Blog: A History of Nebraska 8-Man Football – 1967 All-State Teams/Final Rankings. (05/03/24)

*102 teams played 8-man football in 1967, 38 fewer schools than in 1966. This was the largest decline in high school football teams in Nebraska playing the 8-man version of the gridiron game since 1960, when 167 schools played the 8-man game jumped on the train.

So what was the reason Nebraska high school football lost 38 8-man schools, while 11-man schools only saw an increase of 13, and 6-man schools disappeared altogether?

It was probably a combination of the consolidation of some schools and the sad closure of some schools.

*Final 8-Man Top 10 (1967)*

1. Madrid Wheatland (9:0) (Madrid and Elsie together)

2. Shelby (10-0)

3. Sutherland (9-0)

4. Talmage (10-0)

5. Elgin High (7-0)

6. Cedar Bluffs (9-0)

7. Ashton (6-1)

8. Milligan (8-0)

9. Republican City 7-0)

10. Melbeta (6-1)

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*Here are the Top 10 from the 1967 Eight-Man Football Final, showing each team's results by game.

1. Madrid Wheatland (9-0)

39 Big Springs…21 – 33 Holbrook….6

56 Brule…………..7 —2 Lewellen……0 (Forfeited)

45 Arthur…………6 – 33 Maywood….6

63 Wallace……….0 – 54 Venango…..21

33 Paxton…………7

Coach Fred Bessler

2. Shelby (10-0)

35 Met………………0 – 51 Hordville……………6

38 Hampton……………0 – 49 Gresham…………..21

77 McCool Junction…0 – 54 Bradshaw………….12

35 Rising City…………19 – 53 Marquette………….0

40 Monroe……………7 – 60 Humphrey High…14

Coach-John O'Brien

3. Sutherland (9-0)

19 Hershey…………..18 – 27 Hayes Center…7

56 Hyannis………..6 – 25 Big Springs…..20

45 West Kearney…..0 – 60 Lodgepole…….13

37 Paxton……………….6 – 47 Trenton………..13

38 Halsey Dunning…7

Coach Daryl Broberg

4. Talmage (7-0)

27 Cook……….6 – 56 Table Rock…………14

26 Palmyra…..6 – 40 Elm wood…………..12

37 Brock………19 – 50 Dawson-Verdon…6

43 Elk Creek…19

Coach Ronn Miller

05. Elgin High (10-0)

19 Platte Center…0 – 47 Cedar Rapids…6

19 Bartlett…………6 – 40 Ewing…………13

33 Clearwater…..19 – 40 Stuart…………20

62 chambers……18 – 36 Bartlett………….20

38 Petersburg…..6

Coach Jerry Mundorf

6. Cedar Bluffs.(9-0)

38 Snyder…………6 – 33 Waterloo…12

25 elm wood……..12 – 67 met………0

19 Yutan……………6 – 37 Prague……..7

27 Platte Center….7 – 28 Waterloo…7

34 feet Calhoun…….0

Coach David Scheffler

7. Ashton (6-1)

61 Cedar Rapids…0 – 40 West Kearney………..0

51 Petersburg…….13 – 65 Monroe…………………0

62 Oconto……….. ..0 —0 Loup City Catholic…13

44 Elba…………….0

x(11-man game)

Coach Dennis Lindquist

8. Milligan (8-0)

44 Byron…….0 – 46 Dorchester…………26

26 Bladen…..18 – 20 Tobias Meridian…12

25 Hardy….. .6 – 28 Ruskin………………..6

39 Western….0 – 41 Shickley….………….0

Coach Dan Tesar

9. Republican City (7-0)

33 Hardy………..0 – 44 Stamford…23

13 Ruskin………12 – 38 Orleans…..33

26 Wilsonville…7 – 68 Holstein…..15

49 Byron…………19

Coach Wayne Lutjcharms

10. Melbeta (7-1)

46 Gurley…………………..0 – 26 Chadron Assumption…0

45 Minatare Reserves…0 – 53 Mitchell Sunflower……12

41 Cody…………………….25 —6 Madrid Wheatland…..33

54 Lewellen………………….12 – 25 Harrison……………….2

Coach Jim Hanson

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1967 was the first year we saw a monster lineman on an 8-man all-state squad. I graduated in 1967, started in the backfield at GICC for three years and we rarely saw guys as big as Venango's 6-4, 240 pound Gerald Strand.

In the late 1960s there were no more than 200 linemen. That mythical '67 team's other guard (Kuester-Elgin) and center (Knox-Maywood) checked in at 190 and 185, respectively, making this interior linebacker trio the strongest in the history of 8-man football here in the Cornhusker State.

The backfield was led by a sensational quarterback from Nebraska Deaf named Ken Eurek.

Eurek, a native of Arcadia, Nebraska, was named to the Junior National Deaf All-American team in 1966 and captained the Nebraska School for the Deaf to an 8-0 record in 1967, one of the most notable accomplishments in that institution's history.

Although the 18-year-old Eureks was named to that all-state team as a junior, his final season of eligibility was 1967.

The NSD ace signal-caller scored nearly half of his team's points and recorded 150 of 305 total points for Deaf in 1967. He passed for 24 touchdowns, passed for another 13 touchdowns and scored seven touchdowns against Ft. Calhoun threw four TDs against Malcom, ran four and passed for another Omaha Brownell-Talbot.

Dave Bohlken of Talmage, the Class D 220-yard dash champion at the 1967 state track meetHe rushed for 844 yards and 25 touchdowns on 113 carries in just seven games.

The star of the show from this All-State backfield was the great Chris Krause of 8-man champion Madrid Wheatland.

Krause was the most spectacular dual-threat quarterback of his era, rushing for a whopping 1,710 yards and passing for an additional 1,271 yards, for a 9-of-157 completion percentage. He also averaged 11 stops per game from his linebacker slot.

Lewiston's Tegtmeier also had a banner campaign, totaling 737 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns.

And now let's meet our 1967 eight-man All-State football team.

*1967 8-Man All-State Football Team*

End: Jack Brestal-Big Springs, 6-3, 180, senior

End—Ron Tegtmeier-Lewiston, 5-10, 150 senior

Guard-Gerald Strand-Venango, 6-4, 240, senior

Guard-Bill Kuester-Elgin High, 5-11, 190, senior

Center Joe Knox-Maywood, 5-11, 185, senior

Back – Chris Krause-Madrid Wheatland, 5-9, 160, senior

Back – Dave Bohlken-Talmage, 5-11, 168, senior

Back – Ken Eurek-Nebraska Deaf, 6-0, 170, senior