Nebraska: Champions Crowned in Lincoln

By Scott Hansen

MaxPreps.com

Class A State Championship

Millard West 21, Millard South 8

Millard West capped a perfect season by getting past suburban rival Millard South 21-8 for its first title since 2001.

Darius Evans got Millard West off to a fast start by returning the opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown to set the pace for Millard West’s second Class A title in its 13-year history.

Just 2:58 later, Kohlman Adema-Schulte plunged in from 1-yard out to extend the lead. Anthony Meyers drilled the extra point to give the Wildcats a commanding 14-0 lead with 8:48 remaining in the opening quarter of play.

In the second quarter, junior quarterback Bronson Marsh got the Patriots on the scoreboard with a 1-yard run of his own. The point after was missed, leaving Millard South behind by eight points at 14-6.

Millard West responded with an 8-play, 54-yard drive, capped off by Nate Hauptmann’s 2-yard run with 5:52 left before halftime. Meyers nailed the point after to give the Wildcats a 21-6 lead.

It would be all the Wildcats would need to ensure a perfect 13-0 season. In the second half, Millard South scored the only points of the half by way of a safety in a strange play. Millard West’s punt attempt never exited the end zone, resulting in two points for the Patriots.

Adema-Schulte, the state champion in the 100 and 200 meters last spring at the Nebraska state track meet, capped off the season with 96 yards on 17 carries. Adema-Schulte averaged 110 yards per game over the entire campaign, rushing for 16 touchdowns.

Millard West’s defense was the difference. The Wildcats held the pass-happy Patriots to 256 total yards, 187 of those coming through the air. Most importantly, Millard West intercepted Marsh twice in the victory. Meyers and Devin Samson intercepted Marsh for the Wildcats.

Marsh finished 18-of-31 through the air for 187 yards. Jordan Hale, one of the top runners in the entire state, was held to 15 yards. Hale led the Millard South defense with two interceptions.

Tyler Niederklein led Millard West’s receiving corps with four grabs for 64 yards. Hauptmann rushed for 52 yards on 10 carries to pace the Wildcat offense.

Millard South finished 9-4 on the campaign.

Class B State Championship

Aurora 20, Beatrice 14

Aurora used the momentum of its mammoth semifinal upset of McCook to produce its first-ever state football title by holding off Beatrice, 20-14.

Trailing 7-6 at intermission, the Huskies mounted a second half rally behind the play of quarterback Tyler McDonald. McDonald let Aurora on a 9-play, 84-yard drive to open the second half, capped off by Jerry Lobeda’s 2-yard touchdown run. Lobeda failed to cross the goal line with the two-point conversion attempt, which left Aurora clinging to a 12-7 lead.

In the fourth quarter, McDonald put some distance between the two teams with a stellar 29-yard scamper to pay dirt. McDonald and Lobeda hooked up for the two-point conversion, giving Aurora a 20-7 lead with 11:45 to play. The long run was McDonald’s second touchdown run of the game after opening the encounter with a 1-yard run in the first quarter.

Beatrice stormed back with an 89-yard drive. The key play was a conversion on 4th-and-5 when Philip McClure hit Justin Coleman on an 18-yard pass down to the Beatrice 48-yard line.

McClure and Coleman hooked up two more times on the drive, including a 23-yard pass down to the 6-yard line. From there, Garrett Bruhn did the rest with a 6-yard touchdown run to put Beatrice back into the game. It was Bruhn’s second touchdown run of the game after scoring on a 13-yard run in the second quarter.

Aurora’s ensuing possession only managed to burn 2:53 off the Memorial Stadium clock in five plays, resulting in a punt. Tyler Broekemeier nailed a beautiful 42-yard punt down to the 20-yard line.

Beatrice had one more crack at taking the lead. The Orangemen eventually moved the ball down to the Aurora 41-yard line, where it faced 4th-and-2. However, Beatrice was hamstrung with two false start penalties giving it 12 yards to achieve a first down. McClure’s pass attempt to Coleman fell incomplete, which send Aurora into celebratory mode.

Coleman caught five passes in the fourth quarter alone, totaling 88 yards. Coleman also rushed for 51 yards and completed 7-of-8 passes for 86 yards.

Bruhn finished with 74 rushing yards on 16 carries and led the defense with 11 tackles. McClure completed 8-of-16 through the air for 106 yards and an interception. James Rivers caught six passes for Beatrice (11-2), totaling 51 yards.

