Week 10 Friday Night Lights Football Playoff Heroes - 11-Man (Part Two)

Kearney Catholic quarterback Heinrich Haarberg, the Husker pledge, has his football team rolling right now and it couldn't come at a better time.

*Heinrich Haarberg-Kearney Catholic - Husker pledge looked sharp in the Stars opening round Class C-1 playoff win over Chadron (41-0). Haarberg connected on 10 of his 12 pass attempts for 160 yards and TD passes to Logan Miner and Brett Mahoney. Heinrich was also a beast carrying the football against Chadron, rushing just 8 times, but the senior star gained 69 yards, turning 3 of those 8 carries into touchdown runs.

The Stars defense was also outstanding with Mahoney picking off a pair of Cardinal passes, while sophomore Nick Homan and senior Seth Moore also picked off a pass. Junior Jaden Seier also recovered a fumble

For the year, Henirich Haarberg has completed 110 of 195 yards for 1,606 yards and 16 touchdowns with only 3 INTs. The quick moving Haarberg has also rambled for 504 yards on the ground with an additional 10 TDs for the 8-1 Stars.

*Eli Larson-St. Paul - 5000 yard career rusher Eli Larson was at the top of his game in the Wildcats opening round 48-0 victory over Cozad. The senior star popped a 221 yards on 25 carries night on the Haymakers and scored five touchdowns in the process.

The speedy, powerful St. Paul standout hit paydirt from 39, 5, 5, 1 and 7 yards out, raising his 2020 rushing total to 1,714 yards and his rushing touchdown number to 26.

Larson’s career rushing numbers continue to rise rapidly on the 5000 Yard Career chart, moving up to #28 this week on the coveted list with his 5,330 yards. Larson also made 5 tackles on defense in that Cozad tilt.

Wyoming pledge Tommy Wroblewski also cracked the century rushing mark in the Cozad game, running for 103 yards on just 8 totes. Sophomore lineman Quade Peterson made quite the impression on Cozad with his 7 tackles, six of which were solos stops. Three of those solos were also made in the Haymaker backfield where young Mr. Peterson may have felt the need to introduce himself to the Cozad backfield fellas occupying that space.

*Rylan Aguallo-Mitchell - What a running back. And it’s not the first time this Mitchell program has boasted a super back either (see Drake Gilliland, Chad Surrett, Drew Gilliland. Despite the 436 mile drive and subsequent 34-14 loss to Wahoo, Rylan Aguallo still ran for 126 yards on 26 carries with a 36 yard touchdown run in there.

There wasn’t a game this season for the Mitchell star that didn’t stand out. The lightning quick Aquallo sliced and diced his way to 1,945 yards in ten games, averaging 194 yards every time he padded up. The Tiger star also caught five passes for 188 yards this season with 4 going for touchdowns.

On defense, Rylan made 47 tackles (27 solos), intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble. He was also one of Nebraska 11-Man football’s most lethal return men, bringing back 8 kickoffs for an astounding 406 yards, averaging FIFTY ONE yards every single time he returned a kickoff.

And HALF of those EIGHT kick returns went to the house. Aquallo took one all the way against Alliance, Burns (Wyoming), Gothenburg and Ogallala.

*Matthew Schuster-Ashland-Greenwood - Brian Schuster’s boy was back in the game against Logan View/Scribner-Snyder after missing two weeks with an injury. The younger Schuster rushed for 122 yards on 22 carries and a 42 yard touchdown run in A-G’s 24-7 win over the Raiders. That raises Matt’s 2020 rushing total to 1,251 yards (18 TDs).

Lane Zimmerman caught 6 passes for 97 yards and All-State Football/Basketball man Cale Jacobsen was all over the place for the #1 Bluejays. The sensational junior completed 7 of 11 passes for 77 yards, caught an 8 yard touchdown pass, and made 6 solo tackles on defense.

*Matt will have ways to go to reach his Dad’s single season rushing total of 1,890 yards, the year Brian ran wild for the Fullerton Warriors (1990). Brian Schuster also rushed for 1,498 yards the year before and was absolutely one of the most electrifying high school backs I have ever watched.

And…... once in a while there has to be an interesting side note to stories like this one.

I am pretty shy when it comes to speaking to high school girls, unless they are one of my drum students, but while attending a Fullerton game in 1990, I noticed Brian’s girl friend Chelsea had a license plate that read “I Love Shu” or something to that effect. I cornered Chelsea on the way to her car after the game and asked her what would happen to her license plate if her and Brian ever broke up?

Her answer was priceless. She just looked me straight in the eye and stated “We never will.” And you know what, Chelsea was right. To this day her and Brian are man and wife. Sometimes you just know, right Chelsea?

*Tommy Stevens, Zach Smith, Kelen Meyer-Ord - The Terrific Trio was at again in Ord’s 38-14 win over Wahoo Neumann. Tough Tommy Stevens rolled for 162 yards and 4 touchdowns on just 13 carries. QB Zach Smith completed 9 of 14 passes for 131 yards with 2 touchdown tosses, while also picking up 79 yards on 17 carries with a TD on the ground.

