 passes for 267 yards and 2 touchdowns in the loss. Ditoro now has completed 161 of 241 for 2,117 yards and 29 Tds. (67%). Ditoro takes over the as the state's leading passer, forging ahead of Northwest's Zach Rouzee, who has 1,976 yards.

*Connor Matthews - Millard North - Gave QB Isaac Aakre a liitle break by rushing for 232-31 tries. The hard running 190 pound Matthews scored 4 times on runs of 4, 57, 35 and 6 yards in the Mustangs 45-20 win against Bellevue West. Aaakre didn't exactly take the night off himself, rushing for 147-21 carries. ***1000 Yard Alert***-Aakre increased his season total to 1,079 yards. Matthews now has 744.

*James Kruger-Norris - 3 time 1000 yard rusher just keeps on running. Kruger rushed for 167-27 carries in a 12-7 loss to Class B's number 1 Beatrice. Kruger increased his Class B leading rushing total to 1,252 yards.

*Dakota VanLaningham-Beatrice - Led the Orangeman with 145-22 carries despite missing the final quarter with a sore knee. He now has 926 yds rushing for the year.

***1000 Yard Alert***-Luke Glenn-Shelton - Number three 1000 yard season for Glenn. He surpassed the mark for the third time by running for 115-15 carries against Lawrence-Nelson. Glenn hit the 1,046 mark as the Bulldogs pummeled LN 52-6.

*Thomas Connelly-Kearney Catholic - The 190 pound junior is starting to pick up steam as the season progresses. Connelly punished Cozad as he rushed for 214-20 carries and scored on a 2 yd run in the 31-7 win. Connelly increased his season to 759 yards. This Kearney Catholic team is dangerous, but Class C-1 is a tad tougher than C-2 they were in last season.

*Allen Denton-Bayard - Ran 142-23 carries in an exiting 45-32 win over rival Bridgeport. Denton scored on 24, 5, and 32 runs and snagged a 22 yard scoring pass from Zac Rice. Rice had a solid night by throwing for a monster 337 yards and 2 Tds. He also ran for a 6 yard score.

*Brandon Hedgecock-North Platte - Booted a 36 yard field goal on the last play of regulation against Lincoln High, then kicked the winning 32 FG in overtime to give the Bulldogs a 27-24 win.

*Mitch Klein-Scottsbluff - This guy is on this page every week. Klein ran for 120 yards on 20 carries and scored on a 50 yard interception and a 1 yard plunge. He is now only 3 yards short of his second 1000 yard season. The Bearcats blasted Gering 38-7 Friday and will play Alliance this Friday for the District 8 title in Alliance.

*Jake Anderson-Central City - 5-8, 160 senior rushed for 152 yards on only 13 carries including a sparkling 83 yard TD run in a 28-14 district loss last Friday.

*Nick Pandorf-Columbus Scotus - Pandorf scooted for 199-23 touches in the "Bonnies" 49-28 win over David City Public. Teammate Jacob Huss added 159-22 carries in the win.

*Austin Havlena-David City - Appears unstoppable as of late and last Friday was no different. Havlena rushed for 229 yards on 29 totes and scored on 15, 1 and 8 yard runs in the loss. Havlena has 977 in 2012 and is only 23 short of a 2nd 1000 yard season.

*Derek Rose-Nebraska Christian - Rushed for 144-15 carries and hit paydirt from 36 yards out in the Eagles 56-28 win over Shelby.

*Joel Wieder-Fremont Bergan - Rushed for 171-20 carries and scored on 33, 43, 3, and 45 runs in the Knights 55-31 win over Oakland-Craig.

*Ryan Batenhorst-Fremont Bergan - Veteran senior QB threw for 224 yards and 4 Tds and intercepted 2 passes in the win. Batenhorst, who passed for 1,841 yards a year ago, now has 1,236 yards passing for 2012.

*Colton Steer-Crete - Ran for a 166-24 carries in a 35-13 win over Seward. Steer has really carried a huge load for the defending Class B runner-ups from a year ago. Steer is a stalwart at linebacker and really takes a beating on offense. The Cardinals have toughed it out through a brutal schedule to a post 3-4 record thus far. Through all that, Steer has rushed for 900 yards.

*Matt Gooch-Howells-Dodge - Big senior ran for 161-24 carries when it counted the most in a marquee game against West Point Guardian Angels C.C.. Gooch scored twice in the Jaguars 36-0 trouncing of the high powered Bluejays. Matt has 674 yards and 13 Tds thus far in limited time due to big leads by halftime. Not to worry, Gooch will have 2 more regular season games and 5 playoff games to add to that rushing total.

*Nick Brouillette-Hastings St. Cecilia - Mr. Dependable rushed for 159-22 touches and hit the end zone from 9, 1 and 2 yards out in the Bluehawks 34-0 "W" over Southern Valley. Kind of a neat deal at St. Cecilia, if you just happen to be the heir apparent to the starting RB slot, your gonna be their next 1000 yard rusher......yep, that's how good that line usually is.

*Austin Helmes-Arthur County - Had 237 yards on 18 carries and scored 4 touchdowns when the Wolves beat Minatare 46-20 in 6-man action. Helmes also had 3 returns for 143 yards and 2 tds in the win. Good return men in 6-man football are one heck of a weapon......only 6 people to get through to reach paydirt.

*Austin Blume-Hitchcock County - Looks like Blume made the adjustment for 6-man to 8-man football rather well. He ran for 159-17 carries, scoring twice and had 6 receptions for 112 yards in a 47-40 loss to Wallace.

*John Marquardt-Wallace - 160 pound QB ran for 221 yards on 33 carries and 2 Tds. in the 47-40 win against Hitchcock Co. Not only did Marquardt's Wildcats get the win, but the slick signal caller completed 7-13 passes for 117 yards and 3 Tds add to his 221 yards on the ground. Marquardt now has 857 yards rushing and is 51-97 for 789 yards and 11 scores.

..........tomorrow we are going to feature Atkinson West Holt's outstanding Josh Coyle. There isn't much this Renaissance Man of high school football cannot do. Stay tuned.