Week One Friday Night Lights Football Heroes - 8-Man, 6-Man.

Lawrence-Nelson's 6-5, 215 lb junior QB Wyatt Frey, one of 8-Man football's Best.

*Wyatt Frey-Lawrence-Nelson - 6-5, 215 pound specimen rambled for 199 yards on 23 carries and a 43 yard scoring run in a 28-24 heartbreaking loss to the mighty Howells-Dodge. The Division One athlete also completed 10 of 19 passes for 124 yards with a 10 yard TD toss to Jace Hoelting. Frey also had an electrifying 76 yard scoring sprint called back with 3:02 left in the game. The Raiders star was also a terror on defense, putting on a clinic on how to tackle.

This young man is really special.

*Hunter Luther, Oliver Belina-Howells-Dodge - All-State RB/LB Hunter Luther had scoring runs covering 30 and 7 yards, made 12 tackles on defense, averaged 40.8 yards on five punts and put three of six kickoffs in Lawrence Nelson's end zone. Junior RB Oliver Bellina had 126 yards on 14 carries which included touchdown runs of 20 and 30 yards in Howells-Dodge big 28-24 victory over Lawrence-Nelson.

*Ethan Latta, Dante Horner-Dundy County-Stratton - Two-time All-State sensation Ethan Latta ran for 200 yards and 3 touchdowns on just 14 totes and caught 3 passes for 59 yards, adding another pair of TDs, ALL of it coming in the first half in the Tigers 46-16 win over Perkins County. Latta also pirated a pass in the game, moving him to within 2 interceptions of the 8-Man football Career Interception Record. Dundy QB Dante Horner was Mr. Efficiency in his passing game, completing 5 of 6 for 88 yards and three touchdowns.

*Bloomfield “D”, Brock Jeannotout-Bloomfield - 1000 yard rusher Brock Jeannotout ran for 140 yards on 21 carries with touchdown runs of 37 and 4 yards in Bloomfield’s impressive 30-0 whitewashing of defending Class D-1 runner up Stanton. The Bees' stout defense stung Stanton by limiting the Mustangs to 123 yards of total offense in the game.

*Callen Schnitzler, Alec Schnitzler-Nebraska City Lourdes - Knights Dual Threat QB Callen Schnitzler, one of 8-Man football's finest players, ripped through the Fall City Sacred Heart defense for 269 yards and SIX touchdowns on 23 carries in Lourdes CC’s 5514 win over the Irish. The remarkable Callen Schnitzler had scoring runs of 55, 2 and 3 yards in the first quarter and scoring runs of 27, 10 and 57 yards in the second quarter. Alec Schnitzler, who just missed 1000 yards as a freshman by 13 yards, added 112 yards on 11 carries and a 50 yard touchdown run in the big rivalry game.

*Kreyton Wiese-Wauneta-Palisade - The rugged 6-2, 205 lb Wiese rambled for 237 yards on 23 carries and ran for SIX TDs in Wa-Pa’s 44-28 win over South Platte. He also caught one pass for 7 yards, made 9 tackles on defense, returned an interception 17 yards, and had 6 kickoff returns totalling 101 yards in the 6-Man contest.

*Luke Shoemaker, Lincoln Nekoliczek, Will Pokorny-Central Valley - In a replay of last year's Class D-2 state championship game, Central Valley defeated Greeley County rival Riverside 44-0 to open the 2025 season. 1000 yard rusher Luke Shoemaker led the way on the ground with 202 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Sophomore QB Lincoln Nekoliczek added 75 yards on 10 attempts and FOUR touchdowns. Will Pokorny, an All-State nose guard as a FRESHMAN a year ago, led the Cougar defense with 11 tackles (7 Solos, 5 TFL).

*Ben Werner, Alex Werner-Mullen - Senior Alex Werner rushed 12 times for 118 yards and two touchdowns in Mullen’s 54-7 victory over Sandhills Valley. Sophomore QB Ben Werner completed six of nine passes for 72 yards and three touchdowns with the scoring receptions going to Jalen Forsen, Tate Kvanvig and Cason Hampton.

*Kam Sealey-Sandy Creek -The sophomore quarterback was spectacular in Sandy Creek's 56-16 win over Johnson Brock. Sealey rushed for 191 yards and four touchdowns on 19 carries and completed 10 of 16 passes for an identical 191 yards and a touchdown in the big win.

