Opening Week Friday Night Lights football Heroes - Part 2

Opening Week Friday Night Lights football Heroes - Part 2

And you thought there was only one group of these opening night stars. No way, Jose, there were too many standouts to limit this to one article.

By the way, I thought it worth mentioning that there is no particular order to these players of the week. I just randomly choose who goes what day and where. The young man or team mention at the conclusion of the blog is no less important or deserving than the first.

That's the way I do things. And there are instances I leave deserving names off but that is only due to the fact I did not run across the deserving player(s) during my research.

So please, feel free to submit a young man or team if you feel they deserve a mention on here. I love it when I get submissions.

*Jaylin Bradley-Bellevue West - Let me tell you, if Jaylin isn't the best running back in the state, he has to be close.

Against Papillion LV South Friday, the 6-0, 190 do-it-all RB bolted for 226 yards on 25 carries and 2 TDs in the Thunderbirds opening night win over a good Papio South team.

Bradley reached the end zone on TD runs of 59 and 4 yards and returned a kickoff 93 yards for another TD. You can expect to see a ton more where this came from.

Bell. West used 2 quarterbacks in the contest, each throwing for a TD. 6-1, 175 pound sophomore Evan Kaiser connected on 8 of 18 tosses for 80 yards, while 6-0, 200 pound junior Joe Dolincheck was 14 of 18 for 108 yards.

On defense, Sam Vanderslice and Kevin Ponec recorded 7 tackles apiece while Malcolm Lee chipped in with 6.

*Jacob Johnson-Fairbury - The sensational junior could only squeeze out 10 carries from Coach Kameron Lenhart in the Jeffs 47-3 romp over David City, but Johnson made the most out of it with by running for 160 yards and 2 TDs.

The 195 pound Johnson, who rushed for 1,503 yards as a sophomore, raised his career rushing total to 2,384 yards (31 TDs) after the first game of his junior season.

This young man is a special player.

*Grant Bruner-Gretna - Grant "The Brute" Bruner was a beast in the Dragon's 21-18 win over Norris. The 5-11, 190 pound tough guy rambled for 156 yards on 26 carries while scoring on a 6 yard run and a 43 yard TD pass from Chase Templeton.

Bruner also made a whopping 14 tackles from his MLB position. This guy is again, a strong, strong candidate for all-state, especially at linebacker.

*Dawson Graham/Bennett Folkers - Gothenburg - This pass/catch duo hooked up for 22 and 72 yard touchdowns as the Swedes knocked off Class B Holdrege 17-14 to begin the 2016 season.

Graham, a twice all-district football player and All-State basketball selection, has started at the quarterback position since his freshman year for the Swedes. Folkers, like some other Gothenburg players, just seem to emerge as the season progresses and some pop up during the playoffs. Sneaky bunch, those Swedes.

All-State kicker candidate Dominic Long also booted a 22 yard field goal in the game which proved to provide the winning margin for Gothenburg. Keep an eye on this young man.

*Dylan Gentrup-Boone Central/Newman Grove - Man, did this 6-0, 185 QB/CB get things started the right way for the Cardinals last Friday or what?

The junior QB rushed 23 times for 142 yards and 2 scores and completed 4 of his 8 passes for 129 yards in Boone's 27-21 victory over Pierce. Cool thing about that is the fact that two of his four completions went for touchdowns.

Classmate Cody Nelson, a 6-2, 180 pound junior gathered in TD receptions covering 31 and 87 yards in the win. Add in Gentrup's two short TD runs of 1 and 3 yards and you have enough points to beat a Mark Brahmer squad.....and he just doesn't lose many.

Three cheers for Coach Mark Hudson for the job he is doing in Albion after moving in from a successful FB stint at Ravenna. Hud is terrific human being, coach, and teacher/leader of young people. Love that guy!

*Evan Johnson-Adams Central - Holy pressure cooker, Batman. Talk about a baptism by fire, let me tell about this kid. That's kid, spelled...KID.

The Patriots were already in a precarious position trying to replace graduated QB Brecken Reed. So, Dawson Eckhardt gets the starting nod at quarterback and lasts One series before going out with a broken collarbone. Enter Freshman Evan Johnson.

Okay, so Kearney Catholic beats up on Adams Central even worse when A/C loses their starting RB, Caleb Ackles (shoulder) in the 2nd quarter. Despite that, young Evan Johnson came in and completes 12 of 22 passes for 212 yards and a couple of touchdowns in the 53-21 loss.

Speed merchant Drake LeBar caught 3 Johnson passes for 142 yards, one being a 75 TD catch. Cole Spady had a 30 yard TD catch and hauled in 4 passes for 44 yards.

You have to feel bad for this football team who is already reeling from the late transfer of their 1000 yard RB to Doniphan-Trumbull.

