Comebacks nothing new for former Bison standout

Brendan Liess could probably star in a Timex watch commercial.

The former McCook High School standout athlete has bounced back from injuries several times in his athletic career. Liess took a licking but kept on ticking last Saturday to help his Nebraska-Kearney football team advance in the NCCA Division II college football playoffs.

Liess is a 5-11, 190-pound junior starting wide receiver for the Lopers. The son of Dennis and Brenda Liess of McCook was knocked out of the UNK-Saginaw Valley State playoff game in Kearney last Saturday. Liess crossed the middle on a third-quarter pass play, and a Saginaw defender came up and collided helmet-to-helmet with the former Bison star. Brendan lay on the turf for several minutes before slowly walking off the field.

Liess returned to the game and made several key plays to help UNK rally from a 13-point halftime deficit to claim a 35-20 victory. Liess caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jake Spitzlberger early in the fourth quarter that tied the score at 20-20. On the Lopers' next possession, Liess ran 24 yards on a third-down play to help set up a touchdown pass from Spitzlberger to Tyrone Hilton and a 28-20 UNK lead.

Liess ran the ball four times for 51 yards in Saturday's victory. He added three receptions for 22 yards.

In an interview following Saturday's game, Liess was still a bit groggy after the hard hit. But it probably would have taken several team members to keep him from returning to the game.

"Everything's straightened out," he said. "I just bit my tongue, and lost my breath for quite a while, and I had a headache -- just tried to get back to normal. Then once I went in I was a little bit nauseous, but it's worth the playing time. You only get there once."

Bison tradition

Liess is a 2006 McCook High School graduate. He was a big part of a successful Bison football program. McCook won back-to-back state titles with 13-0 records during Brendan's freshman and sophomore years, followed by consecutive 12-1 campaigns and runner-up finishes at state in his final two seasons. Liess was part of the Bison 38-game win streak and 71-game regular-season winning streak.

Brendan said he did not see the Bison play in person this season. He still keeps track of his former prep team, with regular contact with head coach Jeff Gross and other members of the McCook coaching staff. Brendan said he has fond memories of his high school playing days.

"My best memory overall might be just hanging out with the guys watching game film on Wednesdays, eating pizza," he said. "Just the road trips to Lincoln and all the big playoffs games against Holdrege and Aurora and Crete.

"When I was in high school, the whole time we had such a drive to keep the streak going, and that's what drove us together. We had really good athletes and speed -- you can't teach, you can't coach speed. We just played really well together, a close-knit group, just lot of guys committed in areas like watching film and other stuff. We had a lot of smart players that went on to play (in college)."

Liess said he still stays in contact with several of his former classmates, citing Nebraska Wesleyan senior Garrett Rippen and Hastings College senior Jeff Klug as examples.

Bouncing back from injuries

Liess was slowed in his senior year at McCook by a knee injury. He started his college football career at running back at UNK, but another knee injury likely helped the Lopers' coaching staff decide to switch Brendan to wide receiver -- even though they still use the speedy junior running the ball at times.

Liess didn't mind the move to the wide receiver position, as his biggest concern was to contribute to his team's success in any way he could.

"In high school I played mainly running back, although we'd go into two-back (formation) once in a while when we needed to," he said. "When I came here, I actually started off at running back, and played there until last year when I got hurt. I played there my redshirt freshman year and the beginning of my sophomore year, then I got hurt, my knee, and never got back to it. (Running back) Rustin Dring has really stepped up here and played really well. He's an phenomenal athlete and a good, hard runner.

"Growing up I always wanted to be a receiver, and whenever I can get on the field and contribute to the team. I was happy with the move. I was going to do both, the coaches said (run and catch the ball). I went out there, took myself as Wes Welker of the Patriots, just a role player. Here and there, wherever you need."

Liess has 493 yards on 33 receptions this season, plus 262 rushing yards on 35 attempts. Brendan is fourth on the UNK squad in scoring with 54 points. He has scored nine touchdowns, including a 45-yard punt return for a score.

Liess said Spitzlberger, UNK's outstanding quarterback, has been a key to the UNK success this year, and one reason for Brendan's strong season.

"It's been my best year here so far," he said. "We have an outstanding quarterback that makes the right reads. He definitely spreads the ball around. If the team's going to be good, you have to spread the ball around. You just can't focus on one or two players, you've got to spread it out.

"Going into this season, one thing I wanted was an injury-free season, and for the most part I have."

Perhaps the worst injury Liess has suffered this season is a few teeth marks on his tongue last Saturday.

Playoff trip Saturday

UNK travels to Minnesota-Duluth Saturday for a second-round playoff contest. the Minnesota team is the defending NCAA Division II national champions, but Liess and his teammates are surely happy to have another game and another chance for success.

"Obviously they're a really good, top program because they are the defending national championship team," Brendan said. "They're going to be at home, it's going to be tough. I'm sure we'll have a good following. We always do. Go up there and try to get a win together again.

"If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best."

Future plans

Liess plans to complete his college football career next season, followed by college graduation and hopefully a career as a teacher and coach. He is majoring in physical education and health K-12.

Brendan is hoping to complete his student teaching internship in the spring of 2011, followed by graduation.

He was asked if he would like to return to McCook to work after graduation.

"It would be a little tough to go back to your old stomping grounds, just because of the expectations, the pressure of all that," he said.