Week 10 Friday Night Lights Football Playoff Heroes - 8-Man, 6-Man

***Eight-Man***

*Serbando Diaz, Quade Myers, Corbin Horner, Keegan Krutsinger, Delton Haines-Dundy County/Stratton - Serbando Diaz gauged the Nebraska City Lourdes defense for 282 yards on 33 carries plus 3 touchdowns in the Tigers 48-30 win over the Knights. Quade Myers was also a standout, completing 10 of 19 passes for 118 yards and touchdown strikes to Corbin Horner (5 yards) and Lincoln Waters (15 yards). Myers also carried 18 times for 81 yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns while Horner led the receivers with 92 yards on 6 catches.

Of course both Keegan Krutsinger and Delton Haines, otherwise known as “Butter and “Syrup, The Pancake Brothers, were constantly clearing the way for Serby, Quade and other Dundy ball carriers.

On defense, Diaz made 11 tackles, Horner, the sophomore, added 9 more, Keegan Krutsinger added 7 crunching stops, while Quade Myers and Delton Haines each chipped in 5 tackles. In addition, Quade Myers had two interceptions, Lincoln Waters and Bobby Schneider each picked of one pass, and big Delton Haines recovered a fumble.

With his big night, Serbando Diaz became just the 53rd running back Nebraska high school football history to crack the 5000 yard rushing mark and he did it in just 34 games. Serby’s career rushing total stands at 5,114 yards as we speak, with 86 touchdowns.

*Isaac Noyd, Carter Seim, Christian Rystrom-Cross County - The unbeaten Cougars racked up 539 yards on the ground in their 54-16 Second Round playoff win over Cambridge. Isaac Noyd sprinted for 210 yards on 12 carries (17.5/carry) and touchdown runs of 72 and 43 yards. Running mate Carter Seim was right behind with 207 yards on 10 carries (20.7/carry) with scoring dashes of 61, 46 and 75 yards. Cross County averaged 13.9 yards carry as a TEAM.

Incidentally, Cross County did throw one pass in the game, that being a 10 yard touchdown toss from Shayden Lundstrom to Cory Hollinger.

On defense, it was rugged Christian Rystrom leading the charge with 9 solo tackles. Cater Seim made 6 solo tackles while Isaac Noyd and Cory Hollinger had 4 solo stops. Seim, Hollinger and Isaac Noyd’s “little” bro, 5-10, 200 pound FRESHMAN Alex Noyd, all had sacks.

It may be worth mentioning that young freshman Alex Noyd is the starting center on offense and also starts in the defensive line (NG?). The lad really plays well beyond his age in my humble opinion.

So, I wonder who wins the Noyd family arguments? Is it, A) 200 pound freshman Alex?, or is it, B) 145 pound senior Isaac?, or C) None of the Above?

The correct answer would be C) None of the above, because I’m pretty it’s Dad, who is Charles Noyd, who an Class C-2 All-State offensive guard for Stromsburg in 1991, and also happened to checkin at 6-2 and 215 pounds on that 1991 All-State team.

That settles that.

*Bryce Reed, Isaiah Zelasney, Kyle Sterup, Carson Watts, Thad Rathjen-Osceola - Bryce Reed rushed for 171 yards on 30 carries and 2 touchdowns, sophomore QB Isaiah Zelansey ran for 161 more on 19 carries and a TD, and Thad Rathjen caught a 24 yard scoring pass from Zelansey with 51 seconds left to lift Osceola to a heart-stopping 50-46 victory over defending Class D-2 state champion, Humphrey St. Francis.

In a game, bigger than life life, featuring 2019’s D-1 and D-2 defending champions, it was the Osceola defense that came up with a stop of St. Francis QB Trevor Pfeifer at the Bulldogs 2 yard line on a 4th and one play with just 3 seconds remaining in the contest.

Both All-State defender Kyle Sterup and Carson Watts made 15 tackles for Osceola in the big win, with Sterup dishing out 9 solo stops. Both Reed and Rathjen added 8 tackles and Zelansey chipped in 7.

