2024 NEN All Star Football Classic by Daniel Marco, Norfolk Daily News
Following a Class C1 state football championship last fall, Boone Central sent four players to the 11th annual Northeast Nebraska All-Star Football Classic, tied for the most of any team.
The Cardinals made their presence felt.
A trio of Boone Central players — Hank Hudson, James Fogleman and Parker Borer — provided all three touchdowns for the White Team in a 21-14 victory at Veterans Memorial Field on Saturday.
“I knew we had a great group of guys, and coming in to practice with us four, it was great,” Fogleman said. “I was glad that both the Boone kids and other kids that we played against had a chance to ball out in this game.” Fogleman won the offensive MVP award for the White Team, racking up 96 yards passing and 40 yards rushing to go along with one passing touchdown.
“It was kind of unexpected, but it’s nice because I’m not going to get to put on the pads again, so it’s good to go out with a bang,” Fogleman said.
Both teams pitched shutouts to start the game, with the score tied at 0-0 after the first quarter.
Shortly after the second quarter started, the Red Team broke the seal, with Norfolk Catholic’s Carter Janssen connecting with Lutheran High Northeast’s Tate Collison on a 58-yard play-action touchdown. Collison made a terrific play, making an almost blind over-the-shoulder catch before running nearly 30 yards to pay dirt. “I really wanted these boys to play for each other today, and I thought they did that,” said Red Team coach Mike Hassler of Wakefield.
The White Team responded with a drive late in the second quarter to tie things up.
Its offense, which had been struggling to gain traction, found a spark by running the option as Borer was able to find the edge multiple times, scampering for 48 yards on six carries during the drive. On first and 10 from the Red Team’s 33-yard line, Fogleman lofted a pass to Battle Creek’s Blake Borchers, who made an acrobatic catch at the 2-yard line to set up Hudson’s short plunge on the next play, evening the game at 7-7.
“Offensively, we just tried to do what works and get the ball to Parker (Borer), which worked there,” Fogleman said.
The White Team then got the ball back at the 49-yard line with only 48 seconds to go in the half, but instead of running the clock out, White Team coach Cory Valasek of Riverside decided to try for a score. It paid off. Fogleman connected on a long pass down the right side of the field to Elkhorn Valley’s Dawson Hansen for a 49-yard score and a 14-7 halftime lead.
“That was big. Anytime you can get momentum going into halftime and get the ball again to start the second half, it can blow it open,” Valasek said. “That play really did it for us today.”
“We came into the game going run heavy, but we knew we could throw it over the top if we got the
backers flowing down,” Fogleman said. “We were actually trying to hit the quick out there, but both of the backers covered it so I just took the shot and it worked out. That was a big game changer for us.”
The White Team extended the lead to 21-7 on its first drive of the third quarter.
A kickoff return by Spencer Hille of Plainview set the squad up at its own 40-yard line, and a steady diet of runs combined with a 15-yard face-mask penalty put the ball on the 1-yard line, where Borer punched it in on third and goal.
The White Team’s defense managed to hold the Red Team off the board in the second half until late in the fourth quarter, with defensive MVP Dylon Lueking of Elgin Public/Pope John making a number of tackles to disrupt the Red Team’s running game.
“Defensively, we were limited to running a 4-3 and couldn’t blitz, but good players make good plays, and we were fortunate to have a lot of good players do that today,” Valasek said.
A late score with less than two minutes left made things interesting.
The Red Team turned to a no-huddle offense with Hartington-Newcastle quarterback Riley Sudbeck in an attempt to go up-tempo. The Wildcat graduate led an 11-play, 61-yard drive that he finished with a quarterback keeper for a 1-yard touchdown with 1:52 left on the clock to cut the lead to 21-14.
“We just got to the point where I told the offensive coaches, ‘We have to start going for it,’ and we
emptied everything from the playbook,” Hassler said. “Whatever we worked on over the week, we tried to use, and we spread them out and found something that worked to get ourselves back into the game.”
The Red Team got the ball back at its own 25-yard line with 38 seconds remaining and had a chance to send the game to overtime, but the White Team sealed the win as Sudbeck had a pass tipped up into the air, which Oakland-Craig’s Lincoln Benne picked off for a game-ending interception. “When you get into all-star games, it’s really just athletes making plays, and they did that there,” Hassler said.
