Four Players, One Coach Represent County At Sertoma Game

Four Antelope County players and one coach headed back to the gridiron on Saturday night, representing some of the best in eight-man football.

In the 42nd Annual Sertoma Eight-Man All-Star Game, Neligh-Oakdale’s Austin Rice and Elkhorn Valley’s Josh McFarland played for the East team, while Clearwater-Orchard’s Chris Kester and Jake Long, along with their coach Jeff Shabram, were on the West team.

Long kicked off to McFarland to begin the all-star clash at Hastings College. After McFarland’s return, a West defensive player picked off a pass to end the East’s opening drive. The West team pounded the ball down the field on their first possession and Kester capped it off by throwing a 20-yard touchdown pass for a 6-0 lead.

The West continue to roll and capitalized on five East turnovers, turning three of them into touchdowns in the first quarter for an 18-0 advantage. West head coach Jeff Shabram said taking advantage of those turnovers “was huge.”

“We took an 18-0 lead with the bad snap on the punt, and we had another fumble down here with their backs against the wall that we punched in,” Shabram said.

The East bounced back early in the second, putting together an 80-yard drive. Rice caught a 22-yard touchdown pass to put up the first points for the East, cutting it to a 10-point deficit at halftime, 18-8.

Third quarter scoring started with the East taking advantage of a West fumble. After a 27 yard fumble return, the East connected on a 5-yard touchdown pass to Wausa’s Ghatlin Hegge, narrowing the West lead, 18-14.

The teams traded touchdowns to close out the third, making it 26-22 as they headed into the final quarter of play.

A little bit of luck and a lot of skill were with the West side in the fourth as a tipped pass missed the intended receiver, but fell into the hands of another West player for a diving catch. The West picked up a 32-22 win, which evened up the overall series at 21 wins for each team.

“It was a good, close game,” Shabram said. “It was a lot of fun.”

He said it was special to coach two of his OC players again.

“Jake was a leader on defense and Chris had a touchdown pass and ran the offense well,” Shabram said. “I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
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