Week Ten Friday Night Lights Playoff Heroes - Part 3

*Quentin Moles (RB) - Bloomfield - It took only 14 carries for the king of 8-Man running backs to break loose for 352 yards and 8 touchdowns in the Bees stinging 76-6 win over Exeter-Milligan. The eight touchdown explosion ties the 8-Man single game touchdown record.

Moles scoring sprints came on runs of 4, 73, 32, 18, 22, 66, 44, 42 yards. That raises Quentin Moles 2017 rushing total to 2,244 yards with 40 touchdowns. The senior star has rushed for 670 yards and 13 TDs in the last two games alone.

In his 40 game career, which is still in progress, Moles has rushed for 5,496 yards on 610 carries (9.0/per) and 87 touchdowns, averaging 137.4 yards rushing per contest.

Bloomfield (9-0) will host Randolph Wednesday in round two of the Class D-2 playoffs. The Bees defeated Randolph 48-12 back on September 8th.

*Dylan Plautz (QB) to Caleb Schweigart (WR), Sam Parsonage (RB), Jaden Kohls (RB) - Omaha Westside - The 43-39 Omaha Westside win over Lincoln Pius X taught us two things. 1). If you were you were faint of heart, you probably shouldn’t have been there and, 2). Lincoln Pius X can play football with anybody in the Class A ranks.

Trailing 33-28 with just 2:48 left in this baby, the Warriors pulled some Brett Froendt magic, scoring twice during a two minute span. Following Chris Cassady’s 5 yard TD run that put the Bolts up 33-28, Westside fashioned a 7 play, 68 yard scoring drive that consumed only one minute, 55 seconds.

An 8 yard Dylan Pautz to Caleb Schweigart touchdown pass lifted the Warriors back on top of the Thunderbolts, 36-33. That left a minute, 3 seconds on the clock for Pius X to answer the call, but Westside’s Joseph Stegman took care of that on the Thunderbolts next play from scrimmage.

Stegman picked off backup QB Thomas Robertson’s pass at the Pius X 48 yard line and the Warriors Jordan Kohls ran 48 yards for the clinching score on the next snap.

Westside quarterback, Dylan Plautz ended the night with 17 of 27 passing for 204 yards and TD passes of 8 and 30 yards to Schweigart. Kohls was held to 105 yards on 12 carries, but had touchdown dashes of 9 and 48 yards. But where does Sam Parsonage fit in here?

Well, on that 68 yard scoring drive, Parsonage, who had only 263 yards rushing yards coming in, carried the ball 5 of the 7 plays, ripping off 34 of the 68 yards gained on the critical drive. Parsonage also caught a 47 yard TD pass from Plautz that gave Westside a 28-24 lead late in the 3rd quarter.

10 game stats; Dylan Plautz - 2,561 yards, 27 TDs, 9 INTs, Jordan Kohls - 1,038 yards rushing and 14 TDs, plus 38 receptions for 665 yards and 10 TDs. Caleb Schweigart has 62 receptions for 701 yards, 9 TDs for the year.

#6 seed Omaha Westside (8-2) travels to #1 seed Kearney (10-0) for a Class A quarterfinal game this Friday in what should be one of Class A’s top games of 2017.

***1000 Yard Rusher Alert***

*Gentry Anderson (QB) - Arapahoe - 270 yards on 29 carries and 3 touchdowns in Arapahoe’s painful 58-50 overtime loss to Giltner in the opening round of the Class D-2 playoffs.

The dual-threat Anderson, one of 8-Man football’s very best players, completes his 2017 season with 1,125 rushing yards (20 TDs) and 760 yards passing yards with 9 TDs with only one interception.

The 3 year starter now has career totals of 3,201 rushing yards (48 TDs), 2,362 passing yards (36 TDs), 131 tackles, and staggering 5,835 Total Yards gained.

*Landon Lenz (RB) - Medicine Valley - Ran through the Cambridge defense for 268 yards on 25 carries and touchdowns runs of 38, 5, 32 and 62 yards, in the Raiders 42-20 win over the Trojans.

Lenz, twice a 1000 yard rusher, has scooted for 1,450 yards and 26 TDs in 9 games. The elusive senior, who dresses out at only 5-7 and 147 pounds, is very quick off the ball, possesses great open field speed, and has an incredibly long stride for being so short in stature.

