Week 10 Friday Night Light Football Playoff Heroes - Part Two

Cross County speed merchants Isaac Noyd (#7/left) and Carson Seim (#10/right)tore things up with their ground game in the Cougars playoff win over Laurel-Concord-Coleridge last Thursday.

**11-Man Performances:

*Jack Dotzler-Omaha Roncalli - Crimson Pride super athlete set a record for passing yards in an 11-Man playoff game in Roncalli’s 56-28 win over Plattsmouth last Friday.

The amazing Crimson Pride quarterback threw for 454 yards and 7 touchdowns in front of the Roncalli home crowd.

Dotzler’s scoring passes were hauled in by Shane Orr (30, 16, 26 yards), Ryan Fenoglio (74, 40 yards), Jake Orr (4 yards), and Thomas Kenney (8 yards).

The record setting night lifts Jack Dotzler’s passing yards total to an unofficial 2,600 yards with 32 TDs.

The win sets up an Omaha Roncalli road meeting with Grand Island Northwest in the Class B quarterfinals in GI. Kickoff is set for 7:00 PM at Viking Field. Bring extra paper if you plan on keeping stats.

*Carson Cahoy, Broc Douglass, Caleb Francl-Grand Island - In the Islanders 35-14 opening round Class A playoff win over Lincoln SW, Carson Cahoy completed 10 of 19 passes for 131 yards which included a three yard TD pass to Broc Douglass. Cahoy also rushed 13 times for 41 yards and scored on touchdown runs of one and nine yards.

All-State Broc Douglass caught 7 Cahoy aerials for 109 yards and the 3 yard scoring catch. He also picked off a Silverhawk pass and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown.

Caleb Francl led the GI defense with 13 stops.

For the season, Carson Cahoy has completed 137 of 212 passes for 1,754 yards, 15 TDs and NO INTs. The senior quarterback has also compiled 410 yards rushing on 67 carries with 5 TDs.

Caleb Francl leads all Islander rushers with 681 yards and 12 TDs.

The versatile Broc Douglass has hauled in 52 passes for 851 yards and 9 touchdowns. He has accuulated 191 kick return yards, 169 on punt returns and 30 more yards on interception returns for a total of 1,233 All-Purpose Yards. Those are All-State numbers, folks.

The Islanders travel to Buell Stadium in Millard Friday to meet Millard South in the 4:00 quarterfinal game.

*Aidan Oerter-Norris - 6-2, 185 pound senior took on the Dual-Threat QB role in the Titans 38-10 1st Round Class B playoff win over Elkhorn Mt. Michael. Oerter threw for 188 yards and two scores and added 114 yards rushing with a third quarter, game icing 65 yard TD sprint.

Aidan’s touchdown passes were caught by CJ Hood (4 yards) and Noah Van Brocklin (10 yards). Dylan Meyer also scored on an 8 yard run for Norris, Aaron Williams kicked a 46 yard field goal, and Eadon Holt recorded a 22 yard Pick 6 to complete the Titan scoring.

Aidan Oerter now has a unofficial 1,800 yards passing with 13 touchdowns for the season. Oerter and his teammates will head 422 miles west to face Scottsbluff in a Class B quarterfinal contest this Friday. Kickoff is slated for 6:00 pm Mountain time or 7 pm back in Firth.

*Tyson Gordon-Omaha Skutt - Just another day at the office for the All-State football/basketball star. Gordon rushed for 144 yards on just 11 carries in Skutts 28-3 win over Blair. He scored on touchdown jaunts of 80, 1 and 3 yards. Tyson also fired a 13 yard scoring pass to Nick Chambers in the opening round win.

The Skyhawks will stay home to entertain Bennington this Friday in a Class B quarterfinal matchup. Skutt beat the Badgers in the regular season opener, 49-28.

*Blake Bartos, Reid Korth-Wayne - The Blue Devils pair combined for 325 yards rushing in Wayne’s 28-21 victory over 6th seeded Kearney Catholic (Class C-1) last Friday. Bartos, a 5-10, 160 pound senior running back, broke loose for 173 yards on 25 carries and a 31 yard scoring run to open the game.

Junior FB Reid Korth 5-10, 170) added 152 yards on 21 tries amd TD runs of 70, 8, and 3 yards. The 70 yard dash was particularly impressive, as Korth broke through the Stars defensive line, cut to his right, and outran the Kearney Catholic secondary for the long distance touchdown.

The Wayne defense limited Kearney Catholic’s ground game to just 45 yards, then had to buckle down to withstand the 18-25 for 294 yard passing blitz by Stars quarterback, Hendrick Haarborg, an All-State candidate and future Division One recruit.

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

*Bryce Kitrell-Ashland-Greenwood - One of my favorite all-around players the past 4 seasons. I could write a book about this young man.

In Ashland-Greenwood’s 53-14 1st Round Class C-1 win over Cozad, Kitrell ran the football only 9 times, yet raced for 181 yards with long distance touchdown jaunts of 69 and 45 yards. The remarkable Bluejay star also reached paydirt on not only one, but two punt returns covering 35 and 46 yards. Incredible, just incredible.

