Week 5 Friday Night Prep Football Heroes - Part III

Riverside's Noah Valasek (#28) is off and running on a jet sweep against Spalding Academy in last seasons 6-Man State Championship game.

Week 5 Friday Night Prep Football Heroes - Part III

by Bobby Mills (1000 Yard Guy)

Once again, an overflow of shining stars to salute this week. I just love these Part III segments. You always dig a little deeper and find some young man that should have been obvious, but was overlooked. Shame on me for that, but better late than never.

....Awaaaay, we go!

*Trent Roth and Trey Shanks-Columbus Lakeview - Combined to make the running game a nightmare for North Bend, and at the home of the Tigers to boot. The 5-9, 160 pound Roth zipped for 178 yards on a miniscule 13 carries and strangely, did not score. The dude must have had some long gains but just could not punch one in. Trey Shanks, the big 5-11, 180 pound senior who missed most of last season with an injury, added 148 yards on 14 touches, scoring TDs on runs of 8, 52, and 14 yards in the Vikings 41-15 win. Quarterback Dylan Johnson chipped in 63 yards and two TDs (1, 4 Runs) in a game that saw Lakeview leading only 13-7 at halftime.

The Vikings front line of Connor Wurdeman, Cole Tessendorf, Derek Smith, Caleb Franzen, Trevor Schultz, and tight end Austin Foltz, cleared the way for Lakeview's monstrous 448 rushing yards on only 50 carries. Coach Kurt Frenzen's Vikings are improving with every outing.

*Dillon Ruelas-Waverly - 6-3, 195 pound junior quarterback continued his streak of 200+ passing games by throwing for 209 yards and a TD in the Vikings heartbreaking 17-15 loss to Bennington. Ruelas has been on target with 57% of his 170 passes for 1,487 yards and 16 touchdowns with only 5 interceptions. Waverly can also run the ball with efficiency too, with 5-11, 190 pound senior Justin Lawrence already rushing for 543 yards and 5 scores this season.

*Thomas Spilinek-Arcadia/Loup City - 175 pound fullback blitzed Twin River for 194 yards on 24 carries and scored 2 touchdowns in the Rebels 34-8 win over the Titans. One of Spilineks touchdowns was an 80 yarder. The former lineman is only one yard away from reaching the coveted 1000 yard plateau and will have a stern task this week when he and the Rebels run into powerful Gibbon and their stingy defense. Arcadia/Loup City's only loss in 6 games is a 14-7 squeaker to unbeaten Atkinson West Holt team.

*Triston Anderson-Omaha South - It had been a skinny two weeks as far as rushing stats go for the Packer's junior running back. But a little road trip to Columbus took care of that. After rushing for only 32 yards the past 2 games, Anderson exploded for 209 yards on 30 carries and a touchdown in South's 39-22 win over the Discoverers. Anderson finally hit paydirt from 5 yards out to give the Packers that 39-22 lead.

The passing game was definitely in full steam ahead mode with QB Makoor Arop connecting on 17 of his 23 passes for a staggering 320 yards and 4 touchdowns. That puts Arop at 1,075 yards passing after 6 games. Iowa commit Noah Fant grabbed 9 of Arop's throws for 203 yards and 3 TD receptions (88, 23, 9 yard TDs). That's 497 yards for Fant this year.

A couple of Omaha South defenders had a good night against Columbus too. Middle linebacker Kevin Lee had 12 tackles, and another MLB, Vonteese Tucker made 11 stops. Both seniors had a tackle for loss in the road win.

*Chad Letchtenberg-Papillion LaVista - Was held to under a hundred yards passing for the first time in Papio's 20-19 win over Lincoln SW. The 6-1, 190 senior didn't even seem to be on the immediate radar prior to the season, but has "quietly" thrown for 1,305 yards and 11 touchdowns, while completing 111 of those 196 aerials. After opening 2015 with losses to Creighton Prep, Omaha Central, and Papillion LaVista South (a combined 14-4), 1st year Head Coach Randy Huebert's Monarchs have ripped off three straight "W"s. This Lechtenberg lad is a fine quarterback, as witnessed by his 57% completion rate.

Columbus Scotus Rushing Game and Defense - 10 different players carried the football and were part of a 314 yard rushing night in the 'Rocks 44-0 beating of Wahoo Neumann. It was the first time in three years the Cavs had suffered a shutout. Elusive RB Baeley Pelster led the ground assault with 95 yards on 11 carries and a 16 yard TD run. Jake "The Boss" Bos also had 11 carries and added 79 yards. Tanner Spenceri only carried twice in the route, but both were for scores (24, 4 Runs). This Scotus team just keeps gaining steam week by week and I'm seriously thinking this former Bonnie may be standing on the floor of Memorial Stadium in late November watching this group play for all the marbles.

No worries coaches, I won't jinx you by standing on that Shamrock sideline.

*Cole Spady-Adams Central - Had only one catch in the 14-7 win at Alliance last Friday, but leads Class B in receiving yards with 659 yards and 8 TDs. This dude is 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs next to nothing, checking in at 165 pounds. The slender wide receiver has had games of 157, 159, and 196 receiving yards this fall and is averaging 18.3 yards every time he runs under a Breckon Reed pass.

*Jacob Simonson-G.I. Heartland Lutheran - Chew on this. Simonson's team has suffered losses of 56-20, 74-40, and 80-38 the past 3 weeks, yet the sharpshooting QB has completed 67 of his 124 passes for 876 yards and 10 TDs. For the season, Simonson has been on target with 59% of his 171 passes for 1,551 yards and 20 touchdowns, while suffering only 5 picks. Jacob leads all of 8-Man football in the passing department.

