Week 7 High School Football Heroes - Part 1

Wilcox-Hildreth's outstanding 6-Man RB, Ivan Damit-og.

***1000 Yard Rusher Alert - 3rd Time Around***

*Garrett Sonderup-Fullerton - All-State runner eclipsed the 1000 yard plateau for the 3rd consecutive season when he rambled for 231 yards on 35 carries against Nebraska Christian. The elusive Sonderup scored 6 touchdowns on runs of 14, 24, 3, 7, 28 and 14 yards in the Warrior's 56-36 victory. Sonderup was also 2 of 3 passing, including a 13 yard TD strike to Gage Horacek. He also ran for 5 two point coversions and passed for another which gave him a hand in 54 of Fullerton's 56 points for the evening. Garrett increased his 2014 rushing total to 1,115 yards and he and the Warriors will be tested big when Howells-Dodge comes to town next Thursday.

***1000 Yard Rusher Alert***

*Ivan Damit-og-Wilcox-Hildreth - (5-8, 155, RB/FS) #10 - Ran wild in Wil-Hill's 57-0 trouncing of McPherson County. Damit-og rushed 14 times for 295 yards and 6 TDs. Ivan hit paydirt from 26, 1, 47, 28, 55 and 6 yards. The shifty senior increased his season ground yardage total to 1,041. Welcome to the Bobby Mills 1000 Yard Club, Ivan.

*Brad Johnston-Scottsbluff - (5-10, 190, RB/DE) #22 Junior - Every now and then the Bearcats lean on the powerful Johnston and Friday's win over Sidney was one of those nights. In Scottsbluff's 37-29 win, Johnston ran 28 times for 161 yards and 3 scores (10, 4 and 4 runs). Johnston increased his season total to 529 yards playing in the same backfield with 1000 yard runner, Ty Benson. Bearcat QB Jackson Hinze added 102 yards on 12 carries in the Sidney win, by the way.

*Jake Heeren-Sidney - (6-3, 220, RB/DE, Junior) #4 - Big Jake was a sparkler in the loss to Scottsbluff. Heeren ran 15 times for 201 yards and scored on a 46 yard TD dash. The 220 pound junior has run for 396 yards in the last 3 games as the Red Raiders try to compensate for the loss of one of Class B's finest RB's, Chance Anglin. Chance has missed the last 3 contests and is badly need on both sides of the ball for Sidney in this crucial stretch run.

*Coby Cassidy-Burwell - Hard running senior made the most out of his 11 carries by rushing for 181 yards and 2 Tds in a 66-6 route of Central Valley (Greeley/Wolback-North Loup/Scotia). Cassidy's scoring runs were from 54 and 49 yards out. Wide receiver Ty Chaffin snagged only 4 aerials in the game but 3 went for TDs. His scoring receptions were of 28, 18 and 55 yards). Chaffin also scored on a 28 yard run. Well alright then Ty, nice night.

*Billie Smith-Elwood - (5-9, 160, HB/CB) #15 - Ran for 141 yards on 19 touches in Elwood's 66-12 win over SEM. Smith scored twice, one coming on a 22 yard reception, the other on a 5 yard run. Pirate's QB Zach Hackbart threw for 189 yards and 4 TDs in that win.

*Ryan Becker, Tristen Steffen, James Kaiser and the Trojan "D"-Hartington Cedar Catholic - This trio really shined in the Trojan's big 41-13 win over district rival Lutheran High NE. Becker rushed 11 times for 158 yards and scored runs of 62 and 35 yards. Quarterback James Kaiser was deadly, hitting 7 of 10 throws for 212 yards and 4 touchdowns. Steffen caught 3 of those Kaiser scoring passes and went in from 55, 35, and 25 yards out. The stingy Cedar defense held LHNE to 101 yards rushing and 80 yards through the air. Tell you something, Cedar Catholic has a fine football team friends and Head man Chad Cattau is a very outstanding coach. I saw this bunch against Aquinas in the season opener at David City and they looked very good, even in the loss.

*Jeff Hall-Gibbon - This guy is getting better by the week. Hall ran for an even-steven 200 yards on 27 carries and scored on a 41 yard run in the Buff's huge 20-14 win over a surging Aracadia/Loup City team. Hall is only 63 yards away from that coveted 1000 yard rushing mark. OK, I'll do the math. Jeff Hall has 937 for the season.

