Week One Friday Night Lights Football Heroes

Here we go again with my favorite weekly salutes to our Nebraska Prep football Heroes. We’ve waited 9 months to walk those hallowed sidelines

and witness these Friday Night Lights Heroes.

Here they are. The Week One Friday Night Lights Heroes.

*Jack Bullis-Hampton - Two time thousand yard rusher/6-Man football standout exploded for 8 touchdowns in the Hawks opening night 72-28 win at Lincoln Parkview Christian. The 5-7, 160 pound senior rushed 12 times for 152 yards and 4 touchdowns, caught 3 passes for 189 yards, all three going for scores, and returned a kickoff for his 8th TD of the afternoon.

Bullis amassed 434 total yards when the smoke cleared. The amazing Bullis also made 7 tackles on defense (3.5 for losses), and forced a fumble.

Hampton quarterback Wyatt Dose also had a big game, completing 5 of 6 passes for 232 yards and 4 TDs.

*Cash Buettenback, Nate Appelget, Tre Bollen, Charlie Thorne, Zayvion Campbell-Lincoln SE - Knights looked pretty solid in their opening night 35-20 conquest of a good Grand Island squad. Speedy Cash Buettenback set the tone with a 65 yard touchdown run on the 2nd play of the game, on his way to 136 yards on 16 carries.

Swift-footed Charlie Thorne caught two aerials for 52 yards and a touchdown and made 14 tackles on “D”. Big Nate Appelget caught 2 passes for 40 yards and a score and was also a force from his LB slot with 13 stops.

Senior QB Tre Bollen completed 10 of 16 throws for 148 yards and 2 scores, then iced the contest with a 56 yard TD run with 41 seconds left in the game.

And Zayvion Campbell? The 6-2, 190 pound senior OLB recorded a nifty 37 yard Pick-6 to begin his 2024 season.

*Braylon Anderson, Corbin Guill-Oakland-Craig - Knights pass/catch duo lit it up in O/C’s 34-14 win over a fine Yutan team. Deadeye Braylon Anderson completed 17 of 24 passes for a massive 448 yards and four TDs. Corbin Guill hauled in 7 of those 17 completions for a gigantic 287 yards and touchdown receptions covering 65 and 71 yards.

Anderson also had a 4 yard rushing touchdown in the 20 point win.

*Trini Trejo-Alliance - 5-6, 150 pound sophomore zipped for 225 yards on a grueling 42 carries and three touchdowns in the Bulldogs 28-15 win over Gordon-Rushville. Trejo ran for 386 yards on 85 touches and 2 TDs ALL last season, so he’s well on his way to crushing those numbers in 2024.

*Ethan Shaw, Wes Bilthoft, Kameryn Sealey-Sandy Creek - All-State Quarterback Ethan Shaw picked up right where he left off a year ago. In the Cougars 60-8 win over Johnson-Brock, Shaw rushed for 182 yards on 22 carries with TD runs of 9, 15 and 25 yards, completed 9-16 passes for 129 yards and 3 TD strikes, a 30 yarder to Connor Rempe, an 8 yarder to Kaden Schmidt and a 4 yard scoring toss to Jacob Petr.

All-State sophomore Wes Bilthoft had 12 stops on defense and Kamryn Sealey, just a Freshman, rushed 4 times for 53 yards and a touchdown, caught 2 passes for 32 yards and kicked off 8 times, booting 6 of those into JB’s end zone for touchbacks

*Orrin Kuehn-Minden - 5-8, 165 pound senior was a shining star in the Whippets 18-15 three overtime win at Adams Central last Thursday night in a game that finished close to 11:30 PM.

Kuehn sprinted 62 yards to paydirt on the first play from scrimmage, on his way to 132 yards on 16 carries. Kuehn also had 8 tackles and blocked a field goal in one of the overtimes. This lad is a BALLER.

*Nelsyn Wheeler, Jalen Warren, Gavin Semm, Roman Devault-Grand Island - Quick paced Islanders racked up 521 yards of offense in that 35-20 loss to Lincoln SE. GI unleashed a hundred miles an hour pace offense that saw Lincoln SE transfer, sophomore QB Gavin Semm complete 30 of 45 passes for 319 yards and a touchdown. Eight different GI receivers were part of those 30 completions

Texas transfer Jalen Warren was as good as advertised, catching ten passes for 175 yards and a long 71 yard TD reception that was a beauty. He also completed a 38 yard pass.

One of the state’s top sprinters, junior RB Nelsyn Wheeler, flashed his :10.7/:22.1 speed on his way to 160 yards rushing on 18 carries and a pair of TDs covering 59 and 2 yards.

Roman Devault, a 5-10, 160 pound junior, recorded two interceptions on defense for the Islanders.

