Paul, Donahue got early athletic starts, continue to excel
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BY RYLY JANE HAMBLETON / Lincoln Journal Star
When Matt Donahue was young, he really liked basketball.
But once he put on the pads for tackle football, he was hooked. From that time on, football came first.
Oh, he kept playing basketball, and he ran and jumped with teammates during track season. But it is football that fuels his spirit.
AUSTIN CASSIDY
Lincoln Southwest
Height, wt. - 6-1, 210. Year - Senior.
College - Nebraska, football walkon.
Football - Cassidy exploded for 1,507 yards rushing, picking up an average of 8.3 yards a carry and scored 16 touchdowns. He also passed for 546 yards and six scores.
Track - Finished sixth at state in the pole vault at 14-6 after winning the Class A title as a junior; ran on the 400 relay team and was eighth in the 110 high hurdles.
DREW DAUBMAN
Omaha Westside
Height, wt. - 5-11, 170. Year - Senior.
College - Rockhurst (Kansas City, Mo.), baseball.
Football - First-team Super-State defensive back with 91 unassisted tackles and 64 assists, including 10 solos in the state title game; also caught 25 passes for 559 yards.
Baseball - First-team Super-State catcher; hit .389 with 37 hits, including 4 doubles and 2 triples, had a .474 on-base percentage, drove in 22 runs and was 12-for-13 in stolen bases.
JIM EBKE
Lincoln East
Height, wt. - 6-1, 195. Year - Senior.
College - South Dakota State, football.
Football - First-team Super-State and co-honorary captain; rushed for 1,549 yards, averaging 140 per game and 6.2 per carry, scoring 21 touchdowns; passed for 1,225 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Basketball - Led the Spartans in scoring at 11.6 points a game.
Soccer - In his first year, helped East to the Class A final.
TREVOR GAPPA
Elkhorn
Height, wt. - 6-1, 195. Year - Senior.
College - Wayne State, football.
Football - Class B all-state offensive lineman, led the Antler defense with 206 total tackles.
Baseball - First-team Super-State as designated hitter, heart and soul of the state championship team, hit .378 with 22 runs batted in, scored 22 runs and hit 3 home runs.
KASH KALKOWSKI
Grand Island
Height, wt. - 6-1, 190. Year - Junior.
College - Nebraska, baseball.
Basketball - Averaged 5.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals for the Islanders.
Baseball - First-team Super-State and honorary captain, the right-hander had a 6-2 record with a 0.81 earned-run average, struck out 56 in 43 innings and recorded 1 save; led the state with a .506 average, drove in 34 runs and stole 11 bases.
NOAH KELLER
Kearney
Height, wt. - 6-1, 225. Year - Senior.
College - Ohio, football.
Football - Had 93 solo tackles and 118 assists, with seven quarterback sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery for the state champions. At fullback, he rushed for 360 yards and caught 22 passes for 293 yards, scoring seven touchdowns.
Track - Won the Class A shot put for the second straight year, and had a season-best of 61-¾.
BEN KLINE
Omaha Central
Height, wt. - 6-2, 175. Year - Senior.
College - Nebraska, baseball.
Basketball - Averaged 12.0 points and 5.0 rebounds for the state champion Eagles; his leadership was a key in the state tournament, particularly the final, in helping Central to a second straight state title.
Baseball - An athletic and nimble shortstop, Kline is quick enough to get to balls deep in the hole and has a strong arm; hit .454 with 23 RBIs; two-time first-team Super-Stater.
JOHN LEVORSON
Crete
Height, wt. - 6-4, 180. Year - Junior.
Football - Second-team Super-State as a defensive back and Class B all-state quarterback and honorary captain, led Cardinals to state championship.
Basketball - Second-team Super-State and first-team Class B all-state, averaged 15.6 points and 4.4 rebounds a game.
Track - Ran the anchor leg on the Class B champion 1,600 relay team, led off the second-place 400 relay team.
BRETT MAHER
Centennial
Height, wt. - 6-0, 160. Year - Junior.
Football - Second-team Super-State kicker and Class C-1 all-stater, connecting on eight field goals and 23 extra points, led team in tackles and had 6 interceptions.
Basketball - Leading three-point shooter for the Broncos, hitting 35 threes, and was a 73-percent free-throw shooter.
Track - Won the Class B pole vault after a season-best of 15-2, finished fifth in the long jump, qualified in both hurdles events.
LUKE PINKELMAN
Cozad
Height, wt. - 6-4, 280. Year - Senior.
College - Iowa State, track scholarship, football walk-on.
Football - Class B all-state offensive lineman, also was a mainstay on the defensive line with 203 career tackles.
Track - All-class Gold medalist in the shot put and discus, set a state meet record of 63-7½ in the shot put after a season-best of 64-6 that ranks fourth all-time. Won Class B titles in both throws two straight years.
LANCE THORELL
Loomis
Height, wt. - 6-1, 180. Year - Senior.
College - Nebraska, football walkon.
Football - Class D-1 all-state defensive back; was D-2 all-state split end as a sophomore and defensive back as a junior.
