Oscar’s Elite 8: QB Performances

The 2021 season provides several outstanding performances from players across the state. In this series, I will be highlighting my top 8 personal favorite performances in different categories (in no particular order). For this feature, I took a dive into all the outstanding QB play that went down over the 2021 season. There were so many great games by QBs from all over the state, and even players that made the list had several performances that deserved recognition. Some of the biggest factors I considered were production, efficiency, game environment, and dual-threat. Production is the stat line; I like to see big numbers, lots of touchdowns, etc. Ball security and completion accuracy are what I consider for efficiency. "Game environment" is any external factors that add difficulty to the game like big/playoff game pressure, rivalries, weather, tough crowd on the road, facing a Top _ defense, etc. Anything that forced the QB to step up as a leader and perform when the lights were brightest. And finally, dual-threat is for QBs that added yardage on the ground while still throwing at a high level. <hr /> <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="217055" first="Zane" last="Flores"] (Gretna - C/O 2023): Week 6 vs. Skutt Catholic (Gretna W 49-14)</strong></em> <em><strong>Game Stats:</strong> </em>14/17 pass completions, 300 passing yards, 6 passing touchdowns. Zane was incredible during his junior year and put together several masterful performances throughout the season. One of his best games came against former Class B foe Skutt Catholic, where Zane absolutely torched the Skyhawk defense for 300 yards on only 14 completions. Flores finished the game with TWICE as many touchdown passes as he had incompletions, with six touchdowns to only three incompletions. This week six win over a talented Skutt Catholic team further solidified as a team ready to take the next step and that [player_tooltip player_id="217055" first="Zane" last="Flores"] is the TRUTH! <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/12454878/6159ccf715ffd30890b98cb6" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="147835" first="Sam" last="Hartman"] (Grand Island Northwest - C/O 2022): Week 5 vs. Scottsbluff (GINW L 36-43)</strong></em> <em><strong>Game Stats:</strong> </em>12/28 pass completion, 261 passing yards, 4 passing touchdowns (1 int), 174 rushing yards, and a rushing touchdown. Although the Vikings suffered a loss in this game, I could not have been more impressed by [player_tooltip player_id="147835" first="Sam" last="Hartman"] than I was after that game. Hartman was absolutely invincible as he willed GINW to stay step for step with a high-scoring Scottsbluff offense. Sam left it all out on the field as he was scrambling out of the pocket and making throws on the run. Sam was also running hard this game and provided a great highlight where he lowered his shoulder and crushed the defender on his way to the endzone. Hartman’s 400+ yards of offense and five total touchdowns were earned the hard way in this game and showed that Northwest has some very gritty, tough players. <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11153407/61e30fb4da513d13fc445ecb" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="147831" first="Koa" last="McIntyre"] (Archbishop Bergan - C/O 2022): Class C2 State Championship vs. Norfolk Catholic (Archbishop Bergan W 49-20)</strong></em> <em><strong>Game Stats:</strong> </em>9/11 pass completions, 262 passing yards, 5 passing touchdowns. "Cold-blooded" Koa was on an absolute tear in 2021 as he and the Bergan Knights sought to avenge their championship game loss in 2020. McIntyre found himself back in the big game after running roughshod through their regular season schedule and doing quick work of Oakland-Craig, Aquinas, and Ord. This time Koa and the Knights looked to finish the job, and they did so in a big way. Koa completed 82% of his passes and threw for five touchdowns as Norfolk Catholic had no answer for this dynamic offense. It didn’t take long for McIntyre to get cooking, connecting with senior wideout [player_tooltip player_id="198093" first="Lucas" last="Pruss"] for an 80-yard bomb that opened up the floodgates for the Knights. McIntyre found Pruss for another touchdown down the stretch and also found "little" brother [player_tooltip player_id="180279" first="Kade" last="McIntyre"] for two touchdowns, and senior red-zone threat [player_tooltip player_id="164890" first="Gavin" last="Logemann"] for a score. Overall it was a perfect way to cap off an incredible prep career for Wyoming Bound [player_tooltip player_id="147831" first="Koa" last="McIntyre"]! <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11425149/61aa20a78cd3e804bc18f13d" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="250051" first="Anthony" last="Rezac"] (Omaha Westside - C/O 2024): Class A Semi-finals vs. Bellevue West (Bellevue West W 41-26)</strong></em> <em><strong>Game Stats:</strong></em> 15/20 pass completions, 245 passing yards, 4 passing touchdowns, 70 rushing yards. This matchup saw two of the most dominant football programs meet up on a cold, bitter, and windy night to determine who would go to the state championship game. The game started a little slow, but Anthony and the Warriors soon began to put together drives and put up points on the board. It was a highly efficient