*Quentin Moles-Bloomfield - Keeping with the rich running back tradition up there in Bee country, the 5-10, 180 pound junior rushed 42 times for 223 yards in the Bee's 36-22 loss to powerful Wynot.

Bloomfield had the game square a 22 at the halftime break, but a 22 point 3rd quarter by Wynot spelled doom for the Bees.

Moles also recorded 8 tackles on defense and a fumble recovery as well. Moles' classmate Reece McFarland, the Bloomfield quarterback, added 116 yards rushing to the cause.

*Wyatt Hamer-Battle Creek - Immediately stepped up to fill the shoes of departed 1000 yard rusher Derek Renner (1,799 yards). Hamer wasted no time against a terrific Yutan team, running for 171 yards on 25 carries and a 37 yard TD gallop in the Braves 20-14 victory.

Hamer, the 5-9, 185 senior, was only 95 yards short of a thousand a year ago in a backup role. The dude already has 1,471 yards and will probably double that this season alone.

That was a huge win for #4 Battle Creek over #6 Yutan and Mr. Hamer will make this list several more times in 2016, rest assured.

*Tristin Anderson-Omaha South - C'mon man, it's difficult to gain yards for Omaha South and this guy seems to do it every game. Friday, Anderson ripped Omaha Benson for 207 yards on 25 totes and 2 touchdowns. That's 8.3 yards a carry.

The 5-10, 180 pound senior also made 6 stops on defense for the 1-0 Packers.

If you recall, Tristin Anderson ran for 1,065 big ones a year ago for a 3-6 football team. Those babies were earned the hard way Bubba.

*Dalton Tremayne-Ponca - Quite the night for the Ponca standout in the Indian's 27-26 Thursday night win at Fremont Bergan.

The multi-talented sent shockwaves through the Bergan faithful by returning the opening kickoff 80 yards for a score. The with 2:45 left in the quarter, Tremayne slipped in from the one to give his team a 13-0 lead.

Late in the contest, with Archbishop Bergan leading 26-21, the Knights turned the ball over in Ponca territory. Next thing you know, Dalton Tremayne is off to the races with a 78 yard pitch and catch TD jaunt.

That proved to be the winning score as the Indians pull off the one point win on the road.

*Nate Reiner-Creighton Prep - 5-9, 198 pound senior ran for 150 yards on 16 tries and scored 3 TDs on runs of 1, 9, and 70 yards in the Junior Jay's 38-3 win over Omaha Westside.

*Dylan Plautz and Caleb Schweigert-Omaha Westside - Yes, I realize the Warriors were blown out by Prep but this junior quarterback/wide receiver duo deserves a mention here.

The 5-11, 180 pound Plautz was good on 16 of 28 passes for 224 yards in the loss. His classmate, the 5-9, 155 Schweigert caught 7 of those for 117 receiving yards. That's awful impressive when your running game is being stuffed for a minus 33 yards.

*Lane Edis-Mullen - The 5-9, 160 pound sophomore ran all over Brady in the Bronco's 78-18 opening route of the Eagles.

Edis exploded for 214 yards on only 12 carries and scored on TD runs of 33, 33, 61 and 5 yards in the win. Just for the record, that is 17.8 yards a pop.

A year ago, Lane played in the shadow of three time 1000 yard rusher Gideon Monette but just may duplicate that feat himself before it's all in the books for this kid.

Could Lane's Dad be Wade Edis, Mullen's single season rushing record holder?

***11-Man Football Passing Leaders - Week One***

Matt Masker-Kearney Catholic (Jr) - 322 YDs (14-24 - 3 TDs)

Will Wagner-Central City - 311 YDs (21-45 - 3 TDs)

Joseph Krause-Seward (Soph) - 255 YDs (13-22 - 2 TDs)

Braiden Ruffin-North Platte (Jr.) - 229 YDs - (9-19 - 2 TDs)

Evan Johnson-Adams Central (Fr.) - 214 YDs (12-22 - 2 TDs)

Tate Mazour-Doniphan-Trumbull - 212 YDs (22-30 - 2 TDs)

Carter Terry-GI Northwest (Soph) - 200 YDs (12-25 - 4 TDs)

Tj Davis-Boys Town (Jr.) - 185 YDs (19-26 - 2 TDs)

Cooper Bloom-Beatrice - 185 YDs (12-16 - 4 TDs)

Monty Roberts-Syracuse - 185 YDs (10-21 - 1 TD, 3 INTs)

AJ Huebner-Creighton Prep - 165 YDs (9-17 - 1 TD)

.............and:

Adam Wasserman-Fairbury (Jr.) - 151 YDs - (9-12 for FIVE TDs)

Name of the Week:

Crash "Bring the Wood" Woodle - You guessed it, Crash Woodle is a 5-10, 155 pound player from Papillion LV South that plays...........................Defense, of course. The CB made 11 tackles and just had to bring the wood in the 35-13 loss to Bellevue West last Friday.