Hail Varsity was on the scene Friday night in Tabor, Iowa, for the matchup between Fremont-Mills and Central Valley. It was a big night for Fremont-Mills. It was not only homecoming night, but the team also honored the 1970 state championship team. It was the first time Fremont-Mills could play a game in three weeks due to COVID-19.
The team also features Nebraska 2021 linebacker commit Seth Malcom. After all the back and forth about being able to play, Fremont-Mills landed on a game with Central Valley. Putting together that game was no easy task for Knights coach Jeremy Christiansen.
“You know, there’s all kinds of things moving parts,” Christiansen said. “There’s lists out there and you start making some contacts. It just has to work out. I thought travel was going to be our issue because we’d only played at home one time. So, we really pushed on a home game. Then they call back and they’re willing to come. Now we know why.”
The why was because Central Valley ended up taking the game 25-16 thanks to a flurry of points late in the fourth quarter. Fremont-Mills shook off the rust early in the game and came roaring back in the third quarter to take a 16-12 lead. Not playing for three weeks or really being able to practice showed itself early.
“I think that obviously they are a good team over there,” Christiansen said. “I do think that timing was an issue but I think overall we played well. That third quarter we just got to replicate that over and over again. But we started off a little sluggish and we’ll get that taken care of.”
Nebraska commit Seth Malcom also commented on the struggles with getting timing. The defender tried to get as much work as possible during the team’s quarantine. Still, the team had to work things out on the fly.
“I was just trying to do as much as I can with the time that I got away,” Malcom said. “Every week we’re hoping to come back to school to play a game. Obviously, we couldn’t play an Iowa team this week. I’m glad we found a team. So, we can get ready for playoffs next week.”
Central Valley, who hails from Greeley, Nebraska, was a tough and physical football team. The team showed why they are undefeated on the season. Malcom counted Central Valley as the best team Fremont-Mills had the chance to play this season.
Now Fremont-Mills hopes to return to some normalcy as the Knights await their playoff seeding fate this weekend.
>> Central Valley was led by quarterback and defensive back Ty Nekoliczak. The senior had his fingerprints all over the game. He scored every offensive touchdown for the team. That included this nifty 5-yard touchdown run.
5-yard TD run for Ty Nekoliczak of Central Valley. 2pt conversion was close but no cigar. They lead it 12-0 with 35 seconds left in the half. #iahsfb pic.twitter.com/aBWajx9nBz
— Greg Smith (@GregSmithHV) October 9, 2020
>> It was good to see Malcom play in person. It’s easy to overlook him in the recruiting class because he plays 8-man football. He certainly displayed the traits that made him a player Nebraska went after early.
#Huskers LB commit @SMalcom8 with a 55-yard TD run. 2pt conversion is good and @FMCSDKnights trails 12-8 with 8:05 left in the 3Q. #iahsfb pic.twitter.com/yE9HxSgw3q
— Greg Smith (@GregSmithHV) October 10, 2020
He’s 6-foot-4, 210 pounds and is very quick once he reads plays. It will be an adjustment for him stepping up to Big Ten football but that is to be expected. Following his development will be interesting once he gets with Nebraska strength and conditioning coach Zach Duval for a season or two.
Greg is the Recruiting Analyst for Hail Varsity and has covered Husker athletics since 2013. He has always had a passion for sports while growing up in the Chicago area. As he got older and had to hang up his cleats and sneakers, he realized his passion for sports went beyond just watching and attending games. He has covered many events from the Rose Bowl to championship boxing matches. If he’s not talking sports, he’s hovering over his grill. He is married to an amazing woman, Kim, and they have a dog that barks when Greg yells at the TV during games.
