Eight-Man Classic shaping up as defensive battle

Anybody wanting a shootout in the Sertoma 8-Man Classic might have to wait yet another year.

The last three years, the winning team hasn't had to score more than three touchdowns.

The head coaches for the 31st annual all-star game don't expect that to change when it kicks off Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Hastings College's Lloyd Wilson Field.

"My gut feeling is that it'll be a defensive battle," said West head coach Duke Waln of Cody-Kilgore. "I think it'll be hard-hitting. Both sides are undersized. I think there will be a few quick scores, and hopefully they come from the West side."

East head coach Ken Swanson of Coleridge had a similar assessment of the game.

"I think it'll be on the lower end of scoring," he said. "It'll be a grind-it-out game. I think turnovers could make the difference."

The West will look to get the necessary scores to earn its second win in nine years on the ground.

"Offensively, running the ball will be our strength," Waln said. "We have plenty of backs."

Among those backs who will be featured are running back Cody Childers of Leyton (6-foot, 175-pounds), fullback Kiefer Burke of Maxwell (6-2, 245), fullback Tyler Klabenes of Chambers (5-11, 180) and quarterback Jason Cameron of Chambers (6-0, 175).

Defensively, the West wants to keep an eye on East quarterback Patrick Tyrance.

"The Tyrance kid from Parkview Christian is very fast, very quick," Waln said. "We can't let him get the edge. We'll work defensively to get to where we want to be and attack with our strengths."

Swanson feels that a good mix of players should help the East's offense.

"I don't know if anything stands out as a strength," he said. "We've got great athletes who all have some special qualities. You have to get them all together, blend the talent and develop chemistry."

Hanging onto the football will be one of the keys for the East.

"In a game like this, you have to be able to control the ball and keep turnovers to a minimum," Swanson said. "You try to mix things up and keep turnovers down."



Eight-Man All-Star Classic
EAST ROSTER
Jeremy Anderson, Bancroft-Rosalie; Matt Beccard, Lourdes Central; Jonathan Bos, Clarkson; Eric Brabec, Clarkson; Taylor Baumert, Pawnee City; Kyle Davis, Shickley; Bryce Ebel, Falls City Sacred Heart; Jordan Brummels, Winside; Brent Haith, Johnson Brock; Alex Johnson, Clay Center; Jacob Kreikemeier, Dodge; Jared Larson, Mead; Ben Lammers, Bloomfield; Matt Peter, Winside; Troy Peterson, Lawrence-Nelson; Derek Rodine, High Plains; Bryan Ruzek, Dodge; Mike Swanson, Nebraska Christian; DJ Thiel, Sterling; Thomas Thies, Giltner; Patrick Tyrance, Parkview Christian; Clete Vrbka, High Plains; Kelan Walford, Exeter-Milligan; Lucas Weeder, Lindsay Holy Family.
Coaches--Ken Swanson, Coleridge, head coach; Jim Dooley, Bloomfield, assistant coach; Eric Kesseler, Humphrey St. Francis, assistant coach.

WEST ROSTER
Nathan Bacon, Overton; Jeremy Barnes, Cody-Kilgore; Kiefer Burke, Maxwell; Jason Cameron, Chambers; Cody Childers, Leyton; Jake Childres, Leyton; Brett Christensen, Wallace; Tanner Crisp, Mullen; Taylor Dixon, Wauneta-Palisade; Nic Dukat, Palmer; Brad Dvorak, Stuart; Nick Fiene, Elwood; Kyle Giffin, Pleasanton; Jonathan Gunderson, Elgin; Jace Heiden, Bertrand; Tyler Klabenes, Chambers; Brandon Kopf, Overton; Bryson Mahlberg, Elwood; Jay Reicks, Elgin Pope John; Steve Rust, West Boyd; Adam Snyder, Arapahoe; Bret Spanel, Anselmo-Merna; Justin Swedburg, Axtell; Bradley Wright, Ewing.
Coaches--Duke Waln, Cody-Kilgore, head coach; Carlie Wells, Elgin, assistant coach; Daren Hatch, Arapahoe, assistant coach.