Week Four Friday Night Lights Football Heroes - Part 2

*Dex Larsen-Blair - I rarely give advise, but if you are playing defense and planning on making a solo tackle on the 5-9, 195 pound Dex Larsen…..call for some backup help. The powerful, punishing junior has run over more defenders than a runaway bull in an indoor flea market this season.

Held to under a 100 yards rushing in his first two games (98, 73), the Blair coaching staff increased Larsen’s touches and he went off for 135 yards on 35 carries against Class B, #1 Omaha Skutt, then exploded or 203 big ones on 37 carries in the Bears 42-22 loss to Norris last week.

The big fella breaks several long distance runs, but he plows over so many bodies along the way, those sprints rarely break for touchdowns. But that’s alright, Blair will take whatever Dex Larsen can dish out, on offense or defense.

Thus far in 2019, the Blair sensation has rushed 113 times for 536 yards with 5 TDs, caught 13 passes (mostly deadly screens) for 146 yards, made 19 tackles (3 TFL) and punted three times 157 yards. That an average of 57.7 yards a boot and that is a legit statistic, folks.

Against Norris, the line of scrimmage yard marker appeared to be at the Blair 16, although it could have been the 20. Anyway, Dex put a foot into the punt at the Bears 15 and it sailed all the way to the Norris 1 yard line before the punt return man picked it up. It’s listed as a 77 yard boot, but from where Larsen launched it, the ball traveled 84 yards. That’ll get that punting average up a just a little, right?

Last season, Dex Larsen rambled for 1,355 yards (13 TDs) as sophomore and the Bears retuned four starters in that O-Line for 2019, so expect another thousand yard season forDex Larsen and another one his senior season. If there is anyone in 11-Man football that gains more yards after contact, I would be surprised.

I wish Coach Frost still ran the fullback position in that Husker offense because Blair would have a top notch candidate for him in 2020.

*Parker Janky-Grand Island Northwest - 5-11, 160 pound junior tied Jacob Ramsay’s (Lincoln Pius X) state single game field goal record when he kicked 4 of them in Northwest’s 26-8 win over rival Aurora. Janky tied the 10 year old record with his field goal boots of 28, 40, 22 ands 22 yards (one in each quarter).

Parker Janky could certainly be a lethal weapon for Class B 4th rated Northwest in the post season.

*Auburn Ground Attack - After three straight narrow losses, the Class C-1 basketball champions turned their gridiron ground attack loose to the tune of 311 yards on 31 totes in the Bulldogs 63-7 win over Omaha Concordia.

Junior Connor Clark led the way for Auburn, who led 63-0 at halftime, with 97 yards on just 4 carries and TD runs of 33, 1 and 57 yards). Sophomore Ryan Dixon was next with 84 yards on 3 totes with a 55 yard TD run, plus an 88 yard kick return on the opening kick-off of the contest. Junior Turner Arban ran for 41 yards on 6 tries and a pair of touchdowns (3, 22 yards).

Junior basketball star Cam Binder led the well balanced Bulldog defense with 9 tackles. Freshman Wyatt Rowell was close behind with 8 stops.

Connor Clark also pirated a pair of Mustang passes in the game, and Turner Arban broke through to block a Concordia punt.

*Nick Halleen-Lincoln Southeast - 5-10, 200 pound powerhouse notched his 11th hundred yard rushing game (6th in a row), in the Knights 28-6 win over City rival Lincoln East. The hard charging Halleen powered his way to 219 yards on 21 carries (3rd straight 200+ game) and a touchdown in the contest.

Husker recruit Isaac Gifford also scored on a 29 yard run, while Knights QB Shadon Shannon scored the remaining two touchdowns for Southeast, who is currently 3-1 and rated #5 in the OWH Top Ten .

That 3rd consecutive 200 yard rushing game also swells Nick Halleen’s 2019 four game rushing total to 784 yards (7 TDs). The lad can flat out play the game of football.

….Hold on now. Did you think I would close out this salute to Nick Halleen without mentioning that superb Lincoln SE Offensive Line? Not on your life.

