Week Four Friday Night Lights Football Heroes - Part 2

Central Valley's Jackson McIntyre (left) is off to a torrid start to the 2018 season. Former Greeley-Wolbach RB Ed Smyth is on the right. *(photo by Bobby Mills)

All I can say is last week must have been a good week for Quarterbacks all around the state. Wow!

*Jackson McIntyre - Central Valley - Had the opportunity (privilege) of seeing this sensational sophomore up close in Wolbach last Thursday. After rushing for 330 yards the week before against Giltner, the 170 pound quarterback did about everything a football player could do on the gridiron in a 72-22 win over Elgin Public/Pope John.

McIntyre who is a terrific track and field athlete, scored 4 rushing touchdowns on runs of 15, 55, 58, 45 yards, returned a punt 48 yards for another score, and fired TD passes to sophomore classmates Morgan Behnk (20 yards), and Ty Nekoliczak (30 yards). Jackson’s 45 yard highlight reel down the near sideline, right in front of me, still has me dizzy.

Head Coach Jess Rother and assistant coaches Jason McIntyre and Riley Bonifas have done a stellar job with this young team, whose only loss this season is to powerful Riverside.

In three games, Jackson McIntyre has piled up 520 yards rushing on just 51 totes with 12 TDs. The kid is a solid hitter on the defensive side of the ball too, leading the 2-1 Cougars with 34 stops, 25 of which are solo tackles. McIntyre is also a lethal return man, especially on punts, where he can sting you in a hurry.

In three games, the Cougar standout has 706 All-Purpose yards (rushing, receiving, kick returns and punt returns). The Real Deal.

*Evan Kieser and the Thunderbird “D” - Bellevue West - Senior quarterback looked like a million bucks in the Thunderbirds 38-3 win over Elkhorn South. Kieser was 20 of 32 for 289 yards and 3 TDs through the air in the game. Senior Shane Smith was Evan’s top target for the night, catching 8 passes for a fat 174 yards and 3 touchdowns. Shane’s scoring receptions covered 33, 33 and 59 yards.

Now, you want to talk about some Deeefense? That Thunderbird “D” made Elkhorn South’s offense look ordinary. Storm QB Elliot Brown could only muster 46 passing yards on 6 of 10 throws, while the Bellevue West rushing defense allowed Elkhorn South’s run game only 146 yards in the entire contest.

Caedin Hayes led the Thunderbird tackling with 15 stops. Sophomore Jack McDonnell chipped in 10 tackles, junior Tyler Chaney and senior Logan Bird added 9 apiece, while Toy Miller and sophomore Ryan Rogers were next with 8 each.

Miller and McDonnell both recorded sacks, Jalen Powell and Matt Thompson combined for another, and Logan Bird snared an interception in the 35 point win.

Bellevue West has a Thursday matchup with Lincoln Pius X and yours truly will be front and center for that baby.

***1000 Yard Passer Alert***

*Joseph Krause - Seward - Surpassed the 1000 yard passing yards plateau for the 3rd straight season in Seward’s 56-21 win over Bennington. The veteran Bluejays QB was deadly accurate, hitting 13 of 16 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns in the win. That also leaves Joseph only 8 yards short of the coveted 5000 yard career passing yards mark.

Krause’s scoring strikes were caught by RB Davon Brees (56 yards), Brett Meyer (40 yards) and Reece Foreman (80 yards). Brees also rushed 9 times for 82 yards with TD runs of 8, 20 and 15 yards in the game, while Krause toted the ball 8 times for 50 yards with a 5 yard scoring run in there. Junior Adam Garton led Seward’s defensive charge with 10 tackles and 2.5 TFL. Parker Stroup also picked off a Bennington pass, returning it for 33 yards.

Krause’s 2018 passing numbers thru 4 games; 59 of 92 (64%) for 1,043 yards, 13 TDs NO Interceptions. His career numbers; 297 of 526 passing (57%) or 4,918 yards, 47 TDs, 16 INTs.

The high flying 5th rated, 4-0 Bluejays, who average 48 points a game, will face Grand Island Northwest this Friday at Concordia in a matchup of two of the finest QB’s in the state….Joseph Krause and GINW ace Carter Terry.

