Ryly Jane Hambleton: Evans' skills shine on court, field
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When Ty Evans cuts up the field on a keeper, Class B basketball coaches are getting a preview of what’s to come this winter.
The Waverly quarterback uses many of the same skills and instincts on the football field as he did last winter in earning second-team all-state honors in basketball.
“When you’re running the football, you are trying to see the hole, just like trying to go to the hole in basketball,” said Evans, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound junior. “That helps between the two sports.”
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- Jack Douglas, Weeping Water: Threw for 127 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 86 yards and one score.
- Adam Kerr, Lincoln Pius X: Had 10 total tackles, five of them for losses.
- Seth Houdersheldt and Derek Swanson, Shelby: Houdersheldt rushed for 205 yards and three touchdowns, and Swanson caught three touchdown passes and scored on a 60-yard punt return.
- Jordan Jacupke, Hastings St. Cecilia: Was 6-for-7 passing for 109 yards and one TD and ran for a score.
- Austan Pomajzl, Northwest: Had 41 carries for 173 yards and one TD, 45 yards passing and 81 return yards for 299 all-purpose yards
- Kent Niss, Pawnee City: Caught four passes for 114 yards and a TD, along with 19 carries for 193 yards and one TD, for 307 total yards.
- Joe Santo, Falls City Sacred Heart: Rushed 21 times for 220 yards and five TDs, was 6-for-9 passing for 158 yards and three TD, ran for a two-point conversion and had six tackles.
- Jon Luetchens, Elmwood-Murdock: Rushed 10 times for 125 yards and two TDs.
- Trevor Strong and Braxton Voss, Fremont: Strong was 7-for-13 passing for 135 yards and two TDs, rushed for 44 yards, had a fumble recovery and an interception; Voss had three catches for 70 yards and one TD, threw a 35-yard TD pass, recovered a fumble and had seven tackles.
- McCook, Beatrice and Pius X defenses: McCook allowed 41 total yards to Hastings, Beatrice gave up 75 yards to Gretna and Pius X allowed 64 yards to Omaha Skutt.
- Cole Washburn, Reid Beranek and Austin Ziegenbein, Ashland-Greenwood: Washburn was 9-for-12 passing for 272 yards and four TDs, Beranek caught five passes for 132 yards and Ziegenbein had 192 all-purpose yards and a TD.
- Brandon Niebeen, Freeman: Rushed 27 times for 297 yards and six TDs, and had nine tackles.
- Isaiah Gandy, Boys Town: Was 4-for-6 for 139 yards and two TDs passing and ran for another TD.
And just as he did last winter, Evans relies on those split-second decisions that are the trademark of point guards and quarterbacks. On the basketball court, Evans seems to always find the open man or slash to the basket. In Waverly’s wishbone offense, he must read the defense quickly to decide the course of action.
That’s why the option is his favorite play.
“It’s always the option call that makes me smile. The Waverly wishbone triple option,” he said. “There are so many things you can do. You can give it, pitch it, pass out of it or keep it. I like the option.
“You have to react, but I want to make the defense read me. We want to make them pick something and then choose what to do off of that.”
Coach Mike Johnson is happy to have Evans making those decisions for the Vikings.
“You want things to start with Ty. He’s reliable and athletic,” said Johnson. “When something breaks down, he can deal with it. On one of his long runs last week, we had a major breakdown and he was able to run around it.
“He’s also enormously consistent. You can see that in the classroom and on the field. We’ll snap the ball so many times, so that’s important.”
Both Evans and Johnson said the Vikings’ success — four straight victories after a season-opening loss — wouldn’t be possible without the guys up front. In the wishbone offense, that’s seven guys to pave the way, with tight ends required to provide more blocking than receiving.
Johnson rotates John Grebe, Trevor Wright and Kyle Gaston at the two tackle spots and Matt Greve, Shane Hennessey and Gunner Brown at guard. Trevor White is the center, and the tight ends are Tanner Tenopir and Jeremiah Luber.
“After the loss to Pius, everyone was shocked because we thought we’d come out excited, and instead, we came out flat,” said Evans. “We learned from it. We switched our practice, doing more contact drills, and things got more intense.”
Johnson said he thought that although Waverly bounced back right away after the loss, there were some lingering effects.
“I think it hurt us a week or two. We were wondering if we were any good and doubted ourselves a little,” said Johnson. “The kids weren’t very emotional and they were frustrated. Pius played great and we didn’t.
“But we played awfully well against Crete (last week in a 28-8 win). We played with more urgency and more emotion, and we played with more confidence.”
Evans certainly isn’t lacking in confidence, and his statistics show that assurance is warranted. He has rushed 54 times for 438 yards and nine touchdowns, he’s 11-for-33 passing for 199 yards, and on defense, he has 21 total tackles and three interceptions.
As good as those numbers are, Evans said he isn’t sure whether he will play basketball or football in college.
“During football, I think of myself as a football player who plays basketball. And during basketball, I think of myself as a basketball player who plays football,” he said. “I like them both a lot. Right now, I’m getting a lot of recruiting attention in basketball, so that’s what it looks like. But I could still get something for football and I won’t rule that out.
“Basketball is more instinct and reaction. It’s quicker. You can’t go in the huddle and think about the last play. It’s just up and down the court and you can’t worry about your mistakes.”
Reach Ryly Jane Hambleton at 473-7314 or rhambleton@journalstar.com.
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