For the year, Bryce Reed-1,663 yards rushing/30 TDs. Isaiah Zelansey-740 rushing yards/25 TDs plus 267 passing yards with 5 TDs. Carson Watts-474 rushing yards/7 TDs. Defensively, Sterup leads with a massive 115 tackles (59 solos-56 assists-8 TFL). Carson Watts is next with 70 tackles. Reed is also 6 of 7 in PAT kicks.

*Parker Krusemark, Sutton Pohlman, Gage Tighe, Mason Bruggeman-Stanton - Junior quarterback Parker Krusemark was sensational in the Mustangs 56-14 win over powerful Arcadia/Loup City. Krusemark threw a pair of touchdown passes, rushed 19 times for 128 yards and three more scores and picked off three Rebels passes on defense. Sutton Pohlman, Stanton’s Swiss Army Knife, ran for 110 yards on just 8 touches with a pair of scores, caught a TD pass from Krusemark and made 11 tackles on defense.

Defensively, Gage Tighe made 12 tackles (5 solos) and Bruggeman added 10 more with a monster 9 solo tackles.

That sets up a HUGE battle for Stanton in Benkleman on Friday afternoon with Class D-1, #1 seed Dundy County/Stratton. Kickoff is set for 2:00 Mountain Time.

*Caleb Busch-Burwell - Junior RB exploded for 301 yards on 30 carries and touchdown runs of 11, 18, 45, 9, 50 and 14 yards in the Longhorns playoff win over a fine, but young Howells-Dodge team. Coach Mike Spiers young Jaguars actually had an 8-2 first quarter lead before Burwell erupted for 48 points in the middle two quarters (21-27) before the Longhorns capped things off with the 50-14 triumph.

Thus far in 2020, Caleb Busch has rolled fo 1,642 yards on 174 carries and 38 touchdowns for the undefeated Burwell Longhorns. And YES, QB Barak Birch CAN throw the football. He has completed 65 of 108 passes for 1,001 yards and 29 touchdowns, so if you are seeing this Burwell team in action soon and hoping they were primarily a ground attack, that’s just wishful thinking.

*Tyson Dankert-Kenesaw - Raced for 276 yards on 20 carries with scoring jaunts of 74, 45, 35 and 16 yards in the Blue Devils 64-26 over Allen. Dankert also fired a 25 yard touchdown pass to sophomore Joe Katzberg and returned a fumble 25 yards for another score. Dankert also made 7 tackles on defense for super Coach Craig Schnitzler’s Kenesaw squad.

Thus far in 2020, Tyson Dankert has 1,879 yards on just 156 carries (12 a pop) and 29 touchdowns. He has also passed for an additional 397 yards and 10 TDs (just 2 INTs), has a monster 90 tackles on defense with 3 interceptions and that fumble recovery TD in the Allen game. In fact, in the past FOUR games alone, Tyson Dankert has rushed for 1,081 yards and scored 15 touchdowns.

Check out Tyson Dankert’s Career stats (27 games) and remember, he’s just a junior. Rushing-3,631 yards/63 TDs, 1,144 passing yards/19 TDs, 27 receiving yards/1 TD, 431 kick return yards, 447 punt return yards and an incredible 5,680 Total Yards.

On defense: 241 tackles, 9 interceptions and 8 recovered fumbles.

Dankert also kicked off 93 times with an average of 41 yards a boot with 13 touchbacks and has kicked 7 of 11 PATs.

I’m guessing Tyson is pretty well spent after a football game.

*Ty Nekoliczyk, Jackson McIntyre-Central Valley - Class D-2, #1 seeded team scalded Medicine Valley 79-42 to advance to the D-2 quarterfinals and earn the right to host O’Neill St. Marys this Friday. The cool handed Nekoliczyk completed 8 of 10 passes for 181 yards and 3 touchdowns, while Jackson McIntyre, the Renaissance Man of Eight-Man football, rushed NINE times for 229 yards (25.4 yards/carry) with touchdown runs of 55, 65, 21 and 17 yards.

