Huskerland Blowback: Regions I-II
With Week One in the books, it finally feels like real football season is here. Mostly because it is.
The season started better for some teams than others - actually that's a 50-50 proposition now that I think of it - but there were some highlights to recall. We'll mix those in with some coach's comments in this segment, and I'd appreciate your feedback on this feature, so hit me up on Twitter @HuskerlandBob.
| Who | What | When | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1. Alliance |
Beat Chadron 31-14. |
Great start in Opening Weekend for our Panhandle darkhorse. |
Several key four-year starters made it happen. |
|
2. Hershey |
Beat Gibbon 13-6. |
Again, good opening win for the Panthers against a program that's been top notch. |
Defense steps up. Telling you now, Jason Davis is an all-state defensive lineman type. |
|
3. Mullen |
Beat Brady 78-16. |
Broncos took control pretty much from opening kickoff. That's going to happen a lot this season. |
Sophomore Lane Edis, son of Mullen all-time great Wade Edis, scored four TDs. He's the perfect fit with a really talented senior class. |
|
4. Stapleton |
Won first game since once again becoming an independent program. |
Broncos were winless in 2015, losing all but one of their games by 30 points or more. |
Those freshmen who played last year? They ain't freshmen no more. |
|
5. Hershey |
Defense limited Gibbon to just six points. |
Controlled the line of scrimmage all night long. |
That's a big ol' defensive line at Hershey. |
Coachspeak: Chris Seebohm, Alliance. "We did some very good things on both sides of the ball. Penalties limited some of our scoring opportunities in the first half, but we moved the ball efficiently and played sound defense. As always, there are some things we need to work on being this is our first game. I'm glad to come away with a win and all of our guys healthy.
"Offensively, we blocked really well and our running backs made some great reads. Defensively, our guys watched a lot of film and seemed to pick up on their tendencies. Besides that, we swarmed the football well and were able to get some turnovers. I'm very glad to have the coaches we have on staff. They do a tremendous job preparing our guys to play on Friday."
My Hero: Alliance. Brody Brennan rushed six times for 114 yards, with a 70-yarder mixed in, also caught four passes for 72 yards. Bryant Wilson had four tackles for loss, caused a fumble, recovered a fumble, and blocked a punt. Lane Lauder had three pass break-ups and a sack.
Coachspeak: Jeff Gross, McCook. "Beating Aurora (23-13) was a great win in a back and forth game. We really felt like we took control of the line of scrimmage as the game wore on and in the decisive 4th quarter the holes that were not there all game began to appear. We played great run defense and did not allow Dibbern any running lanes.
"We also managed to keep them from running and ball and make them (Aurora) one-dimensional, and that's due to some great play by our front eight."
My hero: McCook's junior all-state candidate Zach Schlager "was all over the place had a huge game," says Coach Gross, adding, "(Duncan) Fassler had a ton of tackles and three TD runs."
| Who | What | When | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1. South Loup and Ainsworth. |
Both gained unexpected Week 1 wins. |
Friday night at Arnold they meet. |
Ainsworth scored 46 points in Week 1. While playing C-1 the Bulldogs scored 46 total in 2011, 41 in 2012, 40 in 2013, 25 in 2010. South Loup proved itself with huge road win at Hemingford |
|
2. Ansley-Litchfield |
Rallied from 30-0 first period deficit to beat Anselmo-Merna 46-44. |
Rest of the game the Spartans ruled. |
Stuck with the running game, didn't panic, making HC Kurt Kulhanek's debut a winner. |
|
3. Twin Loup |
Upset No. 3 Sandhills/Thedford 42-23. |
Right away, took the lead and never looked back. |
Because Twin Loup, now in Class D-2, has great balance on its team, which had faced terribly difficult D-1 schedules the past two seasons. What goes around comes around. |
|
4. Kearney |
Beat arch rival Grand Island 28-14. |
Fourth down. Two big second-half stops by Bearcats turned the game in their favor. |
Tough win could prove launching pad for Kearney, wait and see. |
|
5. Slim Shady |
My new persona? |
Eminem my walk-up music for last week's NTV picks. |
Remember Steve Martin in Bringing Down the House? |
Coachspeak: Andy Schwarz, South Loup. "I think this win over Hemingford is just a confidence booster for us. Being down 22-7 at halftime and just getting physically manhandled in the first half, our guys never gave up and kept believing we could and would get the win.
"Our tackling was a big strong point for us, we swarmed to the ball and were just relentless. The biggest thing we kept them from doing was getting that big play. We made them grind it out and never gave up the back breaker big play that switches the momentum."
My Hero: For South Loup, Jack Rush completed 12-of-22 passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns, with Blake Schwarz catching four passes for 100 yards and two scores. 135-pound sophomore Cole Gracey had 14 tackles in his first varsity start.
Coachspeak: Jake Nelson, Ainsworth. "The boys came into the game nervous and it showed the first quarter. We missed some tackles, overplayed and got out of position on defense, and dropped some balls that could have made for big plays.
"After we got down twelve points, I told the boys to settle down... this is eight man football, we can get right back into the game with one play. That's just what happened a couple plays later. My junior quarterback Payton Allen took a busted play for a long gain to Ravenna's ten yardline. A couple plays later he scored on a sneak. That brought the energy level and concentration back up. We started playing more aggressively on defense and tackled better and pretty much dominated the rest of the game except for a couple plays. I was glad to see the boys bounce back after that slow start because they could have just rolled over and thought "Here it goes again", but instead they came together as a team and showed a lot of people how talented they really are.
"For me personally, it was great to get back into the head coaching role after so many years of being an assistant. I had one win in three years as a Humphrey Bulldog...I've already matched that in my first group with these Bulldogs."
My Hero: Ainsworth junior quarterback Allen, a three-year starter, rushed for 191 yards and three TDs, part of a 384-yard rushing attack by the Bulldogs.