*Carter Eichmeier, Logan Lindsley-Shelby-Rising City - Junior 1000 yard rusher went off for 164 yards and 4 touchdowns on 19 carries in Shelby/Rising City's 54-8 win over Freeman. Logan Lindsley added 79 yards on just five carries and two touchdowns in the win.

*Nikolas Weibert, Landon Dean-Bridgeport - QB Weibert completed 9 of 18 passes for 152 yards and 3 touchdowns in Bridgeport's come from behind 44-28 victory over North Platte St. Patrick's. Weibert also rushed for 77 yards and 2 touchdowns on 16 carries, and had 10 tackles on defense. Freshman Landon Dean got started on the right foot by returning a fumble for a touchdown for Bridgeport. The Bulldogs 24 point fourth quarter explosion helped them overcome a 28-20 deficit after 3 quarters.

*Laken Weidel, Brady Degenhardt, Cole Vonderstrasse, Titans “D”-Thayer Central - Thayer Central opened up the 2025 season with a resounding 66-14 victory over Henderson Heartland and dominated on both sides of the football. The Titans racked up 339 yards on the ground with 9 different running backs getting in on the fun. Laken Weidel led the way with 113 yards on just 4 carries, THREE of which were touchdowns. Brady Degenhardt added 72 yards on 6 carries with 2 TDs. Cole Vonderstrausse led the defense with 12 tackles (3.5 TFL). Thayer Central’s suffocating defense held Heartland to 118 total yards offensively.

*Braxton Bonneau-Bancroft-Rosalie - Bolted for 141 yards and five touchdowns in Bancroft- Rosalie's 42-22 victory over Tri-County NE.

*Jordan Condon, Ethan Kuhl-Creighton - Senior Jordan Condon had himself quite a night in Creighton's 54-22 victory over Niobrara-Verdigre. Condon rushed just 10 times but gained 174 yards and scored from 45, 62 and 55 yards away in the first quarter alone. He also caught 4 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown and logged 16 tackles on defense with 7 1/2 of those tackles for losses. Quarterback Ethan Kuhl completed 11 of 19 passes for 262 yards and 3 TDs, all coming from long distance passes of 46, 42 and 26 yards out. Kuhl also scored two touchdowns on the ground covering 3 and 2 yards in the Bulldog’s big win.

*Brett Koenig, Ben Schmitz-Boyd County - Brett Koenig rushed 9 times for 147 yards and 4 touchdowns while Ben Schmitz added 119 yards on 6 carries and a pair of touchdowns in Boyd County’s 68-24 romp over North Central.

*Jason Heimes, Austin Sudbeck, Carter Kelly-Hartington-Newcastle - RB Jason Heimes rushed for 229 yards on 25 carries and four touchdowns in Hartington-Newcastle's 49-26 victory over Ainsworth. QB Austin Sudbeck was also a standout, hitting seven of 14 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown. The defensive leader was Carter Kelly, who made 13 tackles, four of which were tackles for losses.

*Chris Fernandez-Ainsworth - Ainsworth lost to Hartington-Newcastle 49-26, but it wasn't because of Chris Fernandez. The terrific Ainsworth QB completed 16 of 29 passes for 199 yards and a touchdown, rushed 20 times for 90 yards and another touchdown and returned a kickoff for a third touchdown. Oh yeah, Chris also had 4 solo tackles in the game.

*Brady Ahlemeyer-Cambridge - Brady Ahlemeyer had himself a night in the Trojans 68-16 victory over Arapahoe. The senior scored two touchdowns while rushing five times for 85 yards, returned a kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown, added a 24 yard touchdown reception and made 7 tackles on defense. Have yourself a night Brady.

*Talon Payne, Jacob Bayner- Hemingford - Hemingford literally RAN through South Loup's defense for a 44-15 victory last Friday. 190 RB Talon Payne bolted for 177 yards on 19 carries and 3 touchdowns while backfield mate Jacob Bayner added 111 yards on 19 carries with a single touchdown. Hemingford ran 80 of 81 total plays on the ground in the big victory, amassing 401 yards rushing. I LOVE it!

*Devin Brummer, Kotner Koch and Braylon Hass-Wynot - Blue Devils QB Devon Brummer, a senior, completed 23 of 27 passes for 335 yards and SEVEN touchdowns in Wynot’s wild 78-74, 4 Overtime victory over Crofton. RB Lane Heimes gained 86 yards on 15 carries with 4 rushing touchdowns. Heimes also made 16 tackles on defense which included two sacks and two fumble recoveries. Kotner Koch led the receivers with 11 catches for 149 yards. He also had 14 tackles on defense. Braylon Haas, just a junior, reeled in 6 passes for 132 yards in the game with 3 touchdowns.

