Coming off of a disappointing 1-8 season in 2013, the varsity football team showed a newfound level of confidence in their impressive 34-0 win over Gering to open the season. After the week one win, eyes were drawn to the Tigers who entered a three game series of top 10 teams in class B. Although the results from these games were disappointing, the statistics are not. Through four games, Hastings High has two players ranked inside the top five in state statistics and three others ranked inside the top 10 of class B statistics.
Name/Category/Rank
Vinny Schmidt/State Passing Yards/#1 (1027)
Morgan Karloff/State Receiving Yards/#2 (464)
Sam Reimer/Class B Receiving Yards/#5 (299)
Sam Reimer/Class B Interceptions/#4 (2)
Bryant Menke/Class B Receiving Yards/#6 (256)
Michael Collicott/Class B Tackles/#7 (40)
“It’s pretty cool. I mean, we can’t get it to me if we don’t have Vinny and our linemen blocking,” said Karloff about his individual successes.
The common train of thought amongst the five teammates was that the team comes before individual accomplishments and that the current 1-3 record is a disappointment that does not reflect the type of team the Tigers are.
“Well, I’m disappointed in our record. I think we could be better, but we can beat these next three teams and get back to a winning (4-3) record. I’m not disappointed, I mean, we’re competing, we’ve just played three tough teams,” Junior Sam Reimer said regarding the Tigers’ season thus far.
The season is far from over and a spot in the state playoffs remains in the hands of the Tigers — including some very trusting hands in junior receivers Karloff, Reimer and Menke. A playoff berth would be the first postseason game for the black and orange since 2010 and a major turning point in the program under new head coach Erik Emerson.
With a new coach, a new outlook and five underclassmen stat leaders, the future looks bright for the Tigers.
