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Three & Out: No. 1 Burke doesn't disappoint in season opener

OMAHA - Burke head coach Paul Limongi and all of his senior leaders will tell you the Bulldogs don't deserve to be rated the No. 1 team in Class A. However, they sure looked like a top-ranked team in their 49-28 win over Lincoln Southeast on Friday night at Omaha Burke Stadium.

Burke quarterback Tyler Chadwick opened the game by hitting 2020 wide receiver Xavier Watts for a 61-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage and the Bulldogs never looked back. In fact, the Bulldogs scored on their first five possessions on the night and went into halftime with a 35-7 lead over the Knights. Chadwick finished the night completing 11 of 17 passes for 236 yards and four touchdowns. Watts had three catches for 99 yards and two scores. Senior running back James Burks led the way on the ground as he had 114 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries.

Nebraska linebacker commit Nick Henrich and Huskers target Chris Hickman led a stout Bulldog defense. Henrich finished the night with 11 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack and blocked a punt on special teams. Hickman tallied five tackles and two tackles for loss. While the Knights scored 28 points on the evening, 21 of them came in the fourth quarter against the Bulldog reserves.

Omaha Burke (1-0) plays host to Millard West (1-0) next week while Lincoln Southeast (0-1) hosts Lincoln Southwest (1-0) in its rivalry game.

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Nebraska linebacker commit Nick Henrich closes in on the Lincoln Southeast quarterback for a sack Friday night.
Nebraska linebacker commit Nick Henrich closes in on the Lincoln Southeast quarterback for a sack Friday night. (Nate Clouse)

Henrich lives up to expectations

Omaha Burke linebacker Nick Henrich came into this season with an awful lot of weight on his shoulders.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound linebacker is a newly minted four-star prospect ranked as the No. 107 player in the nation, he's considered the top prospect in the state, he's a captain on the top-ranked team in the state and he's also committed to the Nebraska Cornhuskers. That could be enough pressure to impact some in a negative way, but Henrich seemed totally unfazed by any of it.

The Huskers commit has definitely added some more muscle mass to his frame since last season and he was as active as ever on Friday night. He's truly a sideline-to-sideline player and ended up with twice as many tackles as anyone else on the Bulldog defense. Henrich was a problem for Lincoln Southeast when Burke sent him on blitzes as he ended up with a couple tackles for loss and a sack.

Henrich is a very physical player in the box, but also showed the ability to drop into coverage when needed. He also played fullback on some short yardage situations on offense and blocked a punt on special teams. He's a smart player and a vocal leader on the field. Burke's defense definitely operates at a different level when Henrich is on the field running the show.

2019 athlete Chris Hickman impacts the game in all three phases for Omaha Burke.
2019 athlete Chris Hickman impacts the game in all three phases for Omaha Burke. (Nate Clouse)

Hickman shows off versatility

There's a reason why Chris Hickman is such a highly sought after prospect. He's a rare athlete with a terrific frame that could project to several positions at the next level.

The 6-foot-6, 205-pound Hickman is listed as a tight end by Rivals and that's what most schools are recruiting him as, but he's not your typical tight end. Hickman showed the ability to be an effective blocker when lined up tight. However, he also flexed out to the slot and even played some split end on Friday night. He runs extremely well which when combined with his height and leaping ability makes him a matchup nightmare for defenses.

Defensively, Hickman could play outside linebacker, line up as a stand up defensive end or as a rush end with his hand in the dirt. Burke mostly had him coming off the edge in a two-point stance on Friday night where he showed the ability to set the edge and turn the play inside or string things out to the sideline with little to no gain. There were times where he covered the slot receiver and even covered the running back out of the backfield on a few occasions. He also plays special teams for Burke which means he rarely comes off the football field.

Hickman's body type and overall athleticism reminds me so much of former Omaha standout Noah Fant. Hickman finished the night with five tackles and two tackles for loss on defense. He was targeted three times on offense, but one pass was off the mark, one was broken up in the endzone and the other was caught just out of bounds for what would have been about a 50-yard touchdown.

2020 wide receiver Xavier Watts made several big plays Friday night.
2020 wide receiver Xavier Watts made several big plays Friday night. (Nate Clouse)

Plenty of 2020 talent on display

While the Burke seniors were definitely the headliners of the game Friday night there was an impressive collection of underclass talent on both teams.

Wide receiver Xavier Watts made two of the biggest plays on offense as he opened the game up with a 61-yard touchdown catch and also added another score where he caught a short pass, made a defender miss and took it about 35-yards for a score. On defense, Watts arguably had the biggest hit of the night as he knocked the ball out of the hands of a Lincoln Southeast receiver with a crushing blow from his safety position.

Running back Jaylon Roussell had a few impressive runs as Burke's top backup to senior James Burks. Roussell is a big athlete at 6-foot-2, 180-pounds and runs very well. He had 60 yards rushing on just seven carries on the night. He also added four tackles on defense.

Lincoln Southeast safety Isaac Gifford was active on the night. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound athlete has added a lot of good weight over the offseason and is a sound, physical tackler. He also plays some offense for the Knights rushing five times for 21 yards and two touchdowns on the night.

A couple of other underclass standouts were WR/DB Michael Payne III and RB/DB Tyreece Wynne for Omaha Burke and WR Isaac Appleget and OL/DL Xavier Trevino for Lincoln Southeast.


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