The Five-Time National Champion
Nebraska Cornhuskers
1970 - 1971 - 1994 - 1995 - 1997
The 1999 Shrine Bowl
Just returned from a SCORCHING Shrine Game. It was 120 on the field
at kickoff. Luckily, the new skybox structure shaded the entire West stands and most of
the field throughout. Paying dividends already.
The North beat the South 21-12 in a game which saw early offense on both sides, and a
defensive struggle the rest of the way. All points were scored in the first half, except
for a long kick return by Taylor Gehman. I'm getting ahead of myself, though.
Standout athletes:
North Squad.
Judd Davies. Oh my GAWD! This guy is dynamite. Early on he moved the North offense by
catching passes. Later in the game he had several long runs. The best was a 50+ yarder in
which he broke at least four tackles. I pity the defensive back who gets in his way. Runs
low to the ground. Does not have breakaway speed, so had to cut back and stiff arm on the
runs where he broke into open ground. His body does not look that great - meaning he will
lose some baby fat and add mean muscle mass at NU. Has the potential to be very very good.
Had one, maybe two fumbles on botched exchanges with the QB. Was a good pass-catcher so
its unlikely the hands are a problem for him.
Trevor Johnson. Played both ways TE/RE most of the game. Tall and thin. Listed at
6'4" 225. An exceptional athlete who made critical plays on both sides of the ball
for the North. Should garner at least co-player-of-game honors with Davies. Impressed me
more as a defensive player - chasing the QB or RB despite being up against a much larger
South offensive line. A great get for the Huskers.
Taylor Gehman. At first, he wasn't playing much for the North. Later on he made his
presence felt. I had heard that his best attribute is having a nose for the ball.
Absolutely true. He reads and reacts to the flow of the play very well. Is not afraid to
get his hands dirty, though only a 6'0" 195 guy. A tough run-stopper at the safety
position. Returned a punt for a 60+ yard TD. Thrust his fist into the air at the 20 and
really pumped up the crowd. Very versatile. Will complement the current crop of good cover
DB's in the backfield at NEBRASKA.
Amos Davis. Had an unassuming but solid game at RB. Shared some of the fumble problems
with the North as well. In all, the North fumbled at least five times, losing most of
them. Will play FB for Chadron State here in NE.
South Squad.
Entire South Offensive Line. The South had ALL of the Nebraska beef in this game. Four
300+ pounders lined up for the South, including NU recruits Tim Green (who did not play
because of an ankle injury) and Chris Loos, Colorado State recruit hulk Terrell Gardner at
345 pounds, and Nebraska enrollee Brian Hale. Considering their size advantage, this line
did not perform that well. They moved the ball on short yardage situations, but the North
DL sold themselves out and won the war. Was not able to focus on Loos or Green that much.
Both look like they could add some weight once at NU. Gardner is a man, and NU may regret
not signing him. Gardner was injured in the first half.
Lenzie Williams III. This Colorado State recruit had a good game at RB for the South.
Solid but not great. Not a franchise-type athlete. Probably had pretty good stats for the
game. Did have a big line to run behind, unlike Judd Davies.
Ty Gifford. This New Mexico State recruit impressed with his speed and athleticism. On
kick returns, he'd jog until finding a spot and then EXPLODE through the crowd. Has a nice
5th gear which could be valuable on special teams alone. Didn't see any negatives in his
game. The Huskers may have missed out here. A little bigger than Brandon Williams, though
the two were almost interchangable.
Brandon Williams. Had a cast on his right hand. Has some speed, and you could tell he was
motivated to remind the people of Nebraska just what they missed out on. He looked pretty
good on defense and returning kicks. Nice speed and size.
Chad Buller. This NU walk-on had a good game running the ball. Broke more longer runs than
Lenzie Williams. Am really pleased Nebraska convinced him to walk-on.
Chris Estudillo. Heard his name (announcer was pronouncing his name es-ti-DIL-LO)
frequently during the game. I didn't key on him so can't tell you much more. If having
your name announced is a sign of ability, he is a nice walk-on get for the Huskers as
well.
Conclusion: the three North stars are the reason they won the game. Of the future Huskers
in attendance, I suspect they will be the biggest contributors as well. I can't comment on
the linemen because it is hard to form an opinion based on the limited plays I watched
them. Feel free to ask any specific questions and I will attempt to answer them.
Statistics for the Game (from Omaha World-Herald article):
South 3 9 0 0-12
North 7 7 0 7-21
N-Judd Davies 8 run (Thad Johnson kick)
S-FG Troy Severson 33
S-Chad Buller 15 run (Severson kick)
S-Safety, ball snapped out of end zone
N-Amos Davis 20 run. (Johnson kick)
N-Taylor Gehman 69 punt return (Johnson kick)
A-9,000 (reporter est.)
Statistics for South and North teams:
First downs 19 12
Rushes-yards 42-207 34-111
Passing yards 122 95
Total yards 329 206
Passes 8-14-0 7-16-0
Fumbles-lost 4-2 2-1
Penalties-yards 10-41 5-20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-South, Chad Buller 9-46, Lenzie Williams 10-45, Jesse
Calabretto 7-21, Miguel Chavez 1-2, Dave Starke 1-0, Ty Gifford 1-minus 2, Brett Lindstrom
5-minus 2. North, Judd Davies 9-146, Amos Davis 10-41, Stuart Siegel 4-18, Eric Otto 2-17,
Justin Dietrich 2-9, Zac Alcorn 1-8, Michael Wahl-strom 5-3, Nick Pearson 2-2, Trevor
Johnson 1-2, Mike Mancuso 3-minus 11.
PASSING-South, Lindstrom 3-8-0 41, Starke 4-7-0 54. North,
Mancuso 7-9-0 91, Wahlstrom 1-3-0 31.
RECEIVING-South, Gifford 3-51, Blake Anderson 1-31, Andrew
Swanson 1-6, Luke Klinker 1-4, Williams 1-3. North, Davies 3-51, Johnson 3-49, Alcorn
1-13, Pearson 1-9.
Omaha
World-Herald Article - Shrine Game
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