Small-town Nebraska kids come up big
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BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star
Say what you want about the importance of recruiting 10-star athletes, Florida studs and California kids.
On this day, a couple of small-town Nebraska kids gave the Huskers a much-needed boost in arguably a must-win game.
Andrew Shanle blocked a punt. Adam Ickes scooped it up and scored. The crowd went wild. The Huskers went ahead.
And still an hour after the game, the two former Nebraska eight-man players were smiling at each other.
"It was just a great feeling," said Shanle, who also recovered a fumbled punt snap, setting up another touchdown in Nebraska's 24-3 victory over Missouri. "We still catch eyes and we just kind of smile. He knows that I helped him out and he helped me out."
Small-town kids stick together, you know.
Shanle, from St. Edward, and Ickes, who is from Page and went to Orchard High School, both recalled the time their high school teams faced each other in the state playoffs. Ickes was a senior, Shanle a junior.
"It's great to say we had two eight-man players that made the play," said Shanle, whose older brother, Scott, also played for the Huskers and is now in the NFL. "I'm proud to be an eight-man player, but that was in the past. I'm just very happy with where I'm at now, and where Adam's at.
"You come from small towns ... him and his family, it's a big deal. I'm very happy that he scored the touchdown."
Shanle's initial reaction — after breaking through the line and blocking Missouri's punt in the second quarter — was naturally to go after the ball, scoop it up and run.
But he saw Ickes.
"As soon as I saw he had it, I was happy for him. I knew it was Adam," Shanle said. "I was just happy for him."
Ickes, with the help of a perfect bounce, picked up the ball at the 16-yard line and ran into the end zone for a 10-3 Nebraska lead.
"I don't really remember it too well," Ickes said. "I just heard the crowd going crazy ... everybody jumping on me. I was exhausted when I got to the sideline, I know that."
Ickes said most of the credit should go to Shanle for the block.
"We rushed both gaps on either side of the center, so it was up to the (punt protector) to either pick me up or step over to Stewart Bradley, and he just took the wrong step, opened up the hole," Shanle said.
"My eyes got huge when I saw the punter with that ball. I just knew I wasn't going to get there unless I made the play, so I just leaped for it."
And when Shanle made contact, Ickes was, well, in the right place at the right time.
"I thought for sure it was going to bounce out-of-bounds," Ickes said. "I never thought it would bounce right in my hands like it did. We work on that every day with Coach (Bill) Busch. We work on scooping and scoring ... but I didn't have to scoop too much. It bounced and hit me right in the stomach."
Ickes smiled when asked about the two small-town, eight-man players teaming together for a momentum-turning play.
"That shows that anybody can do it, (even) if you're from a small town," Ickes said. "My hometown's 150 people. If you're from a small town, you still have an opportunity to do great things."
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
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