Week Two Friday Night Lights Football Heroes - Part 3

Eustis-Farnam's Christian Timm (pictured here) exploded for 510 yards on 52 carries in a 72-61 win over South Platte. *(photo courtesy of Bryan Fangmeyer)

Friday Night Lights football Heroes. Wish they had this when I played. So many deserving players back in my day. I may have to do a retro version of this in the near future, but for now…………...Part 3………...2018

***Pending State 6-Man Single Game Rushing Record***

*Christian Timm - Eustis-Farnam - Better be sitting for this one. This dude has to be one of 6-Man football’s best players...period. A week ago, the 5-10, 190 pound senior opened the season by rushing for 382 yards and 9 TDs and six PAT kicks (2 points each) and 62 total points in Eustis-Farnum’s 69-39 win over Creek Valley. Last week things got a little tighter for the Knights in their 72-61 victory over South Platte, so Coach Bryan Fangmeyer had to “lean” on Christian a bit more. And the result….

*510 yards on 33 carries and 8 TDs.* The 510 yards are a new 6-Man single game rushing record (pending), eclipsing the old record of 494, set by Gabe Haney of Hyannis against Arthur County in 2015.

After just two games, Christian Timm has rushed for 892 yards and 15 rushing touchdowns, 17 total. His rushing TD runs have covered 63, 9, 63, 68, 27, 45, 23, 47. 56, 14, 14, 53, 44, 60 and 3 yards.

Last season, Eustis-Farnam won only two games all season, losing 6. Despite that fact, Timm rushed for 1,346 yards (15 TDs), caught 9 passes for 231 yards and 2 TDs, compiled 546 yards on kick returns (2 TDs), and another 32 on punt returns. On defense, the Eustis-Farnam star made 86 tackles (47 solos), intercepted 7 passes, recovered 4 fumbles, returned one fumble for a TD and scored another on a Pick 6.

Christian also averaged 40 yards on 6 punts, averaged 39 yards each on 3 kick-offs. He ended the year with 2,323 total yards and 21 TDs and I’m not going to tell you he drove the bus, laundered the team jerseys and provided the food after away games, but the bottom line…...Christian Timm is an amazing football player and will be a 1000 yard rusher after just 3 games.

*Keaton Van Housen - Osceola/High Plains - Holy Mole Guacamole, did Keaton Van Housen and his teammates ever pull off a good one last Friday in Fullerton against a terrific Ryan Haughton coached Warrior football team.

Down 20-0 with 10:03 left in the 2nd quarter, the Stormdogs fought back to take a 28-20 in the 3rd frame and kept using their depth to finally wear down a determined Fullerton squad, 44-32. It was four straight Keaton Van Housen touchdown runs, buoyed by some serious Osceola/High Plains blocking that gave the Stormdogs the lead…..temporarily.

Fullerton fought until the end, but Van Housen and friends finally prevailed. The 5-10, 180 pound junior concluded the evening with 281 yards on 24 carries and 6 TDs. Keaton’s scoring runs came from 15, 2, 49, 53, 37 and 2 yards out. We cannot end things here because every coach, player and serious fan knows that Keaton Van Housen could not have racked up those stats without some sweet blocking…..and let me tell you, those boys from Osceola/High Plains know how to run and pass block. Big Time.

Here are just a few of those Stormdog players that helped spring Van Housen loose on his scoring runs and two pass receptions for 66 yards; #12-Carter Boden (5-8, 165, Jr.) - terrific pass blocking and a pancake block on a TD run, #7 QB-Dylan Soule (5-11, 175, Jr.) - a pair of lead blocks on two different runs after pitching the ball to Van Housen, #57 Clay Church - nice block on a TD run, #8 Kyle Sterup (6-2, 170, Jr.) - another sweet block to spring Van Housen, #52 Kane Benson (5-8, 235, Soph.) - Big pancake on a Van Housen scoring sweep, #47 Tanner Kropatsch (5-11, 180, Jr.) - super run and pass blocking all night, Corby Cannon (5-9, 225, Soph.) - nice pass protection blocking, and a man you want to avoid on sweeps if you’re a defender, Carson Watts (5-8, 175, Soph.) - mows down anything and everything in his way on sweeps...and did Friday.

There were more, but time does not permit. Big thing about Keaton Van Housen and this TJ Nielsen/Greg Wood coached football team is they have depth, know how to block and tackle, and are beginning to know they have talent. Currently rated #8 in Class D-1.

*Jarod Epperson - Omaha Skutt - 5-11, 185 pound senior rushed for 167 yards on 23 carries and scored touchdowns of runs of 20 and 17 yards in the SkyHawks 33-13 win over then #9 Omaha Roncalli. Epperson, who ran for 165 yards on just 9 totes and week ago against Bennington, has 332 yards and 6 TDs after 2 games for Skutt.

*Alex Rodgers - Omaha Roncalli - Nebraska baseball recruit had 251 total yards in that loss to Omaha Skutt. The sensational Crimson Pride QB had 117 yards passing, 88 yards receiving and rushed 14 times for 46 yards. Rodgers even caught an 81 yard TD pass from Jack Dotzler in the game.

*Josh Bailey - Johnson County Central - Escaped for 175 yards on 18 carries and 3 touchdowns in the Thunderbirds 48-13 route of Louisville. That gives Bailey 541 yards and 6 TDs after just two outings this season.