*Austin Connot, Owan Littau, Tommy Paxton, Nigel Addison-Stuart - In a 75-6 win over a young Cody Kilgore team; Austin Connot rushed 11 times for 112 yards and 3 touchdowns, Owen Littau had two rushing touchdowns and a short Pick 6 for a score, Tommy Paxton caught a pass for a touchdown and returned a fumble for another score while Nigel Addison returned a Punt for yet another touchdown for the defending 6-Man State Champions.

*Tyson Jackson-Crofton - The 5-10, 190 lb junior RB had some kind of night in Crofton's 78-74, FOUR Overtime loss to Wynot. Jackson rushed 37 times for 332 yards and NINE touchdowns in a losing effort. The two teams combined for over 1000 yards of total offense in the historic 8-Man classic.

*Gage Hedstrom-O’Neill St. Marys - Three time All-State QB/DB was the difference for St. Mary's in their 18-13 win over Twin Loup. Hedstrom completed 11 of 20 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown, rushed for 143 yards and another touchdown and made 18 tackles on defense. By now you know Gage Hedstrom is really special.

*Quincy Orme, Peighton Henry, Carson Sieber-Deshler - Deshler found a shining star in Quincy Orme, a 150 lb sophomore, in the Dragons 42-36 win over Osceola. Orme ran for 227 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries to pace the Deshler offense. On defense it was junior Peighton Henry with 14 tackles (11 solos, 3 TFL). Carson Sieber was also a standout on the defensive side with 10 tackles (6 solos).

*Jackson Winslow, Brandon Santos-Osceola - QB Jackson Winslow completed 12 of 17 passes for 186 yards and a pair of touchdowns and added 108 rushing yards on 22 touches with another score in Osceola's 42-36 loss to Deshler. His favorite receiver was Brandon Santos, who caught eight of his passes for 152 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

*Keston Beavers, Kole Steiner-Elm Creek - Sophomore running back Justin Beavers ran for 151 yards on 26 carries in Elm Creek’'s 30 to 19 victory over Pleasanton. Junior quarterback Cole Steiner added 112 yards on 18 carries and 3 TDs and was a standout on defense, making 13 tackles.

*Brennan Lindner-Pleasanton - Senior quarterback completed 12 of 20 passes for 243 yards and 2 TDs in a 30 to 19 loss to Elm Creek. Lindner also rushed 13 times for 70 yards and a touchdown and made 12 tackles on defense in the loss. Lindner is a BALLER!

*Cael Dubas, Isaac Supik- Fullerton - Sophomore QB Cael Dubas led a young Fullerton team to a 56-16 win over Palmer by gaining 224 yards on 22 carries with 4 touchdowns. Freshman running back Isaac Supik had 54 yards on 7 carries with a pair of TDs and made 12 tackles on defense.

*Connor Hinrichs, Jacob Huxoll-Sutton - Senior running back Connor Hinrichs blasted through the McCool Junction defense for 256 yards and 4 touchdowns on 34 carries in the Mustang’s 62-34 throttling of McCool. 6-2, 230 lb Jacob Huxoll made 5 tackles on defense and returned an interception for a touchdown, otherwise known as a Pick-Six.

*Gage Walton, Wyatt Schroth-Plainview - Pirates senior QB Gage Walton completed 15 of 22 passes for 217 yards and three touchdowns in their terrific 29-26 win over Pender. Walton also rushed for 108 yards and on 28 carries. Junior wideout Wyatt Schroth caught 8 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns and made five tackles (2 TFL) on defense.

*Calvin Carraher, Aragren Green-Franklin - Carraher, who ran for 1,228 yards as a sophomore in 2024, escaped for 252 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries in the Flyers 60-34 win over Southern Valley. The junior quarterback also completed 10 of 14 passes for 152 yards and three scores. Senior WR Aragorn Green caught two of those touchdown passes, a part of his seven catches for 116 yards night for Franklin.

*Brady Hayes-Lyons-Decatur NE - Senior QB was a shining star in Lyons-Decatur NE’s 42-40 win over Homer. Hayes rambled for 195 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns and completed 9 of 16 passes for 96 yards and three more scores in the nail-biter.

*Cash Hastreiter-Humphrey-Lindsay - Sophomore running back exploded for 179 yards and 4 touchdowns on 29 carries in Humphrey-Lindsay's 34-30 loss to Neligh-Oakdale.