Week Nine Friday Night Lights Football Heroes

11-Man

*Conor Booth-Bishop Neumann - The sensational Conor Booth rambled for 353 yards 25 carries and 6 touchdowns in the Cavs 48-27 win over Raymond Central. That elevates the Nebraska pledge’s season rushing total to 2,414 on 184 carries (13.1/rush)6. Through 36 Career games, Conor has amassed a staggering 5,551 yards on 463 carries with 93 touchdowns. THAT’S 12 yards a pop every single time he touches a football (463 times) in FOUR years.

No words.

*Beau Rohrich-Wood River - Beau’s 246 yards and 3 touchdowns on 32 carries in the Eagles 33-16 win over Doniphan Trumbull, broke the Wood River Single Single Season Rushing Record held by Scott Frost. Rohrich now has 1,666 yards and 18 touchdowns for the season. The legendary Larry Vlasin’s smile just became a little wider up in the Heavens because you see, Beau is his grandson.

*Max Hammond-Norfolk Catholic - 2023 All-Stater had a running touchdown, a passing touchdown and field goals of 22 and 37 yards in Catholic’s 34-10 regular season finale win over Hartington Cedar Catholic.

*Corbin Keyes-Central City - Junior RB ran wild in Central City’s 53-28 win over Aurora. Keyes, who narrowly missed 1000 yards rushing a year ago, exploded for 433 yards and six touchdowns on 38 carries, running the football on 38 of the Bison’s 54 total plays in the game.

That increases Corbin Keye`s season rushing total to 1,641 yards and 22 touchdowns, which has to concern future playoff opponents given the fact that classmate quarterback Parker Zikmund has completed 62% of his 221 passes this year for a whopping 1,933 yards and 29 touchdowns with only five interceptions. Central City runs a multi-dimensional offense that should scare any team in Class C1.

*Gavin Shanahan, Madden Riggs, Devin Meier, McCarter Goeser -Elkhorn South - The great Gavin Shanahan ran for 175 yards on 37 totes with scoring runs covering 7, 1 and 5 yards in the Storm’s 28-20 win over Papio South. QB Madden Riggs was 10 of 22 passing for 183 yards which included a 55 yard touchdown toss to Landon Tate, who had three catches for 90 yards. Devin Meier led the defense with eight solo stops and McCorter Goeser made five solo stops plus a 37 yard interception return to set up the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter.

*1000 Yard Receiver Alert*

*Braylon Anderson, Silas Nelson, Corbin Gulli-Oakland-Craig - In the Knights regular season finale victory (35-22) over West Point-Beemer, Anderson connected on 24 of 36 aerials for 301 yards and a pair of scoring tosses to the one and only Corbin Gulli. The spectacular WR caught 10 passes for a massive 171 yards, giving him 1,012 receiving yards (12 TDs) for the season. RB Silas Nelson also had a big game, running for 165 yards and a pair of scores on 20 carries.

*Bradin Van Winkle, Levi Walker-Plattsmouth - Bradin Van Winkle threw for 221 yards and the winning 3-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Longton with 13 seconds left in Plattsmouth’s exciting 41-34 win over Ralston.. Levi Walker added 240 yards rushing and four touchdowns for the Blue Devils, who finished the regular season 4-5..

*Connor Sams--Gretna East - Junior RB cut loose for 243 yards and two touchdowns on 27 totes as Gretna East beat Gretna High 28-20. Connor Sams’ rushing total swelled to 796 yards following the outstanding performance against the Dragons.

*Brady McGill, Maxwell Thompson, Jackson Post-Omaha Roncalli - Sophomore QB sensation Brady McGill literally passed Omaha Roncalli into the Class C-1 playoff field with his 10 of 13 passing for a 183 yards and four touchdown performance in the Crimson Pride’s 47-28 victory over Louisville. Three of McGill’s scoring tosses were hauled in by Maxwell Thompson, who had 3 receptions for 86 yards. RB Jackson Post caught the other TD pass covering 4 yards while scoring a pair of rushing TDs as well.

*Nate Collins, Marcus Buchanan-Omaha Burke - QB Nate Collins shredded the Omaha South defense with 435 yards passing and 7 touchdowns in Burke’s 78-6 win over the Packers. Marcus Buchanan was Collins favorite target, compiling 243 receiving yards with 6 touchdown receptions.

