LNE's Cervantes, teammates turn up heat for North team
In all-star football game scrimmages, the normal numbering system doesn’t always apply.
So it wasn’t really that surprising to see Lincoln Northeast lineman Jake Cervantes wearing No. 15 Sunday in the North Shrine Bowl team’s scrimmage at Nebraska Wesleyan.
“They gave me a throwback jersey to start with and it came up to about here,” he said, drawing a line midway through his torso. “I told them that when I put pads on, it just wasn’t going to fit. The Wesleyan coach (Brian Keller) did some searching and found me one that fit.”
The North will take on the South at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium in the 50th annual Shrine Bowl.
Cervantes, a 6-foot-2, 270-pounder headed to Washburn University on a football scholarship, said he appreciated Keller’s effort.
“I’m a pretty big boy. I’ve got an extra six-pack here in my gut,” he said. “They wanted me to play quarterback, and if my ACL hadn’t gone bad, I would have.”
After the North offense had some early success in the blazing heat, Cervantes and his defensive mates began to take control.
Zach Klapperich of Lincoln North Star batted down a pass, then on the next play, stopped Skyler Luxa of Blair for a 2-yard loss. Colin McDermott of Omaha Creighton Prep batted down another pass and Michael Tomlin of Grand Island broke up a pass from Joel Nixon of Wakefield to Zach Kahre of Omaha Burke in the end zone.
Justin Blatchford of Ponca, who led North runners with 32 yards rushing on six carries, finally got into the end zone on a 1-yard run, then took a pitch on the final play of the scrimmage for a two-point conversion.
“We’re just getting used to everyone. It’s a different level here,” Klapperich said. “We’ve had eight practices, but this is the first really live action. When you get in game situations, it clicks. All the talent here makes you push.”
Coach Jeff Tomlin of Grand Island said he wasn’t surprised with the scrimmage.
“I thought defense would start strong and that it would take the offense longer to get greased up,” he said. “It was kind of the other way around. But our offense showed promise. There were still a few miscues, but that will get taken care of this week.”
Ryly Jane Hambleton at 473-7314 or rhambleton@journalstar.com.
So it wasn’t really that surprising to see Lincoln Northeast lineman Jake Cervantes wearing No. 15 Sunday in the North Shrine Bowl team’s scrimmage at Nebraska Wesleyan.
“They gave me a throwback jersey to start with and it came up to about here,” he said, drawing a line midway through his torso. “I told them that when I put pads on, it just wasn’t going to fit. The Wesleyan coach (Brian Keller) did some searching and found me one that fit.”
The North will take on the South at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium in the 50th annual Shrine Bowl.
Cervantes, a 6-foot-2, 270-pounder headed to Washburn University on a football scholarship, said he appreciated Keller’s effort.
“I’m a pretty big boy. I’ve got an extra six-pack here in my gut,” he said. “They wanted me to play quarterback, and if my ACL hadn’t gone bad, I would have.”
After the North offense had some early success in the blazing heat, Cervantes and his defensive mates began to take control.
Zach Klapperich of Lincoln North Star batted down a pass, then on the next play, stopped Skyler Luxa of Blair for a 2-yard loss. Colin McDermott of Omaha Creighton Prep batted down another pass and Michael Tomlin of Grand Island broke up a pass from Joel Nixon of Wakefield to Zach Kahre of Omaha Burke in the end zone.
Justin Blatchford of Ponca, who led North runners with 32 yards rushing on six carries, finally got into the end zone on a 1-yard run, then took a pitch on the final play of the scrimmage for a two-point conversion.
“We’re just getting used to everyone. It’s a different level here,” Klapperich said. “We’ve had eight practices, but this is the first really live action. When you get in game situations, it clicks. All the talent here makes you push.”
Coach Jeff Tomlin of Grand Island said he wasn’t surprised with the scrimmage.
“I thought defense would start strong and that it would take the offense longer to get greased up,” he said. “It was kind of the other way around. But our offense showed promise. There were still a few miscues, but that will get taken care of this week.”
Ryly Jane Hambleton at 473-7314 or rhambleton@journalstar.com.
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