Landon is also a nice defensive player, logging 32 stops this season, to go along with 4 interceptions.

Medicine Valley will be at home Wednesday afternoon, hosting a 2nd round D-2 playoff game with Hemingford. The Raiders and 8-2 Bobcats kick it off at 4:00 CDT in Curtis.

*Gavin Avery (RB), Wyatt Ehlers (QB) - Centennial - Avery ran 17 times for 85 yards and scored 3 touchdowns covering 15, 1 and 49 yards in Centennial’s 28-13 win over Logan View.

All-State candidate Wyatt Ehlers added 89 yards on 15 touches and a 1 yard scoring blast, and completed 9 of 18 throws for 179 yards. Ehlers has hit 56% of his 222 passes for 1,723 yards and 21 TDs with only 6 INTs for the undefeated Broncos this year, while Gavin Avery has 889 rushing yards with 11 scores.

Centennial heads to Central City this Friday for a rematch with the Bison. The Broncos won the first meeting on opening night 2017 by a 27-13 count after leading only 20-14 entering the 4th quarter.

*Jared Minnick (RB) - West Point Guardian Angels CC - Much like Fairbury’s Jacob Johnson, Minnick was knocked out of the game with Pender in the first quarter, suffering from a concussion, according the information I received.

GACC went on to lose the game 52-50, but Minnick had already rushed for 117 yards on just 5 totes when he was forced to leave the fray. The punishing 6-0, 185 pound junior ended his 2017 season with 1,669 yards and 32 TDs. Jared was also a crunching tackler from his middle linebacker position, where he made 63 stops, ten of those coming behind the opponent's line of scrimmage.

Jared Minnick has already rushed for 3,068 yards and 50 touchdowns in 28 varsity games for GACC, with a year of eligibility to go. Coach Dave Ridder, who just completed his 14th season at the West Point parochial school, has produced so many blue ribbon, powerful 1000 yard running backs, that would make you swear there’s something in the water fountains up there at Guardian Angels CC high school.

Jared Minnick, along with Tanner Hass, and Nate Hass, are two-time 1000 yard rushers, but names like Cody Stelp and Chris Strehle preceded Minnick in that Bluejay backfield back in the day and are just part of the rich tradition at that institution.

*Ty Martinsen (RB/MLB) - Riverside - The 5-10, 195 pound Martinsen put on a brief clinic in the Chargers 79-0 playoff win over Hyannis. The junior standout completed 4 of 4 passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns and rushed the ball 9 times for an additional 209 yards and 6 more scores.

That raises Martinsen’s totals to fantasy-like numbers, despite spending most of every game watching from the sidelines after his team is ahead by a gazillion points and not running up the score.

Thus far, Martinsen has carried the football only 67 times for 1,387 yards and 26 TDs. That’s 20.7 yards a pop. He has also completed 35 of 45 passes for 881 yards and 22 TDs.

Coach Joey Imus Riverside team, who has lost only once in it’s existence, will travel to Hay Springs Friday to face the Hawks in a 2:30 MDT kickoff.

*Jordan Kelber (QB), Badger Defense - Valentine - Poised senior quarterback led the offense in the 19-16 win over Sutton. Kelber connected on 13 of 20 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns. The 5-8, 140 pound senior also rushed for 31 yards on 8 carries and added the crucial third score in the tight contest.

Jordan Kelber has hit 56% of his 165 passes this fall for 1,494 yards and 18 TDs. Kelber is very mobile in that Valentine backfield and able to throw on the run very well and most importantly, is a genuine team leader.

And that Valentine defense….good grief! They held Sutton’s Chandler Stone, a 1,399 yard rusher, to just 23 yards on 11 carries, although Valentine’s stats indicate a minus 11 yards. Anyway, that vicious Badger “D” stuffed Sutton to the tune of 27 rushing yards and 192 total yards for the game.

Valentine will now travel to Yutan Friday for a game that should be one of Class C-2’ most brutal defensive battles of the year…...aka slobberknocker.

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

*Jack Rush (QB) - South Loup - Didn’t “jack” around in South Loup’s 48-22 win over a good Dundy County/Stratton team. The long striding, 6-4, 175 pound Rush exploded for 294 yards on 25 carries and 6 touchdowns in the win. His TD runs covered 1, 1, 7, 12, 76 and 10 yards.