***1000 Yard Rusher Alert***

*Hunter Smith-Omaha Skutt - In a 23-13 loss to Class B number one Gretna, Smith ran for 102 yards on 21 carries and scored on a 4 yard dash. Smith, who leads his class in rushing, has 1,002 yards for 2014.

***1000 Yard Rusher Alert***

*Carter Zlab-Wilber-Clatonia - The all-around athlete hit the 1000 yard mark right on the button with a monster night against Fairbury. Coach Lynn Jurgens decided to ride Zlab and the senior responded with with 279 yards on 17 carries and 3 Tds. Carter Zlab's 1000 yards even have come on only 98 rushes this season. That's a robust 10.2 yards a pop. Zlab has 15 TDs too.

*Wyatt Tremayne-Homer - Well, Homer lost again, this time to Stanton 46-12 but still the very talented Tremayne ran for 152 yards on 27 carries and scored both the Knights touchdowns. Wyatt now has 1,227 yards rushing this year.

***1000 Yard Rusher Alert - 2nd Time Around***

*Tre Sanders-Omaha Central - In a 42-21 win against Bellevue East, Sanders exploded for 265 yards on 22 totes and 5 touchdowns. Sanders returned a punt 52 yards for a TD to begin the evening, then reached the end zone with runs of 24, 10, 9 and 3 yards. The speedy, shifty runner, who leads Class A, has now rushed for 1,202 yards and 16 TDs this fall. Tre Sanders is a sweet runner, man.

*Jeff Pospichal-Omaha Gross - (5-10, 170, WR/QB/FS) #5 - In a 22-13 win over Omaha Roncalli, Pospichal rambled for 142 yards on 26 carries and scored on runs of 1 and 15 yards in the big win.

*Quintin Bader and Rex Harmon-Auburn - Dual 100+ runners in Auburn's 63-0 frolic over Conestoga. Bader ran for 122 yards on 11 carries and scored TDs on runs of 37 and 44 yards. Harmon was 8 yards behind with 114 yards on 18 touches and scored on short blasts of 3 and 2 yards in the route.

*Noah Vedral-Wahoo Neumann - (6-2, 175, QB/DB/Punt Returner, Sophomore) #11 - Broke Columbus Lakeview's back with long distance TD runs of 82, 54 and 71 yards in the Cav's 27-24 win over Kurt Frenzen's improving Viking squad. Vedral has now thrown for 903 yards and rushed for another 465 thus far in 2014. Cavaliers are now 4-3 for the year and are 17th in the C-1 wild card standings at the moment.

*Tyrell Younger-Bertrand - The junior RB, who ran for 1,090 yards and 16 Tds a year ago, was a thorn in Alma's side last Friday. Younger rushed for 179 yards on only 12 touches and hit paydirt with 54, 46, 18 and 13 yard runs in the 52-0 win. He also returned a punt 49 yards for another score. Younger now has rushed for 778 yards and has 17 touchdowns thus far this year. On defense Younger has 37 solo tackles, 43 assists and 6 tackles for losses.

*Conner Hudson-Plattsmouth - (5-4, 125, RB/DB, Junior) #1 - How much courage does it take to play Class B football when you are 5 feet 4 inches tall and weigh only a buck and a quarter? That's some kind of impressive. Against Platteview, the Blue Devil Might Mite ran for 123 yards on 17 carries and scored a TD on a 33 yard run in the 35-14 victory. Hudson has run for 517 yards on 65 carries in 2014. What a competitor. Heart the size of a lion......a big one at that.

*Trent Geiser and Troy Gilliand-Anselmo-Merna - In a 50-38 win against Overton, Geiser bolted for 193 yards on 20 tries and scored on runs of 2, 24 and 30 yards. Gilliand, a junior and 1000 yard rusher as a sophomore, completed 8 of 21 passes for 229 yards. 2 of those throws went for TDs. Gilliand also rushed for 91 yards and scored on runs of 1 and 22 yards. Trent Geiser is the 2nd leading rusher in the entire state with his 1,413 yards and 25 touchdowns.

