Week Nine Friday Night Lights football Heroes - Part 2

Gretna's Joe Johnson (#31, far right) is the ring leader for the Dragons powerful defense. *(photo by Bobby Mills)

*Gretna Defense* - Been preaching this bunch all season and their excellence showed in their 24-14 win over two-time defending champion Elkhorn South.

All-State LB candidate Joe Johnson (6-3, 220) (#31) was a monster in that marquee win, making 18 tackles. That’s 34 stops the past two games for Johnson. #35-Caloway Soucek (6-0, 225) added 14 tackles, #58-Connor Fee (6-1, 240) chipped in 13 stops and #18-Morgan Bartman (6-6, 240) has 12 tackles, 3 of which were sacks on Storm QB Cole Hanifan.

The Dragons defense also held Moses Bryant to a hard earned 84 yards on 22 carries.

The difference in the game however, may have been Gretna’s recovering of two bobbled punt snaps by Elkhorn South’s punter. Was the snap from center good on those plays? Dunno, but the fact remains, Gretna pounced on the loose football, recovered it and converted both into crucial scores.

Now, before we get too excited, Gretna held Elkhorn South to 259 total yards. But, that Elkhorn South defense only allowed Gretna 256 yards of total offense.

Conclusion; turnovers played a huge role in this football matchup of Class B kingpins. If the two should meet again, expect the same result. Special teams turnovers, the difference.

In my many, many years of watching Nebraska prep football, when two high school football teams with this much deep talent lock horns, it’s the breaks (turnovers etc.) that decide the outcome. Stay tuned.

*Gretna offense* - Aw cmon, you didn’t think I’d forget these guys did you? Dragons quarterback Quinn Mason and his favorite wide receiver Noah Burghardt, teamed up for two critical pass/catch scores in Gretna’s 24-14 win over Elkhorn South last Thursday before a beautiful, electric packed house in beautiful Gretna. Those touchdowns covered 42 and 24 yards.

The Gretna offense goes through swift running back Tanner Tierney, whose blinding speed and shifty moves have propelled the 5-11, 180 senior to 1,330 yards and 13 TDs this regular season.

Field general, Quinn Mason is 37 of 76 passing for 693 yards and 11 TDs and has added 212 yards rushing and a score. Mason’s absolute favorite target is Burghardt, who has run under 16 of Quinn’s throws for 383 yards and 6 TDs. Burghardt means business when he catches a pass, averaging nearly 24 yards a reception. That’s quite an average for Class B.

If it’s place kicking perfection you’re seeking, Gretna’s Kortlan Franke would be your man. The 5-11, 160 senior is 44 for 44 on PAT boots and 5 for 5 on field goal attempts, with a longest kick of 40 yards. Franke also does the kickoff honors for super coach Dave Schrader’s Dragons.

#21, Caden Opfer is the Gretna return threat for 2017, having compiled 371 yards on punt and kickoff returns. The 160 pound junior has already taken a kickoff to the house against Blair.

***5,000 Yard Career Rusher Alert***

*Quentin Moles (RB) - Bloomfield - Charged for 318 yards on just 18 totes in the Bees 74-20 romp over Stuart. The lightning quick senior back scored 5 touchdowns in the win.

Moles ends the 2017 season with 1,892 yards and 30 touchdowns. Last year, Quentin led all of 8-Man football with his 2,511 rushing yards and 34 scores. As a sophomore, the amazing Moles rushed for 591 yards and 9 TDs.

So, you add all those mind-boggling rushing numbers together and you come up with 5,114 Career Yards and 77 TDs in just 39 games.

Bloomfield will be seeded #1 in the East bracket of Class D-2 and will face a 3-5 Exeter-Milligan team on Thursday. The Bees could have a potential roadblock with Humphrey St. Francis lurking a couple of games down the road, if they can advance that far.

*Jordan Kohls (RB) - Omaha Westside - In the Warriors 38-7 win up in Norfolk, the Dual-Threat Kohls escaped for 196 yards on 19 carries and caught 4 passes for 65 yards and a TD.

Kohls regular season stats are really impressive. The 6-2, 185 pound senior has rushed for 933 yards/12 TDs, reeled in 35 pass receptions for 643 yards and another 10 TDs. Jordan has also returned 11 kicks for 470 yards and has taken two of those to the house.

