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

*Hunter Luther-Howell's Dodge - Jaguar’s superb RB rushed for 128 yards on 11 carries with scoring runs covering 44, 2 and 12 yards in Jags 60-12 win over Hyannis. That gives Luther 1,325 yards rushing with 24 touchdowns for the year and puts him at an incredible 4,945 Career Rushing yards with 80 touchdowns right now.

*Gage Hedstrom, Ben Barlow, James Eby-O’Neill St. Marys - Brilliant St. Marys QB Gage Hedstrom reached perfection in the passing game by completing 12 of 12 aerials 165 yards and FOUR TDs in the Cardinals 60-16 victory over Creighton. Hedstrom also rushed 12 times for 111 yards and 3 more scores in the first round playoff win. Junior Ben Barlow caught half of those 12 passes for 65 yards with a pair of TDs while James Eby had 3 receptions for 53 yards with 2 TDs.

For the season Gage Hedstrom is 103 of 150 passing for 1,538 yards and 33 touchdowns (2 INTs) He's also rushed for 1,107 yards and 24 touchdowns.

****And now be sure you’re sitting down for his Career statistics (36 games)

Passing-5,587 yds/97 TDs, Rushing-3,621 yds/71 TDs, Receiving-12 yds, Kick Returns-1,132 yds/7 TDs, Punt Returns-547 yds/3 TDs, Interception Returns-178 yds/2 TDs. TOTAL-11,077 yards with 180 Touchdowns DEFENSE-479 Tackles (200 solos/279 assists) 29 TFL, 12 INTs, 5 Fumble recoveries, 20 pass breakups, 3 caused fumbles.****

*Callan Schnitzler, Alec Schnitzler Nebraska City Lourdes - QB Callan Schnitzler rushed for 152 yards and 3 TDs on 15 carries in Lourdes 43-14 playoff victory over West Point GACC. He also threw a 29 yard scoring pass to Simon Bruggeman. Alec Schnitzler had 80 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown and registered 16 tackles on defense. Callan now has 1,327 rushing yards with 27 TDs thus far in 2025 while Alec has 984 yards with 16 scores.

*Callan McConnell, Landon Gasseling-Potter-Dix- McConnell completed 9 of 12 passes for 94 yards and 4 TDs in Potter-Dix's 51-0 win over South Platte. Landon Gasseling led the ground attack with 152 yards and a pair of scores on 8 carries.

*Luke Shoemaker, Lincoln Nekoliczak, Oklan Soto-Central Valley - Junior Luke Shoemaker must have imagined he was Superman in Central Valley’s 60-6 win over Wilcox Hildreth. Shoemaker bolted for 172 yards on 17 carries with a TD, caught 4 passes for 57 yards and 2 more touchdowns, made 8 tackles and blocked a punt in the big win. QB Lincoln Nekoliczak was 7 of 9 passing for 84 yards and 3 TDs while Oklan Soto made 15 tackles on defense and recorded a Pick Six.

*Wyatt Fulton, Hayden Gravette, Brody Koehler-Johnson-Brock - Wyatt Fulton completed 10 of 15 passes for 235 yards and a TD in Johnson-Brock's 57-30 win over North Platte St Patrick's. Brody Koehler caught 7 of those passes for 177 yards while Hayden Gravett led the rushing attack with 177 yards on 25 totes. In 9 games Fulton has thrown for 1,415 yards with 20 TDs and just 6 INTs, Gravett has rushed for 1,329 yards with 17 TDs while Koehler has 39 pass receptions for 665 big ones and 8 scores.

*Carson McDonald, Colby Yates-McCool Junction - McDonald was THE MAN in McCool Junction's 44-42 double overtime victory over Arcadia-Loup City in the first round of the playoffs. The outstanding senior QB rushed for 138 yards and three TDs on 31 carries while completing 10 of 17 passes for an additional 105 yards and a pair of scores. Colby Yates caught 4 of those passes for 55 yards and a pair of scores in the nail-biting victory.

*Brock Jeannoutot- Bloomfield - The outstanding Bloomfield RB returned to the football field with a vengeance, rushing for 242 yards on 25 carries and 4 TDs in the Bees 34-26 playoff win at Sutton. He also made 15 tackles with 10 solo stops and now has 1,183 yards rushing and 14 TDs in only SEVEN games this year.

*Kam Sealey, Christian Shaw, Austin Clark-Sandy Creek - Brilliant sophomore QB Kam Sealey jetted for 225 yards and FIVE touchdowns on 13 carries in Sandy Creek’s 60-14 victory over EMF. Sealey also completed 5 of 9 passes for 20 yards with another score. Austin Clark led the defense with 19 tackles. Christian Shaw was not far behind with 12 stops and eight solo tackles.

*Jaxson Knoell, Logan Nelson Blaine Bellar, Ashton Raabe-Wisner-Pilger - Junior QB Jackson Knoell rushed for 167 yards on 20 carries with TD runs covering 1, 2, 47 and 48 yards in the Gators 38-28 victory over a very fine Hartington-Newcastle team. Logan Nelson added 97 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown and added 14 tackles on defense while Blaine Bellar rushed for 99 yards and on 14 carries in the 1st Round Playoff win. Freshman Ashton Raabe also picked off two passes in the game.

*Mac Carlson, Matthew Schindler-Wausa-Osmond - Carlson completed 8 of 14 passes for 89 yards and a pair of scores, rushed for 44 more yards and made seven tackles in Wausa-Osmond's 30-6 playoff win over Summerland. Matthew Schindler paced the ground attack with 133 yards on 10 carries with a pair of TDs and grabbed 3 passes for 52 yards and two more touchdowns in the big win.

