Tricks and Treats

presented by

“Discipline, drive, and dedication. Competitive spirit. A commitment to constant improvement. These qualities make great athletes and coaches. They also make great financial advisors. Northwestern Mutual advisors educate clients to make important decisions to live differently and achieve their goals of financial security. Learn more about joining our team. Karges Financial Group and the Great Plains District are proud supporters of Nebraska high school athletics.

🏈🚗 An Epic Trip

Let’s get right to it. That is what you’d rather do anyway, right? Each week will take a trip around the state and highlight some big games that you may or may not have seen. It’s an “Epic Trip” powered by EPIC Team Camps. For the next few weeks, playoff style.

ALL THE BRACKETS: Class A | Class B | Class C-1 | Class C-2 | Class D-1 | Class D-2 | Six-Man

CLASS A: The dominance of Millard South will surely be a story throughout the month of November. The Patriots topped Omaha Westview 45-3 last night. But, we would also do well to remember what everyone else is doing, right? What memories are those other teams making? Plenty is our guess.

A late fourth down conversion for Millard North to upset Omaha North, 30-29. | Kearney still moving, 24-7. | Elkhorn South for the 11th year in row. | Papio South survives a scare over North Star, 23-22. | Lincoln East over Omaha Central. What a photo.

Seven other teams and Millard South will lace their shoes next Friday. Another perfect time to celebrate the joys of high school football.

CLASS B: Meet you in Gretna on Friday night? The Gretna East Griffins (41-15 over Standing Bear) were expected to win, but you may need multiple views of Gretna’s shocking 46-45 win over Norris. Nick Whyman has the winner plus the gutsy two-point conversion. The Dragons scored 11 points in the final 30 seconds. What a time to be alive. 

A whole state away — 418 miles to be exact — Gretna got an unexpected opponent when York scored the final 17 points of the game to shock Scottsbluff, 24-21. Emmitt Dirks threw for 99 yards (one TD), ran for 64 (another TD) and kicked the game-winning field goal (31 yards) as time expired. It reversed a 33-20 decision from last week and the Bearcats played without quarterback Nate Kelley. No word on if Dirks drove the bus back to York.

Everything else was kind of normal. How about these quarterfinals? Seward at Waverly. Bennington at Elkhorn North. Skutt at Gretna East. How can you not be romantic about high school football?

CLASS C-1: The excitement may (may?) return next week in Class C-1, but for this Friday six of the eight home teams were winners. The exceptions — Mt. Michael (28-7 over O’Neill). And Aurora, who went to Central City for a 42-21 win that was seven days after their 27-12 home win got them in the playoffs. Guess who has won seven in a row after an 0-3 start? The Huskies face Lakeview on Friday; double chinstrap game.

CLASS C-2: Six home wins in Class C-2, but it was two road teams who stole the show. Kearney Catholic working their way back. And a comeback for the ages in Malcolm.

The Clippers controlled most of the game with Lincoln Lutheran last Friday in a 20-7 win. It earned them a direct rematch. And, this time Lutheran jumped to leads of 17-0 and 24-7 before Malcolm scored on a 9-yard pass to Preston Kucera from Gavin Little for their first lead of the game with 29 seconds left. It was their first lead of the game. Brixon Meyer had the other three touchdowns for the Clippers.

Ord, like Aurora, winners of seven straight after an 0-3 start ran for 544 yards (not a typo) in dismantling Doniphan-Trumbull, 63-30. And Yutan made the trip to Norfolk Catholic and dominated the three-time defending champions, 38-6.

CLASS D-1: If Crofton keeps winning we will have to keep a keen eye on Howells’ 2009 Class D-1 record for points in a playoff series. The Bobcats scored 290 points. Crofton has 178 in just two games (!!!!) and will host Hemingford in next Friday’s quarterfinals.

The Warriors look like a team that could join the “Big Three” — Shelby-Rising City, Dundy County Stratton and Sandy Creek — in the semifinals. All three rolled to the quarterfinals on Friday with defending champion SC getting a perfect day passing (14-for-14) from sophomore quarterback Kam Sealy while scoring their 51 points in 19 plays from scrimmage. Sheesh.