*Jace Schukar-Loomis - 5-10, 160 pound sophomore exploded for 203 yards on 21 totes and FIVE touchdowns in the Wolves 48-6 win over Blue Hill. Schukar also caught 2 passes for 40 yards, recovered two fumbles and made 6 tackles.

*Tresten Hess, Caden Schadwinkel-Seward-Junior QB Tresten Hess led the offense and Caden Schadwinkel the defense in the Bluejays 41-24 win over a highly regarded Gretna East team. Hess completed 16 of 22 passes for 248 yards and a pair of TDs. He also rushed the ball 16 times for 67 yards and two more touchdowns in the game.

Caden Schadwinkel led Seward defense with 11 tackles which included a sack.

*Gavin Shanahan, Landon Tate, Brody Parks-Elkhorn South - In the Storms 38-5 win over Lincoln East, Shanahan rambled for 156 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries while Tate piled up 178 total yards which included an electrifying 95 yard Pick 6. Place kicker Brody Parks had a perfect afternoon, going 5 for 5 on PATs and 1-1 on field goal attempts, booting a 28 yarder.

Devin Meyer (9 tackles), McCorter Goeser (7 tackles) and Tristan Brewer (7 stops) led the defense.

*Braylen Warren, Tay Tay Jenkins, Kenyan Cotton-Omaha Westside - Defending Class A champions kicked off the 2024 season with a 22-7 win over a highly touted Omaha North team last Thursday. QB Braylon Warren was sharp, completing 14 of 23 passes for 194 yards with scoring passes to Quentin Warren and Kenyan Cotton, who had 4 catches for 60 yards.

Tay Tay Jenkins ran for 144 yards on 26 carries to lead the ground attack.

*Barrett Wilke, Becker Pohlman-Stanton - Defending 8-Man One champions opened the 2024 season with a 42-16 win over a hard hitting Bloomfield team. All-State QB Barrett Wilke escaped for 196 yards and 4 TDs on 20 carries, completed 8 of 12 passes for another 128 yards with a touchdown toss and made six stops on defense. All-State LB Becker Pohlman ran for 102 yards and a score on 17 carries, caught 3 passes for 81 more yards and an additional score, and made ten tackles on defense which included 6 solos.

*Zaden Wolf, Grady Kelly, Boston Woods, Gunnar Vanosdall-Central Valley - I could kick myself for missing this 50-42 Central Valley win over Riverside game. Anyway, QB Zaden Wolf was GOLD in this baby, completing 14 of 16 passes for 140 yards and 2 TDs. He also rushed 19 times for 143 big ones and 3 more scores and had half a dozen stops defensively.

Returning All-State 2000 yard rusher Grady Kelly added 154 yards and 2 TDs on 23 totes, had 3 receptions for 19 yards, including a touchdown and made 8 tackles. Boston Wood caught 6 passes for 88 yards, which also included a score, and made 6 stops on defense.

The leader on defense for Central Valley however, was big 6-0, 200 pound sophomore Gunnar Vanosdall, who made 11 tackles, EIGHT of which were solos. I guess you don’t want to make him mad.

*Drew Carraher, Trevor Carraher, Nicholas Berge, Jack Molt-Riverside-In that nail biting 50-42 loss to Central Valley, Senior QB Drew Carraher connected on 17-26 passes for 260 yards/5 TDs. He also rushed 15 times for 43 yards, made 12 tackles, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.

Classmate Trevor Carraher caught 9 passes for 118 yards and made 19 tackles on defense.

Nicholas Berger had 5 catches for 125 yards with FOUR of those going for TDs covering 19, 5, 14 and 45 yards. Berger also made 10 tackles on defense.

Speedy Jack Molt aso returned a kickoff 74 yards for a score and made 6 tackles.

All-State line candidate Dane Shalk had 13 stops defensively.

*Kip Brigham, Jace Kaminski, Braylon Iverson, Jaymes Gaskins-Wahoo

Looks like the #1 Warriors had some fun in their opening night 62-0 victory over Nebraska City, especially Kip Brigham.

The 5-10, 175 pound junior returned a pair of punts 80 and 58 yards for touchdowns in a span of one minute, fifty four seconds (in the 1st quarter), rushed 4 times for 89 yards with a 65 yard TD scamper and made 4 tackles.

Jace Kaminski completed 6 of 7 passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns, Braylon Iverson made 7 tackles ( 2 for losses) and Jaymes Gaskins picked off a Nebraska City pass and turned it into a 35 yard Pick Six. We’ll see you men in Aurora in two weeks.