WR/DB/Kicker Kelen Meyer, a Husker Walk-On, caught 2 passes for 46 yards, one of which being a 9 yard scoring grab. The All-State kicker also booted 5 of 5 PATs and nailed a 37 yard field goal in the game. John Denso had 4 pass receptions for 52 yards and Quenton Ries hauled in a 33 yard TD pass from Zac Smith in the Chants win.

For the year: Tommy Stevens; 1,223 yards rushing (23 TDs), 4 receptions/100 yards/1 TD, 42 tackles, an interception plus a fumble recovery for a touchdown.

Zac Smith: 54-83 passes for 873 yards/15 TDs, 698 rushing yards/11 TDs, 30 tackles, 5 TFL, and an interception.

Kelen Meyer; 8 pass receptions/161 yards/3 TDs, 19 tackles, SEVEN (7) interceptions and a pair of fumble recoveries. 75 Kickoffs averaging 57.8 yards a boot, with almost all ending up as touchbacks, 14 punts averaging 40.9 each, 57 of 58 PATS and 6 of 9 field goals including the magnificent 58 yarder against Central City with 3 yards to spare.

*Ryan Dixon-Auburn - The 6-0, 175 pound junior may have been flying under the radar a bit to those west of Lincoln, but after his last 4 games, Mr. Dixon is a mystery no more. The Auburn back’s emergence party may have been back on October 2nd when he ran for 160 yards on 24 carries in the Bulldog’s 28-13 victory over Milford.

Although Dixon did go off for 126 yards on 20 totes three weeks prior in a 27-0 win over Platteview, the Auburn junior has recently strung together 4 consecutive 100 yard games including the Milford game. In fact, the past four weeks, Ryan Dixon has rushed for 583 yards on 89 carries (6.6/per) with 10 touchdowns.

In Auburn’s impressive 37-15 playoff win over Battle Creek last week, Dixon ran 19 times for 148 yards and a trio of touchdowns, giving him 913 yards and 16 TDs for the season. The Bulldog defense was also stout in that Battle Creek win, paced by Wyatt Rowell’s 16 tackles (11 solos), All-State basketball star Cam Binder’s 12 stops (7 solos) and another basketball stud, Daniel Frary and his 11 stops with 6 solo tackles.

Make no mistake about this Auburn bunch on defense, they are solid, pure form tacklers as witnessed by all the solo stops.

*Abram Scholting, Tyler Race, Colton Fritz - Pierce - The Bluejays defeated West Point-Beemer 42-21 last Friday in the 1st Round of the C-1 playoffs, but definitely had a game on their hands after the Cadets Jesus Barrigan returned the second half kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. A touchdown that tied the game at 21-21 at the time.

But players like QB Scholting, RB Tyler Race and OL/DL dandy Colton Fritz (among others) made sure the Cadets were held scoreless after that and the Bluejays offense started clicking into high gear.

Abram Scholting completed 10 of 14 passes in the game, good for 169 yards and 3 touchdowns. Meanwhile, Tyler Race was adding 86 yards rushing on 15 carries and FOUR scores, and Colton Fritz? All the Pierce All-State candidate did was make 19 crunching tackles with 5 solos and 14 assists.

Abram Scholting’s scoring tosses were gathered in by Tyler Race (47 yards), Ben Brahmer (19 yards) and Garrett Meier (15 yards), who was an All-State defender a year ago for Mark Brahmer’s C-1 runner-ups.

*Paxton Olson, Jesse Bergen, Cade Wiseman-Sutton - Sutton has leaned on Paxton Olson this season with All-State QB/RB Cade Wiseman injury situation being a week to week thing. Olson, a 5-10, 172 pound junior, had a fine outing against North Plate St. Pats in the opening round of the C-2 playoffs, rushing for 165 yards on18 carries and a touchdown against that tough Irish defense.

Olson wasn’t doing all the work in that Mustang backfield because sophomore Jesse Bergan carried part of the rushing load, gaining 145 yards on 16 totes. Cade Wiseman did see his workload increase some in this playoff tilt, as the son of former Adams Central great Chad Wiseman played some quarterback, completing 3 of 5 passes for 46 yards, one of which as an 11 yard TD toss to Quinten Jones. Wiseman also rushed 11 times for 50 yards.

Just the appearance of Cade Wiseman on the field for this Sutton squad makes a huge difference, so we’ll see how much it means when the Mustangs travel to Fremont Friday to take on Class C-2, #1 Archbishop Bergan.

*Koa McIntyre, Gavin Logemann-Fremont Bergan - The C-2 top ranked Knights kept rolling along in the opening round of the C-2 playoffs last Friday, turning back 16th seeded Lincoln Lutheran, 55-15. The great Koa McIntyre was razor sharp in his passing game, hitting 10 of 13 aerials for 212 yards and five touchdowns.