Morgan Benhk added 111 yards on 7 carries and TD gallops of 56 and 43 yards. Nekoliczyk’s touchdown tosses were hauled in by Jackson McIntyre (45 yards), Morgan Behnk (45 yards) and Kyle Oakley (17 yards). The stat line also indicated that Benhk booted a 55 yard field goal. Behnk also averaged 41.5 yards a punt in the contest.

This game was a back and forth affair for the entire first half. Medicine Valley actually took a 6-0 lead, then regained leads of 14-8, 22-16 and 28-22 before Central Valley reeled off the next 28 unanswered points to take a 56-28 advantage forty seconds deep into the third quarter.

*1000 Yard Rusher Alert*

*Trevin Wendt, Kray Kingston, Tyce Westland-Pleasanton - In Pleasanton’s very impressive 46-30 road victory over Wynot; Kray Kingston completed 7 of 11 passes for 136 yards and three touchdowns, Tyce Westland had 6 pass receptions for 114 yards and all three Kray Kingston TD strikes, and Trevin Wendt kept the Bulldogs ground attack humming with 142 yards on 21 totes and a 23 yard TD run to open the scoring.

Kray Kingston, who had those touchdown strikes of 15, 18 and 33 yards to Tyce Westland, also rushed for 102 yards on 15 carries and scored TDs from 14 and 5 yards out. Trevin Wendt 142 yards lifted the 5-10, 165 pound Sophomore over the 1000 yard rushing plateau, placing him at 1,075 yards for the season (17 TDs).

Tyce Westland, the son of super head coach Ricci Westland, has 38 catches for 821 yards and 15 touchdowns despite the 2019 All-Stater missing some time this season with injuries.

And QB Kray Kingston? As good as gold in 2020 with 63 of 102 passes for 1,261 yards and 18 TDs. He’s also rushed for 417 yards and a dozen more scores.

In case you were wondering? Pleasanton is a good football team, folks.

*Jack Holsing, Cole Siems-Tri-County - Scary, scary football team here, these Tri-County Trojans. The Two-Headed Rushing Monster of QB Cole Siems and RB Jack Holsing makes this Tri-County squad a legit contender in one of the toughest Eight-Man football classes I’ve witnessed in years.

In the Trojans 40-12 win over Laurel-Concord-Coleridge, Jack Holsing went off for 175 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns while Siems, a 1000 yard rusher a year ago, added 169 on 22 touches and a score.

Siems, who CAN throw the ball, also completed 4 of 9 passes for 92 yards and a pair of aerial scores in the win. Grant Lewandowski caught both of Siems scoring tosses.

For the year: Jack Holsing-1,214 yards-110 carries with 21 TDs. Cole Siems-856 yards-80 carries-15 TDs. This Tri-County squad looks like a D-1 semifinal team to me.

*1000 Yard Rusher Alert*

*Aiden Hedstrom-O’Neill St. Marys - 6-2, 180 pound junior Quarterback ran 32 times for 167 yards and scoring runs of 5, 6 and 38 yards in undefeated St. Marys 34-24 win over Bloomfield. Hedstrom also connected on 8 of 19 passes for 124 yards and a 10 yard scoring strike to Isaac Everett. Hedstrom also had 8 tackles on defense, but Adam Everett (12 Tackles) and Connor Semin (10 stops) led the way on that side of the ball.

To date, Aiden has 664 passing yards (13 TDs) and 1,006 yards rushing with 22 touchdowns. FOUR other Cardinal running backs have at least 400 yards rushing, making this team a lethal opponent for anyone in the playoffs. St. Marys travels Wolbach Friday to meet D-2, #1 Central Valley, who is also unbeaten at 8-0. (6:00 PM kickoff)

*Julien Hearn, Aiden Kuester-Neligh-Oakdale - WR/RB Julien Hearn ran for 146 on 17 carries and 3 touchdowns, caught 6 passes for 80 yards and another score, and logged 12 tackles on defense, as the Warriors pulled away from a 44-44 third quarter tie to defeat a strong Hi-Line football team, 72-50.

