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

 

 

2024 Outstanding Contributor Bob Jensen & President Dave Stoddard

2024 Outstanding Contributor Bob Jensen & President Dave Stoddard

2024 Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Rich Rethwisch & President Dave Stoddard

2024 Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Rich Rethwisch & President Dave Stoddard

2024 All Star Cheerleaders

2024 All Star Cheerleaders

Tucker Shabram of O'Neil buying lemonade from the neighborhood on way to game

Tucker Shabram of O’Neil buying lemonade from the neighborhood on way to game

Our Ball Boys! Future All Stars!

Our Ball Boys! Future All Stars!

2024 Red Team Captains Garrett Schultz (Wayne), Keenan Valverde (Pierce), Carter Janssen (Norfolk Catholic), Ben Sousek (Norfolk Catholic)

James Fogleman, Mitchell Hupp, Hank Hudson, Blake Borchers

2024 White Team Captains James Fogleman (Boone Central), Mitchell Hupp (Stanton), Hank Hudson (Boone Central), Blake Borchers (Battle Creek)

2024 Most Valuable Teammate Mitchell Hupp, Stanton

2024 Most Valuable Teammate Mitchell Hupp, Stanton

Most Valuable Teammate Ben Sousek, Norfolk Catholic

Most Valuable Teammate Ben Sousek, Norfolk Catholic

Defensive Red Team MVP Mason Weidner

Defensive Red Team MVP Mason Weidner (Norfolk Catholic)

Defensive White Team MVP Dylon Lueking

Defensive White Team MVP Dylon Lueking (Elgin Public/Pope John)

Offensive Red Team MVP Keenan Valverde

Offensive Red Team MVP Keenan Valverde (Pierce)

Offensive White Team MVP James Fogleman

Offensive White Team MVP James Fogleman (Boone Central)

Jarod Bearinger, back judge; Aaron Kruger, line judge; Jeremy Woeppel, umpire; Steve Arehart, head linesman; Steven Hankla, referee (Crew Chief) 

 

 

2024 Cheerleading Squads

 

2024 Banquet Speaker Bill Lafleur

 

The 2024 speaker for the NEN All Star Football Classic banquet is Bill Lafleur. Bill graduated from Norfolk Catholic High School where he participated in football, basketball, and track.  Bill attended University of Nebraska Lincoln where he played football.  He was a punter for the Big Red and lettered four years.  While at Nebraska, Bill set records for performance index scores for punters as well as setting a record for season punting average.  Bill led the BiG XII as a senior and was named Second Team All Conference as well as a First Team Academic All American for the Big Red.  During his time at Nebraska (1994-1999), Bill was a member of three National Title teams. 

After graduating from Nebraska, Bill played professional football for six  years before retiring in 2008.  He played for the New Orleans Saints, San Diego Chargers, and the San Francisco 49’ers as well as time in the CFL and NFL Europe.  

Bill has an undergraduate degree in history from the University of Nebraska and Masters Degrees in Teaching and Administration from the University of Nebraska Omaha and Wayne State College respectively.  Bill accepted a job to teach and coach at Norfolk Catholic in 2012 and transitioned to being the Elementary Principal at Norfolk Catholic in 2016.   

Bill is married to Jade Lafleur who is a realtor in Norfolk and owns RELY Real Estate Company. They have three children: Knox (13), Lola (10), and Vivienne (6) who all attend NorfolK Catholic.

Bill Lafleur

2024 Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award

Rich Rethwisch graduated from Elkhorn Valley High School in Tilden, NE, where he participated in football, basketball, track, and Legion baseball, gaining all conference football and basketball honors, along with making the Class C all-state basketball team and the North team in the 3rd annual Coach’s Association All-Star Basketball team his senior year.  Rich retired from a 42 year teaching and coaching career in 2018 and just this year retired from a 45 year officiating career.  

His first head football coaching job was at Ainsworth, NE, where he was hired in 1978.  After an initial less than average first year, Rich led Ainsworth to their first winning season in eight years culminating his second season with a 3-0 win over Chadron in the Rangeland Conference title game and followed that with three more East Rangeland titles, which included four straight wins over arch-rival Valentine and Ainsworth’s first ever state playoff berth, a 1980 Class B state appearance opposite McCook.  

He was hired in 1983 as head football and track coach at O’Neill St. Mary’s where the Cardinals made their first appearances ever in state playoff history, going three straight years and winning the 1984 Class C-2 State Championship, beating Grant, 39-15.  

After a brief tenure at hometown Elkhorn Valley, where they snapped a 29 game losing streak, Rich was hired at Pierce and continued their winning tradition owning a  three year record of 29-5 and two straight Class B state playoff appearances, which included semi-final and final appearances, losing to Elkhorn, 31-17, in the 1989 Class B final.  Rich stated he was blessed to have won as a young coach where speed and talent overcame his coaching, but adds assistant coaches John Lucero, Tom Earley, Randy Pospisil, Tom Martin, Ron Soenksen, as blessings to have on staff.    

He finished his football coaching career at Neligh-Oakdale where they stopped a 26 game losing streak and Wayne High, making two straight Class C-1 playoff appearances.  He finished his tenure with a 110-92 record.

Along with attending Elkhorn Valley, Rich attended Doane College and Wayne State College, receiving his Master’s Degree in Counseling from WSC.  His idea jump-started the NEN All-Star Football Classic, and he was a founding Classic Board member.  He was the Red Team’s first head coach, winning the initial 2013 Classic, 20-10.  He also officiated the 2019 Classic.  Rich also served as an assistant coach for the 1992 Nebraska Shrine Bowl and officiated that contest as well in 2007. 

Rich has been married for 43 years to the former Kathi Tomjack of Ewing, calling her the outstanding backbone of our family.  They have three children, Cali and husband Cody Guffey of Omaha, Gage and wife Jaci (Weidner) and three sons, Knox, Easton, and Miles of rural Norfolk, and Luke and wife Savannah (Bush) of Omaha.  

Rich Rethwisch

Rich Rethwisch

 

2024 Outstanding Contributors Award

Bob Jensen established Huskerland Prep Report in 1990 and has been covering Nebraska statewide football ever since, adding basketball to the mix in 1995. For 33 years Huskerland was a weekly printed product, adding a Web presence in 1999 when he became the Rivals.com Nebraska high school publisher.

In addition to his “hobby” of publishing, Huskerland Bob and his wife Penni were weekly community newspaper publishers in both Callaway (4 years) and Central City (31 years). Bob got his start in newspaper sports writing at his hometown Arnold Sentinel, where he reported junior high and high school sports, and Little League baseball, for six years. He later served as sports editor for newspapers in Broken Bow, Alliance, Fairbury and Lexington before he and Penni became newspaper publishers.

A 1976 graduate of dear old Arnold High (you can look it up), Bob is a member of the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame (Class of 2015), Nebraska Eight-Man Hall of Fame (2019), and is undefeated in elephant racing, winning his only race at Alliance in the fall of 1982. Again, you can look it up!

Bob and Penni have been married for 38 years and have two children, son Matthew and daughter Jessie, and a Golden Retriever named Cooper.

Bob Jensen

Bob Jensen