Jack Rush also made 8 tackles and pirated 2 Dundy passes, just a portion of the eight interceptions South Loup had in the game. In case you missed it,South Loupis a very good football team, folks.

*Drew Bippes (QB) - Falls City Sacred Heart - His three TD passes in the 1st quarter kick started the Irish to a 48-22 playoff win over Lincoln Parkview Christian. Ryker Hoy (35, 8 yards) caught two of Bippes scoring throws.

*Edwin Baptista (RB), Kolby Houlden (RB) - Friend - The running duo was certainly “unfriendly” to visiting Allen last Thursday in the opening round of the D-1 playoffs.

During the 52-12 win over the Eagles, Houlden darted for 135 yards on 21 carries and 3 scores, while Baptista rushed 27 times for 123 yards and 3 touchdowns. Baptista added 9 tackles on defense for the Bulldogs. Houlden wasn’t far behind with 5 stops.

Friend will host Wynot Wednesday at 4:00.

*Blake McCormick (RB), Nic Koppman (RB) - Garden County - McCormick ran for 135 yards on 15 totes and touchdown in Garden’s 56-0 trouncing of Wallace. In addition to his 27 yard TD dash, McCormick also hauled in a 50 yard pass for a score.

Koppman rushed for 121 yards on 13 carries and 3 TDs in the game, increasing his 2017 rushing numbers to 1,224 yards (15 TDs). McCormick is now at 1,135 yards (16 TDs) for the year.

*Cole Schadel (QB) - Lincoln Lutheran - Threw two touchdown passes, rushed for two more, and scored a third on an electrifying 85 yard kickoff return in the Warriors convincing 35-0 road win over North Platte St. Pats.

The 6-0, 160 pound senior has now been accurate on 106 of his 180 passes (59%) for 1,589 yards and 21 TDs.

The win sets up a home game for Lincoln Lutheran (8-2) in the Class C-2 quarterfinals with unbeaten Arcadia/Loup City. Game time is set for 6:30 at Seacrest Field in Lincoln.

*Kyle Richert (QB), Ben Riegsecker (RB) - Nebraska (Waco) Lutheran - Who sez small guys can’t play football? The 5-5, 130 Richert, who is the Knights quarterback, ran the football 7 times for 125 yards and 4 touchdowns in their 68-18 win over Thayer Central.

Richert scored on runs of 1, 15 and 38 yards and added a 4th tally on a 53 yard punt return. He also completed one of his three passes, the one completion good for a 46 yard TD. The senior QB has now run for 1,109 yards and 21 TDs so far in 2017.

Ben Riegsecker, a 5-10, 185 pound senior, added 111 yards on 10 carries and scored on runs of 3 and 40 yards. The burly Riegsecker now has 961 yards rushing for the season and is beast defensively, recording 91 tackles to date.

Nebraska Lutheran has 2nd round home rematch Wednesday with East Butler. The game has been moved to Shelby’s new artificial turf facility because of poor field conditions in Waco. Bravo to Nebraska Lutheran for making this move.

*Lucas Thingstad (RB) - Wynot - 5-11, 170 pound senior QB ripped Wausa for 198 yards on 23 carries and two TDs in the Blue Devils 50-20 win over Wausa. Thingstad has now scooted for 1,374 yards and 20 touchdowns in 9 games this fall. Throw in 79 tackles, 3 recovered fumbles and a blocked punt on defense and you have a pretty salty 8-Man football player here.

*Alex Goracke (QB) - Giltner - 6-0, 210 pound physical specimen completed 25 of 44 passes for 325 yards and 4 touchdowns in the Hornets incredible 58-50 overtime win in Arapahoe.

The senior, who has thrown for 1,769 yards and 29 TDs in 2017, as rushed 12 times for 5 yards and made 15 tackles on defense.

Alex Goracke, a three year starter at QB, has completed 56% of his 649 throws for 5,118 yards, 73 touchdowns and just 11 INTs. This season alone, Goracke has only had one pass picked off in 229 attempts. In fact, in his last 452 pass attempts, he has only 5 interceptions to compare against his 52 throws.

Alex Goracke could play on my team…...if coached one.