*1000 Yard Rusher Alert*

*Trini Trejo-Alliance - Trejo’s 60 yards on 19 carries in a 36-0 loss to Ogallala, elevated him over the 1000 yard rushing mark (1,032) for the season. REMEMBER, Alliance won only ONE game this season.

*1000 Yard Rusher Alert* - The Rockets have TWO!

*Cy Peterson, Tieran Cox-Syracuse - Cy Peterson became the Rocketssecond running back to surpass 1000 yard mark in a 21-14 loss to Auburn. Peterson ran for 107 yards on 18 carries against Auburn, lifting him to the 1000 yard mark right on the dot. Tieran Cox, who rushed for 135 yards on 11 carries in the Auburn game, reached the 1000 yard mark a few weeks back. His final tally for the season is 1,127.

These two Syracuse seniors are the first pair of 1000 yarders since 2008 when Jake Weller turned the trick, setting the school record with 1,632 yards. The year before Weller also surpassed the mark, rushing for 1,023 yards. Tim Reed had back-to-back 1000 yard seasons for Syracuse, rushing for 1,172 in 2005 and 1,525 the next year in 2006.

Congratulations to the Syracus Rockets 1000 Yard Twins, Cy Peterson and Tieran Cox.

*Nelsyn Wheeler-Grand Island Senior High - Jet propelled sprinter surpassed the one thousand yard rushing plateau in the Islanders 69-0 win over Omaha Northwest. The speed burning junior finishes the season with 1,032 yards, quite an accomplishment for a back paying for a 2-7 football team. Wheeler had FIVE 100+ rushing performances this season, FOUR of those coming in losses.

*Tresten Hass, Jack Vyhnalek-Seward - One of my favorite quarterbacks of 2024, Seward junior Tresten Haas, was bullseye on 16 of his 20 passes for 255 yards and four touchdowns in the Bluejays 43-0 victory over Creek. His favorite target was Jack Vyhnalek, who caught 6 passes for 99 yards and three touchdowns. Unbeaten Seward will host Lincoln Pius X this Friday in the opening round of the Class B playoffs.

*Alex Doty, Red Raiders “D”-Sidney - Junior quarterback Alex Doty threw for 93 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 103 more yards with a touchdown in the unbeaten Red Raiders 14-0 victory over Chadron. The Sidney defense “held” 5000 plus career yards running back Quinn Bailey to 100 yards on 23 carries in the game.

*8-Man/6-Man

*****5000 Yard Career Rusher Alert*****

*Barrett Wilke-Stanton - Stanton QB Barrett Wilke became the FOURTH running back this season to enter the 5000 Yard Career Rushing Club. In a 52-18 triumph over Clarkson-Leigh, Garrett Wilkie rushed 15 times for 210 yards with 2 TDs and was 6 of 8 passing for 103 yards with 2 more touchdowns. That raises Wilke’s season rushing to 1,843 yards and 25 touchdowns.

Barrett’s Career Rushing total currently stands at 5,142 yards with 83 touchdowns. The Mustang star also has a career passing total of 2,085 and 31 touchdowns. 7,227 total yards. Not too shabby!

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

*Ben Myers-Shelton - The Shelton Swiss Army Knife closed out the season by rushing for 238 yards and 5 touchdowns in a 62-14 victory over GI Heartland Lutheran. Myers has 1,117 yards and 17 touchdowns this season to go with his 1,277 yards in 2023. What a fine, fine football talent!

*Elijah Bergstrom-Axtell - The 5-8, 160 pound senior took off for 260 yards and 5 TDs on 23 carries in Axtell's 44-20 victory over a good Mullen squad. CHECK THIS OUT. In the last 5 games, Bergstrom has rushed for 1,050 yards and 20 touchdowns. The Wildcats were winless through their first four games of the season, but have since rolled to 5 straight wins. Elijah now has 1,647 yards rushing and 29 touchdowns as 5-4 Axtell enters the reseeded D-2 playoffs at the #16 seed and will be traveling to Sandhills-Thedford on Friday.

*Gage Hedstrom-O’Neill St. Marys - The 2-time All-Stater had 92 yards passing with 2 TDs, ran for 266 yards on 19 carries with FIVE touchdowns and made 18 tackles in a 52-12 1st Round playoff win over Cambridge. This year Gage Headstrom has 1,393 yards rushing with 25 touchdowns to go along with his 1,475 yards passing with 25 touchdowns.

For his career, and remember he’s just a JUNIOR: 3,845 yards passing with 60 TDs, 2,473 yards rushing with an additional 47 touchdowns. Add in 951 career yards on kick returns, 349 career punt return yardage and 124 career interception return yards and you have 1,324 special team yards. That gives Gage 7,654 total yards and counting!

