Kansas 8-man team halts Nebraska
CRETE — Taylor Dixon got Nebraska off to a great start in Saturday night’s eight-man all-star football game against Kansas.
The running back from Wauneta-Palisade scored on a 13-yard touchdown run on the game’s opening drive. He took a toss sweep to the left.
Two series later, Dixon broke free on a 42-yard touchdown run down the left sideline for a 14-8 lead.
That’s all the offense the Nebraska team mustered, though, in its 31-14 loss to Kansas at Simon Field in Crete. The game was played on a 100-yard field with the normal eight-man width.
Dixon, the offensive most valuable player for Nebraska, finished with 121 yards on 21 carries.
“They were starting to catch on to the sweeps and everything,” Dixon said.
Kansas, which threw for 133 yards, had the only points of the second half on Kellan Tegtmeier’s 29-yard interception return for a touchdown with 1 minute, 43 seconds left in the game.
To that point, Nebraska, which trailed 23-14 at halftime, squandered a few second-half opportunities to get back in the game.
The most memorable setback came on Nebraska’s second drive of the third quarter, when it had driven from its 43-yard line to the Kansas 6-yard line. But on fourth-and-short, Kansas’ Layton Hickel (Claflin) stopped Nebraska’s Kyle Novak (Bancroft-Rosalie) short.
Nebraska had opened the second half with a 12-play drive that stalled on downs at the Kansas 27.
“We couldn’t really finish all that well,” Dixon said. “Kansas, you’ve got to give it to them. Even their big guys were pretty fast. They had a lot of speed, a lot more than we anticipated.”
Kansas’ Lucas Hicks (Hope) scored on a 6-yard run for an 8-7 Kansas lead. After Dixon’s touchdown put Nebraska back in front, Kansas’ Jeff Hennick (Wallace County) threw touchdowns passes of 3 yards and 15 yards for a 20-14 lead for Kansas. Aaron Ward (Jetmore) caught the first TD, and Eric White (Greensburg) caught the second.
Hennick finished the first half by hitting a 42-yard field goal with one second remaining.
“The loss is going to go away, just like coach said, and we’re going to remember all these friends we’ve made,” Dixon said.
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
The running back from Wauneta-Palisade scored on a 13-yard touchdown run on the game’s opening drive. He took a toss sweep to the left.
Two series later, Dixon broke free on a 42-yard touchdown run down the left sideline for a 14-8 lead.
That’s all the offense the Nebraska team mustered, though, in its 31-14 loss to Kansas at Simon Field in Crete. The game was played on a 100-yard field with the normal eight-man width.
Dixon, the offensive most valuable player for Nebraska, finished with 121 yards on 21 carries.
“They were starting to catch on to the sweeps and everything,” Dixon said.
Kansas, which threw for 133 yards, had the only points of the second half on Kellan Tegtmeier’s 29-yard interception return for a touchdown with 1 minute, 43 seconds left in the game.
To that point, Nebraska, which trailed 23-14 at halftime, squandered a few second-half opportunities to get back in the game.
The most memorable setback came on Nebraska’s second drive of the third quarter, when it had driven from its 43-yard line to the Kansas 6-yard line. But on fourth-and-short, Kansas’ Layton Hickel (Claflin) stopped Nebraska’s Kyle Novak (Bancroft-Rosalie) short.
Nebraska had opened the second half with a 12-play drive that stalled on downs at the Kansas 27.
“We couldn’t really finish all that well,” Dixon said. “Kansas, you’ve got to give it to them. Even their big guys were pretty fast. They had a lot of speed, a lot more than we anticipated.”
Kansas’ Lucas Hicks (Hope) scored on a 6-yard run for an 8-7 Kansas lead. After Dixon’s touchdown put Nebraska back in front, Kansas’ Jeff Hennick (Wallace County) threw touchdowns passes of 3 yards and 15 yards for a 20-14 lead for Kansas. Aaron Ward (Jetmore) caught the first TD, and Eric White (Greensburg) caught the second.
Hennick finished the first half by hitting a 42-yard field goal with one second remaining.
“The loss is going to go away, just like coach said, and we’re going to remember all these friends we’ve made,” Dixon said.
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
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