Westside QB Dylan Plautz trails only Lincoln High’s Cedric Case and Bellevue West’s Joe Dolincheck in passing yards, having completed 64% of his 254 throws for 2,357 yards and 25 TDs with only 5 picks.

Dylan’s favorite target is obviously All-State WR Caleb Schweigart, who has 54 catches for 610 yards and 7 TDs.

**1000 Yard Rusher Alert**

*Gabe Conant (RB) - Adams Central - 5-10, 155 Sophomore running back exploded for 191 yards on 34 carries and 2 TDs in the Patriots 41-21 loss to Columbus Scotus. Neither team made the C-1 playoffs but coach Shawn Mulligan’s Adams Central group is a rapidly rising football team who will be heard from the next several seasons in that C-1 class.

The elusive, quick-footed Conant concluded the year with 1,052 yards and 6 TDs in 8 games.

*Rhett Jordan (QB) - Waverly - Junior QB came up big in the Vikings 36-34 overtime victory over Crete. The dual-threat Jordan ran 18 times for 94 yards and three touchdowns (6, 5 and 8 yard runs) and completed 9 of 14 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown.

That’s only half the story here. Waverly, who trailed 21-7 at halftime to the Cardinals, needed a two point conversion to send the game into overtime. Rhett Jordan did just that. He then scored on an 8 yard run in that OT period and hit Alex Murray with the two-point conversion pass to win the game.

Rhett Jordan has put together a solid 2017 regular season, rushing the ball for 776 yards and 12 TDs, passing for another 669 yards and 10 scores, and not fumbling once in all those snaps, carries and throws.

Waverly (6-3) enters the Class B playoff field as the #12 seed and must travel to McCook to face the 8-1 Bison.

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

*Cameron Downey (RB) - Anselmo-Merna - The 140 pound senior back ran for a career high 293 yards on 38 carries and 8 TDs in a wild 90-48 victory over Maxwell. Downey’s touchdown runs came from 65, 2, 5, 6, 9, 7 and 65 yards out plus a 38 yard punt return score.

The Coyotes will miss the D-2 playoffs with a 3-5 record, but Cameron Downey will conclude his senior campaign with 1,327 yards (20 TDs), and 393 receiving yards (2 TDs) on offense. That also lifts Cameron above the 3,000 yard career rushing plateau, with 3,074 yards.

On defense, Downey logged 67 tackles, intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble in 2017.

*Wahoo “D” - The “Gretna” of Class C-1 as far a defense s concerned. The staunch Warrior defense allowed only 231 yards to rival Wahoo Neumann in their hard fought 13-0 win last week. Wahoo’s defense has given up an average of only 176.6 yards a game in 2017. Those numbers are going to take the pressure of your offense and win you a bunch of football games, friends.

Wahoo’s only loss was to #1 Norfolk Catholic 24-19, back on September 8th. Sam Kolterman, Tucker Hancock, Billy Hancock, Brandon Swahn, Kole Bordovsky, Bret Walker, Jack Sutton and Dylan Egr make up a portion of this stellar Warrior “D”.

Incidentally, Dylan Egr went over the 1000 yard rushing mark for the 2nd straight season, compiling 1,053 yards and 20 TDs during this 2017 regular season.

Wahoo earns the number 4 seed in Class C-1 and will host a 7-2 Kearney Catholic team that eliminated them from the playoffs a year ago.

*Jacob Tracy (RB/LB) - Gibbon - Rushed for 193 yards on 29 carries in a losing cause last week. Tracy also made 7 stops in the Buffs 20-6 loss to Hastings St. Cecilia.

Tracy, who ran for 1,312 yards in 2016, finished the 2017 year with 1,268 yards (12 TDs) and has 78 tackles with 3 recovered fumbles on defense. The 5-9, 170 pound whiz ended his great career for super coach Mark McLaughlin, by compiling some high profile rushing and tackling numbers.

Tracy ran for 3,414 yards and 36 TDs during his 4 year Gibbon career, and had 226 total tackles (138 solos), which included 11.5 tackles for losses.

Amazing talent.