*Ethan Shaw, Connor Rempe, Alston Clark, Kamerin Sealey-Sandy Creek - In the Cougars 63-16 win over Niobrara-Verdigre, All-State QB Ethan Shaw completed 12 of 18 passes for 285 yards and 5 TDs and rushed 9 times for 81 yards and an additional 2 scores in the victory.. Connor Rempe caught 3 passes for 110 yards with a touchdown and had two interceptions on defense. Alston Clark led the defense with 14 tackles. Fabulous Freshman Kamerin Sealey also had two interceptions on defense while catching 3 passes for 60 yards with a touchdown offensively.

*Brian Goforth, Leyton Connell, Mavericks “D”-Sandhills Valley - 15th seeded Sandhills Valley knocked off 8-0, 2nd seed Pleasanton 42-20 last Thursday, sending shockwaves through the 8-Man football community. Brian Goforth compiled 147 yards rushing with 5 TDs. Two time all district quarterback Leyton Connell completed 11 of 14 passes for 121 yards and a TD and added 77 yards on the ground.

The alert Sandhills Valley defense recovered 6 Pleasanton fumbles in the big upset win over the undefeated Bulldogs

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

*Ethan Latta-Dundy County/Stratton - Junior All-State RB, who rushed for 2,002 yards as a SOPHOMORE, broke loose for 211 yards and 5 touchdowns on 13 carries in a 62-16 playoff win over Boyd County. That raises his season total to 1,062 yards and 17 touchdowns. On defense he had two interceptions, including a sparkling 72 yard Pick 6. In less than THREE seasons, Ethan has compiled TWENTY FOUR Interceptions, including 10 his freshman year..

*Nikolas Weibert-Bridgeport - In Bridgeport’s 34-30 win over Ravenna, QB Weibert hit 18 of 27 passes for 159 yards and 3 TDs. Nikolas also gained 135 yards rushing on 19 carries and 2 TDs in the win. For the season, he's completed 61% of his 131 passes for 1,209 yards and 20 touchdowns with just two INTs. The Bridgeport star has also rushed for 426 yards and an additional 7 touchdowns. On defense, Weibert has 58 tackles and 4 interceptions.

*Sam Souerdyke, Laken Wiedel-Thayer Central - Sensational Sam Souerdyke rushed for 211 yards and three touchdowns on 35 carries in Thayer Central’s 1st Round 36-30 playoff win over a strong Johnson Brock team. In the process, Sam raised his season rushing total to 1,297 yards with 25 TDs. Souerdyke also raised his Career Rushing total to 4,729 yards (81 TDs), just 271 yards short of the coveted 5000 yard career rushing mark. Laken Weidel added 110 yards on 12 carries with two touchdowns in the win.

*Mikey Bartu, Bobcats “D”-EMF - Bartu rushes for 264 yards and SIX touchdowns on 38 carries in the Bobcats 50-20 win over a fine Hartington/ Newcastle team. The Exeter-Milligan/Friend defense held Hartington/ Newcastle to 101 total yards for the entire game. Powerful Mikey Bartu now has 1,395 yards and 23 touchdowns on the season.

**Special Recognition for NEVER Giving Up and Beating the Odds**

**2000 Yard Passing Alert**

*1000 Yard Receiver Alert*

*Christian Torrez, Isaiah Yellow Cloud-Santee - They never won a game this past season. They finished 0-8, outscored 584 to 275, Two opponents layed over 90 points on them, another hitting 83 and one reaching 78.

Yet, Santee Warriors quarterback Christian Torrez LED 6-Man football in the state of Nebraska in passing yardage with 2,466 yards with 33 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. His favorite receiver, Isaiah Yellow Cloud, was a 1000 yard receiver, catching 62 passes for 1,001 yards.

For his career at Santee, where the Warriors won only two games and lost 19 past three seasons, the sharpshooting Torrez completed 463 of 814 passes for 6,387 yards (57%) for 84 touchdowns and 41 interceptions.

I remember seasons when Santee couldn’t finish a season. They just didn’t have enough healthy players to do it, but things have changed and for stars like the great Christian Torrez, despite not winning a game this Fall, it’s all about finishing the job, and finishing it in grandiose style.

Like LEADING the State in Passing Yards. Well done my friend. WELL DONE Mr. Torrez. You are a BALLER!