The Dog Days of Summer

Fall practice awaits. And summer golf is still in full swing. A little bit of everything in the Newsletter.

Author

Tony Chapman
July 19, 2025

HEAD MUSTANG. Omaha Concordia head coach Adolph Shepardson watches action at the Tuesday 7-on-7 Epic Team Camp at Lincoln Christian. (Harvest Sports / Tony Chapman)

In these dog days of summer, it is a time for athletes to work in the heat; to toil such that in the fall — when the leaves change color and the games get more important — these efforts show themselves.

It doesn’t matter the sport. There are extra swings in the cage. A late night session of chipping and putting. Long runs on gravel roads. A singles or doubles session — impromptu. Extra sets put up in a sometimes steamy gym.

Such was also the case on Tuesday, when we took a quick — albeit hot — trip to Lincoln Christian for a 7-on-7 Epic Football Team Camp. Some teams looking to find momentum, some teams trying to keep it from last year. Near the end of the day it was Omaha Concordia that finished as champions of the camp, outlasting Lincoln Christian 12-0 in the final.

Momentum can be a funny, if not important, thing, especially in the summer.

“We have traditionally just not been very good at football,” said Concordia coach Adolph Shepardson, who will enter his third season as head coach of the Mustangs in the fall. “The last game of the year in 2022 we just had 13 kids suit up and the program was hanging by a thread. In 2023, we played a lot of freshmen and sophomores.

“We had three wins last year and felt like we were two plays from being 5-0. We are bigger, faster, stronger now. This year we have 50 kids at 7:00 am everyday practicing football.”

On Tuesday, the Mustangs went 3-1 in the morning session of pool play losing to Cross County, 15-10. On the 40-yard field, one first down was available at the 20 and an interception was worth three points.

They were dominant in the tournament portion defeating Fillmore Central and Cross County again. In the finals, they allowed just one first down to Lincoln Christian in the 25-minute contest.

The 2025 Mustangs have high hopes, Shepardson said. Those hopes start with the leadership of Drew Kulus at quarterback. On Tuesday, playmakers Trenton David and Elijah Larson starred on the outside. On Wednesday, at the full contact 11-on-11 Epic Camp in North Bend, it was running back Ryder Harrington who stood out.

Kulus started as a running back in the program, but was moved to quarterback as a sophomore.

“He was really good (as a running back),” Shepardson said. “But we had some injuries so we just decided we were going to move him. His second game, he set the school record for passing yards in a game. When he is healthy, we can be really good.

“He makes good decisions and he is hard tackle in the quarterback run game.”

Kulus was one of a few quarterbacks who stood out on Tuesday. Cross County had a nice day with Sawyer Anderson making multiple connections to sophomore Eli Greenwall, as the Cougars try to improve on a 4-5 season that included four playoff teams.

In pool play, Concordia and Cross County were 3-1. Christian and O’Neill went 2-2. Fillmore Central and Ogallala were both 1-3, but promptly defeated LC and O’Neill — both 2024 playoff qualifiers — in the opening round of the tournament play.

“It’s fun to get a win,” Shepardson said. “For Concordia football that’s kind of unheard of.”

DOWN THE STRETCH: Lincoln’s Ben Kottmeyer (black shorts) and Nash Malone walk down the 11th hole in the Nebraska Junior Match Play final last week at Riverside Golf Club. (Harvest Sports / Tony Chapman)

🏆 On Island Time

July has given a distinctive Island flair to the Nebraska Golf Association summer championships over the last two weeks.

Last week at Riverside Golf Club, Lincoln Southwest graduate Ben Kottmeyer survived a loaded match play bracket with a 2&1 win over rising Kearney Catholic senior Nash Malone. Kottmeyer, who will attend Doane University in the fall, took down Nebraska commit and Creighton Prep golfer Tommy Kelley in the semifinals.

In the girls portion of the event, rising Minden senior KayLynn Jorgensen took control on the back nine of the finals match to dispatch Lincoln East graduate and Drake pledge Isabella Elgert in the finals, 4&3. Jorgensen, a South Dakota golf commit, was 1-down at the turn, but won five of six holes on the back nine to take her first NGA title with the win.

In this week’s Nebraska Men’s Match Play, Grand Island native and Hastings College standout Henry Kosmicki outlasted Nebraska’s Jackson Benge in 38 holes in the championship final at Tatanka Golf Club near Niobrara.

Kosmicki led 1-up after the opening 18 holes before the match went back-and-forth on the final 18. With only five holes halved, Benge won the 19th and Kosmicki regained the lead on the 20th. Benge knotted the match with a par on the 35th hole and both players birdied the 36th.

In extras, Kosmicki would birdie the second hole for the third time of the day to secure the victory. It is believed to be the first ever men’s state championship for a Grand Island resident, crazy as that may sound.

⛳ A Bit More Golf

  • Wahoo’s Brooke Thiele competed in this week’s US Girls Junior at Atlanta Athletic Club but did not advance to the match play bracket where the finals are later today. Scoring

  • York High standout Jaxson Hinze is a new Nebraska commit. He’ll also be in the field at next week’s US Junior at Dallas’ Trinity Forest Golf Club. Also in the field is defending champion Trevor Gutschewski from Omaha Westside. Our quick search showed it could be the first time the state has had two competitors in the event in history.

  • Jorgensen and Elgert will represent Nebraska in the prestigious PGA Girls Junior which begins on July 29 at Purdue’s Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex. Hinze, Zach Erstad (Lincoln East) and Coltrane Mittag (Ashland, University of Oklahoma commit) will represent Nebraska on the boys side.

⭐ Seeing Stars

This is a repeat from the last letter, but, hey the NCA All-Star Games begin on Monday. Catch up on the rosters below.

June is usually big month for all-star games, so many that you can’t really keep up. We couldn’t anyway. July, however, slows down and the end of the month brings us the big ones from the Nebraska Coaches Association. Softball on July 21, volleyball on July 22 and the basketball capper on July 23.

🇺🇸 On the National Stage

  • Omaha Skutt graduate and Husker commit Cade Ziola wins the national title at 215 at Fargo Nationals. Post Match Interview

  • You could catch a ton of former #nebpreps basketball players on the NBA stage at Summer League this week. Hurrdat Sports’ Ana Bellinghausen caught up with nearly all of them as they try to work their way to an NBA roster. Have a look: Frankie Fidler, Saint Thomas, Hunter Sallis, Baylor Scheierman, Chucky Hepburn, John Tonje.

  • On the girls basketball national AAU stage, ETG Midwest 17U is unbeaten in pool play in the Classic Division of the adidas 3SSB Tournament. The 16U team is 1-2 and the 15U team is 2-1 in pool play in the Championship Division. In Pennsylvania, Nebraska Attack 16U is has advanced to the final 16, while the 17U team will begin play later today.

🏀 Final Shot

A final shot before you head away.

I am excited to announce I’ll be writing for the Prep Network on Prep Girls Hoops Nebraska. Most of you that read this letter know the passion we have for sharing the best in Nebraska girls basketball. We hope this will add to the positive nature we can bring to promote the girls game here in our state. You can follow our reports @PGHNebraska and make sure to also follow our lead writer Jeremy Brooks as well. Also, the DMs are open to send us any players we should be looking at for the 2025-26 season!!