*Oran Grint, Carter Hall-Twin Loup - Sophomore Oran Grint ran for 143 yards and 3 TDs on 17 totes and caught 2 passes for 47 yards, (one of which was a 45 yard TD) and had a 33 yard Pick 6 in Twin Loup’s 56-22 win over Neligh-Oakdale. Junior Carter Hall rushed 5 times for 95 yards and a TD, also had a Pick 6 and recorded nine tackles in the 1st Round postseason victory.

*Jacob Bryner, Jayce Haas-Hemingford - Senior QB Jacob Bryner was a shining star in Hemingford's 64-14 victory over East Butler. He completed 8 of 12 passes for 136 yards and FOUR TDs and rushed 18 times for an additional 151 yards with a touchdown. Sophomore Jay Haas caught 5 of those passes for 97 yards and three TDS. This season Bryner has completed 26 of 56 passes for 1,137 yards and 12 touchdowns with NO interceptions and rushed for another 774 yards with 14 more scores. This guy is dangerous.

*Dane Duryea, Timmy Myers-Anselmo-Merna - Coyotes Dual-Threat QB Dane Duryea rushed for 209 yards and 3 TDs on 24 carries and completed 6 of 6 passes for 103 yards and another pair of scores in Anselmo-Merna's 58-22 victory over Lyons-Decatur NE. Sophomore Timmy Myers caught three of Duryea's passes for 73 yards and a score in the playoff win. Duryea has now rushed for 1,714 yards on a staggering 268 carries with 35 touchdowns this season.

*Tyson Jackson, Preston Foxhoven Crofton - Jackson rambled for 141 yards and 3 TDs on just 8 carries in Crofton's record setting 90-26 victory over Kimball. Sophomore QB Preston Foxhoven completed 6 for 6 passes for 113 yards and 3 TDs in the win that saw Crofton sprint to a 62-0 halftime lead. Ten different backs ran for a total of 421 yards in the victory over the invaders from the West. Foxhoven has now completed 54 of 78 passes for 971 yards and 12 TDs (3 INTs) for the season while Junior RB Tyson Jackson has rambled for 1,611 rushing yards with 38 TDs thus far.

*Wyatt Frey, Jace Hoelting-Lawrence-Nelson - Frey completed 8 of 9 passes for 123 yards and 2 TDs and rushed 16 times for 212 yards with 3 more scores in Lawrence Nelson's 59-14 1st Round playoff victory over Osceola. Hoelting had 4 receptions for 81 yards and caught both of Frey's touchdown passes. For the year thus far, Frey has hit 63 of 94 pass attempts for 987 yards and 13 TDs (2 INTs) and rushed for 1,159 yards with 20 TDs.

*1000 Yard Rusher Alert*

*Brody Marsh-Elmwood-Murdock - Junior Brody Marsh ran for 203 yards and 3 TDs on 23 carries in Elmwood Murdock's 58-14 win over Bancroft Rosalie. Marsh now has 1,055 yards rushing.

**1000 Yard Rusher Alert - Second Time Around**

*Carter Eikmeier, Logan Lindsley, Coy Vrbka-Shelby/Rising City - Junior Carter Eichmair ran for 173 yards and 16 carries with 2 TDs, elevating him over the 1000 yard rushing mark for the second straight season, in Shelby/Rising City's 44-22 victory over Boyd County. Logan Lindsley completed 2 of 4 passes were 55 yards and another pair of touchdowns while Koy Vrba made 9 tackles and had a 19 yard scoop and score defensively in the playoff game.

*Maurice Robinson-Sandhills-Thedford - Ran for 192 yards and 3 TDs on 21 carries in the Knights 46-14 over Winside. He also completed 9 of 13 passes for 113 yards and an additional 2 TDs.

*Brady Hayes, Kaden Knaak-Lyons-Decatur NE - Senior pass catch duo hooked up for one last time in the Cougars 58-22 loss to Anselmo-Merna in the first round of the Class D-2 playoffs. Hayes completed 11 of 17 passes for 161 yards and 2 TDs and Knaak caught 7 of Brady's 11 pass completions for 139 yards and of course both TD grabs.

*Jordan Scoville-SEM - Scoville was a flat out stud in SEM’s 54-40 win over Wallace. He ran for 126 yards and FIVE TDs on 22 carries, hauled in 2 passes for 51 yards, and returned 4 kickoffs for 137 yards for a total of 314 All-Purpose yards. Oh and by the way, he also had 15 tackles.

*Colt Franklin, Brayden Gardner, Isaac Aceves, Ashtin Johns-Wallace - Franklin completed 9 of 14 passes for 200 yards with FIVE of those going for touchdowns in that 54-40 loss to SEM. Brayden Gardner caught 3 of Franklin’s passes for 108 yards and 2 TDs. He was also 4 of 4 on PAT attempts which count TWO points in 6-Man football. Ivan Aveces caught 3 passes for 48 yards and a pair of scores plus made 10 tackles on defense. Ashtin Johns caught one pass for 50 yards which went for a score.

*Gage Walton, Braydon Kment- Plainview - Walton was brilliant in Plainview’s 43-8 playoff victory over Alma. Walton scooted for 200 yards and 2 TDs on 20 carries, caught one pass for 14 yards, made six tackles and picked off a pass on defense. Kment had a Pick 6 in the game, returning a pass 16 yards to paydirt.

*Jayton Jones, Maddox Haake-Meridian - Sophomore QB Jayton Jones rushed for 170 yards and 4 TDs on 9 carries and completed 8 of 11 passes for 152 yards and another TD in Meridian's 47-21 victory over Dorchester. Junior Maddox Haake added 133 yards and a pair of scores on 9 carries in the win. Jones and Haake led the way on defense for Meridian, making 14 tackles and 13 tackles respectively.