So, this is what I have listed for a front line in the Knight’s offense; #77, OT Xavier Trevino (6-2, 285, Sr.), #67, OG, Carson Stoner (6-2, 285, Sr.), #56, C, Carter West (6-0, 275, Sr.), #78, OG, Jacob Bergonia (6-2, 275, Jr.), #59, OT, Tristan Allen (6-2, 220, Sr.).

This group has been nothing short of sensational thus far in 2019. Just ask Mr. Halleen.

*Trevin Luben, Colin Ludvik, Warrior “D”- Wahoo - Same story, different Friday for Class C-1, No. 1 Wahoo. The mighty Warriors beat a 2-1 Platteview team 61-0, and this is the very same Platteview squad that had already equalled their 2018 win total in just 3 games thus far in 2019.

The amazing Trevin Luben ran for 135 yards on 20 carries and 4 touchdowns covering 24, 1, 1 and 16 yards in the romp. Colin Ludvik, a 5-6, 150 pound sophomore, added 115 yards on just 13 touches with a pair of TDs covering 13, 53 yards. QB Thomas Waido also hit the endzone with a 1 yard run and All-State lineman Grant Kolterman pulled off every linemen’s dream when the big guy picked up a Platteview fumble and returned it 26 yards for a score with 9 seconds left in the first quarter.

Now for the really good stuff. The smothering Wahoo defense limited a Platteview offense that had been averaging 288 yards a game, to just 2 yards rushing and 1 yard passing for the entire game. Now that is frightening.

Senior Kole Bordovsky led the Warrior defense with 14 tackles (4 TFL) while Grant Kolterman chipped in 9 crunches. Junior Cooper Hancock had an INT in the game and place kicker Jesus Zaragoza was a perfect 7 for 7 on PAT kicks. Of course he was.

*Ashton Hausmann, Aiden Oerter-Norris - 2018 thousand yard rusher Ashton Hausmann ripped off 206 yards on 16 carries with TD runs of 4, 42 and 66 yards in the Titans 42-22 win over Blair. Norris QB Aiden Oerter kept the aerial game going with his pinpoint 11 of 14 passing for 178 yards and two touchdown performance.

The 6-0, 200 pound Hausmann, who won the Class B 100 Meter Dash last May (:10.84) and was 3rd in the 200 (:22.3, :21.9 earlier), has rushed (sprinted) for 387 yards and 7 TDs thus far in 2019. The Titan sprint king also has 8 receptions for 205 yards (2 TDs), and 20 tackles on defense.

QB Aiden Oerter has completed 51 out of 79 pass attempts (65%) for 854 yards, 8 TDs with only one INT. The 6-2, 185 pound senior also recorded a 38 yard Pick Six against Bennington earlier in the year.

The Badgers now enter Class B, District 2 play this Friday when they entertain unbeaten Waverly and their brutal ground attack.

*Eli Larson-St. Paul - I’m beginning to wonder if anyone can hold this guy under 185/190 yards in a game. Last week the 210 pound St, Paul star, who has both speed and power to burn, rolled for 207 yards on 20 carries and 4 touchdowns in the Wildcats 50-7 win at Malcolm.

If it weren’t for that Southern Valley game a few weeks back, where the St. Paul coaching staff didn’t dare give Larson very many carries so the ‘Cats could keep the score down (6 for 94 yards), Eli would be working on an 11 game streak of 100 yard plus rushing outings.

As it stands, Mr. Larson has still churned out 721 yards in four games with 12 TDs. On defense, the junior stud has made 25 tackles (19 solos), recorded 7.5 tackles behind the scrimmage line and had 3.5 sacks.

The Wildcats are currently ranked 2nd in Class C-2, with only powerful BRLD in front of them. St. Paul has District 6 games with Wood River, Gibbon, Centura and GICC, plus non-district foe O’Neill, remaining on their schedule.

*Jacob Hoffman-Plainview - 5-10, 185 pound senior Captain rambled for 217 yards on just 17 tries and 4 TDs in the Pirates 66-0 romp over Emerson-Hubbard. After rushing for just 73 yards in Plainview’s opening 42-12 win over Wynot, Hoffman blitzed Randolph for 303 yards, then took a week off and did the 217 yard/4 TD trick against Emerson-Hubbard.