Both sides valued the camaraderie and team-building over the past week as it was the last chance to suit up for many of the players.
“There’s a lot of guys on teams that have played against each other for four years and might not have been the best of friends, but they practice all week long and end up becoming good friends,” Valasek said. “I think that’s the best part about this.”
“We just wanted to have fun,” Fogleman said. “A lot of these guys, it’s their last time putting on the pads, including me, so we wanted to go out there and have fun, and it was a great game and a great experience.”
“A lot of these boys, it’s their last chance to strap on a helmet, so we really wanted them to cherish this, almost as a gift,” Hassler said. “This is a memory that they’re going to cherish, so just go out there and don’t regret anything, and I think the kids took advantage of that gift. It was a great opportunity.”
With the win, the White Team avenged its 42-14 loss in last year’s game. The White Team now leads the all-time series 7-4 and has won five of the past six matchups.
While Fogleman and Lueking won the White Team’s MVP awards, Stanton’s Mitchell Hupp won the best teammate award. Pierce’s Keenan Valverde won the offensive MVP for the Red Team, rushing for 67 yards and kicking two extra points, while Norfolk Catholic’s Mason Weidner won the defensive MVP. Ben Sousek of Norfolk Catholic won the best teammate award.
Northeast Nebraska All-Star Football Classic
Red 0 7 0 7 — 14
White 0 14 7 0 — 21
SECOND QUARTER
R: Tate Collison (LHNE) 58 pass from Carter Janssen (NC) (Keenan Valverde (PIE) kick)
W: Hank Hudson (BC) 2 run (Samuel Zazueta (NOR) kick)
W: Dawson Hansen (EV) 49 pass from James Fogleman (BC) (Zazueta kick)
THIRD QUARTER
W: Parker Borer (BC) 1 run (Zazueta kick)
FOURTH QUARTER
R: Riley Sudbeck (HN) 1 run (Valverde kick)
June 8, 2024 Official Stats for NEN ALL STAR FOOTBALL CLASSIC
White Team:
Rushing:
Parker Borer- 30/133 yds, 1 TD
James Fogleman- 7/45yds
Hank Hudson- 1/2yds, 1 TD
Landon Weindandt- 1/-4yds
Mitchell Hupp- 2/18yds
Total Rushing Yards- 41 carries for 194 yards
Receiving:
Landon Weindandt- 1/6yds
Spencer Hille- 1/12yds
Blake Borchers- 1/30yds
Dawson Hansen- 2/62yds, 1 TD
Parker Borer- 1/-5
Total Receiving Yards- 105 yards
Passing:
James Fogleman- 6/10 105, 1 TD
Punting:
Sam Zazueta- 4/158, 39.5 avg
Kicking:
Sam Zazueta- 4/233, 58.25 avg with 2 touch backs
Same Zazueta- 3/3 Extra Points, 0/1 49yd field goal attempt
Kick Returns:
Spencer Hille- 2/57yds long return was 34yds
Blake Borchers- 1/0yds
Scoring:
Parker Borer- 6
Hank Hudson- 6
Dawson Hansen- 6
Sam Zazueta- 3
Tackling:
Ryan Brichacek- 2 assisted
Landon Weinandt- 1 assisted
Colton Klosen- 2 unassisted, 3 assisted
Hank Hudson- 3 unassisted, 6 assisted
Dylon Lueking- 9 unassisted, 2 assisted, 2 pass deflections
Landen Redding- 2 assisted
Cameron Korth- 2 unassisted, 1 assisted
Blake Henn- 3 unassisted, 4 assisted
Lincoln Benne- 1 unassisted, 1 assisted, 1 Interception
Kyler Case- 1 assisted
Dylan Higby- 1 unassisted, 1 assisted
Mitchell Hupp- 1 unassisted
Connor Kreikemeier- 1 unassisted, 4 assisted
Parker Wiedeman- 1 unassisted
Mavrick Hagemann- 2 unassisted
Trent Patzel- 1 assisted
Brendan Weber- 1 assisted
Red Team:
Rushing:
Keenan Valverde- 14/66yds
Clayton Carney- 2/5yds