Simonson's favorite target is 6-4, 165 pound Devin Hueftle, who has hauled in 24 catches for 420 yards and 8 scores. Hueftle has also made 33 tackles on defense, intercepted 3 passes and recovered 2 fumbles. Head Coach Preston Gehle is doing a pretty darn good job with this bunch despite the losses.

*Silver Lake 6-Man Football Team - How do you smack a previously unbeaten team 88-6? Head Coach Duane Arnett says it's his Defense that creates opportunities for the Mustang's offense to post those video game numbers on the offensive side of the ball. That Silver Lake offense has averaged.....averaged....73 points a game the past three weeks. In five games this fall, the Mustangs have outscored their opponents 369 to 50. And consider the fact Spalding Academy scored 37 on them the 1st game.

Unbeaten and #3 ranked Wilcox-Hildreth was held to 4 yards of total offense last week in that 88-6 loss. Sophomore Mark Thurston had 15 tackles, junior Skyler Ericsson and senior Quentin Journey each chipped in 10. Journey also ran 15 times for 132 yards and 4 TDs in the route.

Thus far, Quentin Journey leads the team with 673 yards and 20 touchdowns. QB Skyler Ericsson has had to throw only 33 times, completing 19 of those for 375 yards a 7 scores. Strangely enough, the defense has only logged 2 interceptions, but has recovered 7 fumbles and blocked a punt. But here is where the staggering, mind-boggling defensive statistics come into play. Check this out.....

5-9, 185 sophomore Mark Thurston leads the team in tackles with 52, but 20 of those tackles are for losses. Quentin Journey is next with 47 stops, 25 of those for losses. Next up is Skyler Ericsson with 38 tackles, 11 for losses. Thus far, after only 5 games, the Silver Lake defense has recorded 61 tackles for losses of yardage.....Sixty One! Fairy tale? Not in the least bit. They run around a bunch behind the line of scrimmage in 6-Man football waiting for an open receiver or a hole to develop for a run. I clocked one play earlier in the year that saw a Hyannis play chew up 19 seconds. The result? An incomplete pass.

This week Silver Lake faces another unbeaten team when Wauneta-Palisade comes to town.....Bladen that is.

*Hunter Fischer-Hastings St. Cecilia - Carried the ball only 9 times in the Bluehawks 54-13 win over Southern Valley, but accumulated 174 yards and 2 TDs. The outstanding senior also caught 3 passes for 76 yards and a third score. Teammate Dayton Sealey touched the ball only 6 times, but also surpassed the century mark, gaining 102 yards. Sealey also scored twice on the ground.

*Quick Hits...............

*Bradley Bunner-Clarkson-Leigh - Ran for 128 yards on 18 carries against an awful tough Fullerton defense last Friday. Bunner scored on an 18 yard run in the Patriots big 52-26 win. Clarkson-Leigh is a perfect 6-0 this season.

*Ryan McKeeman-Maxwell - Came up big in the Wildcats big 34-28 victory over rival Brady. McKeeman ran 30 times for 156 yards and 3 touchdowns in the win, increasing his season total to 811 yards ( 14 TDs)

*Tanner Hass-West Point Guardian Angels CC - Toted the football only 11 times in WPGACC's 74-16 pasting of Scribner-Snyder but ran for 198 yards four TDS. Thus far Hass has rushed for 890 yards (16 TDs) and will have ample opportunities in the postseason to add to those rushing stats.

*Noah Valasek-Riverside - Averaged 21.9 yards a carry on his 9 touches in the Chargers 82-19 six man win over Deshler. The junior RB's 197 yards and 3 scores in the game swelled his season rushing total to 782 yards and 15 touchdowns. Who in the world can prevent this Joey Imus team from winning a 2nd straight 6-Man State Championship? For his age, young Imus may just be the best football AND basketball coach in the entire state. The dude could coach anywhere.

*Brayden Olson-St. Edward - 28 carries, 185 yards and Five TDs in the Beavers 58-33 win over a rated Walthill team. The fleet-footed junior now has 747 yards and 15 touchdowns for the season. The only loss thus far in 2015 for the Beavers has been to #1 Riverside. I wonder if young Olson has watched old films of Don Baker to study that sweet running style....or Donnie Baker.....or Woody Baker. Can't go wrong with any of those famous names.

*Tanner Gideon-Gibbon - Pulled off some might sweet moves on his 9 carries for 109 yards in the Buffaloes 64-0 win over Centura last Thursday. He ran like smoke through a keyhole on a 37 yard touchdown run. Awful pretty TD jaunt. Tanner has 775 yards in 2015.

*Drake Gilliland-Mitchell - Keep an eye on Drew Gilliland's little bro. Drake ran for 124 yards on 15 carries and scored a TD in the Tigers 27-15 win over Chadron. The sophomore has 580 yards this season.

*Trenton Harbour-Stapleton - I'm going to go out on a limb and this guy is probably the leading Freshman rusher in the state with his 485 yards on just 60 carries. The lad is a monster at 6-2, 195 pounds, if that is correct. Stapleton is very undermanned this season, but in a wild 68-66 loss to South Platte 2 weeks ago, Harbour rushed 24 times for 334 yards and 6 touchdowns.

*Brook Svoboda-Sandy Creek - Good Lord, what does kid bench press, 900 pounds?

The 5-11, 215 pound senior is the meanest motor scooter in Class C-2 football and simply a tackling machine. When I tell you he's made 106 tackles in 6 games, you'd better believe it! Svoboda's lateral movement is incredible and his nose for the football is uncanny. 11 tackles behind the line of scrimmage and 4 sacks to go along with it, if I was a ball carrier, I would pray the dude didn't see me take the handoff.

Good grief, what a player. This guy has removed a helmet on more than one tackle this season. Wow! My advice to any running back playing against Sandy Creek? Avoid #28 at all costs.