CLASS D-2: The football Gods are with us the rest of the way team!! Seven of eight home winners in Class D-2 and we get some EPIC (pun intended) games next Friday.

Lawrence-Nelson at Howells-Dodge (28-24 HD, week one). Sandhills/Thedford at St. Mary’s. Wynot at Hitchcock County (underrated game here!!). And, mercy, Archangels at Central Valley (2024 semifinal rematch). Pinch us.

CLASS D-6: Seriously, folks. This is gonna be FUN. The top-six seeds all won, but the top-four have seemingly separated themselves from the pack and we get to find out next week.

Silver Lake at Garden County. Leyton at Stuart. SEM at Southwest. Wallace at Red Cloud. The semifinals teams could be 39-1. Glorious small town ball.

12 years. Seven states. Over 15,000 miles, 16,000 shirts, 1,000 teams and 125 camps. EPIC Football Camps are ready to make your team better in the summer. In the 12 years since they founded, Nebraskan’s Scott Trimble and Jeremy Epp’s camps have produced 18 state champions and 28 more finalists.

🏈🏈 Jack Of All Trades

Unprompted on Friday night, Nate Wells changed the subject. His Ord Chants had just defeated Doniphan-Trumbull 63-30 in the opening round of the Class C-2 football playoffs.

They did almost anything they wanted, running the ball for a near Class C-2 playoff record 544 yards (six shy of Sutton’s record). Quarterback Jordan Williams ran for 330 yards on 28 carries and accounted for five touchdowns.

But, Nate Wells had to look to the north. To the Doniphan-Trumbull team huddle.

“That Jack Poppe kid is a really good player,” he said, not asked, while shaking his head. “I mean really good. I have never seen a receiver run routes that good. I know we have never played a receiver who could run routes like that. We have played kids who might be a bit faster — not much — but no one who can run a route like he does.

“We tried everything, and bracketed him most of the game and didn’t want to give up a big play.”

On this Friday, Poppe’s last on a high school football field, he did a little bit of everything. Caught 17 balls from good buddy Parker Volk — adding to his all-time Class C-2 total — and scored a touchdown. Picked up a fumble and ran it 66 yards for a touchdown. Returned a kick 93 yards for another.

All before halftime.

Oh, sure his Cards ran out of gas. Ord was a well-oiled machine last night. But, it got me thinking about why the big school doesn’t look for guys like Jack Poppe anymore. Three-sport standout. All-state basketball player. State track medalist. The whole drill.

Yeah, college football has changed. So has high school. But, it’s still pretty simple. Win the line of scrimmages and get kids who will work hard and buy into a winning culture. And, yes, we pay them now, but you won’t convince us that Indiana has more money than the guys on 10th and Vine. They just have a few more tough guys.

We used to feast on Jack Poppe’s in Lincoln. Work with them. Develop them. Or, let a guy like Matt Davison start as a freshman. Davison graduated as the Class C-2 all-time leading receiver not quite 30 years ago. The record Poppe now holds — 228 grabs. You’d have a hard time convincing me that Poppe and Davison are much different.

But, the Newsletter doesn’t know much. Just that Jack Poppe doesn’t have enough stars so they can’t waste their time on him in Lincoln. And, we’ll be rooting for the team that is smart enough to win him over, because, well, they will be probably be playing winning football.

OrthoNebraska believes creating the best experience for each patient begins by listening to their healthcare needs, lifestyle and goals to create truly personalized care. At OrthoNebraska, patients are able to see an orthopedic specialist same day across multiple locations, leading to a quick diagnosis and faster return to the things they love. Whether it be sidelining injury or just a desire to perform better, athletes benefit from the comprehensive care and an easier, more confident road to recovery and competing at their best. OrthoNebraska is your team behind the team and a proud supporter of Nebraska high school athletics.

📸📸 Friday Flicks

The Newsletter remains free to our readers thanks to our Harvest Partners and their support of our content. Please thank OrthoNebraska, Northwestern Mutual — Nathan Karges as well as Striv AV and Striv Education for their support of Nebraska high school athletics.