For the champions, McDonald led the way with 134 rushing yards and added 110 yards on 10-of-14 passing. Lobeda chipped in with 103 yards on the ground, while Joshua Bart caught five passes for 64 yards. Lobeda recorded 11 tackles, while Nathan Suck added nine tackles, a forced fumble, and a tackle-for-loss.

Aurora finished 12-1 on the season and won its first title in four tries. The Huskies dropped decisions in the Class B title game in 1981, 1986, and 1995.

Next season recruiters will be making frequent stops to the city of 4,225 residents east of Grand Island. Offensive tackle Andrew Rodriguez, a 300-pound monster, has verbally committed to Nebraska but received interest from Notre Dame, Texas and Wisconsin to name a few.

Class C1 State Championship

Pierce 20, Boys Town 10

For the second straight season, Pierce hoisted the state championship trophy in Class C1 after downing Boys Town, 20-10.

Boys Town – entering the title game with a perfect 12-0 mark – held the defending champions to 111 rushing yards on 32 attempts, forcing Pierce to rely on its passing game. Quarterback Anthony Lauters responded by going 8-of-12 for 153 yards and a touchdown.

Led by Isiah Gandy, Boys Town struck first blood. Gandy led the Cowboys on a methodical 14-play drive that covered 70 yards of artificial turf and capped off the drive with a 5-yard touchdown toss to Derick Brooks. Xavier Gilcrest banged through the extra point to give Boys Town a 7-0 lead with just eight seconds left in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Pierce turned to star running back Eric Koehlmoos to even the score. Koehlmoos, who had been fighting an injury-riddled senior season, scored on a 4-yard touchdown run with 9:37 left in the first half. Brody Unger converted the point after to tie the score at seven.

Just 25 second before intermission, Pierce took the lead. Kyle Stuchlik plunged in from 1-yard out to cap off an 8-play, 42-yard drive to put the Bluejays in front. Unger missed the point after, keeping the score 13-7 in favor of the defending champions at halftime.

With 1:07 left in the third quarter, Boys Town trimmed its deficit in half with a 27-yard field goal by Gilcrest. Heading into the deciding fourth quarter, Pierce was clinging to a 13-10 lead.

In the final quarter, Pierce ensured its second straight year filled with celebrations when Lauters hit Unger on an 86-yard touchdown strike with 2:51 remaining. Unger’s point after made it 20-10, which turned out to be the final count.

For Pierce, Stuchlik led the rushing attack with 42 yards while Koehlmoos chipped in with 38 yards. Unger caught four passes in the victory for 120 yards, including the insurance touchdown in the fourth quarter. Lauters and Isaiah Fisher both led the defense with 11 tackles while Rodney Jonson had two sacks and a tackle-for-loss.

Gandy finished with 166 yard passing and added 48 yards on the ground. Kevin Barrett rushed for 89 yards on 20 carries. Erskin Williams caught seven passes for 102 yards to lead the receiving corps for the Cowboys.

Class C2 State Championship

Blue Hill 14, Fremont Bergan 0

In search for its first football state title since 1979, Fremont Bergan was unable to produce the same offensive fireworks that allowed the Knights to avenge two regular season defeats en route to the state final. Blue Hill’s stingy defense was too much as the Bobcats won their first state title in school history with a 14-0 win.

Blue Hill forced four turnovers and posted its fifth shutout of the season. The Bobcats allowed seven points or less in 11 of 13 games and finished the season with a 12-1 record, winning its last 12 games following a season-opening loss to Cambridge.

After falling to Wakefield in the last two state championship games, Blue Hill finally got the monkey off its back by allowing just 120 yards against the Knights.

Sophomore quarterback Riley Gross was held to 60 passing yards and two interceptions while rushing for just four yards. Gross accounted for 549 total yards and six touchdowns as Bergan avenged losses to Stanton and Elmwood-Murdock en route to Lincoln.

With 2:02 left in the first quarter, Nathan Faimon scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to give the Bobcats a 6-0 lead. The point after was missed, keeping the tally at 6-0.

Blue Hill added an insurance touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 4-yard touchdown run by Riley Bonifas.

Both touchdown drives for Blue Hill covered a total of 86 yards and came as a result of Bergan turnovers.

Bonifas finished with 105 rushing yards for the Bobcats while Nathan Petska finished with 51. Cody Karr led Blue Hill with 13 tackles while Jared Krueger and Bryan Adams recorded interceptions for the Bobcats.

Bergan’s Nick Lambrecht led the rushing attack with 31 yards on a six carries. On defense, Jordon Bottorff had an outstanding game in a losing effort with 14 tackles and a tackle-for-loss. Tom Wendt tacked on 11 tackles and an interception for the Knights, which finished the season with a 10-3 mark.