That lifts Bryce Kitrell over the 1000 yard rushing mark for the third consecutive year. This season, Bryce rushing total is at 1,159 yards with 16 TDs.

QB Hunter Washburn only completed 3 of 11 passes on the night, but two of the three completions went for long touchdown connections to Kyle von Rentzell covering 60 and 72 yards.

If you are sitting down, and I would highly suggest it, here are Bryce Kitrell’s 34 game career stats; Rushing-3,481 yards/42 TDs. Receiving; 561 yards (1 TD). Kick Returns-998 yards with 2 TDs. Punt Returns; 614 yards with 4 TDs. Points Scored; 314.

Kitrell has also picked off two passes, both going for Pick 6’s. That’s 5,748 All-Purpose Yards with 52 Total Touchdowns.

Bryce has also made 168 tackles on defense (48 solos) with 9 TFL, 3 sacks and those 2 INTs for touchdowns. Pick a position for Bryce Ktrell on this years Class C-1 All-State team…...any position.

*Grady Gatewood, Colton Thomsen, Mike Brands-Oakland-Craig - How about a 150 pound sophomore quarterback that hadn’t taken a meaningful snap all season, coming in with Joe Anderson’s Oakland-Craig team trailing Hartington Cedar Catholic 19-14. It’s 4th and 9 on the Cedar Catholic 18 and you really need a score here with 4:14 left in the third quarter.

Not a problem if you are Oakland-Craig head coach Joe Anderson. You see, Grady Gatewood grew up next door to the coach and the two would often play catch in Anderson’s backyard.

Gatewood must have remembered those days as he planted his feet, stepped forward in the pocket, and nailed Caden Nelson, who had to make a diving catch to stay in the end zone. The critical score put the Knights up for good 28-26 and that’s how things ended up.

Knights starting QB Colton Thomsen had gone out with an injury late in the 3rd quarter after completing 9 of 16 passes for 154 yards and a TD. Thomsen had also run for 53 yards and a score, so there goes your offense? Nope.

Grady Gatewood came in and did his thing, Thomsen helped get the Knights there before departing with his injury, and 6-2, 210 pound MLB Mike Brands did his best to slow down the great Jacob Keiser. Brands would finish the night with 13 tackles (8 solos), and two tackles for losses.

Oakland-Craig will have a home game this Friday in the Class C-2 quarterfinals, facing a rugged, hard hitting Doniphan-Trumbull (9-1) squad, whose only loss of the season came at the hands of 3rd rated and 9-1 Sutton.

*Eli Larson-St. Paul - 16 carries for 146 yards and three touchdowns, plus 7 tackles on defense in the Wildcats 36-0 win over Centura in the 1st Round of the Class C-2 playoffs. Larson has 1,818 yards (29 TDs) and 59 tackles so far in 2019.

The Cats will entertain David City Aquinas this Friday.

*Will Gatzemeyer-BRLD - Riddled Wilber-Clatonia with 19 of 37 passing fpr 331 yards and 3 touchdowns in the Wolverines 39-21 win. Gatzemeyer also ran the ball 20 times for 92 yards with a touchdown in the 1st Round Class C-2 victory.

The remarkable senior now has 2,340 yards passing with 27 TDs and only one INT and 1,425 yards with sixteen more touchdowns. Just mind boggling.

BRLD will travel to North Bend Friday to take on the Tigers (9-1) in the C-2 quarterfinals. Kickoff is set for 7:00.

**Eight-Man Performances:

*Isaac Noyd, Carter Seim-Cross County - High octane duo combined for 363 yards rushing and 6 touchdowns in Cross County’s impressive 60-26 over Laurel-Concord-Coleridge last Thursday in the opening round of the Eight Man 1 playoffs.

Isaac Noyd, a junior speed demon, raced for 221 yards on just 14 carries and hit the end zone with runs of 4, 60, and 72 yards. Ironically, Isaac had zero yards after his first three touches.

Sophomore teammate Carter Seim, another turf burner, carried the ball 20 times for 42 yards and TD dashes of 25 and 2 yards plus a 39 yard scoring pass from Cougar QB Cael Lundstrom (4-10 passes for 91 yards).

That ups Noyd’s season rushing total to 1,328 yards (18 TDs) and increases Carter Seim’s rushing yards to 728 yards. Keep in mind that Seim did not play until Game 3 this season due to a summer injury. Had Sei been healthy the entire season, Cross County would be boasting twin 1000 yard rushers right now and they still may before the season is in the books

Cross County will advance to Round 2 of the Eight Man One playoffs and meet BDS in Bruning Wednesday with game time set for 6:00 pm. BDS won the regular season meeting 34-20.

*Hunter Haughton, Isaac Gleason, John Wetovick, Connor Sonderup-Fullerton - Junior QB Hunter Haughton completed 12 of 20 passes for 213 yards and 4 touchdowns in Fullerton’s 48-14 1st Round playoff win over the visiting Morrill Lions.

The mobile junior field general fired touchdown passes to Cole Horacek (30 yards), Isaac Gleason (27 yards), Kyle Knopik (4 yards) and Connor “Bubba” Sonderup (17 yards) in the big opening round triumph.