*Bradyn Miller, Miko Maessner - Kearney - Senior Dual Threat QB threw for 216 yards and 3 touchdowns and rushed for an additional 88 yards and a short TD plunge in the Bearcats 35-7 win at Papillion LV South. Two of Miller’s touchdown strikes were hauled in by Cale Masters and covered 50 and 13 yards. Division one prospect Miko Maessner caught the other scoring pass, a short toss that turned into an 80 yard touchdown reception by the flashy, speed demon. Maessner also scored a rushing TD with an 18 yard run.

Coach Brandon Cool’s Kearney Bearcats have rebounded well after that opening night defeat by Grand Island. Did we expect anything different? Great coach, great program.

*Wyatt Ehlers- Centennial - You know what they say, “big time players come through big time in big time games. Well, All-State QB Wyatt Ehlers was up to the task when Class C-2’s #3 Sutton came to Utica to face the number one Broncos last Friday.

Ehlers got it done on the ground with 166 yards on 13 carries and a trio of touchdowns covering 4, 70 and 5 yards. He also completed 12 of 25 passes for 107 yards and a TD toss to Magnificent Max Tomes. Tomes also pirated a Jackson Perrien pass and returned it 87 yards for a Centennial Bronco Pick 6.

Wyatt Ehlers stats after 4 games; 49-71 yards passing (69%) for 737 yards, 12 TDs, 2 INTs, and 207 rushing yards with those three Sutton scores. Hey, this guy has thrown for 4,678 yards and 54 touchdowns in his 27 game career to date. Top Notch, man.

*Alex Svoboda - Hastings - 6-0, 170 senior signal caller had some real kicks in the Tigers 51-7 win over Gering. Svoboda was razor sharp last Friday, completing 14 of his 21 aerial attempts for 291 yards and five, count ‘em, 5 touchdown passes…..all in the first half. The Tiger QB tossed a pair of touchdown passes to Quentin Synek (31, 15 yards), threw a pretty bubble screen pass to Zaide Weidner, who sprinted 75 yards for the score. Jacob Schroeder also caught a TD pass of 37 yards, while Tate Pfeifer scored on a 5 yard reception.

Zaide Weidner led all receivers with 4 receptions for 120 yards. Quentin Synek, the 6-2, 175 pound senior, was next in line with 4 catches for 68 yards. Synek also handles all the place kicking and punting chores for Charlie Shoemaker’s Hastings Tigers, now 2-2 on the year.

*Trevin Luben - Wahoo - This lad is really beginning to tear things up on the ground for this fine Wahoo football team. In the Warriors 60-0 shellacking of Platteview, Luben rushed the football 23 times for 201 yards and 6 TDs, scoring on runs of 12, 39, 3, 4, 7, and 8 yards. Wahoo cruised to a 32-0 halftime lead and never looked back.

The 5-10, 170 pound junior, who is filling the big shoes of the great Dylan Egr, has rushed 65 times for 509 yards (9 TDs) in four games thus far in 2018. Trevin has also made 12 tackles on defense, plus making an interception along the way. And speaking of defense, that rugged Warrior “D” is being led in tackles by 5-9, 190 pound junior Kole Bordovsky (42 stops), All-State Sam Kolterman (33 tackles) and Jack Sutton (27 stops). Both Bordovsky and Sutton have 5 tackles for losses this Fall.

And we can’t forget about first year starter at quarterback Thomas Waido, who has been sharp with his 34 of 56 pass attempts for 494 yards and 4 TDS and no INTs.

Wahoo, whose only loss this season was to mighty Aurora, is currently rated #5 in Class C-1 and will face a stiff test this week when they host undefeated West Point-Beemer.

*Jacob Keiser - Hartington Cedar Catholic - Junior 1000 yard rusher finally cut loose with a big one in the Trojans 41-17 win over David City High. The speedy, bruising runner erupted for 330 yards on 34 carries and touchdown runs of 92, 4 and 20 yards in the win. Cedar Catholic , who lost a ton of seniors from last year’s fine squad, have made the sledding pretty rough for Jacob Keiser in the early going.

Despite the loss of blocking, the highly skilled Keiser has still compiled 699 yards and 5 TDs thus far in 2018 for the 1-3 Trojans, who have faced a brutal schedule thus far with losses to BRLD, Oakland-Craig and Aquinas.

*Jack Goering - GICC - Crusader senior QB won the passing yards battle between he and North Bend sharpshooter Austin Endorf, but his Crusaders came up short on the scoreboard.

Goering competed 24 of 39 throws for 378 yards and 4 touchdowns, and no INTs in the 41-37 loss to the Tigers. Jack’s TD passes were caught by Freshman Isaac Herbek (4 catches/158 yards),