Basketball - Class D-1 all-state and honorary captain after averaging 18.9 points a game.
Track - Set a Class D state record in qualifying for the 110 high hurdle final and then won the 110 and the 300 intermediate hurdles titles for the second straight year.
KENT URBAN
Lincoln Northeast
Height, wt. - 6-1, 175. Year - Senior.
College - Barton County Community College, baseball.
Basketball - Averaged 14.4 points and 7.0 rebounds a game.
Baseball - Hit .391, stroking 36 hits and driving in 36 runs; had 7 doubles, had .460 on-base percentage; the left-hander was 3-3 pitching with a 2.20 ERA, striking out 40 and walking just 9; two-time first-team Super-Stater.
“Ever since I got the chance to play tackle football, I’ve loved it,” Donahue said.
The Fremont High School senior grew up around sports, particularly football, because his dad, Jerry, is a coach. That proximity made it easy to get hooked.
Niles Paul spent his earliest moments in sports influenced by his uncle, Ahman Green, who will enter his 10th year in the NFL this fall.
“I watched him and really paid attention to the way he played,” Paul said. “I knew I didn’t want to be under his shadow, so I decided to be a receiver.”
Paul and Donahue proved that those early influential experiences left an indelible mark. Paul earned first-team Super-State honors last fall at Omaha North after catching 46 passes for 814 yards. Donahue also grabbed first-team Super-State honors with 905 yards in receptions.
And while football is king for these two, their ability and accolades in other sports make them all-around athletes. And that is why they are honored today as Journal Star Prep Boys Athletes of the Year. Paul joins his uncle, who was honored in 1995.
Paul was a standout in basketball, and this spring, he won the all-class Gold medal in the 110-meter high hurdles and was second in the 300 intermediate hurdles, fourth in the 100 and ran on the 400 relay team.
Omaha North football coach Larry Martin said Paul, who signed with Nebraska to play football, could get a chance to play very quickly, even though he isn’t yet 18 years old.
“Everybody talks about his physique and how that could allow him to play sooner,” Martin said. “The respect that teams showed him was something. I’ve never seen defenses make adjustments geared to one kid like that. He had double-teams and triple-teams all the time.
“When you consider that, his numbers are even more amazing.”
Paul spent time last summer in Green Bay with Green and was headed to Houston this week for more time with his uncle, who signed with the Houston Texans during the offseason.
“I learned a lot from him and the other Packers we worked out with last summer,” Paul said. “I’ve worked hard to be as good as I can be.
“There have always been pretty high expectations for me and I’m still cast in my uncle’s shadow. But I’ve learned to deal with it.”
Paul averaged 17.7 yards per reception and dropped just six passes last season. His 36-inch vertical jump is helpful on the football field and in the gym, where he averaged 18.9 points a game and pulled down an average of 12.4 rebounds a game.
“All you have to do is see how well he rebounded and that tells you a lot. The scoring was a bonus,” Martin said. “Those skills helped him in football. He can go after the ball short and across the middle because he’s so tough and he can catch a ball in traffic.”
Donahue also was a stalwart for his basketball team, and at the state track meet, he won the all-class Gold in the 400, was nipped at the tape in the 100 and the 200 and was second in the high jump behind record-setter Randall Carter of Papillion-La Vista.
As big as Donahue’s catches were to his football team, coach Kevin Meyer said his defense might have been more important.
“He fits the bill of an all-around athlete,” Meyer said. “He only got beat for one touchdown pass as a sophomore. He was a shutdown corner for us and had five interceptions last fall.”
Donahue, who had planned to walk on at Nebraska, is investigating other possibilities. After the state track meet, Ohio offered him a football scholarship, as did Colorado State.
He spent this weekend in Athens, Ohio, learning about Frank Solich’s program and said he will likely travel to Fort Collins to check out Colorado State.
“I figured I just had to look,” Donahue said. “I’ll probably still end up at Nebraska, but I need to know for sure.”
Donahue said getting into the Class A football playoffs was the highlight of his senior season.
The Tigers beat Lincoln Southeast to qualify, and on the first play of their playoff game against Lincoln Southwest, Donahue raced 80 yards with a pitch for a touchdown.
As difficult as it was to get clipped at the tape in two races, Donahue still felt good about his state track meet performance. B.J. Lawrence of Omaha Northwest won by eight-hundredths of a second in the 100 and by just two-hundredths of a second in the 200. Carter jumped a state-record 7 feet, 4 inches to Donahue’s 6-9.
“I missed at 6-2 and I haven’t missed at that height since junior high,” Donahue said. “I got real mad at myself and then I did pretty well. I was cheering for Randall to get 7-4. I wanted to see him get the record.”
Now, Donahue — slowed by a torn labrum his junior year — said he’s anxious to put in time in the weight room. That should make his transition to college easier.
“He’s pretty focused and he’s a competitor,” Meyer said. “He’s worked hard at getting better, and being healthy will make a huge difference.”
Ryly Jane Hambleton at 473-7314 or rhambleton@journalstar.com.
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