night for Rezac as he completed 75% of his passes while racking up 245 yards and four scores against a loaded BW defense. What stood out about Anthony in this game was his ability to make gains on the ground. Anthony operates best out of the pocket but showed that he has the athleticism and awareness to pick up a nice gain, especially considering the very windy conditions. Anthony and Westside held off the Thunderbirds to secure the win and make consecutive state finals appearances. <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/14613154/61a7b4958cd3dd0568ed17d2" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="217056" first="Abram" last="Scholting"] (Pierce - C/O 2023): Week 6 vs. O’Neill (Pierce W 59-6)</strong></em> <em><strong>Game Stats:</strong></em> 9/10 pass completions, 237 passing yards, 5 passing touchdowns, 34 rushing yards, and a rushing touchdown. This goes up as one of the cleanest and most efficient performances I have seen this year. Abram and the Pierce Bluejays operated with extreme precision in carving up the O’Neill defense and jumped to a 46-0 lead before halftime. Scholting completed 90% of his passes while finding four different receivers for touchdowns, including two to senior WR Ritter Oestreich. After scoring six total touchdowns and only one incompletion, Scholting earned an outstanding 168.8 rating, one of the highest I have seen this year. Abram is a player to buy tons of stock in now because I’m predicting many more performances like this in 2022. <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/10108846/6158ac1623479f023cce5cc2" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="148260" first="Gage" last="Stenger"] (Millard South - C/O 2022): Week 4 vs. Bellevue West (Millard South W 42-28) </strong></em> <em><strong>Game Stats:</strong> </em>11/14 pass completions, 221 passing yards, 187 rushing yards, a passing touchdown, and 2 rushing touchdowns. Going into this highly anticipated matchup between #1 and #2 in Class A, two undefeated, it was a toss-up for me as to which squad was going to walk away as the clear-cut #1. Well, the Patriots left no doubt as they matched Bellevue West’s offensive firepower in a tremendous dual-threat effort from QB [player_tooltip player_id="148260" first="Gage" last="Stenger"]. Gage was a player who was putting up insane highlight clips every week and had statistically better games, passing-wise. However, what stood out about this game was that Stenger seemed to be in a different zone. He was super efficient through the air, completing 78.5% of his passes, and ran like a runaway bulldozer when he would find openings. Overall, a fantastic season by Gage, who showed up big time against a high-caliber opponent and set the tone for the Patriots season. <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11458269/6144c5f1a6781f05748d7ae5" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="147508" first="Noah" last="Walters"] (Lincoln East - C/O 2022): Week 5 vs. Lincoln Southeast (Lincoln East W 47-10)</strong></em> <em><strong>Game Stats:</strong></em> 23/29 pass completions, 430 passing yards, 5 passing touchdowns. Nebraska’s 2021 Gatorade Player of the Year [player_tooltip player_id="147508" first="Noah" last="Walters"] had himself a season for the ages! Every week it seemed like Walters was torching a different defense. Week 5 brought in cross-town rival Lincoln Southeast and a slew of defensive stars in what looked like the Walters’ toughest matchup up to that point. Noah turned in an amazing performance that saw him torch the Knight’s defense for five passing touchdowns and 430 passing yards, which were his second-highest output of the season. Walters had two receivers over 100 yards, with [player_tooltip player_id="191114" first="Cooper" last="Erikson"] and [player_tooltip player_id="156084" first="Billie" last="Stephenson"] going off for 100+ yards and a touchdown each, and 2023 WR [player_tooltip player_id="180280" first="Malachi" last="Coleman"] close behind with 96 yards and two touchdowns of his own. A dominant performance by Noah and the Spartans! <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13197497/614de15d23472d0294a9cde9" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="274252" first="Jordan" last="Williams"] (Omaha North - C/O 2022): Class A Round 1 Playoffs vs. Millard South (Omaha North W 46-40)</strong></em> <em><strong>Game Stats:</strong></em> 11/20 pass completions, 316 passing yards, 4 passing touchdowns (1 int). In what was one of the most exciting games of the 2021 season, the overlooked Vikings and QB [player_tooltip player_id="274252" first="Jordan" last="Williams"] were written off as they were about to take on the juggernaut Millard South Patriots. QB [player_tooltip player_id="274252" first="Jordan" last="Williams"] and WR [player_tooltip player_id="164281" first="Keshaun" last="Williams"] were unstoppable this game as they seemed to be in a different groove. During the most crucial moments, Jordan stepped up and delivered the ball despite constant pressure from a stifling MS defense. He did everything needed from him to lead his team to the first 16-seed victory over a 1-seed. Williams is a QB that would be a steal at this point in the 2022 recruiting cycle. <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/14469813/617fa05f3453160178a00c07" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>