*Carter Terry - Grand Island Northwest - Record setting senior sharpshooter has hit the ground running for the 1-1 and 7th rated (Class B) Vikings. Terry has ben on target with 65% of his 49 pass attempts, good for 459 yards, 6 TDs and only one INT. That’s awful good for a quarterback that lost two 1000 yard receivers from last season.

The 6-0, 185 pound rifle-armed Viking QB, one of the most prolific passers in Class B history, has completed 385 of his 675 career passes for 5,489 yards and 63 touchdowns. Carter has averaged 203 aerial yards a game in his 27 career starts for head coach Kevin Stein. All-State Class B quarterback a year ago.

*Wyatt Cast - Centennial - All-State quarterback was close to passing perfection in the Broncos 33-14 win over Malcolm. Cast was true on 14 of his 15 aerial attempts for 177 yards and four touchdowns. Jackson Hirschfeld, Ryan Payne, Max Tomes and Ian Schlueter all were recipients of Wyatt Cast scoring passes in the game.

The Broncos are currently Class C-2’s top rated football team.

*Jacob Herbek, Dietrick Stolz - Grand Island Central Catholic - Herbek, the 6-6, 210 pound TE/DE, has been a terror from his defensive end position through two games for Tim Dvorak’s Crusaders. The hulking Herbek, who already has a Division One football offer from South Dakota State, has made 22 tackles, 16 of which were solo crunches. The DE also has 9 tackles for losses, 3 quarterback sacks, 2 recovered fumbles and a defensive touchdown in just 2 games.

GICC place kicker Dietrick Stolz has been rock solid with his early season PATs and field goals. The junior has hit 10 of 11 extra point attempts and is also 3 for 3 on FGs, one coming from 42 yards away, another from 47 yards out.

The Class C-2 Crusaders are currently 2-0 in 2018 after going winless against a brutal Class C-1 schedule a year ago. Head Coach Tim Dvorak, a former standout GICC football player himself, has this program on the right track in just his 2nd year at the helm.

*Jack Wiebelhaus, Jaylon Walker - Omaha Bryan - Omaha Bryan quarterback Jack Wiebelhaus was brilliant (again) in the Bears 28-42 loss to Omaha South. The 3 year starter completed 24 of 43 passes for 327 yards and 3 TDs in the loss. The senior gunslinger has now hit 41 of his 70 pass attempts for 694 yards and 9 TDs with only 1 INT in his first two games of 2018.

Big 190 junior RB Jaylon Walker also had a good night for Bryan, rushing for 168 yards on 17 carries. Walker has rushed only 29 times in two games, but has still gained 345 yards, an average of 11.9 yards a tote. That’s pretty nasty in Class A.

*Isaiah Alford - Lincoln High - 5-9, 185 pound senior broke loose for 148 yards on 22 carries and two TDs in the Links 42-29 loss to Grand Island. Alford has been a good compliment to the Cedric Case passing game in 2018.

*Kade Hegemann - Howells-Dodge - A lean/mean tackling machine for head coach Mike Speirs at Howells-Dodge. A head hunting, rock solid hitter at 5-10, and hundred fifty pounds, Kade Hegemann has already 33 tackles in the Jags first two games. Out of those 33 stops, 17 are solos, 9 are for losses and 2 are QB sacks.

*Dylan Horejsi-Howells-Dodge - 143 yards on 20 carries and 6 tackles on defense in a heartbreaking 32-28 loss to Class D-1, 4th rated West Point GACC. The 2017 thousand yarder has 321 yards thus far in 2018.

*Brett Simonsen (RB), Jackson Perrian (QB) - Sutton - The Mustangs two-headed rushing monster was too much for Wilber-Clatonia last Friday. Simonsen, who ran for 1,018 yards as a junior, bolted for 158 yards on just 11 carries in the 38-0 win and scored on runs of 77, 11 and 22 yards. Jackson Perrian wasn’t far off Simonsen’s pace with 145 yards on 13 totes and TD dashes of 35 and 75 yards. The junior quarterback also completed 8 of 11 passes for 104 yards for the Class C-2, 3rd rated and 2-0 Mustangs.

*Mason Schleis - Shelby/Rising City - 5-11, 165 pound QB was a never ending nightmare for Sandy Creek last week. In the Huskies 48-0 win over the Cougars, Schleis completed 11 of 15 passes for 150 yards and 3 touchdowns and ran the ball 10 times for 129 yards and two more scores.

After two games, Mason is 22 of 31 passing for 247 yards (4 TDs), has rushed 26 times for 238 yards (2 TDs), and is 2 for 2 on field goal attempts with FGs of 32 and 27 yards. He also has 8 tackles on defense (all against Battle Creek), a 90 yard Pick 6 and does the punting and all the kickoffs for the Huskies.

*David Reazola - Harvard - 302 yards on just 12 touches (25.2/carry) and 3 touchdowns in Harvard’s 52-15 six-man win over SEM. The 5-7, 165 pound junior is off to the races in 2018 with 535 rushing yards and 10 TDs and 698 all-purpose yards so far.

*TJ Williams - Grand Island Heartland Lutheran - Swivel-hipped Red Hornet back carried 31 times for 221 yards and TD runs of 4, 1, and 11 yards in a 60-34 loss to 6th rated (Six-Man) Spalding Academy. Williams also caught a 16 yard pass in the game.

*A J Jenkins - Wilcox-Hildreth - Three time 1000 yard rusher had 185 yards on 14 carries and 3 TDs in a 56-20 win over Deshler. Jenkins has gained 369 yards on just 16 carries this season (16 yards/carry) after two games for 6-Man Wilcox-Hildreth.