Jarrett Boggs carried only twice for Archbishop Bergan, but both went for touchdowns. He also caught 3 passes for 89 yards, one of which was a scoring catch. Kind of the same deal with wideout Gavin Logemann, who caught 4 passes for 87 yards. Three of those four catches were touchdown receptions.

And about that Knights defense. Twenty three different players, including five freshman, made tackles in the win.

Oh, and by the way, if you are waiting for Bergan to graduate all the talent off this current squad, don’t hold your breath. Most of this team’s talent is situated in its JUNIOR class.

*Coulter Thiele, Grady Gatewood, Caden Nelson - Oakland-Craig - Good lord, how many times is Oakland-Craig’s Coulter Thiele going to score on that jet sweep or reverse or misdirection play (whatever it’s called) this season? Thiele did it THREE times against the KINGS of the double wing offense, David City Aquinas, to the tune of 11, 79 and 64 yard touchdown runs, and it seems 15 yards after the dude his past the line of scrimmage, he has clear sailing.

Well, Coulter Thiele did it again in the Knights 44-14 victory over Crofton and they’ve seen the play a gazillion times because they run a tight double-wing themselves. All kidding aside, it’s just that great O-Line blocking by Joe Anderson’s bunch, sealing off those backers and D-Lineman and Coulter’s terrific speed and long stride certainly doesn’t hurt anything.

Thiele rushed only 4 times against Crofton, but gained 150 yards and raced in for two scores, one from 57, the other from 74 yards out. He also caught two Grady Gatewood passes for 65 yards, one being a 61 yard TD reception.

Speaking of Grady Gatewood, the junior quarterback was right on his game versus Crofton, completing 6 of 8 passes for 183 yards and 3 touchdowns. Besides the 61 yarder to Thiele, Gatewood connected with Carson Thomsen for a 38 yard TD strike and found Gunnar Ray for a 49 yarder.

Also remember, Oakland-Craig has headhunter Caden Nelson crunching ball carriers bones from his linebacker position. The 2019 All-Stater has 71 tackles thus far in 2020 with 39 solo stops.

*Brady Timm, Ethan Thompson, Caden Egr-Yutan - Yutan basketball star Brady Timm can also play a little quarterback you see. In the Chieftains 57-12 romp over Centura, Timm hit 4 of his 8 pass attempts for 119 yards and 2 touchdowns and rushed 7 times for anther 128 big ones with an additional TD.

RB Ethan Christensen ran for just 56 yards on 9 carries, but three of those totes went for touchdowns. All-State running back Caden Egr, who rushed for 1,600 yards a year ago, and 803 more this season, may have been banged up in the Centennial game on October 23rd because it appears he played only defense in this Centura game.

Caden Egr is also a key figure in Yutan’s defensive alignment, posting 78 tackles with a monster 50 solo stops this season. He could be very useful in that Wilber-Clatonia game this Friday, although Yutan just beat the Wolverines 28-14 on October 2nd when he was held to 60 rushing yards.

Back to QB Brady Timm, the senior has fashioned an outstanding 2020 season to date (10 games), completing 53 of 99 passes for 1,055 yards, 18 TDs and only 4 INTs. Timm has also rushed for 618 yards and 7 touchdowns this year.

*Mitchell Thompson, Tyson Kreshel, Coy Rosentreader, Mason Combs-Wilber-Clatonia - These four Wilber-Clatonia backs demolished the GICC run defense to the tune of 433 yards. Mitchell Thompson, the senior, ran for 164 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns against the Crusaders.

Sophomore Coy Rosentrader added 89 yards on 19 carries and a pair of scores. Rosentraders sophomore classmate Tyson Kreshel ripped off 112 yards on 11 carries and Mason Combs chipped in another 68 yards on 10 tries for the Wolverines, who beat GICC 46-33.

On defense, Devin Homolka pirated three GICC passes, Houston Broz also had a pick and Jonathan Zoubel and Wyatt Smith both recovered fumbles in the wild affair.

*Easton Becker-Hartington Cedar Catholic - Trojan senior stud rushed 29 times for 149 yards and short touchdown bursts of 2 and 4 yards in Cedar’s 21-0 win over Panhandle opponent Bridgeport. The power running Trojan junior has rushed for 1,343 yards with 17 touchdowns this season for the 8-2 Cedar Catholic squad. Becker is also a force on defense where he has made 35 stops with half a dozen sacks.

Cedar Catholic quarterback Tate Thoene, also a very physical athlete on both sides of the ball for super coach Chad Cattau, has thrown for 998 yards and 6 touchdowns and added 743 rushing yards with 10 more scores for the Trojan offense.

Myles Thoene is another offensive threat for Cedar Catholic, hauling in 26 pass receptions for 426 yards and 3 TDs. Myles has also made 53 tackles on defense and pirated 3 passes.

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…...Up next, Friday Night Lights Playoff Heroes - Eight and Six Man Football.