Sophomore quarterback sensation Aiden Kuester (pronounced Q-ster?) completed 14 of 22 passes and that TD to Hearn but was picked off 3 times in the game, very uncharacteristic for the Neligh-Oakdale ace. Kuester had only 5 INTs coming in with 27 touchdowns.

For the season: Kuester-128 of 197 passes for 2,260 yards, 27 TDs, 859 rushing yards with 22 more TDs. Julien Hearn: 58 pass receptions for 1,298 yards/14 TDs, 611 rushing yards/12 TDs. Julien Hearn Career Receiving: 91 catches for 2,147 yards and 28 TDs (23.6 per Reception)

*Xavier Perez-Elm Creek - Senior RB cruised for 195 yards on 30 carries and touchdown runs of 20 and 27 yards in the Buffaloes exciting 24-22 playoff victory over a very fine Nebraska Christian team. The swift Perez now has 1,497 yards rushing with 18 TDs for the season. Elm Creek visits Cross County Friday.

*Dane Pokorny, Grant Ahlstrom-Sandhills-Thedford - Rugged 6-3, 200 pound junior running back churned out 154 yards on 29 carries and 3 touchdowns (6, 1, 5 yard runs) in the green and black clad Knights 60-16 victory over Loomis. Senior quarterback Grant Ahlstrom also completed 9 of 17 passes for 149 yards and a pair of touchdown tosses to Dane Pokorny’s junior classmate, Drew McIntosh.

Dane Pokorny has rushed for 150 times for 1,503 yards and 29 touchdowns in 10 games for 10-0 Sandhills-Thedford. The Knights are another team that has three other running backs with at least 400 rushing yards in 2020. Couple that with Grant Ahlstorm’s 636 yards and 12 touchdowns through the air, and you have one dangerous Nebraska sandhills football team.

***Six-Man***

*Jacob Diessner-Spalding Academy - Senior Quarterback ran 22 times for 156 yards, passed for another 134 yards and made 16 tackles in the Shamrocks 40-16 loss to Creek Valley. Diessner closed out his remarkable 6-Man football season with 1,260 passing yards (22 TDs) and 1,897 rushing yards with 36 touchdowns. Diessner accumulated 3,191 Total Yards, which still currently ranks him 2nd Nationally in that category.

*Owen McDonald-McCool Junction - Ran for 125 yards on 10 carries and 3 touchdowns in the Mustangs 83-24 victory over Lincoln Parkview Christian in the opening round of the 6-Man playoffs. McDonald also caught a touchdown pass, returned a kickoff 76 yards for a touchdown, and returned an interception for a score. McDonald also kicked 15 PATs.

The 5-9, 155 pound senior now has 1,256 yards with 36 TDs, 41 receiving yards (2 TDs), 186 kick return yards (3 TDs) and has booted 77 of 78 PATs, which incidentally count for two points in Six-Man football.

*Luke Kasten-Potter-Dix - 6-3, 150 pound sophomore quarterback threw only 11 passes in the Coyotes 66-34 win over Wallace, but EIGHT of those went for touchdowns, totalling 125 yards. Kasten also ran 10 times for 125 yards, and made 6 tackles in the win.

This season Kasten has completed 73 of 134 passes for 1,574 yards and 32 TDs (6 INTs) and rushed for 809 yards on 65 totes with 13 touchdowns. On defense: 113 tackles (52 solos, 61 assists, 20 TFL), 4 INTs and 3 recovered fumbles.

Potter-Dix hosts 5-2 Cody-Kilgore this Friday in the Six-Man quarterfinals with a 5:00 MST kickoff

*Remington Schimonitz, Keegan Schow-Paxton - Schimonitz ran 14 times for 158 yards and a TD in Paxton’s hard fought 44-38 win over SEM, the 2nd victory in a week’s time over the Mustangs. QB Keegan Schow also completed 8 of 15 passes for 104 yards and 3 touchdowns in the playoff win for Paxton.

Schimonitz, the senior, has rushed 126 times for 1,310 yards and 20 touchdowns this season, while Keegan Schow is keeping the aerial game sharp with his 68 of 110 passes for 1,058 yards and 17 scores.