Mom! Dad! I’m home to talk about my being a football hero tonight!

Crickets.

Turns out Joe Kolega, said football hero, was home alone.

Maybe it was for the best, at least in a temporary sort of way, since he had been through the ringer in the previous few hours, and in a most delightful way. On a historic night where his Skutt Catholic team ended Bennington’s awesome 46-game winning streak Joe had just played judge, jury and football executioner. And by that I mean executing in every phase of the game.

There were the two long touchdown receptions in the first quarter, when he had 129 yards receiving and his team a 21-0 lead. There was the crucial first-half interception. Oh, and then there was the 25-yard field goal that proved the winning points and the pick-six that sorta sealed the deal. It was a performance for the ages, in a most clutch fashion under a most historic set of circumstance.

Mom? Dad?

“After the game was pretty crazy, lots of congratulations, hugs and handshakes. It’s all a blur, to be honest,” says Joe. And if you want proof, just flip through Saturday’s World-Herald and check out that masterpiece of a photo shot by Megan Nielsen, the one with the oncoming student section about to wash over our football hero. (Great job, Megan!) “When things settled down I got home but my folks weren’t there, they were still at the parents’ party.”

So there he sat. But only for a while, then his folks pull up in the driveway and the celebratory interpretation of the night’s events began. Mom! Dad!

Skutt’s 38-30 victory not only ended Bennington’s Class B state record winning streak it also brought Joe’s team even with the Badgers and Elkhorn North at the top of the B-1 district standings. All three teams are poised to make a state championship run, it will be fun to watch how that all plays out.

“It had gotten old, losing to Bennington. They are a great team but it felt like it was our time,” says Joe. In fact, last season the Badgers beat Skutt twice, including in the Class B state final. “Our defense played really well that night and we made enough plays on offense and special teams to win. It was a great win that boosted our confidence for what the playoffs bring.”

Born in Omaha, Joe has two older brothers and an older sister, and one of the brothers and his sister were at the Bennington game to share in all the excitement. He’s a big fan of wintertime snow boarding and he loves to Skutt Catholic games to support his friends, often winding up at Texas Roadhouse or trying out that Applebee’s unlimited wings challenge. (Sounds like a horrible idea to allow a football team to try...) When it comes to his favorite meal, though, he goes back to his mom and dad’s brisket - “it’s top notch” - and he’s musical tastes have a wide range, depending on his mood. He’s not a big movie guy but he had to check out the Netflix series, Receiver. Naturally.

He is an extraordinary classroom student, his excellence in his AP classes driving his GPA to what sounds like a make believe number, 4.137. (but it’s not) His favorite class is a sports officiating class taught by his baseball coach (good call, way to butter up the coach, Joe!) and he also enjoys as a youth mentor to younger Skutt students, a program called “Little Hawks.” He’s an exceptional baseball player, too, a center fielder who hit right at .400 last season, and he’s leaning toward a college baseball career, though he now admits nights like last night might give him second thoughts about a possible football future. Though not 100 percent sure, he’s thinking once in college he could well wind up studying exercise science with the idea of becoming a physical therapist, allowing him to stay close to sports.

Back to Joe’s big night. The touchdown receptions, he says it was all this quarterback, Dylan Van Dyke. His field goal, he says he just trusted his process. The pick-six? Saw it coming all the way, baby.

“I could see they were setting up a hook-and-ladder, which they had scored on before, so I just made my move and made a play.”

And made a football night he will remember for the rest of his life. Mom and Dad’s, too.