Sophomore Vinny Schmidt’s first varsity football start was by no terms average. He broke the Class B state record for most passing
yards in a game with 427 yards.
“I was surprised I actually did break it, considering it was the first start for me on varsity,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt and his teammate, junior Morgan Karloff, both said they had no idea he was breaking the record until later on.
“I didn’t think I had that many yards or anything like that,” Schmidt said.
Karloff agrees it was a surprise.
“They expected him to throw the ball because he’s a really good passer, but they didn’t expect him to break the record,” Karloff said.
Schmidt had to step up in the middle of the season when the first-string quarterback was unable to play. This meant he was the
starter on the road at Scottbluff, who was ranked at the time. He knew he would have to work hard the week before the game.
“I just really had to focus more on hitting guys and focusing on routes a lot more,” Schmidt said.
It is uncommon for a sophomore to be the starting quarterback on a Class B team. A sophomore breaking a record is even more
uncommon. The most uncommon, however, may be a sophomore breaking a record on the road.
“I was pretty happy for him. It definitely gave him some confidence being a sophomore,” Karloff said.
Breaking this record has it’s challenges for Schmidt for the remainder of the season.
“It puts more pressure on me. It makes me feel like I need to do well every game now,” Schmidt said.
The game was the first one without some of the team’s players. The team knew Schmidt had to prove himself that night.
“He needed to show out because he needed to make up for our other players being gone,” Karloff said.
Schmidt thinks that he earned his teammates’ trust in the game.
“They got really confident too with me, I think, and that they know they can 
do big stuff,” Schmidt said.
