Oscar’s Elite 8: Rushing 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). The first article of this feature is my top 8 rushing performances of the 2021 season. Aside from statistics, I also considered situational factors to the games like playoffs, rivalry games, etc. <hr /> <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="192723" first="Dylan" last="Mostek"] (Bennington - C/O 2022): Week 1 vs. Grand Island Northwest</strong></em> <em><strong>Game Stats: </strong></em>25 carries, 355 rushing yards, 5 rushing touchdowns. Dylan and the Badgers set the tone for their season early with a dominant showing against GINW. Dylan kicked off his season with a MONSTER 355 yard, 5 touchdown game against a very solid Vikings defense. Mostek looked unstoppable, averaging 14 yards a carry, and slashed the defense on every carry. All 5 of Mostek’s touchdowns were from 35+ yards out, including a soul-crushing 82-yard dagger. The craziest part was that Dylan came back the following week and posted another 350 rushing yards and five touchdowns against the team they would eventually beat in the state championship, Aurora. <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/14907948/612ec3fc06624207589965df" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="147819" first="Rashad" last="Madden"] (Ralston - C/O 2022): Week 8 vs. Blair (Ralston W </strong></em> <em><strong>Game Stats:</strong></em> 30 carries, 412 yards, 3 rushing touchdowns, 1 reception, 57 receiving yards, a receiving touchdown. [player_tooltip player_id="147819" first="Rashad" last="Madden"] put up Madden number in Ralston’s week eight matchup against Blair. Madden broke down the Bear’s defense in every which way he could. He gashed them on the ground with some very shifty moves. Ralston’s playcalling was also very creative in finding ways to get the ball in Rashad’s hands, and it clearly worked. Overall a very dominant showing by the elusive senior. <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11652310/6175c3930661850558fa16d8" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="164483" first="Tyson" last="Denkert"] (Kenesaw - C/O 2022): Class D2 State Championship vs. Sandhills/Thedford (Kenesaw W 46-40)</strong></em> <em><strong>Game Stats:</strong></em> 55 carries, 306 rushing yards, 6 rushing touchdowns. Tyson and the Kenesaw Blue Devils had a hard-fought journey on their way to Memorial Stadium, and when it was time to play, there was no denying them their ring. Tyson put together a masterful rushing performance as he helped keep Kenesaw ahead of a ferocious comeback by the S/T Knights. Tyson seemed unstoppable on crucial downs and always took more than one attempt to bring him down. A very well-earned win for the Blue Devils. <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11498906/61aeb68f2aa648053863794e" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <em><strong>Isaiah Zelasney (Osceola - C/O 2023): Class D2 Round 2 Playoffs vs. Leyton (Osceola W 54-28)</strong></em> <em><strong>Game Stats:</strong> </em>24 carries, 337 rushing yards, 7 rushing touchdowns It seemed like Isaiah was making a play every time his hands touched the football. Zelasney's balance and tough running style made him impossible to bring down, averaging 14.3 yards per carry. He even add a punt return touchdown to bring his touchdown total to 8. Isaiah's performance helped propel Osceola past Leyton and set them up for a semi-final matchup with Sandhills/Thedford. Zelasney is going to be an exciting prospect in the 2023 class. <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13253461/617ebc8104284b043830fa16" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="147784" first="Christian" last="Meneses"] (Plattsmouth - C/O 2022): Week 4 vs. Mount Michael Benedictine</strong></em> <em><strong>Game Stats:</strong></em> 20 carries, 326 rushing yards, 5 rushing touchdowns. Meneses put together an extremely productive season with several memorable games, but his game against Mount Michael stood out. He didn't just put up a monster stat line, but he straight up dominated the game. Meneses continued his punishing, hard running in this game as he was stiff-arming, cutting, and lowering the shoulder pad on his way to his 5 endzone trips. Meneses is one of the smoothest runners in his class, and he showed every bit of that in this game. <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11719320/6179ae2eab92a206e4476f21" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="147818" first="LJ" last="Richardson"] (Bellevue West - C/O 2022): Week 2 vs. Bellevue East (Bellevue West W 59-0)</strong></em> <strong><em>Game Stats:</em></strong> 9 carries, 227 rushing yards, 4 rushing touchdowns. LJ did have other games that were statistically better, but this game provided one of the sickest runs I saw all season. With the help of some vicious blocks, Richardson looked like a runaway train on the play below. His power, speed, and balance were on full display in this cross-town rivalry game as he outmuscled the Bellevue East defense for 227 yards on only nine carries. Beast! https://twitter.com/overtime/status/1434252712883916803?s=20&amp;t=kM1sd7Qbx-Ujhl-ip8mQiQ <em style="font-size: 1rem;"><strong>Peyton Sterkel (Cody-Kilgore - C/O 2022): Class D6 State Championship vs. Potter-Dix {Cody-Kilgore W 65-37)</strong></em> <em><strong>Game Stats:</strong></em> 26 carries, 240 rushing yards, 5 rushing touchdowns. I could not find a film of Peyton's performance, but this is one that I saw in person. My first time watching 6-man football, I was able to watch Sterkel leave it all on the field in a dominating rushing performance by Cody Kilgore. Sterkel ran hard all night and was the heart of the Cody-Kilgore offense as they marched towards their state championship win. <b><i>Nathan Pederson (Millard West - C/O 2022): Week 2 vs. Millard North (Millard West W 56-31)</i></b> <em><strong>Game Stats:</strong> </em>17 carries, 324 rushing yards, 4 rushing touchdowns. Nate had himself an excellent season as he cracked 1,300+ rushing yards. One of his best performances came in a win over rival Millard North. Pederson is a player I think is very underrated and should've received more looks, and his game against MN is an indication of that. He gashed the Mustang's defense for 19 yards a carry and broke off some very impressive runs, including a 75-yard untouched touchdown, a 55-yard touchdown, and a 65-yard touchdown where he even dropped the referee (1:20). Very dominant game by Pederson! <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11632744/6137c3e4578eaf0770185ec3" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>