That win over EH propelled the 3-0 Pirates to a #10 rating in Class D-2 this week. Oh, and Jacob Hoffman’s rushing total thus far in 2019? That would be 612 yards with 7 touchdowns and a team leading 33 tackles on defense.

*Rylan Aguallo-Mitchell - Sometimes these players from the Western part of the state fly under the radar, but in Mitchell’s case the fantastic Gilliland brothers took care of that problem. In Mitchell’s 34-12 win over Bridgeport last week, Rylan Aguallo, the 5-10, 185 pound junior, put together his best game of the season.

The Tiger running back exploded for 255 yards on 20 carries and 3 TDs, one of which was an 87 yard beauty. Aguallo has increased his rushing output every week in 2019, running for 20 yards on six carries against Valentine, then 126-5 totes against Southeast HS (Yoder, Wyoming), 178 on just 8 touches two weeks ago in a 42-0 route of Gordon-Rushville and most recent, last weeks 255 yards in that Bridgeport win.

579 yards on just 39 carries (14.8/per) just isn’t too shabby, football fans.

*Justus Bader, Quinston Larsen-Grand Island Heartland Lutheran - In the Red Hornets 72-18 win over Santee last Friday afternoon, Junior QB Justus Bader completed 15 of 20 passes for 297 yards/3 touchdowns, rushed for 8 times for 107 yards and three additional scores, and recovered a fumble in the route.

Junior classmate Quinston Larsen, the 6-1, 190 pound Red Cloud transfer, rushed 14 times for 144 yards and 3 TDs, caught 5 passes for 138 yards and two more TDs, and made 10 tackles on defense for the 3-0, 10th rated Heartland Lutheran squad.

QB Justus Bader is currently ranked #2 Nationally in Total Yards with 1,216 yards (873 passing, 343 rushing). Bader’s 873 passing yards also rank him 2nd Nationally.

Quinston Larsen’s 466 receiving yardage puts him 3rd in the nation for 6-Man football, while Larsen’s 17 TDs ranks sixth nationally.

*Eli Hayes-Clarkson/Leigh - With 1000 yard rusher/All-State running back Tommy McEvoy out with a torn ACL, the 5-7, 130 pound sophomore thought he would lend a hand when the Patriots travelled to Lincoln to play Parkview Christian on a warm Friday afternoon last week.

Parkview most likely thought old Eli may have overdone it a little, but I’m certain that Coach Jim Clarkson and right hand man Coach Bob McEvoy were just tickled pink with Mr. Hayes performance, especially in the 2nd quarter.

All in all, Eli Hayes accumulated 215 all-purpose yards in Clarkson-Leigh’s 64-20 win. The sophomore rushed for 45 yards and a pair of touchdowns (5, 11 yards), returned not one, but two Parkview Christian kickoffs for scores (70, 42 yards) and recorded a 31 yard Pick Six.

And about that 2nd quarter. Both of Eli’s kick returns, his Pick 6, and 11 yard scoring run came in that 42 point second quarter outburst by Clarkson/Leigh.

Hayes also returned a couple of punts for 27 yards and made 4 stops defensively for the Patriots. Okay, that’s it, but be advised that with the return of a healthy Tommy McEvoy next season, this Clarkson-Leigh football will be good. Really, really good.

*Jacob Diessner-Spalding Academy - 5-9, 135 pound quarterback hit 18 of 21 passes for 252 yards and 4 TDs in a 55-53 loss to Sumner-Eddyville Miller last Friday. The Six-Man football athlete also rushed 27 times for 248 yards and another four touchdowns in the cliff hanging loss.

When the game was complete and in the books, Jacob Diessner had accumulated an even-steven 500 yards combined rushing/passing, and made 8 tackles and an interception in the game.

His three game totals; 622 yards rushing, 361 passing, and 27 receiving yards for 1,010 total yards. Add in 37 tackles on defense and you have a pretty special 135 pound 6-Man football player.

By the way, Spalding Academy is now 0-3 on the young season, having lost 55-53 and 66-63 heartbreakers the past two games.

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Up next...Week 4 of Friday Night Lights Football Heroes - Part 3