Nebraska
Friday Night Stars: Week 8’s top performances in Nebraska high school football
By Nathan Charles
Nebraska hasn’t been a spot too many Division I packages have traditionally regarded for quarterback recruits. It appears these days are altering.
Oklahoma State recruit Zane Flores had six landing passes, Westside’s Anthony Rezac and Millard South’s Cam Kozeal had perhaps the best head-to-head matchup in Nebraska historical past, Pierce’s Abe Scholting wanted simply 9 passes for 294 passing yards, and Neligh-Oakdale’s Aiden Kuester had his third recreation of eight or extra touchdowns.
Cole Ballard, Elkhorn South Working Again
What might need Ballard achieved with a full recreation of carries? Properly, in only a half he scored a Class A file seven touchdowns and amassed 338 yards of whole offense. Ballard has had a number of landing runs in each recreation however two this season and now has had six or extra in two of the final three video games. He’s making a case for himself as one of the best again within the state.
Zane Flores, Gretna Quarterback
Ballard wasn’t the one varsity participant with a mind-boggling first half in Friday’s Week 8 of highschool motion. Flores threw six landing passes, had a 73% completion price and threw for 292 yards in simply two quarters of motion. It was the second time Flores had six landing throws in his profession and ups his profession whole to 68.
Anthony Rezac, Westside Quarterback
Rezac was merely magical in a 41-34 extra time win in opposition to Millard South that will go down as one of the best quarterback duel in Nebraska historical past. The Warrior sign caller introduced his crew again from a 14-0 deficit within the first quarter and a 34-31 gap with beneath six minutes to play that resulted in a subject objective and extra time. He then threw his second landing move of the evening in OT that stood up because the game-winner. Rezac accounted for all 5 Westside touchdowns, speeding for 3, throwing two whereas additionally passing for 286 yards and speeding for 155.
Cam Kozeal, Millard South Quarterback
Kozeal was the opposite half of that quarterback duel at Westside. Though he was the tough-luck loser, Kozeal couldn’t have achieved way more for the Patriots, throwing for 227 yards and a landing whereas additionally including three speeding touchdowns. Millard South hadn’t misplaced a recreation this 12 months with Kozeal beneath middle till this previous Thursday. He and the Patriots will probably be a harmful low seed when the playoffs roll round in two weeks.
Jace Chrisman, Grand Island Working Again
Chrisman gave his crew a profession efficiency simply when Grand Island wanted it most. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior rushed for 196 yards and three touchdowns. He opened the scoring with a 7-yard run, added a 41-yard landing for a 24-7 halftime lead then capped a drive on a 4-yard run that restored a 10-point lead after Omaha North had reduce the result in 24-21 within the third quarter. His speeding whole was his greatest by 33 yards and the second time he’s scored three speeding touchdowns as an Islander.
Colton Marsh, Grand Island Working Again/Defensive Again
Marsh was Chrisman’s starring counterpart on the defensive aspect of the ball within the Islanders’ large win over Omaha North. Marsh intercepted three passes, one within the second quarter and two extra that stopped North drives late within the recreation together with his crew main by 10. He additionally ran again the following kickoff for a landing moments after the Vikings had reduce the Islanders’ result in 10-7 within the second quarter.
Jackson Williams, Millard West Large Receiver
Williams turned a move from quarterback Brody Peterson right into a 69-yard landing on a fourth-and-7 that received the sport for Millard West in a highway showdown at Southwest. It was a profession evening for the junior receiver on seven catches for 184 yards and three touchdowns. Williams different scoring performs included receptions for five and 39 yards.
Cal Newell, Lincoln Southwest Working Again
Newell’s efforts would possibly get misplaced in the long term, however his efficiency deserves each little bit of notoriety as Williams. Newell went over 200 yards speeding for the primary time in his profession, picked up a complete of 268 yards and scored three touchdowns. His 34 carries had been additionally probably the most of his profession. Millard West selected to focus on the Southwest receivers, and Newell took benefit.
Max Buettenback, Lincoln Southeast Working Again
Buettenback has been the Southeast workhorse all 12 months, has averaged over six yards per carry with 9 touchdowns however has arguably by no means been higher than Friday evening when he discovered the tip zone 5 occasions. The senior solely wanted 16 carries to amass 223 yards and was the primary cause the Knights responded to back-to-back losses and saved their playoff hopes alive.