Riley Sudbeck- 10/26yds, 1 TD
Carter Janssen- 4/5yds
Dayton Sudbeck- 2/-4yds
Total Rushing Yards- 32 carries for 98 yards
Receiving:
Clayton Carney- 2/23yds
Carson Wieseler- 3/39yds
Tate Collison- 5/80yds, 1 TD
Total Receiving yards- 142 yards
Passing:
Riley Sudbeck- 7/15, 67yds, 1 INT
Carter Janssen- 3/6, 71yds, 1 TD
Punting:
Riley Sudbeck- 6/198, 33 yard average
Punt Returns:
Wiley Ziegler- 3/41, 13.6 average return
Kicking:
Keenan Valverde- 3/99, 33yd average
Keenan Valverde- 2/2 extra points
Kick Returns:
Wiley Ziegler- 1/17, 17yd average
Keenan Valverde- 1/15, 15yd average
Scoring:
Riley Sudbeck- 6
Tate Collison- 6
Keenan Valverde- 2
Tackling:
Dalton Lamprecht- 1 unassisted, 1 assisted
Mason Weidner- 2 unassisted, 7 assisted
Champion White- 2 unassisted, 5 assisted, 2 Pass Deflections
Karsan Albers- 4 unassisted, 3 assisted
Ty Thoene- 2 unassisted, 1 assisted
Ian Laetsch- 2 unassisted
Michael Dickens- 1 unassisted, 4 assisted
Garrett Schultz- 2 unassisted, 2 assisted
Carter Janssen- 1 unassisted, 1 assisted
Tucker Shabram- 2 assisted
Casey Jeannoutot- 1 unassisted, 4 assisted
Hunter Heikes- 2 assisted
Keenan Valverde- 1 unassisted
Chase Schroeder- 1 assisted
Caleb Davis- 1 assisted
Wiley Ziegler- 2 assisted, 2 Pass Deflections
Zach Meier- 3 unassisted, 1 assisted
Ben Sousek- 1 unassisted
William Paxton- 2 assisted
William Steffen- 1 assisted
2013-2024 Northeast Nebraska All-Star Football Classic Records
Team Records
Series Record – Red 4 wins – White 7 wins
Most Yards Rushing – Red – 260 – 2014
Most Yards Passing – Red – 423 – 2018
Most Total Yards – Red – 513 – 2018
Most First Downs – White – 23 – 2016
Most Points – White – 49 – 2016
Most Total Points Combined – 75 – 2018
Most Passes Attempted – White – 43 – 2014
Most Passes Completed – White – 23 – 2018
Most Pass Interceptions – White – 3 – 2019, 2021
Most Fumbles Recovered – White – 2 – 2017
Red – 2 – 2019
Individual Records
Longest Rushing TD – Taggart Bailey – Pierce – Red – 31 – 2016
Longest Passing TD – Bryce Kerkman – West Holt – Red – 81 – 2018
Longest TD Reception – Mason Lee – Wayne – Red – 81 – 2018
Most Yards Rushing – Noah Scott – Randoph – Red – 154 – 2019
Most Yards Passing – Alex Thramer – O’Neill – White – 348 – 2018
Most Carries – Noah Scott – Randolph – Red – 34 – 2019
Most Passes Completed – Alex Thramer – O’Neill – White – 23 – 2018
Most Pass Receptions – Mason Lee – Wayne – Red – 10 – 2018
Most Yards Receiving – Mason Lee – Wayne – Red – 275 – 2018
Most Receiving Touchdowns – Mason Lee – Wayne – Red – 3 – 2018
Most Rushing Touchdowns – Karter Kerkman – Norfolk Catholic – Red – 3 – 2023
Most Passing Touchdowns – Gunner Fuelberth – Norfolk – White – 5 – 2016
Longest Kickoff Return – Grant Meyer – Logan View – White – 45 yds – 2017
Longest Punt Return – Sutton Pohlman – Stanton – White – 42 yds – 2021
Most Interceptions – Sutton Pohlman – Stanton – White -2 – 2021
Longest Interception Return – Ty Martinsen – Riverside – 51 yds – 2019
Most PAT’s –Quinton Heineman – Pender – Red – 6 – 2023
Most FG’s – Devan Roth – Pierce – Red – 2 – 2019
Connor Clayton – Norfolk – White – 2 – 2019
Longest FG – Devan Roth – Pierce – Red – 46 yds – 2019
Longest Punt – Peyton Mathews – O’Neill – White – 58 yds – 2021
Most Tackles – Jared Janssen – Crofton – Red – 13 – 2018
