Nebraska Downs Wyoming in 6-Man All-Star Game

CHADRON--On May 31, Chadron State College hosted the 13th annual Six-Man Football Shootout, and the Nebraska team opened a big lead early and never looked back.

A good crowd listed in the hundreds turned out for the matchup, which would break the six victories for each team's tie going into the game. Nebraska's advantage with the number of players, and the overall number of 6-man Teams in the state became apparent early in the contest. Players who had carried their respective teams all season came out for a last hurrah before the summer started, and many familiar names got their time in the sun. Hay Spring's Gage Mintken was a workhorse, carrying the ball early and often racking up around 150 yards in the contest, although no official statistics were kept. He scored a touchdown in the first and fourth quarters and also intercepted a pass that led to a touchdown in the second quarter. He also threw a pass that set up another score late in the game.

Arthur County's Dane Pilakowski also had a big game for Nebraska, and although he had only a few touches in the game, he made the most of them. Two big touchdown runs of 34 and 51 yards highlighted his performance.

The game opened with a long drive by Nebraska, highlighted by a 30-yard run by Mintken that was called back on a holding penalty. A few plays later, Potter-Dix's quarterback Brayden Kasten hit William Skavdahl of Sioux County for a first down inside the Wyoming 10-yard line. Mintken then rushed for a touchdown to put the Nebraska team ahead for good early on.

Wyoming was able to drive into Nebraska territory, but their drive stalled. Early in the second quarter, Pilakowski took the ball 34 yards along the right side of the field and outran the Wyoming defenders for a touchdown. After Mintken intercepted the ball on Wyoming's next possession, Nebraska moved down the field with a series of passes from Kasten to Brayden Bayliss of Parkview Christian and Jacob Knox of Cody-Kilgore to go deep into Wyoming territory. Hampton's Evan Pankoke was able to burst over the goal line and also kicked the two-point conversion giving the Nebraska team a 22-to-0 lead.

Wyoming finally got on the board with two big plays. Encampment's Kaben Pickett first returned the kickoff around 30 yards to give the Wyoming squad great field position and then Pickett reeled in a 15-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Michaels of Burlington for the touchdown. A successful kick conversion narrowed the Nebraska lead to 22-to-8. Late in the half, Mintken again had big runs to put Nebraska in scoring position, and Kasten cashed in on a scramble into the end zone from the three-yard line, but it was called back by a holding penalty. A few plays later, Kasten connected with Pilakowski for the touchdown.

Nebraska went into the break-up 28-to-8. The Nebraska team was held scoreless in the third quarter while Wyoming was able to cash in with a touchdown and a two-point kick to narrow the lead to 28-to-16, but Nebraska took over in the fourth quarter and shut out the Wyoming offense while putting up two touchdowns of their own, ending the game in a 42-to-16 victory. On the last possession for Wyoming in the game, Potter-Dix's Jaxon Beuttenback recovered a fumble to seal the win for Nebraska.