(game pictures by Jeromy Vauble, J & T Shots Photography)

Our chain gang were NEN Board members Skiff, Koozer, and Carlson

Samantha Hahn, band instructor at Norfolk Catholic, played the anthem before the game.

Cheerleading squads from Pierce, Norfolk High, Norfolk Catholic, and Battle Creek were on both sidelines

The American Legion Post was there to post colors before the game

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

Kerkman breaks scoring record as Red rushes past White

By Nick Benes

Norfolk Daily News

In the 10-year history of the Northeast Nebraska All-Star Football Classic, 24 players had rushed for one touchdown. None had rushed for two or more.

Norfolk Catholic graduate Karter Kerkman and the Red team needed less than a half to take care of that anomaly.

Kerkman ran for three first-half touchdowns to set a new Northeast Nebraska All-Star Football Classic record, and the Red team rolled past the White squad 42-14 in the 10th annual exhibition played Saturday at Memorial Field in Norfolk.

“It feels pretty good,” Kerkman said of breaking the record. “But I can’t take all the credit there, because we had a great offensive line that was working hard all week to learn a new scheme, and they blocked it really well today, and we had other guys on the team who were making plays to get us close to the end zone. I was the one who got to get in.”

Kerkman was right. Nine different players on his team had at least one rushing attempt, and seven caught at least one pass. It added up to the Red team rolling up 447 yards of total offense — 227 rushing and 220 passing.

Pierce’s Abram Scholting completed 10 of 13 passes, with three of those going to Wayne’s Sedjro Agoumba for 98 yards.

“We really tried to shove about a month of football in the five days, and that’s not easy to do. … Our guys worked hard, they were attentive all week, and I’m really proud of their effort,” said Mark Brahmer of Pierce, the Red team head coach. “They’re a group that I’d love to keep for about two to three months. I think they could really become a good team. So, in five days, they did a tremendous job.”

One advantage for Brahmer and his team was that he got to coach four of his players — Scholting, along with linemen Schuyler Simpson, Carter Meier and Dawson Raabe. Those four played a big role in helping the team learn the offensive and defensive schemes.

“Those guys were really able to help teach through the week the other offensive linemen, and they were the example that I used when we were doing defensive drills, and the other guys caught on and really did a great job,” Brahmer said.

The White team still averaged almost 5 yards a carry with 184 rushing yards on 37 carries, and Aiden Kuester of Neligh-Oakdale went 16 of 29 passing for 147 yards and a score.

“We had a great week of practice, and it would have been nice to win, but the thing that makes you feel good is that the kids enjoyed the week,” said Greg Wemhoff of Elgin Public/Pope John, the White team head coach. “We would have liked to win the football game, but that team we’re playing, they had some kids who were great football players, and obviously coach Brahmer and his staff had them well-prepared.”

The dagger came with 20 seconds left in the first half, when Scholting hit Agoumba for a 46-yard strike and a 28-7 lead that it took into halftime.

It appeared that there might not have much of a chance to score one final time in the first half after a 57-yard punt by Will Hamer of Battle Creek pinned the Red team at its own 18 with 1:09 left and no timeouts. That punt was 1 yard away from the record 58-yard boot by Peyton Mathews of O’Neill just two years ago.

But Scholting and company went right to work. After two Kerkman runs netted 15 yards, Scholting heaved it up to Grant Arens of Hartington Cedar Catholic, who came back to the ball for an 11-yard catch. Scholting spiked it with 34 seconds left, found Carson Arens of Hartington Cedar Catholic for a 10-yard gain, and then hit the scoring play.

Scholting stepped back and waited for Agoumba, who made a leaping catch in front of a defender and scampered in for a touchdown to polish off the textbook two-minute drill.

“I told some of the guys on the sidelines that, if we got the ball back, we’re going to go score because we’ve got a lot of weapons,” Scholting said. “I live for those moments. I was pretty excited. I just enjoy being in those situations and make the best of it.”

Avery Overfelt of Homer added a touchdown run in the third quarter for a 35-7 lead, and Jaxson Bernecker of Hartington Cedar Catholic caught a 21-yard scoring pass from Scholting with 4:39 left to cap the game’s scoring. In between, Hamer caught a short touchdown pass from Kuester.

Kerkman appeared on pace to break the game’s rushing yardage record, too. He had 110 in the first half, but suffered a knee injury on his first carry of the second half and did not return. Kerkman was still selected as the Red team’s offensive MVP with 112 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries.

The Red team’s defensive MVP was Jay Steffen of Hartington Cedar Catholic, who sacked Kuester late in the first quarter to help force a turnover on downs.

“It was great,” Steffen said. “The experience was fun, being able to control and contain that great group of offensive players. That’s really special.”

THE GAME appeared on pace for a shootout for both teams early on.

The White team received, and Kuester connected on four-straight passes, including a 22-yard strike to Cale Kinney of Elgin Public/Pope John, and then Kuester took a quarterback draw 18 yards for a touchdown on third-and-8.

“I think that everyone was just pretty fired up,” Kuester said. “We all knew the other team had some studs on their team, so we were just having fun and letting it fly.”

The Red team roared back with a 10-play, 80-yard drive that included a 34-yard pass from Scholting to Grant Arens that put the Red team at the 19. Five plays later, Kerkman plunged in from the 2.

The White team came up empty the rest of the first half. It was held to just 38 yards in the entire second quarter, while the Red team scored three touchdowns.

The first turning point in favor of the Red team was an interception by Alex Phelps of Wayne. The Red team converted a third-and-inches, and on the next play, Scholting rolled right and threw left to Agoumba for a 29-yard play. Kerkman then took off down his own sideline on the next play for a 29-yard touchdown run.

A failed fourth down stopped the White team on its next possession again, and the Red team again took advantage with an 11-play drive that featured 10 rushes, capped by Kerkman’s 5-yarder up the middle for a 21-7 lead with 2:30 left in the first half, and the defense’s three-and-out led to the Red’s final first-half possession.

“It was just an honor to coach guys like these,” Wemhoff said. “They’re kids who are leaders in their school … they want to come here and they want to do football. It’s just fun. I mean, it was a joyful week. I enjoyed every moment of coaching them.”

Game notes:

* Kerkman wasn’t the only individual to set a game record. Quinton Heineman of Pender successfully made all six of his extra-point kicks, breaking the previous record of five set in 2016 by Aaron Wilken of Norfolk High.

* It was the first win for the Red team since a 14-7 triumph in 2017, and the highest-scoring contest since the White’s 40-35 victory in 2018. Until Saturday, the 2018 game was the most points the Red team had scored in an all-star game.

* The White team had won the previous four, and six out of the last seven since the Red team won each of the first two contests.

Northeast Nebraska All-Star Football Classic

Red 7 21 7 7 — 42

White 7 0 0 7 — 14

Scoring summary

FIRST QUARTER

W: Aiden Kuester (N-O) 18 run, Jake Licking (NOR) kick, 9:02.

R: Karter Kerkman (NC) 2 run, Quinton Heineman (PEN) kick, 5:05.

SECOND QUARTER

R: Kerkman 29 run, Heineman kick, 10:26.

R: Kerkman 5 run, Heineman kick, 2:30.

R: Sedjro Agoumba (WAY) 46 pass from Abram Scholting (PIE), Heineman kick, 0:20.

THIRD QUARTER

R: Avery Overfelt (HOM) 5 run, Heineman kick, 2:28.

FOURTH QUARTER

W: Will Hamer (BC) 5 pass from Kuester, Licking kick, 9:02.

R: Jaxson Bernecker (HCC) 21 pass from Scholting, Heineman kick, 4:39.