Week One Friday Night Lights Football Heroes - 11-Man

*Tay Tay Jenkins-Omaha Westside - The Warriors junior, who ran for nearly 2000 yards a year ago, ignited a Class A rushing explosion on Thursday night by escaping for 258 yards on 28 totes and touchdown runs of 5, 11, 59 and 9 yards in Westside’s convincing 58-27 win over a fine Omaha North squad.

*Jett Thomalla, Amarion Jackson, Dallas Gaius-Anyaegbu, Teagan Urban, Dave Fajardo-Millard South - Nebraska Class A Champions flew to Las Vegas and delivered a rear kicking 49-7 beating to Las Vegas Arbor View. Jett Thomalla hit 19 of 25 passes for 285 yards and 5 touchdowns as the Patriots raced to a 42-7 halftime advantage. Amarion Jackson hauled in 8 receptions for 154 yards and 3 TDs. Dallas Gaius-Anyaegbu grabbed 4 Thomalla passes for 58 yards and a score.

Teagan Urban led the South defense with 9 tackles, 3.5 of which were for losses and Place Kicker Dave Fajardo was a perfect 7 for 7 on PAT attempts.

*Jaydon Sutko, Luke Valasek, Cooper Perrian-Elkhorn South - The hard charging Jaydon Sutko bolted for 207 yards and 2 TDs on 21 carries in the Storm’s very impressive 30-0 victory move a good Lincoln East team last Thursday .Cooper Perrian led the stout Storm defense with 9 stops (5 solos, 2 TFL, 1 sack), while Griffen McDonald`had 5 tackles and an interception. Cameron Wolf also had 5 tackles plus a recovered fumble.

*Isaiah Taylor-Millard North - The 195 pound senior ran for 178 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries in a 23-12 loss to Millard West.

*Angelo Walker-Creighton Prep - Walker scooted for 172 of Prep’s 227 rushing yards on 23 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns as the Junior Jays defeated St. Louis De Smit Jesuit 42-35. The big win avenged a bad loss to the De Smit team a year ago on the road.

*Wyatt Pollett, Canon Allen-Aurora - Pollett, the Sutton transfer, completed 10 of 15 passes for 174 yards and 3 touchdowns in the Huskies season opening 27-21 loss at Pierce. All-State candidate Canon Allen caught 7 passes for 134 yards that included a 53 yard scoring reception.

*Jack Van Slyke-Wahoo Neumann - All-State LB, now the heir to Conor Booth’s RB spot, buoyed a huge 21-14 win over Norfolk Catholic with his 165 yards on 28 carries performance. Van Slyke scored twice on runs covering 1 and 7 yards, helping the Cavaliers end Catholic’s 39 game win streak.

*Kaiden Fritz-Pierce - The sensational linebacker can run a little bit too, going off for a huge 234 yards on 27 carries with TD runs of 4 and 53 yards as the Bluejays bested Aurora 27-21. Kaiden’s 53 run from his fullback position was a sight to behold.

*Gavin Little-Malcolm - Clippers QB was super-efficient in a 49-8 thrashing of North Bend Central. Little hit 16 of 20 throws for 208 yards and 4 TDs in the win.

*Parker Zikmund, Jacob Brazee, Bison “D”-Central City - Sharpshooter Parker Zikmund came in right where he left off a year ago, completing 16 of 22 passes for 209 yards and 4 TDs in CC’s 38-7 win over a good Ord squad. Jacob Brazee caught 8 of Zikmund’s zingers, good for 110 big ones and a pair of scores. Central City’s defense held Ord to 139 total yards for the night.

*Wyatt Jelinek,Tyson Burcham,Tucker Matulka-Raymond Central - Holy cow can you say Player of the Game for Raymond Central QB Wyatt Jelinek? All Jelinek did was dash for 191 yards and three touchdowns on just 14 touches, complete 6 of 9 passes for 129 yards with TD tosses to Burcham and Matulka. Wyatt also posted five tackles on defense and picked off a Fillmore Central pass in Raymond Central’s 42-7 win over the Panthers.

*Thomas Settje, Carson Wessel-Columbus Scotus - Senior Thomas Settje ripped Aquinas for 185 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the Shamrocks 49-7 win over their old rival. Scotus QB Carson Wessel was really sharp in the big season opening “W”, hitting 13-15 passes for 173 yards and two scores. Wessel also made 5 stops defensively.

Two years ago, I watched Settje, then a 170 lb sophomore, come in late with a sparkling performance (72 yards/9 carries and some jarring tackles) in the Rocks 41-27 win over a good West Point/Beemer team. I recall making the statement to young Thomas that he would be an All-Stater someday if he played like he did that night. Stay Tuned.

*Parker Volk, Jack Poppe, Tycen Bennett-Doniphan-Trumbull - Senior QB Parker Volk shredded the Amherst defense by completing 22 of 36 throws for 292 yards and 4 TDs in the Cardinals 36-7 victory. All-State receiver Jack Poppe grabbed 13 of Volk’s passes for 121 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Poppe also pirated an Amherst pass defensively. Tycen Bennett caught 6 passes for an amazing 160 yards and three TDs. Ya think D-T is going to fling it this year?