*Jacob Buhr-Freeman - (5-10, 185, RB/MLB) #24 - Had his biggest rushing game by far in the Falcon's 54-27 win over Palmyra. Buhr rushed for 270 big ones on 19 carries with 3 touchdowns along with 9 tackles on dfense. Buhr's running also set up a nice passing night for QB Isaac Frerichs, who completed 7 of 14 passes for 195 yards and 3 Tds. Isaac Frerichs has passed for 805 yards and 14 touchdowns this season with only ONE INTERCEPTION. In Frerich's career at Freeman, he has completed 215 of 357 passes (57%) for 3,343 yards, 51 TDs and only 13 interceptions. Add another 1,157+ rushing yards to that and you have all-state football status to go with his outstanding basketball skills. Frerichs was All-State C-2 in hoops last season. By the way, Jabob Buhr has run for 832 yards this season. Remember, Buhr rushed for 1,072 yards a year ago when Freeman was playing 8-Man football.

*Millard North 47-42 Bellevue West - Good gracious, what a game this was. In the end, Freddy Petito's boys came back and bit the pass happy Thunderbirds at their own game. In this wild Thursday night gem, Millard North's Jake Matthew ran for 165 yards on 34 carries and scored a TD with a 4th quarter 11 yard run. He has 730 yards for the year. Millard North's speedy Adrian Kellogg added 119 yards on 10 carries and scored on a 67 yard sprint. Mustang QB Ethan Morrison rushed for 87 more yards on and scored on a 21 yard TD jaunt. More importantly, Morrison completed 7 of 10 passes for 121 yards and THREE TDs. Adrell Taylor hauled in 2 of those TD receptions which covered 32 and 30 yards. Taylor also scored on a 54 yard run. Outstanding play of the night was Ethan Morrison's 17 yard TD pass to Aaron Gerdes with 15 seconds left in the game. It proved to be the game winner after Millard North recovered an onside kick.

For Bellevue West, 6-4, 195 pound junior quarterback Jaydn Kowalski completed 16 of 30 passes for a gigantic 444 yards and 6 TDs. Wyoming recruit C J Johnson caught 4 of those passes for 150 yards, 2 of which went for scores (83, 54 yards). Younger brother Cade Johnson also caught 4 passes for 117 yards and 2 Tds (45, 27 yards). The Thunderbird's other star receiver, Malik Hluchoweckyj, had 2 receptions for 96 yards and a 68 yard score. Hluchoweckyj (pronounced Hah-loo-cha-wek-ee) is a Bowling Green basketball recruit by the way.

Friend 36-34 over BDS. - In a battle of unbeatens, Friend's Emmett Beckler connected with Simon Sandberg on a 4 yard TD pass as time expired to lift the Bulldogs to the landmark win. Beckler also scored 3 rushing touchdowns in the game. Prior to the score, BDS had applied the pressure to Friend with a TD pass with just 29 seconds left in the contest. These two strongholds could meet up again in the D-1 playoffs.........stay tuned.

*Jordan Redler-Malcolm - (5-10, 170 RB/CB) #5 - Cruised for 202 yards on only 13 totes and 2 TDs in the Clipper's 69-0 dismantling of 11-Man newcomer Shelby/Rising City. Malcolm had 572 yards total offense as Redler improved his season rushing total to 695. Malcolm is now 7-0 and 8th in the C-2 wild card standings with road games left at Fillmore Central and Thayer Central.

*Columbus Scotus Defense - The 'Rock's rock solid "D" recovered 3 fumbles and picked off 4 Wahoo passes in a 45-10 win over the Warriors. Junior RB Baeley Pelster ran for 104 yards and a 3 yard TD while tough Jake Bos added 103 more with scoring runs of 6, 16, and 21 yards in the win. This Scotus team will be a major player in the C-1 playoff picture.

*J J Oltmer-Humphrey St. Francis - In an 84-42 win against Osceola, Oltmer battered the Bulldog defense for 322 yards on 23 carries. Osceola's Luke Erickson wasn't too shabby himself, running for 173 yards and 3 Tds. Oltmer is headed for his 3rd 1000 yard season for the Flyers.