By CONOR NICHOLL

Hays Daily News

CRETE, Neb. -- Jeff Hennick and Ethan Kuhlmann stood in the middle of Kansas' celebration Saturday night. Friends snapped a picture of the two players and the duo congratulated each other.

For the next few minutes, Hennick and Kuhlmann stood a few feet from each other, smiling and enjoying the moment. The scene capped an impressive high school career and a brilliant night for the duo in the inaugural Kansas vs. Nebraska Eight-Man All-Star Game.

Hennick was named Kansas' Offensive Player of the Game, while Kuhlmann earned Defensive Player of the Game honors in Kansas' 31-14 win against Nebraska at Doane College.

Hennick, Kansas' quarterback and kicker, had 134 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns passes and a 42-yard field goal.

Kuhlmann finished with 16 tackles, including nine solo.

Hennick, along with Kansas teammate Taylor Elder, were also the leaders on Sharon Springs' 13-0 season and Eight-Man Div. II state championship season in the fall.

"This win here tonight was just about as good as the state championship," Hennick said. "We hear about Nebraska football all the time and how they are all football. It was nice to come up and get a win. It was pretty fun."

Coupled with an all-star win in the Kansas Eight-Man Div. II all-star game in early June, the two finished their senior year 15-0 -- unprecedented in Kansas football.

"It's the greatest feeling ever," Hennick said.

The second quarter, led by Kansas' superior speed, proved the difference. Both Hennick and Kuhlmann said Kansas was faster than the Nebraska squad.

"They got off the line slow," Kuhlmann said. "They were a lot bigger than us, but Coach put in a good defense."

"I think it was (faster), I really do," Hennick added of the speed.

At the end of the first quarter, Nebraska, helped by a steady diet of runs out of the double tight end formation, led 14-8. Kansas outscored Nebraska 15-0 in the second quarter.

Overall, Kansas forced three turnovers, blocked a punt, had several critical fourth down stops, and never allowed Nebraska to score the rest of the game.

"You read the guards and they take you right to the play," Kuhlmann, a Super 11 HDN selection last fall and a University of Nebraska-Kearney signee, said.

"They pull, you fill. Coach put in a great scheme and he knew what he was doing. The first two scores might not have happened if we didn't get (those) penalties."

Hennick helped take care of the offense.

A Hays Daily News Super 11 selection, Hennick passed for 1,324 yards and 23 touchdowns for Sharon Springs.

Then, he led the Div. II West team to a 42-24 victory in the Kansas eight-man all-star game in early June when he passed for 200 yards, fourth-most in all-star game history, and three touchdowns.

Against Nebraska's best, Hennick rushed for 48 yards, including a 42-yard burst that set up Kansas' first score. Operating out of the spread offense, he completed seven passes - all in the first half -- and threw for 86 yards.

"We thought we could beat them on the edge with our faster guys," Hennick said. "We knew that we could get them on spread and their defense runs a four-man front and we thought our option could tear that apart if we could get to the second level and it did for awhile."

Hennick, who switched off every play with Macksville's Jared Loomis, finished the first half with three rushes for a team-high 61 yards.

After he misfired on his first two passes, Hennick completed seven of his last nine passes and collected 86 passing yards and two touchdowns at intermission.

Kansas chewed up the first 5:37 of the second quarter on a 16-play, 76-yard drive. On a first and 15 from the Kansas 48-yard line, Hennick lofted a pass over the defense and found Jetmore's Daniel Balmann for 38 yards.

On a second down play, from the 13, Hennick reversed direction for an eight-yard pickup.

"Unbelievable," Kuhlmann said. "He is one great teammate. He is a heckuva guy and he deserved it (the honor)."

Four plays later, Hennick, operating out of the shotgun, rolled right and found Jetmore's Aaron Ward in the corner of the end zone. The 2-point conversion tied the game at 14.

The Kansas defense shut down the Nebraska offense on the next two possessions. Nebraska, which rarely passed, ran out of a double tight end formation with multiple tosses, traps.

The Kensington duo of cornerback Randall Irving (team-high 11 tackles, six solo) and Kuhlmann (eight total tackles) helped force Nebraska into back-to-back three and outs. Irving finished with nine solos and 10 assists.

"It was just a great game to end both of our careers," Kuhlmann said. "He played one heckuva game. I thought he was just as deserving as player of the game on defense. It was a great way to go out and one to remember."

With 1:01 remaining, Hennick found Greensburg's Eric White for another score and a 20-14 lead. The Kansas defense delivered another strong effort, including a tackle for loss by Kuhlmann, and forced Nebraska to punt.

Madison's Kaleb Schankie blocked the punt and gave the ball back to Kansas ¬­-- and Hennick -- with 11 seconds to go. With less than two seconds left, Hennick -- also the kicker -- came on and booted a 42-yard field goal.

It was the first field goal of Hennick's career. He also had been working on kicks for just a day in practice.

"In eight-man, you just don't see field goals like that, because it is just so difficult to block for them," Kansas coach Jeff Savage said. "You only have one wing and the side is open. When you see a kick like that on college goalposts that aren't very wide, that's special."