Elkhorn Stadium played host to two of the top teams in Class B on Friday night as the Norris Titans made the trip to face off against the Elkhorn Antlers. Elkhorn jumped out to a 12-0 lead, but an 85-yard kickoff return by Kale Consbruck sparked a 28-0 Titan run as Norris pulled out the 28-18 win.
Here are five thoughts on the game.
Fancy Footwork for CJ Hood
CJ Hood’s future lies on the baseball diamond, but the Nebraska commit showed he can be a difference-maker on the gridiron as well. Hood finished with three catches for 76 yards and two touchdowns in the Norris win, and each catch was of the highlight-reel variety.
Hood is a pitcher with a strong arm, but he showed great hands and terrific footwork on Friday, twice managing to snag the ball out of the air and tap his feet down in the end zone before going out of bounds. Here are both of his touchdowns.
Toe-tap by CJ Hood for the Norris touchdown. Pass from Cooper Hausmann, who found James Carnie for two big completions earlier on the drive. Norris went for 2 and Hausmann reversed field and ran it in.
Norris 15, Elkhorn 12, 1:10 2Q. #nebpreps pic.twitter.com/qnkV05sJ0I
— Jacob Padilla (@JacobPadilla_) August 29, 2020
CJ Hood again. Cooper Hausmann found him again in the corner of the end zone on 3rd down from 21 yards out for the Norris TD.
Norris 22, Elkhorn 12, 6:50 3Q. #nebpreps pic.twitter.com/0eLPXmRsBb
— Jacob Padilla (@JacobPadilla_) August 29, 2020
“I obviously love to get the ball, but it’s better to get the win,” Hood said.
Drew Christo Carries a Lot of Responsibility
Hood wasn’t the only future Nebraska baseball player who made some big plays. Across the line of scrimmage, Drew Christo — the son of former Husker football player Monte Christo — made plays all over the field on both sides of the ball. Christo has great size at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds and he’s a terrific athlete who plays both wideout and linebacker for the Antlers.
On offense, Christo caught four passes for 40 yards and one touchdown. He was Elkhorn’s go-to guy in the clutch as three of his four receptions came on third or fourth down. On defense, Christo recorded an interception on the first drive of the game and he also recorded at least four run stops that I noticed.
Christo was also one of 55 baseball players invited to the Perfect Game All-American Classic next week in Oklahoma City, and part of his participation includes raising money for a pediatric cancer patient named Ivona. You can donate to his fund here.
Mr. Do-It-All
Christo wasn’t the only player that showed off his versatility on Friday night. Tight end James Carnie was one of the stars of the Warren Academy Showcase last month and he made some big plays against the Antlers as well.
Carnie finished with three receptions for 52 yards, he ran the ball once on a fake punt for 31 yards on offense. On defense, he recorded a sack and a tackle for loss, and he drew a holding penalty as well. Oh, and he handled punting duties for the Titans all night on top of all that.
Carnie committed to Miami (Ohio) back in May but has received some Power Five interest recently, including from Nebraska. He has terrific size at 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds and is a tremendous athlete as evidenced by the 4.6-second 40-yard dash he ran at the Warren Academy Showcase.
Hausmann Settles In
Norris is breaking in a new starting quarterback this season in Cooper Hausmann, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound junior. He got off to a rough start as his first pass fell incomplete and his second got picked off.
However, the younger brother of current Nebraska walk-on Ashton Hausmann settled in from there and made some big plays the rest of the way to lead the Titans to victory. Hausmann finished 8-of-18 for 138 yards, two touchdowns and one interception and he also ran in a two-point conversion.
“He’s very athletic and for him to come into his own and just be himself, that’s really what we kept telling him,” Norris coach Ty Twarling said. “I’m so proud of him.”
Hausmann showed some terrific poise, extending plays with his feet and completing some difficult throws, perhaps none more so than this one to Hood.
Incredible throw by Cooper Hausmann and an even better catch by CJ Hood goes for 43 yards for Norris. #nebpreps pic.twitter.com/ih4rJPFgxq
— Jacob Padilla (@JacobPadilla_) August 29, 2020
Titans is an Apt Nickname
One thing that should help an inexperienced quarterback all season is the size of Norris’ receiving corps. Hood, Carnie, Matt Medill and Trey Deveaux are all listed at 6-foot-5, and three of the four all caught passes on Friday.
“It’s huge,” Twarling said. “Not even in college do you have 6-5, four of them. It’s a gift and we’re going to use that gift. It takes the pressure off and that’s something Cooper has embraced a lot. He knows that those guys are going to go up and get it.”
Jacob is in his third year with Hail Varsity covering Husker athletics. He has also written extensively for SB Nation’s Bright Side of the Sun and The Creightonian. His love of basketball can best be described as an obsession and if you need to find him, he’s probably in a gym somewhere watching, coaching or playing hoops.
