Friday Night Stars: Week 8’s top performances in Nebraska high school football

Quarterback duel highlights the second-to-last week of the regular season

By Nathan Charles  

Nebraska hasn’t been a place too many Division I programs have historically looked for quarterback recruits. It seems those days are changing. 

Oklahoma State recruit Zane Flores had six touchdown passes, Westside’s Anthony Rezac and Millard South’s Cam Kozeal had maybe the greatest head-to-head matchup in Nebraska history, Pierce’s Abe Scholting needed just nine passes for 294 passing yards, and Neligh-Oakdale’s Aiden Kuester had his third game of eight or more touchdowns.

Cole Ballard, Elkhorn South Running Back

What might have Ballard done with a full game of carries? Well, in just a half he scored a Class A record seven touchdowns and amassed 338 yards of total offense. Ballard has had multiple touchdown runs in every game but two this season and now has had six or more in two of the last three games. He’s making a case for himself as the best back in the state.

Zane Flores, Gretna Quarterback

Ballard wasn’t the only varsity player with a mind-boggling first half in Friday’s Week 8 of high school action. Flores threw six touchdown passes, had a 73% completion rate and threw for 292 yards in just two quarters of action. It was the second time Flores had six touchdown throws in his career and ups his career total to 68.

Anthony Rezac, Westside Quarterback

Rezac was simply magical in a 41-34 overtime win against Millard South that may go down as the best quarterback duel in Nebraska history. The Warrior signal caller brought his team back from a 14-0 deficit in the first quarter and a 34-31 hole with under six minutes to play that resulted in a field goal and overtime. He then threw his second touchdown pass of the night in OT that stood up as the game-winner. Rezac accounted for all five Westside touchdowns, rushing for three, throwing two while also passing for 286 yards and rushing for 155.

Cam Kozeal, Millard South Quarterback

Kozeal was the other half of that quarterback duel at Westside. Although he was the tough-luck loser, Kozeal couldn’t have done much more for the Patriots, throwing for 227 yards and a touchdown while also adding three rushing touchdowns. Millard South hadn’t lost a game this year with Kozeal under center until this past Thursday. He and the Patriots will be a dangerous low seed when the playoffs roll around in two weeks.

Jace Chrisman, Grand Island Running Back

Chrisman gave his team a career performance just when Grand Island needed 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 touchdown 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 cut the lead to 24-21 in the third quarter. His rushing total was his best by 33 yards and the second time he’s scored three rushing touchdowns as an Islander.

Colton Marsh, Grand Island Running Back/Defensive Back

Marsh was Chrisman’s starring counterpart on the defensive side of the ball in the Islanders’ big win over Omaha North. Marsh intercepted three passes, one in the second quarter and two more that stopped North drives late in the game with his team leading by 10. He also ran back the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown moments after the Vikings had cut the Islanders’ lead to 10-7 in the second quarter.

Jackson Williams, Millard West Wide Receiver

Williams turned a pass from quarterback Brody Peterson into a 69-yard touchdown on a fourth-and-7 that won the game for Millard West in a road showdown at Southwest. It was a career night for the junior receiver on seven catches for 184 yards and three touchdowns. Williams other scoring plays included receptions for 5 and 39 yards.

Cal Newell, Lincoln Southwest Running Back

Newell’s efforts might get lost in the long run, but his performance deserves every bit of notoriety as Williams. Newell went over 200 yards rushing for the first time in his career, picked up a total of 268 yards and scored three touchdowns. His 34 carries were also the most of his career. Millard West chose to concentrate on the Southwest receivers, and Newell took advantage.

Max Buettenback, Lincoln Southeast Running Back

Buettenback has been the Southeast workhorse all year, has averaged over six yards per carry with nine touchdowns but has arguably never been better than Friday night when he found the end zone five times. The senior only needed 16 carries to amass 223 yards and was the main reason the Knights responded to back-to-back losses and kept their playoff hopes alive.

