Nebraska Eight Man Football Coaches Association 2023 Hall of Fame Salutes - Chad Micek

My salute to the Nebraska High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame Class of 2023 continues leading up to induction day during the halftime break of the Sertoma 8-Man All-Star Game to be contested Saturday, June 18th at Hastings College. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 PM.

Today, it is my distinct pleasure to honor one of the finest all-around small town athletes in all of Nebraska high school sports history, Chad Micek.

CHAD MICEK – ST. EDWARD HIGH SCHOOL

From 1985 to 1988, Chad was an outstanding multi-sport athlete. As a running back for the Beavers, he was a 2 time 1,000 yard rusher with 1,465 yards as a junior and 2,093 yards as a senior, while also tallying over 4,000 career rushing yards.

As a prep athlete, he was also a multi-time State Champion hurdler and sprinter in the sport of Track & Field. During his senior football season, Chad led St. Edward to the postseason for the first time in nearly a decade and set state records (at the time) for rushing yards (465), rushing touchdowns (9), and total points scored in a single-game (64). He was selected as an All-Goldenrod Conference player multiple times as well as a 1st Team All-State selection.

In 1988, he was chosen as the honorary captain of the Class D-1 All-State team and the Eight-Man Offensive Player of the Year. In the summer of 1989, Chad was selected to play in both the Eight Man All-Star Game and the Nebraska Shrine Bowl (becoming the 4th member of his family to play in that game!).

He later attended the University of Nebraska at Kearney, where he became a four-time letter-winner and a three-year starter as a defensive back. The NEMFCA is honored to now welcome him into the Eight Man Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023.

1000 Yard Guy Sez; Lord in Heaven, where do you start with this incredible human being? Cousin Chad was the youngest of one of the most revered athletic families in Nebraska sports history. The kid had a lot to live up to and passed the “Micek test” with flying colors.

I was on the sidelines in St. Ed when Chad set the State Rushing record, touchdowns in a game and total points, and the remarkable thing was he set the rushing record playing quarterback.

When my son Rob was just a youngster, I took him to a St. Edward football game to meet Chad and when I asked for a photo of the two of them, Chad immediately obliged. He always called Rob “squirt” back in the day, but a few years back when GICC played Kearney Catholic in a basketball game, Chad Micek was in attendance, and when my son went to ask if Chad remembered him, the gentleman of all gentlemen recognized Rob from 20 feet away.

One of the things that makes Chad Micek one of the greatest 8-Man football players ever is the fact he lacked a decent supporting cast for the majority of his football career at St. Edward, especially during his freshman and sophomore seasons.

He learned to create his own openings when the blocking wasn’t there, and when once past the line of scrimmage, Micek was gone to the promised land.

To this day when people ask me who might be the finest 8-Man Back(s) I have ever seen play the game in all my years, the name Chad Micek, (along with Dale Van Housen, Ben Eisenhart, Cory Eikmeier and Darwin Snyder) always surfaces.

Welcome to the HALL, my friend.