Watch out for Bergan in the 2009 season. Gross, Josh Boggs, Connor Hotovy, and Christian Victor were key players for the Knights that will return as juniors next season.

Class D1 State Championship

Howells 46, Axtell 21

After a two-year odyssey into the rigors of 11-man football, Howells got back to business in its return to the eight-man ranks. The Bobcats – winners of six straight Class D1 titles from 2000 through 2005 – rolled over Axtell 46-21 to claim their seven title in school history.

Axtell will be having frequent nightmares of No. 39 for the foreseeable future. Clint Belina was unstoppable for Howells, rushing for 310 yards and six touchdowns on 37 carries.

Belina accounted for all 20 points in the first quarter for the Bobcats, opening the scoring on a 5-yard touchdown run with 10:53 left in the opening quarter. On the previous play before the opener, Belina broke loose on a 36-yard run and was responsible for all 53 yards on the drive on four plays.

Belina added touchdown runs of 2 and 16 yards later on in the first quarter and added a two-point conversion run following his 2-yard run.

In the second quarter, Belina accounted for 12 points as Howells continued to pour it on with a 20-point quarter. Just 15 seconds into the second quarter, Belina scored his fourth touchdown on a 4-yard run. Belina’s two-point rush failed, leaving the Howells lead at 26-0.

Axtell got on the board with 5:27 left in the second quarter when Spencer Fecht scored on a 1-yard touchdown run. Axtell’s Casey Eggleston booted through the point after, cutting the deficit to 26-7.

Belina scored again on a 3-yard run with 2:15 left in the second quarter on Howells’ ensuing possession. The drive covered 55 yards on nine plays, with Belina accounting for 33 of the yards.

The backbreaker for Axtell came as time expired in the first half. Fecht was intercepted by Cody Hegemann, who returned the pick 11 yards for a touchdown. Brian Prusa ran in the two-point conversion to give Howells a 40-7 lead at halftime.

After a scoreless third quarter, Belina got back to work in the fourth quarter. Belina scored his sixth touchdown with 9:11 remaining on a 26-yard touchdown run. The two-point attempt failed, giving Howells a 46-7 advantage.

Axtell got two consolation touchdowns in the final 3:42. Weston Gustafson scored on a 1-yard run and just 12 seconds later, James Clark returned a fumble 38 yards for a touchdown to make the final tally 46-21.

Belina accounted for all but 64 yards of offense to lead Howells. Belina also added 10 tackles, two and a half tackles-for-loss, and a sack on defense. Howells recorded seven tackles-for-loss in the victory, with Mitch Tomka leading the way with three. Brian Sindelar led the Bobcats with 14 tackles.

Grant Carlson led Axtell with 86 rushing yards on 21 carries, while Gustafson added 59 to pace the Wildcats. To go along with his fumble return for a touchdown, Clark led the way with 12 tackles on defense.

Howells moves to third in state history with seven state titles, joining Cambridge. Omaha Creighton Prep holds the record with nine, while Lincoln Southeast and Grant (now Perkins County) each have eight titles. Howells finished unbeaten at 13-0 for the fourth time in its run of seven titles.

Class D2 State Championship

Ewing 49, Humphrey St. Francis 24

Ewing claimed its first state title in school history and using a 21-point first quarter to vault itself to a 49-24 victory over Humphrey St. Francis.

In the huge first quarter for Ewing, it was the Brett and Austin Kaczor show. Brett Kaczor opened the scoring on a 6-yard run and hit Austin Kaczor on touchdown passes of 5 and 51 yards to give the Tigers a comfortable early lead.

Brett Kaczor added two more touchdown runs and hit Josiah Switzer on a 19-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to give the Tigers a 43-12 lead.

Brett Kaczor completed 10-of-11 passes for 160 yards and led the Tigers with 117 yards on 20 carries. Beau Fry added 85 yards on the ground and a touchdown for Ewing. Austin Kaczor finished with 86 receiving yards on five receptions. Brett Kaczor led the defense with 17 tackles, while Austin Kaczor added 11 tackles and a fumble recovery. Ewing finished at 12-1 on the season and participated in its first title game since 1980.

Derek Classen completed 15-of-21 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns for the Flyers, hitting Jameson Werner and Matt Korus on touchdown strikes. Korus rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown for St. Francis, which finished the season with a 12-1 record.

Contact Scott Hansen by email at maxprepsok@sbcglobal.net. Check out his new blog featuring opinions about high school sports at http://maxprepsok.blogspot.com.