Sebastian Boyle, Scottsbluff
Gering was no match for the Bearcats and their prime operating again. Boyle scored the primary 4 Scottsbluff touchdowns on runs of fifty, 28, 22 and 55. All collectively, Boyle totaled 233 speeding yards in his second 200-plus yard, and four-touchdown efficiency of the season. He now has over 1,100 yards on the season and 18 touchdowns for 7-1 Scottsbluff.
Abe Scholting, Pierce Quarterback
Scholting was the image of effectivity in a win over Boone Central. The Bluejays’ three-year starter wanted simply seven completions to choose up 294 passing yards and 4 touchdowns. He had lengthy scoring throws of 57 and 58 yards, went over 1,500 passing yards for the season and now has a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 27-3. These seven completions got here on simply 9 makes an attempt and improved his price to 72%.
Jacksen Wachholtz, Pierce Large Receiver
Usually when Scholting has a stat line that features practically 300 yards passing and 4 landing passes it could be secure to imagine he and tight finish Ben Brahmer had one other large day collectively. However Friday’s win over Boone Central noticed senior Jacksen Waccholtz come by means of with a breakout efficiency that included three of these 4 landing catches and 191 yards receiving.
Caden VerMaas, Millard North Working Again/Kick Returner/Free Security
VerMaas sparked an excellent begin for Millard North in a dominating win over South Sioux Metropolis. The sophomore returned two first-quarter punt returns for touchdowns and put collectively a recreation that included three whole touchdowns, 50 yards speeding, an interception and no catches allowed on 5 targets to the receivers he had in protection.
Carlos Collazo, Aurora Working Again
Collazo might need 3,000 yards already at this level if he and his offense weren’t so good. Friday’s win over Fairbury included one other abbreviated efficiency for Aurora. However he nonetheless maximized his alternatives, scoring three touchdowns within the first quarter, together with a long term of 33 yards.
Cade Kirwan, Holdrege Large Receiver
Kirwan was an enormous distinction maker for the Dusters throughout a 34-22 win over Cozad that snapped a six-game dropping skid. The senior wanted simply six catches to choose up 164 yards and rating two touchdowns. His six catches, yardage whole and two scores had been all profession highs.
Isaak Fredrickson, Raymond Central Large Receiver
Fredrickson was quarterback Rylan Stover’s favourite goal of the evening in a troublesome 34-28 loss to Lincoln Christian. Stover discovered Fredrickson 14 occasions for 188 yards and two touchdowns. It was the fourth time this season he’s gone over 100 yards receiving however the first time in his profession he’s had double digit catches. Fredrickson is as much as 756 receiving yards, a median of 18 yards per catch and eight touchdowns on the season.
Kade McIntyre, Fremont Bergan Working Again/Large Receiver
McIntyre discovered the tip zone six occasions in a win over Tekamah-Herman, speeding for 125 yards and 4 touchdowns on 21 carries whereas catching 9 passes for 69 yards and two extra scores. With one recreation remaining within the common season, McIntyre has 851 whole yards of offense and 12 touchdowns. He’s additionally received 69 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and 4 and 1/2 sacks.
Jaden Williams, Doniphan-Trumbull Quarterback
Williams was key in a 28-27 double extra time win in opposition to GICC that snapped a four-game skid. The Cardinals’ offensive chief was 25 of 39 throwing for 334 yards and two touchdowns whereas additionally including 25 yards on the bottom and two extra journeys to the tip zone. Williams has over 1,600 yards passing this season with 21 whole touchdowns by means of the air and on the bottom.
Hayden Frank, Malcolm Quarterback
Frank continues to point out his expertise as one of many state’s greatest twin menace quarterbacks, main the unbeaten Clippers to a 49-20 win over Centennial. Together with his arm, he was 9 of 12 passing for 224 yards and two touchdowns. On the bottom he discovered the tip zone 4 extra occasions, choosing up 165 yards on 13 carries.
Carson Kudlacek, Hastings St. Cecilia Quarterback
The Bluehawks remained unbeaten and Kudlacek remained an issue for opposing defenses. In a 35-14 win over Fillmore Central, Kudlacek handed for 244 yards on 12 of 18 throwing, related twice for touchdowns and located the tip zone twice extra and had 35 yards speeding.
Aiden Kuester, Neligh-Oakdale Quarterback
Kuester reached 50 whole touchdowns on the season with three by means of the air and 5 on the bottom throughout a 58-20 eight-man win over Lutheran Excessive Northeast. It was the third time this season he’s had eight or extra touchdowns, the fifth time he’s had greater than 100 yards speeding and in addition the fifth time he’s thrown for greater than 200.
