Week 8 Friday Night Prep Football Heroes - Part I

Posted Monday, October 19, 2015, at 12:30 AM

Omaha South's amazing Quarterback, Makoor Arop.

by Bobby Mills (1000 Yard Guy)

Another rock solid group of standouts that deserve high props for the achievements on the gridiron on the 2nd to the last week of the regular season. This week will be the final week for playoff teams to polish their skills for a run at a championship. For the rest, the season will come to a close, and for many, Thursday or Friday may mark the final time they put the pads on for one last shot at glory under those Friday Night Lights.

Christian Ellsworth-GI Northwest - Senior marksman set an 11-Man football record for pass completions in a single game by hitting 36 of 55 throws for 361 yards and 3 touchdowns in a heart-wrenching 42-34 loss to rival Aurora. The Viking Rifleman connected with 8 different receivers in the game. Brandon Gannon led the way with 9 catches for 121 yards, Bryce Williams followed with 7 for 89 yards and a 51 TD. Will Mettenbrink hauled in 6 of Christian's bullets for 46 yards, Big Brook Brown caught 5 for 58 yards and 2 scores. Isaiah Daws had 2 receptions for 16 yards, and Mitchell Canfield also had a catch.

For the season, the amazing Ellsworth has completed 170 of his 276 aerials (62%) for 2,003 yards, 20 touchdowns with only 4 interceptions. That gives the 6-4, 215 pound QB, 3,229 passing yards in his career, 34 TDs - 7 Interceptions and a 63.4% completion rate. Ellsworth also carries a 38.4 yard punting average.

Trevor Nichelson-Ashland Greenwood - Amazing junior ran for a career high 302 yards on 28 carries in a hair-raising 42-41 loss to a lightning quick Boys Town team. Nichelson scored twice on runs of 1 and 8 yards and logged 10 tackles on defense. Trevor's 302 yards lifts the 185 pound captain to the top of the all-class list in rushing with 1,735 yards in 2015. He has 21 TDs, 78 tackles, and averages 9.3 yards every time he carries the pigskin. With one more regular season game in his junior season and the playoffs ahead, Trevor Nicheslon has already piled up 4,155 career rushing yards and 61 touchdowns. All I can say is high props to that Ashland-Greenwood offensive line. Take a deep, deep bow gentlemen.

*Jadyn Kowalski-Bellevue West - Another prep football player just piling up the career stats, these coming in the passing lanes. This young man is the field general for the number team in the entire state of Nebraska and an extraordinary one at that. In the Thunderbirds 53-35 bombing of Creighton Prep, Kowalski completed 20 of his 28 passes, good for a gigantic 375 big ones and 6 touchdowns. The game was never in doubt, as Bellevue West shot out to a 46-14 halftime lead and never looked in the rear view.

That gives Jadyn 1,970 yards on 143 attempts in 2015. The amazing stat for Kowalski is he has fired for 32 touchdowns and had only 2 of his aerials picked off. And speaking of amazing marks, how about this kid's completion percentage..........69.2%. Throw a football through a carwash and not get it wet? Oh yeah!

*Jaylin Bradley-Bellevue West - This 6-0, 180 pound junior is one main reason why Bell. West is so good this season. In that 53-35 drubbing of Creighton Prep, he rushed 17 times for 162 yards and scored on an electrifying 91 yard run. Bradley also caught a 25 yard Kowalski TD pass. Jaylin has 1,162 yards on only 111 carries in 8 games and has crossed the goal line 13 times. The Thunderbirds now have a big time run threat to go along with Kowalski's passing game, plus a pair of game breakers in Cade Johnson (kick returns) and Tristin Ducker bringing back punts. This bunch sure looks like an early Class A title choice to many.

*Todd Honas-Aurora - No kidding. You have to watch this young man play to realize how unbelievable he knows the game on offense. If Todd Honas played in Class A, he would be a sure-fire All-State wide receiver, no doubt about it. In the Huskies 42-34 win at GINW, Honas caught 9 Grant Fox passes for 121 yards, one for a 24 yard TD. Todd also scooped up a fumbled interception by Hunter Holliday (not Hunter's fault) and raced 75 yards for a score. Not many even saw the fumble, let alone the recovery and return until Mr. Honas was long gone.