*Derek Toniges, Cal Kissinger, Cal Smith- Ashland-Greenwood - Talk about efficiency, Ashland-Greenwood QB Derek Toniges completed 10 of 12 passes for 234 yards and 4 touchdowns in the Bluejays 48-0 win over DC West. Cal Kissinger was Derek’s favorite target, hauling in 5 receptions for a fat 139 yards and 3 TDs. RB Cal Smith added 2 more scores, gaining 80 yards on just 9 attempts. Smith also made his defensive presence known by making 7 tackles.

*Ethan Beachy-Elkhorn North - Senior gunslinger completed 18-29 passes for 219 yards and FIVE TDs in the Wolverines 46-0 win over Lincoln Pius X. ELEVEN different receivers caught a pass in the game.

*Nathan Axmann-Waverly - Rugged Senior star lugged the football a staggering 39 times for 258 yards with touchdown runs of 18 and 20 yards in the Vikings HUGE 21-19 win over the mighty Bennington Badgers.

*Tristan Campbell-McCook - Senior 1000 yard runner galloped for 179 yards on 16 carries and three TDs in McCook’s 41-15 win at Beatrice. The Bison star also took a 96 yard kickoff to the house and posted 7 tackles on defense. We’ll see Tristan up close at Aurora this Friday.

*Ethan Nelson-Platteview - Kicker booted a 50 yard field goal to send the Crete game into overtime, then kicked the winning FG in the Trojans 30-27 victory over the Cardinals. Nelson was three for three on FG and PAT attempts in the game. Also keep in mind Crete plays their home games at Doane University where the College goal posts are 4 feet, 10 inches narrower than high school uprights, making Nelson’s kicks even more impressive.

*Nick Wendt, Peyton Steuer-Crete - Senior QB completed 19 of 38 aerials for a massive 328 yards and a pair of TDs in Crete’s heartbreaking 30-27 overtime loss to Platteview. Peyton Steuer had a spectacular night, grabbing 10 of Wendt’s throws for a massive 228 yards with two going for scores.

*Austin Scheuler, Cale Sheets, Gavin Baker, Gavin Dean-Fremont Bergan - In the Knights 42-3 win over Conestoga: QB Austin Scheuler connected on 16 of 20 passes for 327 yards and 5 touchdowns. Cale Sheets caught 6 of those for 108 yards with a touchdown. Gavin Baker was next with 4 catches for 77 yards and two scores while Gavin Dean hauled in just ONE but he took the 74 yarder to the house.

*Trini Trejo, Cayson Robertson-Alliance - Trejo, who ran for 1,019 yards as a sophomore for a 1-8 Bulldog squad a year ago, exploded for 265 yards on only 13 carries (20.7 per carry) and FIVE touchdowns in the ‘Dogs 72-24 rout of Gordon-Rushville. Cayson Robertson wasn’t exactly chopped liver himself, rambling for 116 yards and 2 TDs on just 10 touches. He also made 9 stops defensively.

*GICC “D”, Conor Haney, Jack Alberts, Owen Price, Braylon Wolfe, Graham Stava-GICC - Crusader defense held Hastings St. Cecilia to 17 total yards in a resounding 44-0 victory over the Bluehawks. Conor Haney caught 2 passes on the evening, both for touchdowns. All-State candidate Jack Alberts led the defense with 11 stops. Owen Price was right behind with 10 tackles, NINE of which were solo stops, while Braylon Wolfe and speedy Graham Stava each had interceptions. Price also returned a St. Cecilia fumble for a Crusader TD.

*Kyler Boyles, Kamden Boyles-Superior - The Boyles brothers were standouts in the ‘Cats 7-0 season opening win at Fairbury. Senior 1000 yard rusher Kyler Boyles, a 210 lb battering ram that is so difficult to bring down, ran for 90 yards and the games only score in Superior’’s win. He also had 10 stops on defense. Kyler’s 185 lb sophomore bro Kamden added 59 yards rushing and made 11 tackles on defense.

*Kip Brigham, Harrison Krueger, Eli Shada, Logan Kelly-Wahoo - The spectacular Kip Brigham gained 145 yards on just 10 notes, scoring on a 14 yard run and a 19 yard pass reception in the Class C-1 defending Champion Warriors 55-0 win over Nebraska City. Defensively, Harrison Krueger made 7 tackles (3 TFL), Eli Shada also had 7 tackles with 4 TFL and Logan Kelly mirrored the other two aforementioned Wahoo stars with 7 tackles (3 TFL) but added a fumble recovery to his night.

*Will Janssen, Mason Lintz, Brennan Schroeder-Syracuse - Janssen, the 5-10, 160 lb running back who missed all but two games a year ago, exploded in his return for 241 yards and 2 TDs on 16 carries in the Rockets exciting 32-20 win over Milford. Junior Mason Lintz added 147 yards on 17 attempts and a touchdown while QB Brennan Schroeder completed 7 of 10 tosses for 95 yards with a score and made two interceptions on defense.

*Henry Prokop-Lincoln Lutheran - Outstanding senior QB completed 11-19 aerials for 185 yards and a TD, ran 25 times for 165 big ones and 3 more scores and made 5 stops,on defense in the Warriors 34-12 win over rival Lincoln Christian. The yearly Spirit Sword goes to Prokop and Lincoln Lutheran.