**1000 Yard Rusher Alert**

*Dylan Horejsi (RB) - Howells-Dodge - The 5-11, 170 pound junior ran for 211 yards on 28 touches and 3 TDs in the Jaguars 42-20 win over rival Clarkson-Leigh. That put Horejsi right smack dab on the 1000 yard rushing mark for the season.

The milestone was especially sweet for Dylan because he rushed for 836 yards last season as a sophomore, while playing in only 6 games for veteran, super coach Mike Spiers. Horejsi missed nearly a month of football from August 26th to September 23rd last season, then again from October 14th until Howells-Dodge last playoff game against Nebraska City Lourdes on November 2nd.

Howells-Dodge cruised through the 2017 regular season with an 8-0 record, good enough to earn a #2 seed in the D-1 East bracket. And wouldn’t you know it, the Jags play 3-5 Clarkson-Leigh again right off the bat.

*Matt Strecker (RB) - Columbus Scotus - The Shamrock RB saved his best game for the end of his career. In the Rocks 41-21 win over Adams Central, the splendid senior ran for 159 yards and 3 touchdowns. Matt’s touchdowns came on runs of 1, 62 and 4 yards away.

Strecker’s 62 yard scoring journey was a tackle-shedding thing of beauty too. You could almost see proud papa, Don Strecker nodding his head in approval in the Scotus stands.

**1000 Yard Rusher Alert**

*Levi Krueger (RB/LB) - Boone Central/Newman Grove - 5-9, 200 pound senior crashed over the 1000 yard rushing mark with 108-16 carries and two touchdowns in the Cardinals 43-0 win over GICC.

The hard nosed Krueger also had a TD reception in the game and increased his rushing total to 1,035 yards for the season. Boone Central/NG now has a pair of 1000 yard rushers and a 1000 yard passer entering the playoffs.

Krueger is also a fine linebacker, logging 35 tackles in 8 games. 7.5 of those were for a loss. Levi has also pirated 3 passes and recovered a fumble for the 7-2 Cardinals.

Boone Central/NG draws the No. 6 seed in the Class C-1 playoffs which begin Friday. The Cardinals host 8-1 Auburn in a 7:00 kickoff at their beautiful facility in Albion.

**1000 Yard Rusher Alert**

*Josh Bailey (RB) - Johnson County Central - His 136 yards on 25 carries and 2 TDs in the Thunderbirds 30-15 loss to Malcolm, vaulted the 5-10, 210 pound junior blockbuster over the 1000 yard mark in 2017.

Bailey ended the year with 1,106 yards for 4-5 Johnson County Central.

*Emmet Kirkendall - Falls City - Had 13 tackles, a recovered fumble and 3.5 tackles for losses, which included a quarterback sack in the Tigers season ending 27-14 win over Syracuse.

**1000 Yard Rusher Alert**

*Ty Martinsen (ATH) - Riverside - 6-Man’s most versatile player rushed for 203 yards on 13 carries and 4 touchdowns in the Chargers 68-12 win over rival Spalding Academy. Martinsen also completed 4 of 8 passes for 73 yards and 2 TDs, made 8 tackles on defense, and had a Pick 6 in the contest.

Better sit down for this. In 2017, Ty Martinsen has rushed only 58 times, but gained 1,181 yards. That’s 20.4 yards a pop with 20 touchdowns. That means every 3rd touch goes for a score. The junior star has also completed 31 of his 41 pass attempts (76%) for 767 yards and 20 scores with only 2 INTs.

On defense, Martinsen has made 68 tackles in limited field time, intercepted 4 passes, and recovered three fumbles. Ty has also booted 6 of 9 PATs, which are worth two points in 6-Man football, and scored 138 total points in 7 games.

So strong is one-of-a-kind head coach Joey Imus’ Riverside team, they often times drop nobody back when their opponent punts the football. Just a courtesy move, folks.

**1000 Yard Rusher/1000 Yard Passer Alert**

*Jack Rush (QB/ATH) - South Loup - 6-4 quarterback ran 22 times for 121 yards and a TD, and completed 7 of 15 passes for 170 yards and 3 more scores in South Loup’s 47-20 win over a very good Elm Creek football team.

In 2017 alone, Rush has compiled