After 8 games, Todd Honas has 50 receptions for 769 yards and 6 touchdowns. The All-State wide-out had over a thousand yards receiving as a junior. Honas is also a lethal return man for Aurora, who look like they are definately a solid top 3 Class B football team.

*Dayton Sealey-Hastings St. Cecilia - My old backfield buddy, St. Cecilia Head Coach Carl Tesmer should be required to possess a lethal weapon permit to have a player like Sealey on his football team. The elusive, high speed senior had his usual "normal" outing in the Bluehawks 36-22 win over 4th rated Sutton last Friday. Dayton rushed for 184 yards on only 11 carries. Sealey hit the end zone on long distance jaunts of 35 and 67 yards, and also had an 8 yard TD reception. In only six games, the 6-0, 190 pound standout has 669 yards rushing on 46 carries........46 carries! I do it for you. That's 14.64 yards a pop and 20 TDs to go along with it. The most exciting player in Class C-2 football.

*Damian Backus-Boone Central/Newman Grove - 11 carries for 128 yards and touchdown runs of 2, 3, and 35 yards in the Cardinals 38-0 blanking of Wayne. The 5-10, 160 pound senior has run for 637 yards on 76 carries this fall (8.4) and added 7 TDs too. How about the year Boone is having after graduating all those senior standouts and weathering the retirement of longtime coach Arnie Johnson? Hats off to good friend Mark Hudson, who took the reins this fall and kept these Cardinals winning. You are the best, Hud!

***1000 Yard Rusher Alert***

*Luke Ericson-Osceola - Big senior quarterback ran for 144 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 60-14 win over Palmer. Luke also pirated a pass, turning it into a 59 yard Pick 6. Ericson now has 1,059 rushing yards in 2015, giving him 1,059 yards. The 3 year starter at QB has racked up 3,092 ground yards and 62 TDs in his career and is plain and simple, a load to bring down.

*Tyrus Schuler-Millard South - Ran for 141 yards on 24 carries and broke loose for a game breaking 82 yard touchdown in the 4th quarter in Millard South's 20-7 win over Omaha Burke. Schuler, who has suffered bad luck with injuries throughout his career, now has 717 yards in 2015. This kid is an excellent back, folks.

*Trystn Ducker-Bellevue West - You know all about this dude. In that Creighton Prep win, Ducker hauled in 7 Jadyn Kowalski passes for 201 yards and TD grabs that covered 70, 27, 9, and 4 yards. For the year, Ducker, who leads Class A in receiving yards, has 40 catches for 848 yards and 14 TDs. That's 21.2 yards a reception, football fans. The 5-10, 165 pound senior also averages 12.1 every time he returns a kickoff and 11 yards a punt return. After 8 games, Trystn has accumulated 1,050 all purpose yards. Pretty impressive. Fast motor scooter to boot!

*Makoor Arop-Omaha South - 6-1, 160 pound Quarterback completed 9 of 15 passes for 176 yards and 6 TDs in the Packers 71-19 punishing of Bellevue East. For the year, Arop has completed 101 of 170 tosses for 1,343 yards (59%) with 18 touchdowns 8 picks. Makoor has also run for 4 scores, plus making 40 tackles on defense to go along with 3 interceptions. Tell you what that is down right impressive for team that has only won twice in 8 games. Really, really cool to see this young man excel in football.

*Cam Carritt-Milford-Dorchester - Rushed for 156 yards, and accumulated 208 yards of total offense in the Eagles 55-12 win over Lincoln Lutheran. Carritt scored TDs on runs of 14 and 5 yards in the victory. Teammate TJ Havlat (5-11, 215) added 116 yards on 12 carries with scoring runs of 7 and 18 yards.

*JJ Schulz-York - Two time, All-State, Do-It-All Renaissance Man of Class B football racked up 164 yards of total offense in the Dukes 29-7 win over Seward. JJ caught 5 passes for 102 yards and scored on receptions of 36 and 45 yards in the win. He also pirated a pass on defense and did, just as he does every single game, countless things that never show up on the stat sheet. If JJ Schulz isn't Class B's best all-around athlete, I would be shocked.

.........up next...Week 8 Friday Night Prep Football Heroes - Part II