Sebastian Boyle, Scottsbluff

Gering was no match for the Bearcats and their top running back. Boyle scored the first four Scottsbluff touchdowns on runs of 50, 28, 22 and 55. All together, Boyle totaled 233 rushing yards in his second 200-plus yard, and four-touchdown performance 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 picture of efficiency in a win over Boone Central. The Bluejays' three-year starter needed just seven completions to pick up 294 passing yards and four touchdowns. He had long 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. Those seven completions came on just nine attempts and improved his rate to 72%.

Jacksen Wachholtz, Pierce Wide Receiver

Normally when Scholting has a stat line that includes nearly 300 yards passing and four touchdown passes it would be safe to assume he and tight end Ben Brahmer had another big day together. But Friday’s win over Boone Central saw senior Jacksen Waccholtz come through with a breakout performance that included three of those four touchdown catches and 191 yards receiving.

Caden VerMaas, Millard North Running Back/Kick Returner/Free Safety

VerMaas sparked a great start for Millard North in a dominating win over South Sioux City. The sophomore returned two first-quarter punt returns for touchdowns and put together a game that included three total touchdowns, 50 yards rushing, an interception and no catches allowed on five targets to the receivers he had in coverage.

Carlos Collazo, Aurora Running Back

Collazo might have 3,000 yards already at this point if he and his offense weren’t so good. Friday’s win over Fairbury included another abbreviated performance for Aurora. But he still maximized his opportunities, scoring three touchdowns in the first quarter, including a long run of 33 yards.

Cade Kirwan, Holdrege Wide Receiver

Kirwan was a big difference maker for the Dusters during a 34-22 win over Cozad that snapped a six-game losing skid. The senior needed just six catches to pick up 164 yards and score two touchdowns. His six catches, yardage total and two scores were all career highs.

Isaak Fredrickson, Raymond Central Wide Receiver

Fredrickson was quarterback Rylan Stover’s favorite target of the night in a tough 34-28 loss to Lincoln Christian. Stover found Fredrickson 14 times for 188 yards and two touchdowns. It was the fourth time this season he’s gone over 100 yards receiving but the first time in his career he’s had double digit catches. Fredrickson is up to 756 receiving yards, an average of 18 yards per catch and eight touchdowns on the season.

Kade McIntyre, Fremont Bergan Running Back/Wide Receiver

McIntyre found the end zone six times in a win over Tekamah-Herman, rushing for 125 yards and four touchdowns on 21 carries while catching nine passes for 69 yards and two more scores. With one game remaining in the regular season, McIntyre has 851 total yards of offense and 12 touchdowns. He’s also got 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 overtime win against GICC that snapped a four-game skid. The Cardinals’ offensive leader was 25 of 39 throwing for 334 yards and two touchdowns while also adding 25 yards on the ground and two more trips to the end zone. Williams has over 1,600 yards passing this season with 21 total touchdowns through the air and on the ground.

Hayden Frank, Malcolm Quarterback

Frank continues to show his talent as one of the state’s best dual threat quarterbacks, leading the unbeaten Clippers to a 49-20 win over Centennial. With his arm, he was 9 of 12 passing for 224 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground he found the end zone four more times, picking up 165 yards on 13 carries.

Carson Kudlacek, Hastings St. Cecilia Quarterback

The Bluehawks remained unbeaten and Kudlacek remained a problem for opposing defenses. In a 35-14 win over Fillmore Central, Kudlacek passed for 244 yards on 12 of 18 throwing, connected twice for touchdowns and found the end zone twice more and had 35 yards rushing.

Aiden Kuester, Neligh-Oakdale Quarterback

Kuester reached 50 total touchdowns on the season with three through the air and five on the ground during a 58-20 eight-man win over Lutheran High Northeast. It was the third time this season he’s had eight or more touchdowns, the fifth time he’s had more than 100 yards rushing and also the fifth time he’s thrown for more than 200.

Cade Hosier, Elmwood-Murdock Running Back

Hosier needed just six handoffs to put together 139 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns in a 77-20 eight-man victory over Brownell-Talbot that made Elmwood-Murdock 7-1 on the season. Through the air, he added two catches for 59 yards and another score. Hosier is up to 1,512 rushing yards and 26 rushing touchdowns on the season.