Area athletes are named to All-Star Football roster
HARTINGTON — Seven area athletes have been selected to the 7th Annual Northeast Nebraska All-Star Football Classic.
Hartington-Newcastle head coach Corey Uldrich was previously announced as an assistant coach for the Red Team, and a Wildcat football player will be joining him for one last game.
Turner Korth was one of 36 players selected to the Red Team.
He joins Cedar Catholic’s Matthew Becker and Josh Pinkelman, Laurel-Concord- Coleridge’s Izac Reifenrath, Randolph’s Noah Scott, and Wynot’s Landon Wieseler as Cedar County athletes selected to the Red Team.
“Every All-Star game that I have been a part of has always been a really fun group because I think when you get a bunch
of players together that are as skilled as what we are going to have together that they naturally gravitate towards each other anyways,” said Uldrich.
The game that will take place on Saturday, June 8, at noon at Veterans Memorial Field in Norfolk will feature a week of practice leading up to the game.
Uldrich says it will be interesting to see how players prepare for a week of football in the middle of June since it is out of season from other sports. For many of these players though, college athletics is awaiting in the fall so workout programs will help them be ready for this game and their new adventure with a new team in college.
“I’m sure it will make everything easier to get back in the mode of a football schedule,” said Randolph’s Noah Scott who will be playing running back at Wayne State next year.
For Scott, the All-Star game also offers an opportunity for him to see action on the eld following a broken bone that ended his senior season early.
“I broke a bone and it re-grew better this time, so I don’t think it will take a toll on anything. I will strengthen it up all summer and be ready to go.”
Scott and many of these players on the roster have spent their high school careers playing against each other in multiple sports. It has helped build friendships between players from different schools, and it also creates an interesting opportunity when they arrive at that first practice and finally join forces together.
“I think it will be really fun,” said Wynot’s Landon Wieseler. “Typically you are on the other side of them and think ‘oh I don’t like playing you’ or something like that, but then when we are on the same team I am sure it will be a lot more fun to learn about them as a person and play with them will be really fun.”
It also offers the opportunity for players to show their skill sets at different positions. For Wausa’s Ghatlin Hegge, he looks forward to a potential opportunity back
at the running position after switching to quarterback for his junior and senior year.
“Playing quarterback was fun but was never as fun as being an actual running back and running through people. That extra momentum before taking the handoff, you always get that little lead before you get to go, and I just want that back.”
For Izac Reifenrath of Laurel-Concord- Coleridge and Cedar Catholic’s Matthew Becker, the All-Star game offers the two the opportunity to gain some chemistry before they both head to Mount Marty to play basketball.
“Matt is a stud athlete, and I’ve thrown to Noah [Schutte] who kinda reminds me of Matt; so I think we can have a pretty good connection,” said Reifenrath. “Just like a pick and roll in basketball instead this is a fly right down the outside to him.”
Reifenrath’s plan sounded just fine to Becker who is looking forward for one last chance at wide receiver.
“I think my offensive skills are better than my defensive so I hope to play a lot of wide receiver,” said Becker.
There are two Trojans on the Red Team this year, offering the opportunity to have Cedar Catholic representation on both sides of the ball. Josh Pinkelman is playing linebacker at Midland University in the fall and looks forward to the chance to sharpen his defensive skills against an elite group of athletes, but most importantly, Pinkelman is looking forward to how much fun he expects the experience to be.
“At first I was like ‘Geez it is probably going to be really hot that week,’ but next I thought of how it will be really fun because of all the kids that are going to play. It will be fun to play with them and get to know them better,” said Pinkelman.
The 7th Annual Northeast Nebraska All-Star Football Classic offers these athletes one final chance to represent their high school. Graduation will have already passed, and putting on their high school helmets one last time seems to be something all of the athletes are honored to do.
“It means a lot,” said HNS linebacker Turner Korth. “Football has been a big part of my life, and it has helped me out in every other sport I do with being aggressive, but wearing that helmet one more time will be great.”
Scott concurred.
“It will be really special because we have grown with our coaches, we are all really close being an eight-man football team and being a small school, and we appreciate everything they do for us so it will be pretty special.”
Currently, the Red Team and White Team have the series tied at 3-3 as local talent looks to bring a victory for the Red Team.
“The winning desire is why we were selected to play in this game,” said Korth. “That will be there no matter what, it never dies out.”
ALL-STAR FOOTBALL ROSTERS
Red Team
Evan Anderson, Ponca
Kaleb Anderson, Pierce
Matthew Becker, Cedar Catholic
Drew Buck, Wayne
Marcus Echtenkamp, Lutheran High Northeast
Marcus Fertig, Wayne
Ryder Fuchs, Pierce
Esgar Godinez, Wakefield
Brad Hartnett, South Sioux City
Ghatlin Hegge, Wausa
Jaydon Jump, Pender
John Klemmensen, South Sioux City
Jacob Kneifl, Emerson-Hubbard
Kaden Kneifl, Wayne
Turner Korth, Hartington-Newcastle
Michael Logue, Ponca
Mitchell Mackeprang, Bloomfield
Gage McGill, Ponca
Jakob Meier, Pierce
Josh Pinkelman, Cedar Catholic
Juan Popoca, South Sioux City
Romello Porter, Walthill
Luis Quezada, South Sioux City
Izac Reifenrath, Laurel-Concord-Coleridge
Cole Richards, Ponca
Jalen Robinson, Norfolk Catholic
Devan Roth, Pierce
Noah Scott, Randolph
Grady Semin, St. Mary’s
Kyle Smith, Allen
Brad Tomasek, Crofton
Cameron Tyler, Creighton
Travis Tyler, Creighton
Juan Vergara, Wayne
Landon Wieseler, Wynot
Connor Wilcox, Lutheran High Northeast
White Team
Blake Anderson, West Point-Beemer
Brenden Beierman, Boone Central
Austin Bruzek, Norfolk High
Weston Choat, Boone Central
Connor Clayton, Norfolk High
Conner Cowling, Norfolk High
Spencer Davis, O’Neill
Braden Freudenburg, Humphrey St. Francis
Will Frey, Boone Central
Justyn Hale, Oakland-Craig
Tyson Harney, Oakland-Craig
AJ Hawthorne, Battle Creek
Anthony Heiman, Osmond
Ty Heimes, Battle Creek
Dylan Horejsi, Howells-Dodge
Brady Hull, Logan View
Jake Lingenfelter, Plainview
Jacob Long, Clearwater-Orchard
Ty Martinsen, Riverside
Austin Marx, Battle Creek
Robby Mayberry, Oakland-Craig
Josh McFarland, Elkhorn Valley
Jefferson McNeill, Oakland-Craig
Jon Merten, Boone Central
Jared Minnick, Guardian Angels Central Catholic
Tommie Peed, Clearwater-Orchard
Hunter Reestman, Elgin Public Pope John
Nick Reikofski, Osmond
Austin Rice, Neligh-Oakdale
Nick Ronnfeldt, Bancroft-Rosalie-Lyons-Decatur
Nick Sazama, Norfolk High
Jadyn Smeal, Guardian Angels Central Catholic
Clay Thiele, Clearwater-Orchard
Seth Totten, Bancroft-Rosalie-Lyons-Decatur
Ben VanderGriend, West Point-Beemer
Jarrett Weidner, Humphrey St. Francis