Week One Friday Night Lights Football Heroes - Part 2

Norfolk Catholic All-State running back Karter Kerkman stiff arms an Oakland-Craig defender on his way to a 50 yard TD run. *photo courtesy of Pat Morland

*Karter Kerkman-Norfolk Catholic - 6-0, 190 pound senior started the 2022 season right where he left off last year. Kerkman, who rambled for 1,852 yards and 25 touchdowns a year ago, broke loose for 232 yards on 19 carries and FIVE TDs in the Knights 37-12 win over Oakland-Craig.

Kerkman, one of the state’s toughest runners, produced a highlight reel 50 yard scoring run during the game. Running off right tackle, Karter had to squeeze by a blocking lineman then take on a pair of Oakland-Craig defenders, both of which he pushed aside with a wicked stiff-arm, one of his specialties. He then proceeded to outrun the remainder of the O-C defense for the 50 yard touchdown.

Circle next Friday on your calendars folks. It’s a battle of #1 vs. #2 as C-2, #1 Norfolk Catholic travels to Ord for a meeting with the #2 Chanticleers.

*Jake Garcia-Omaha Gross Catholic - Rugged, Two-Time 1000 yard rusher zipped for a monster 294 yards on just 14 carries and 3 touchdowns in the Cougars 41-7 win over Beatrice. This young man is a Baller!

*Cole Ballard, Carson Rauner, Jackson Moeller-Swan-Elkhorn South -

As usual, lots of contributors in the Storms’ 31-20 win over Lincoln SE. Cole Ballard powered for 118 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown. He also caught a touchdown pass.

Quarterback Carson Rauner put on a stellar performance, completing 11 of 19 passes for 223 yards and three TDs. Jackson Moeller-Swan caught 6 passes for 167 yards with a pair of those going for scores (48, 41 yards).

On defense, it was Ashton Murphy (9 tackles/5 solos), Maverick Noonen (9 tackles/4 solos) and Mason Cain (7 tackles/5 solos) leading the way for Elkhorn South.

*Charmar Brown-Creighton Prep - All-State candidate rambled for 177 yards and one touchdown on 29 carries in the Junior Jays heartbreaking 24-17 loss to Bellevue West. Brown ran for 73 yards on 19 totes in the Week Zero loss to Omaha Westside to give him 250 yards after two games.

The schedule doesn’t lighten up any the next two weeks for the Junior Jays with a road game at an improved Millard North team (this Thursday), then current #2 Gretna in two weeks. Does Prep have a brutal early season schedule or what?

*Lance Brester, Jestin Bayer-Howells-Dodge - Brester, Bayer and the rest of Mike Spiers guys made the widely anticipated opener with Neligh-Oakdale look easy with its 50-12 win over the highly regarded Warriors.

Brester was a monster on offense, bolting for 217 yards on 31 carries with touchdown runs of 8, 22 and 20 yards. Jestin Bayer also surpassed the century mark rushing with his 110 big ones on just 9 carries with a 47 yard scoring jaunt included in there, part of the Jaguars 415 team rushing yardage total. Bayer also recorded 15 tackles (8 solos) on defense.

*Zane Flores, Joe Roll -Gretna - Pretty relaxed season opener for Flores, Roll and the Dragons. Zane Flores, the Oklahoma State pledge, completed 12 of 17 passes for 163 yards and 3 scores. Joe Roll, one of the state’s finest football players, caught 6 of Zane’s throws for 102 yards and a pair of touchdowns, swelling his career pass reception yardage to 1,156 yards/12 TDs.

*Sam Dierks, Nick Conant-Adams Central - Dierks completed 8 of 17 passes for 185 yards including an electrifying 82 yard touchdown pass to speed demon Nick Conant. He also rushed 3 times for 36 yards and made a pair of tackles in the Patriots 28-7 win over Minden. Conant, just a junior, also rushed 10 times for 86 yards, which included a highlight reel 67 yard touchdown run.

*Abram Scholting, Ben Brahmer-Pierce - Two-Time All-State Quarterback Abram Scholting completed 10 of 12 aerials for 176 yards and 2 TDs in the Bluejays 38-7 win over a very good Wahoo football team. The senior QB also rushed 8 times for 67 yards and another touchdown in the contest.

Nine of Scholting’s completions were caught by Nebraska pledge Ben Brahmer. Two of Big Ben's grabs went for touchdowns.

It is worth noting Abram Scholting’s Career Statline. In 37 career outings, Scholting has completed 61% of his 363 pass attempts for 4,265 yards and 60 touchdowns, Abram has also rushed for an additional 1,002 yards with 8 TDs, made 84 career tackles, intercepted 6 passes with one Pick 6, recovered 2 fumbles, returned one punt for a score and accumulated 5,267 Total yards with 70 total touchdowns.

And, here is why Ben Brahmer was offered a full ride scholarship to Nebraska; In 35 games, 125 receptions, 2,128 yards/26 TDs and some of the greatest hands I’ve seen since former Pierce star Matt Herian, whom the Nebraska Cornhuskers consider maybe their best Tight End of all-time. Yes, Ben Brahmer IS that good.

