Former Bison standout, Arapahoe coach enjoy Shrine Bowl experience

Steve Kodad/McCook Daily Gazette Chad Stull (left) and McCook head football coach Jeff Gross pose for a photo following the 2010 Nebraska Shrine Bowl at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. Stull kept the Bison streak alive, as his participation in the state all-star football classic marked the 10th straight year with at least one McCook player in the Shrine Bowl. [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

"Strong Legs Run, That Weak Legs May Walk."

For the 52nd time, many of the Cornhusker State's top high school senior football players battled in the all-star classic to help raise money to support the Shriners Hospitals for Children. This year's Shrine Bowl edition was held Saturday, June 19, at Lincoln's Memorial Stadium, home to the University of Nebraska Cornhusker football team.

Steve Kodad/McCook Daily Gazette Chad Stull (7) pursues a play for the South All-Star defense at the 2010 Shrine Bowl in Lincoln June 19. Stull was one of the leading tacklers for the winning South team. The former McCook quarterback/linebacker had eight stops in the 28-13 South victory. [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

A successful McCook High School football program has had strong representation in the annual Shrine Bowl. Chad Stull, 2010 McCook graduate, continued that tradition when he walked on the field last Saturday as a member of the South Shrine Bowl all-star team.

Stull started at safety/rover for the South, and he enjoyed a strong game with eight total tackles, including four solo stops. This year marks the 10th straight year that the Bison have had at least one player participate in the Shrine Bowl.

The Gazette area was also represented by Arapahoe head football coach Daren Hatch, who was a member of the South Shrine Bowl coaching staff headed by Kevin Kush of Boys Town.

Steve Kodad/McCook Daily Gazette Arapahoe's Daren Hatch tries to make a point with one of the officials at the Nebraska Shrine Bowl in Lincoln June 19. Hatch was a member of the South All-Star coaching staff. [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Stull and Hatch were on the winning side of the scoreboard Saturday. The South claimed a 28-13 victory over their North counterparts.

Stull (6-0, 185 pounds) played quarterback and linebacker for the Bison last fall. In an interview after Saturday's all-star game, Stuff said he enjoyed the Shrine Bowl experience, and he liked how his South teammates quickly bonded into a team in just a week of practices leading up to Saturday's game.

"It was really fun," Stull said. "We came in the first day not knowing anybody, not talking to anybody, and by the end of the week we're all joking around. Coach had to tell us to shut up, we were talking so much.

Steve Kodad/McCook Daily Gazette McCook's Chad Stull tries to break away from the block by the North's Jared Curry (8) of Ponca during Shrine Bowl action. Stull had eight total tackles to help his South All-Stars claim a 28-13 win. [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

"Started out the beginning of the week, I really didn't know many people. By the end of the week, we were high-fiving, talking to everybody, hanging out in the rooms, in the lobby, making jokes on each other. We really bonded as a team, so that was nice."

Talented players

Stull said the Shrine Bowl was a unique experience with the number of talented players on both rosters.

"The intensity level was definitely different than most high school games," Chad said. "A lot harder hits. You couldn't slack a play, because if you did they were going to get you."

The Shrine Bowl teams are selected by the respective coaching staffs after the state's high school coaches nominate seniors they feel are worthy of playing in the state all-star game. Both rosters were dominated by players from Class A and B, the largest schools in Nebraska.

Arapahoe competes in the Class D eight-man ranks and Coach Hatch likely has not seen that many talented players on the field at the same time.

"The talent, the speed, really impressive," Hatch said. "What the kids can do with the ball, how they throw it, catch it, it's just totally different."

Hatch was coaching in his first Shrine Bowl. He coached in two Western Nebraska All-Star Games in past years, and he had also worked the Sertoma Eight-Man State All-Star contest once.

The Arapahoe coach said his South team was a first-class unit on and off the field.

"I think the biggest thing is, not only are they tremendous athletes, but they're tremendous human beings," Hatch said. "I just couldn't be happier with the way they conducted themselves. They were citizens first-class. Every kid represented his school, himself, his community, his coaches first class, A-1 first class.

"We never had to worry about them getting to bed, we didn't have to worry chasing them down for meetings. They were where they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be there, so it was nice."