*Grayson Sack, Graham Stava, Jack Alberts, Crusader Defense-Grand Island Central Catholic-Crusaders opened the season with a dominating 41-13 victory over their arch rival Hastings St. Cecilia. Junior quarterback Grayson Sack was brilliant through the air, connecting on 19 of 27 passes for 313 yards and 4 touchdown strikes, all to classmate Graham Stava.

Stava latched on to 7 of Sacks throws for 146 yards. Sack also led the ground attack with 70 yards on 10 carries

Top notch two-way player Jack Alberts made 6 receptions for 111 yards and made 9 tackles for a defense that limited the Bluehawks to 69 passing yards and 8 yards rushing for the entire contest.

*Quinn Bailey-Chadron-The Best of the West was sensational in the Cardinals 28-8 win over a good Broken Bow team. The 5-8, 165 pound senior carried the ball 38 times for 219 yards and three TDs. He also caught a pair of passes for 32 yards and made 8 solo stops on defense.

Let me tell you about Quinn Bailey, one of my favorite Nebraska high school football players.

Bailey has rushed for 3,709 yards during his 30 game career at Chadron, putting him well on pace to hit the prestigious 5000 yard career rushing mark. Last season, Quinn ran for 1,997 yards and was held under a hundred yards rushing just once when a fine Mitchell defense “held” him to 91 yards.

So, at the present time, Quinn has a string of 8 straight hundred yard plus rushing games stretching back to last season and 13 consecutive games with a touchdown scored.

In case you haven’t noticed, Quinn Bailey is one remarkable running back.

*Brogan Benes, Jacob Miller, Dalton Young, Tom Roberts-Boone Central-Coach Hud and the defending Class C-1 State Champions looks like their drop to the Class C-2 ranks may just work out despite massive graduation losses.

In the Cardinals 14-0 victory over highly ranked Hartington Cedar Catholic, rugged Brogan Benes zipped for 203 yards on 31 carries, but it was junior QB Jacob Miller who scored both TDs for Boone, rushing for one and connecting with classmate Cody Andreasen for a 9 yard scoring strike.

Just like the 12-0 win over Wahoo in last year's C-1 title game, it was Boone’s “D” that ruled in this Cedar Catholic game. Dalton Young, a 6-1, 190 pound senior, led the way with 14 tackles, 11 solos.

As a team, the Cardinals made 51 tackles in the 14-0 win and 39 were solo stops with FIVE sacks. Returning All-Stater Thomas Roberts had three of those five sacks.

As a unit, the Boone defense held Cedar to 101 yards and they’ll have to be good this week when the Cardinals face Norfolk Catholic In a battle of defending State Champions.

*Gatlin Reimers-Palmer-The man who does it all for the Tigers ran for 232 yards and four touchdowns on 38 carries in a 32-30 loss to Fullerton. Reimers, who has a gazillion career tackles, also made 13 stops in the game. Of course he did.

*Cole Heimes, Cole Rosener, Ty Opfer-Hartington/Newcastle-The Senior “COLES” ripped up Ainsworth’s rushing defense in the Wildcats 54-34 win. QB Cole Heimes exploded for 234 yards and 5 TDs on 38 touches while RB Cole Rosener added 181 yards rushing on just EIGHT carries and three more scores.

Sophomore Ty Opfer led the defense with 12 tackles. Heimes added 9 stops.

*Jett Farwell-Pawnee City - Raced for 190 yards on 15 carries and touchdown runs covering 6, 17, 43 and 9 yards plus a 60 yard kick return for 5 total touchdowns in Pawnee Citys 57-0 win over Meridian.

*Mikey Bartu, Mark Milton, Hunter Svehla-EMF-In Exeter-Milligan-Friend’s 50-20 win over Clarkson-Leigh, Bartu broke loose for 198 yards and three TDs on just 12 totes. All Milton did was rush for one touchdown, catch a pass for another and take a kick return to the house. Not to be outdone, Hunter Svehla returned a kick for a touchdown as well.

*Wyatt Nierozik, Braves “D-Battle Creek-Nierozik ran for 141 yards and 3 touchdowns on 17 carries while the Brave defense held Cross County to 79 yards total offense. In the game, TWENTY different Battle Creek players made tackles, none making more than four stops.

*Wyatt Pollett, Jacob Huxoll-Sutton-Sophomore QB Pollett rushed 22 times for 151 big ones and a score and completed 8 of 12 throws for 138 yards and 3 more touchdowns. Meanwhile, junior Jacob Huxoll was a terror defensively, recording 17 tackles.

*Gage Friesen, Haden Helgoth-High Plains Community-The 1-2 punch of Fresen and Helgoth was just too much for Nebraska Christian in the Storms 50-14 win. Friesen escaped for 233 yards and 5 TDs on just 15 carries while Helgoth ran 15 times for 150 yards and one score.