*Keaton Karr-Silver Lake - Karr must have liked Silver Lake’s move from the 6-Man football ranks to the 8-Man game. In Silver Lake’s first 8-Man game in several seasons, the 5-6, 155 pound senior exploded for a monster 354 yards on 36 touches and 5 TDs in the Mustangs 60-36 win over Palmer.

Karr came within 107 yards of equaling his entire 2021 rushing total in this game.

*Devyn Jones-Papillion LaVista South - 6-0, 215 pound senior RB notched his second 150+ rushing performance in the Titans' 35-19 win over Fremont last week. Jones reeled off 165 yards on 28 carries and a pair in the Fremont win after rolling for 168 yards on 25 carries and 3 scores in the season-opening win over North Platte.

Devyn is certainly no surprise with his rushing stats considering the fact he ran for 874 yards and 11 TDs a year ago and 479 yards (8 TDs) as a sophomore. Here’s hoping this young talent stays healthy the entire season. Devyn Jones is a special football player.

*Ryker Evans, Colton Stubbs-Hi-Line - This pair combined for 363 yards rushing in Hi-Line's opening night 64-22 win over Pleasanton. Evans, the 6-0, 165 junior Captain, exploded for 217 yards on 16 carries with 5 touchdowns. Ryker also made 8 tackles on defense. Colton Stubbs, the 180 pound senior quarterback Captain, chipped in 146 yards and a TD on just 8 carries.

*Hudson Cunnings-Fremont - This 6-0, 190 pound senior Quarterback is quite the story in Fremont football circles. Last season, Cunnings was listed as a QB/SS. Well, he did not attempt ONE pass, carried the ball 11 times for a meager 19 yards, BUT stuck his nose right into the heart of the action on defense, making 63 tackles, 49 of which were solo stops. 49 solos!

This season is a different story. Despite the fact the Tigers are 0-2, Hudson Cunnings is posting some impressive numbers…….at Quarterback. In the Week Zero 28-21 loss to Columbus, Cunnings completed 11 of 17 passes for 170 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also rushed for a gigantic 218 yards and a pair of scores. That’s 388 total yards, friends.

Last Friday in the Tigers 35-19 loss to Papio South, Hudson flipped the run/pass ratio, completing 16 of 27 throws for 252 yards and 2 TDs. He rushed 12 times for 69 yards.

This is quite an accomplishment for a player who had not attempted a single pass since his sophomore season. He was 1 for 2 for 22 yards that year, but the one connection was good for a touchdown.

Keep an eye on this young man this season.

*Barrett Wilke, Parker Wiedeman-Stanton - Wilke, a 5-11, 200 pound sophomore back, rambled for 166 yards and FIVE TDs in the Mustangs 47-21 win over a good Riverside squad. Wiedeman, the 5-9, 165 pound junior was a terror on defense, making 19 tackles, with 12 of those being solo crunches.

Keep an eye on young Barrett Wilke and these Stanton Mustangs, who are currently rated #4 in Class D-1.

*Fletcher Dubas, Tyler Gochenour, Max Voichahoske, Brady Cook-Fullerton Warriors - In a nail-biting 32-30 loss to Central Valley, the sophomore quarterback Fletcher Dubas connected on 14 of 25 passes, good for 295 yards and three touchdowns, all to Tyler Gochenour. Gochenour, the 6-0, 160 pound senior, caught half of Fletcher’s passes for 174 yards.

Max Voichahoske led the Warriors defense with 14 tackles (11 solos). Thousand Yard Rusher Brady Cook followed with 11 stops, 9 of which were solo tackles.

Cook, one of 8-Man football's purest tacklers, has 179 career stops with an astonishing 138 of those being solo stops and I’m thinking there are Freshman tackles that were not added in on MaxPreps.

*Kale Gustafson-Osceola - All-State WR/LB turned into a quarterback last week and responded with 179 yards on only 14 carries and FIVE touchdowns covering 58, 76, 1, 30 and 25 yards in the Bulldogs 62-8 romp over Diller-Odell. Gustafson also attempted two passes, completing both, with one being a 38 yards scoring toss to Matt DeMers.

*Kyle Kasik, Dylan Higby, Drew Beeson-Clarkson-Leigh - Kasik ran for 115 yards on just 14 carries and 3 touchdown runs covering 36, 33 and 3 yards in the Patriots 56-38 win over Exeter-Milligan. Both Dylan Higby and Drew Beeson each recorded 10 tackles in the game with Higby having 8 solo stops and Beeson seven.

All three of these Clarkson-Leigh standouts are solid All-State candidates

*Justin French-Mullen - Surprise, surprise, another standout Sophomore running back for the Broncos. In Mullen’s 62-0 whitewashing of Medicine Valley, French rushed for 154 yards on 19 carries and 3 TDs. QB Chase Gracey was nearly perfect through the air, hitting 6 of 7 passes for 83 yards and a touchdown.

*Jesus Hernandez-Gibbon - Gained 187 yards on 17 carries and scored both touchdowns in Gibbon’s 38-12 loss to Hershey.

*Matt Kostman, Kutter Accord, Wyatt Phillips-Hyannis - In Hyannis 72-12 rolling of Kimball, QB Matt Kostman completed 8 of 10 passes for 154 yards and a TD. Accord did the damage on the ground with his 147 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns and Wyatt Phillips led the Hyannis “D” with 13 tackles, 7 of which were solos.