Cade Hosier, Elmwood-Murdock Working Again
Hosier wanted simply six handoffs to place collectively 139 speeding yards and 4 speeding touchdowns in a 77-20 eight-man victory over Brownell-Talbot that made Elmwood-Murdock 7-1 on the season. By way of the air, he added two catches for 59 yards and one other rating. Hosier is as much as 1,512 speeding yards and 26 speeding touchdowns on the season.
Nebraska
Nebraska Football Targeting California Commit
Nebraska is now a leader to land Aiden Manutai. Here is the latest.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers aren’t exactly done in the 2025 cycle as they have been searching for some flip targets. After actively searching, the Huskers may have found another one.
That guy is Aiden Manutai. Manutai is a Kahuku High School defensive back from Kahuku, Hawaii. He plays safety and is a listed four-star from ESPN. Manutai is committed to the California Golden Bears.
Manutai has been a target for the Cornhuskers for a bit of time and started to trend towards the Cornhuskers earlier this month. Manutai was originally interested in Nebraska along with five other schools before committing to the Bears.
Manutai did not make a trip to Lincoln this weekend, which is a good sign for the Golden Bears. However, the Cornhuskers are in a good spot despite this visit not happening. The Huskers made their first bowl game in years which is a positive sign for any recruit.
Manutai is also one of many recruits who were influenced by the addition of Dawson Merritt, who recently flipped from Alabama to Nebraska. Will Manutai be the next flip for the Big Red?
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Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.
Nebraska
Analytics Review: Nebraska Football vs. Wisconsin
It was an unseasonably nice afternoon in Memorial Stadium. And no, I’m not talking about temperatures in the high 50s for the final home game. In his second game as offensive coordinator, Dana Holgorsen’s offense exploded for arguably the Nebraska offense’s best game under Matt Rhule. Dylan Raiola played his best game, throwing for over 290 yards with no sacks and no turnovers. For the first time all season, I’d say the Huskers played well in all three phases of the game, and that was enough to send them bowling this December.
The story of this game was the Huskers offense. Emmett Johnson became Nebraska’s second 100-yard running back of the Matt Rhule era, joining Anthony Grant last season against Louisiana Tech. The Huskers had just two of their runs “stuffed” (a run for 0 or fewer yards) on their way to their second-best rushing output this season.
I was struck by the blocking effort in this game. Jahmal Banks held his block on the edge until Dante Dowdell crossed the goal line. Linemen were pulling and still blocking ten yards downfield, helping players fight for extra yards. That type of extra effort made this a special night for the offense.
The Husker’s offense also dominated the control of the ball. The Nebraska offense was built on methodical drives. Even if you remove Nebraska’s two explosive plays, the Huskers offense still managed an EPA of 3.88. This was the first game all season where Nebraska’s non-explosive plays went for a positive EPA.
Special teams was also a big positive for the Huskers in this game. Nebraska’s special teams performed 12.5 points better than Wisconsin’s this game. This was just the second time this season that Nebraska’s special teams unit was a net positive (Ohio State, 2.86 EPA). John Hohl’s 14 points were the most by a kicker in the Matt Rhule era.
The defense still had its concerning moments this game. Wisconsin performed in the 90th percentile or better in many offensive statistics, including its seven explosive plays. These big plays are a cause for concern against Iowa, as the Wisconsin offense is one of the worst teams in the country in generating explosive plays, at just 5.8%. The Nebraska defense was stout on crucial plays, allowing just a 30% 3rd-down success rate and a 33% red zone success rate.
Going into this game, Nebraska lost nine straight games after winning number five and ten consecutive games to Wisconsin. Many people on social media want to make fun of Nebraska fans for storming the field after getting to bowl eligibility. I’m happy these people can enjoy their laughs while they can. The Matt Rhule rebuild is running on schedule, and we all know what year three looks like for him.
Through 11 games, the Nebraska skill position group is the youngest in college football. The extra practice to build chemistry with each other and get more practice reps running Holgorsen’s offense is invaluable. The 2024 seniors won much less than most in Lincoln would’ve liked. But as they walked off the field for the final time, they put Nebraska football on a new trajectory.
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Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.
Nebraska
Gallery: Nebraska Volleyball Sweeps Wisconsin on Senior Night
Nebraska and Wisconsin Volleyball have played a total of six sets against each other this season, all of which have been won by the Huskers. Seniors, Merritt Beason, Leyla Blackwell, Lindsay Krause, Kennadi Orr and Lexi Rodriguez were all celebrated for their contributions to the program after tonight’s win.
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