Ten-point lead rule

The Shrine Bowl has a special rule that a team that trails by 10 or more points can choose to receive the ensuing kickoff after they score a touchdown or field goal. The South scored twice in the opening quarter to go up 14-0, followed by a touchdown in each of the second and third quarters after a North second-quarter field goal to stretch the South cushion to 28-3. The North scored a touchdown and field goal in the fourth quarter, taking the ball back after each score.

That gave Stull some extra playing time, especially when another South defensive back suffered an injury, and it also made Coach Hatch put in some extra time coaching the South defense.

"I think we played pretty well," Hatch said. "The 10-point rule kind of got to us a little bit. It made the game interesting and maybe kept some fans in the seats. It was a lot of fun. I guess it gave us an opportunity to watch our defense a little bit more."

Touching hospital visit

Both teams made a special trip to St. Louis during their Shrine Bowl experience. The teams flew to the St. Louis Shriners Hospital for Children to visit young patients there.

The North team went to St. Louis Tuesday, June 15, traveling from their practice headquarters at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln. The South team made their trip Wednesday, June 16, leaving very early from their practice site at Doane College in Crete. Coach Hatch said The South team got up Wednesday about 3 a.m., then boarded a plane about three hours later for the flight to St. Louis. The team arrived back in their Doane College dorm rooms Wednesday night around 7:30.

I played in the east-west Scottsbluff, I had a lot of people there that I had played against, it completely changes how you look at them once they're on your team, they're really not that bad of guys, you hated them before.

Stull said the rugged early-morning start turned into a great experience once he got to the hospital and met some of the patients there.

"I'm really not a morning person. I was very grouchy," Chad said of Wednesday's early start. "We went to the hospital, and we were completely changed. It changed the way I looked at the game. It was no longer a game just to play. It was for those kids, to raise money. To see the things they can do was just amazing.

"All the kids were super nice, all really friendly and not afraid to talk. One of the girls could sing out of her mind, and she had only a 20-percent lung capacity, so it was really amazing."

Coach Hatch hopes the players will carry the hospital visit experience with them for many years to come.

"It just really puts the game in perspective," he said. "It's a great cause, which I knew coming in, but going to the hospital, that's a tough trip. It really tugs at your heart. It just makes you glad that you can give back with some of the talents maybe you have. I think it really affected the kids that way, too.

"I hope that sticks with them for awhile, and maybe when they become successful adults I hope that they understand that giving back is a major part of life.

"It was a wonderful visit. We got to interact with the patients. It was done first-class in St. Louis."

State all-star games on same day

With his participation in the Shrine Bowl, Coach Hatch had to miss the Sertoma Eight-Man State All-Star Game played Saturday, June 19, in Hastings. Arapahoe standout Derek Helms was a member of the winning West team in the eight-man game, and Hatch was pleased with the performance of his former Warrior lineman.

"I heard he played very, very well, and the West pretty much took care of it," Hatch said of the West team's 43-12 win. "I'm very proud of him. I hope he had a good time -- that's what it's all about."

The Shrine Bowl was moved up earlier in the summer, and officials are hoping to possibly move the game even earlier in June to avoid the conflict with the eight-man all-star game.

"It's just a tough decision for kids," Hatch said. "But maybe it let some other kids play in the eight-man game that wouldn't have gotten to play otherwise."

Career finale

Stull had seen the Husker home turf earlier his his prep career. He was a sophomore member of the Bison team that lost to Crete in overtime in the 2007 Class B state football playoff championship game.

The Shrine Bowl was most likely the last time the Bison standout will don football pads. Chad plans to attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and study architecture, with no plans to play for the Huskers.

"What a place to end it, at Memorial Stadium," he said. "I'm glad it was here, if it was going to be my last game."

Game notes

The South set a new record with 266 passing yards. The winners had four touchdown passes, three by quarterback Jeff Weander of Papillion-LaVista. Weander connected with former prep teammate Glenn Lewis for a pair of TD passes, including a 43-yarder in the second quarter. Weander also threw a 57-yard scoring strike to Nick Reed of Syracuse in the third quarter.

Lewis was named the Shrine Bowl Most Outstanding Offensive Player. Boys Town middle guard Shaquil Barrett had 11 total tackles and blocked a North field goal to earn the Most Outstanding Defensive Player award.

Reed set Shrine Bowl records for receptions (8) and receiving yards (119).