Gleason led all receivers with 104 yards on 5 receptions. Sonderup caught 3 passes for 64 yards, and Cole Horacek hauled in only one pass, but made it count with that 30 yard touchdown grab.

Despite Morrill keying on Fullerton’s ground game, the punishing running John Wetovick still managed to grind out 105 yards on 18 carries and a 10 yard scoring run. Connor Sonderup added 48 yards on 8 carries and a 1 yard TD run.

This is a very well rounded football team with a head coach as wise and creative as they come in Ryan Haughton. The man knows how to work the pieces and put his players in the right situations to put points on the board. Defensive coordinator Eric Frenzen is also a terrific schemes man and has bloodlines to boot.

This 2019 Fullerton team has all the markings of a squad that can make a very deep playoff run.

Fullerton will host a fine Dundy County/Stratton squad Wednesday at 6:00 in the Eight Man 1 second round.

*Keaton Van Housen-Osceola/High Plains - Rushed for 219 yards on 19 carries and touchdown runs of 9, 39, 44, 27, and 13 yards in the Stormdogs 73-12 win over Elkhorn Valley in the 1st Round of the Class D-2 playoffs.All of Keaton’s touchdowns came during the 1st half.

Van Housen raised his season rushing total to 1,406 yards with 24 TDs.

Osceola/High Plains will travel to Creighton Wednesday to meet the defending state champions in the 2nd Round of the Eight-Man 2 playoffs. Kickoff will be at 4 pm.

*Chesney Stanczyk, Austin Dormann-Garden County - Twin 1000 yard rushers were golden in Garden County’s 52-6 win over Blue Hill. Stanczyk, a junior RB, rushed for 189 yards on just 14 carries and raced for touchdowns of 33 and 68 yards.

Measnwhile, QB Austin Dormann ran for 146 yards on just 12 totes and hit paydirt with runs of 65, 1, 1 and 2 yards.. The senior signal caller also threw a 28 yard touchdown pass to Colton Holthus in the Class D-1 First Round playoff contest.

So to date, Chesney Stanczyk has rushed for 1,512 yards and 17 touchdowns, while Austin Dormann’s rushing total looks like 1,241 yards with 30 TDs. And check this out.

Austin has thrown only 29 times all season, but has completed 16 of those for 390 yards and 10 TDs. 16 completions, 10 touchdowns. Good lord!

Garden County will earn a home game this Wednesday, facing a tough Overton team. Kickoff will be 5:00 Mountin time.

**Six-Man Performances:

*Justus Bader-Grand Island Heartland Lutheran - 6-5, 175 pound senior quarterback closed out a splendid career when the Red Hornets lost their first ever playoff game, a Six-Man 59-38 loss at Arthur County. Justus completed 18 of 31 passes for 242 yards and three TDs in the Red Hornets (6-3) loss.

Unofficially, Justis Bader finished the 2019 season by completing 126 of 215 passes for 2,290 yards with 29 touchdowns and only 3 INTs. The past two seasons Bader has thrown for an amazing 3,903 yards and 52 TDs.

**1000 Yard Rusher Alert**

*Alex Worthing, Bryce Hanna-Arthur County - Wolves junior running back Alex Worthing soared over the one thousand yard rushing mark with his 218 yards on 22 carries and three TDs in Arthur County’s 59-38 1st Round Six Man playoff game win over GI Heartland Lutheran.

Worthing also completed 3 of 3 passes for 48 yards, caught 9 passes for 77 yards and another touchdown, made 10 tackles, and also had a QB sack and a fumble recovery in the 21 point win.

Alex Worthing now has 1,117 yards rushing and 15 TDs for the season.

Sophomore QB Bryce Hanna also had a huge afternoon last Friday, completing 16 of 27 passes for 222 yards and 5 touchdowns. The slender 6-2, 145 pounder also rushed 8 times for 63 yards and a score and had 4 solo tackles on defense.

For the year, Hanna has completed 61% of his 206 passes for 1,811 yards, 32 touchdowns with only 6 INTs.

Arthur County will travel to Cody-Kilgore this Friday to meet the unbeaten Cowboys in a 6-Man quarterfinal game. Kickoff is slated for 1 pm Mountain time. Cody-Kilgore’s field has no lights don’t cha know.

*David Reazola-Harvard - All-State, 1000 Yard Rusher, Super Six-Man back did about everything but wash the team uniforms in the Cardinals 64-28 opening round playoff win over Spalding Academy.

Reazola, who rushed for 1,719 yards a year ago to lead the 6-Man ranks, completed 10 of 13 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown, rushed 13 times for 195 yards and three additional scores, caught a pass for 15 yards, made 6 tackles, and returned a fumble 32 yards for another touchdown.

Reazola, who carries the ball only around 10 times a game because of huge Harvard leads, has still managed to rush for 926 yards and 19 TDs thus far.

Harvard, the pre-season favorite to win the Six Man title in 2019, will entertain 8-1 Sioux County this Friday at 3:00 in a quarterfinal playoff game. The Cardinals are currently 9-0 and averaging 55 points a game.